Weddings: A gift for the bride

This pic is one of the funnier ones from my wedding taken by my friend Meg right after we said "I do"

I love weddings!  They're all about having fun and making things beautiful for two people who love each other.  I was never the girl who fantasized about the big day before I got engaged, but I've found that everyone I know who gets married becomes something of a wedding expert after it's over and I am now a fully fledged wedding nut.  I will give anyone who will listen all kinds of advice on how to handle their wedding, despite the fact that my mom, a former wedding planner, took care of all the nitty gritty details for my own ceremony.

Two of my favorite friends have decided to officially tie the knot this October after being together for over a decade.  I’m super excited since these are two of my craftiest/most stylish/most creative friends so I know their wedding is going to be amazing!  I've been trying to come up with the perfect gift to get/make for these two.  Recently, I had a brilliant idea! Two, actually, but we'll focus on just one today, a little extra gift for the bride.

My handkerchief from my wedding

So I’ve been married almost 2 years now.  My husband and I are actually running away for a long weekend to celebrate our anniversary this weekend and I can’t wait!!  I remembered that one thing I had at my wedding that I hadn’t thought I needed but turned out to be really great was a handkerchief

I found a vintage lace handkerchief at Kudzu Antiques Market in Decatur the summer before my wedding and picked it up on a whim.  It was just so pretty and elegant and even though I’m not really a happy crier, I decided to pick it up since it just screamed Bridal.

Another photo by Meg prior to some cake smushing

As it turned out, I didn’t cry, not once, I laughed a lot, but no tears.  Even with dry eyes, the handkerchief turned out to be surprisingly helpful.  I kept it in my cleavage and therefore had it on hand for dabbing a moist brow right before I walked down the aisle, use as a makeup wipe, and as a cake napkin after a bit of mushing frosting into Zach’s face

I’ve decided to make a black laced white handkerchief to go with their black and white themed wedding.  

I love this quilt square template.  I used it as a template for the handkerchief's cloth and to help cut the border lace.

I already had a yard of this thick black lace on hand so I used the diagonal cross section on the template to help me cut 4 matching lace sides.

I had to trim off the excess lace on the edge since I will be sewing the lace along the edge of the cloth of the handkerchief with no folds of the edges to hide the seams.

Here's the layout.  It was bedtime when I finished the cutting so I've saved the sewing for another day. If it looks good sewn up, I'll probably embroider the wedding date and their initials too.

Here’s hoping it will turn out looking as well made as it will need to be if I'll actually gift this.  This will be a crafty wedding for sure but we’re looking at a more posh style than the typical Homemade look.