Wedding Wednnesday//Flowers or not

So I have been on a quest to find a way to get the most bang of our buck while still maintaining an elegant feel to the wedding. After going to bridal fairs and looking at what is out there, a major money suck seems to be flowers and decorations. More so the flowers. I can't justify so much money on something that will die in a day or so.

Initially, I considered using only real, fresh flowers and succulents for my bouquet, and some sort of dried flowers for bridesmaid bouquets. As discussed in earlier posts, the centerpieces and other table decorations are going to be composed of succulents and sedums. After reading my normal barrage of updates via Google Reader, I got sucked into the new-ish idea of having a bouquet made of brooches.

Every day I pour over DIY idea after idea, most seem lacking or not quite me or what we need for our wedding day, but for some reason this idea really hit me. While most mothers try to pass their wedding dress onto their daughters, it was not something done in my family or even really considered. I doubt that my future offspring will have any interest in whatever dress I choose, but a bouquet of vintage jewelry may be another story altogether. If she has any interests from either BK's side or mine she will love vintage treasures.

After doing some research, I noticed that these beauties go for upwards of $800. I shuddered a little at that thought. So I decided to search for a tutorial to see if it was possible to make my own. Not only was it possible, but a tutorial I found on Fancy Pants Weddings, made it seem incredibly easy to create once all the pieces are acquired.

The past week I have been bidding on brooch lots on ebay. Once I get the things I win, I will start experimenting with different shapes, sizes, and colors. Right now, it looks like I will have an assortment of 40-50 pieces in golds, silver and rhinestone. I did find a few pieces that have some color in them, but I think I am gonna keep to the metals. Some may think it will be monotonous, but I think the different shades of antiqued gold and jewels will break it up.

I plan on taking photos along the way of all the pieces as they are made and added to the bouquet. I think bits and pieces of the final project will be shown, but I won't post the final thing until after the wedding. I want to save the special moment for Berkeley for when I walk down the aisle. That's right! No seeing me until I am coming down the aisle!

How do you guys feel about the "first look" and whether you believe in the tradition of separation until the ceremony?