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Tuesday, February 9, 2010

A Fabulously Frugal Wedding Gift Idea


I think we've all been there, and some of us have been on both sides: the wedding gift.

I know many people who give $100+ as wedding gifts (and let me tell you, I looooved having those people at our wedding!), but that is just not a reality for us right now. Our budget is tight since I'm at home, and that forces me to get creative and really stretch the money that we do spend on our friends and family's weddings.

I usually shop from the bridal registry for the bridal shower, but I feel a little more flexibility when it comes to the wedding gift. I will say this: if you're coming up with your own gift for the bride and groom, please be sure you have a sense of their style/colors, etc. Some of my favorite gifts from our wedding ended up being gifts that didn't come from the registry, but on the other hand, some of the "creative" gifts we got were things that I've never used or gotten rid of (just being honest here!).

Since my cousin is getting married this weekend in Providence, I thought I'd show you the gift I created for them - for less than $10!

I know my cousin's fiancee fairly well, and she's only a few years older than me, which helps. I also know that she loves the color brown because I made sure to look at a lot of the other things she registered for, so I know that this gift will fit in nicely in their home.


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I decided to frame their wedding invitation.

{Disclaimer: I am sure that I am not the first person to ever give this as a gift, but I do know that the idea popped into my head one day. So I promise I'm not intentionally ripping someone off!}


The tricky thing is, their invitation was 7x7 - not your standard frame size. So, I figured out a way to make it work!


I bought this frame at Marshalls for $7.99. It has two mats on the inside, so you could choose your size. I kept the one with the 8x10 opening.


I started out using this paper, but I just couldn't get it to work. Plus it added too much of a fall element to the frame, and they have a winter wedding, so I scrapped it (haha! get it?!).


I found a great piece of chocolate brown scrapbook paper
at Michael's for 99 cents (I love the detail).


I just taped the invite to the paper, then taped the paper to the back of the mat and trimmed it to fit (I chose to tape rather than hot-glue because a) I didn't want to take a chance that the invitation would bubble, and b) She can change the scrapbook paper out later if it fades or she wants a different color.)


I have neither the time nor the inclination to edit my photos, which is why you see the big pieces of brown paper taped over their last names and the event location. :)


A simple yet classy gift that is about as personalized as you can get - that definitely works for me!

I'm not sure if you can tell from my amazing photo, but there is a faint brown "G" in the middle of the invitation that I absolutely love.


I am also including a brown frame for a honeymoon picture (on sale at Kohl's for $5.99), two candles that smell a-ma-zing from Kohl's (sale prices: $4.79 and $5.99), and a "G" (their monogram) on clearance at HomeGoods for $4. All combined, this gift is costing less than $30 since everything but the big frame was on sale.



I hope they enjoy it - I had fun creating it! Now I need to find our wedding invitation and do one for my own house!




Linked to the following parties:
Frugalicious Friday @ Finding Fabulous
Thrifty Thursday @ Tales from Bloggeritaville
Frugal Friday @ Life as Mom
Works for Me Wednesday @ We are That Family
Show and Tell Friday @ My Romantic Home
Transformation Thursday @ The Shabby Chic Cottage
Saturday Nite Special @ Funky Junk Interiors
Show and Tell @ Blue Cricket Designs

25 comments:

  1. what a fun wedding present!! i love the letter!!

    stop by my goodwill goodies blog party every wednesday!

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  2. Thanks for stopping by my blog!! I LOVE your stuff. Especially That "G" you made!!

    Jessica

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  3. Unfortunately, I can't take credit for the "G" - that was HomeGoods all the way! :)

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  4. You can post any second hand finds!

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  5. Fabulous idea. We received our wedding invitation matted and framed as a wedding gift and we love it. Thanks for sharing!

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  6. What a wonderful idea! Beautiful way to preserve such a treasured personala memento!

    Cheers!
    Tina

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  7. I would love it! GREAT idea!
    Thanks for linking up to Tales from Bloggeritaville.

    Leigh
    Tales from Bloggeritaville
    www.lbratina.blogspot.com

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  8. That is an awesome gift!!~ Someone actually ours made, and I am certain it was expensive...your gift looks classy and thoughtful!!~ Another idea a friend of mine did that was on a budget was she made a wedding album...she bought a regular album, used batting, beaitiful fabric and beading, it looked gorgeous!

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  9. excellent idea.

    My Show N Tell is HERE if you find time to stop by for a visit.

    Happy Valentine's Day Weekend!!

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  10. It turned out gorgeous! I love this idea!

    :)

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  11. What a thoughtful gift. I'm sure the couple will enjoy it. :)

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  12. What a fabulous idea! Very thoughtful and well put together. Thank you for sharing it with us.

    ~ Tracy

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  13. What a nice and thoughtful gift! I don't know if I would've thought to research their tastes by looking at their registry. Duh!
    teri

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  14. What a great idea fro a personal yet inexoensive gift. You could also do this with a birth anouncement, or for a graduation and coordinate it to the recipents decor with the scrap book paper.

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  15. Thanks so much for the great idea! A lot of my friends are getting married in the next year and it's hard to come up with great gifts that don't break the bank!

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  16. What a great idea! You are so clever!!! I love that.

    Thanks for linking up!

    XOOX
    Jen

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  17. Oooh, great! I absolutely LOVE that 'G'. It would be so super perfect in my bedroom. Of course I'd need an 'F'. :)

    Stopping by from Kimba's. Here's my link to the party:


    http://amberfilkins.blogspot.com/2010/02/creative-scrapbook-storage.html

    Hope you'll stop by!

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  18. I would love to get this as a gift - good thinking! We'd love to have you link up at our new Lucky Linky party at www.luckystarlane.com - Hope to see you there!

    -Heather

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  19. Very nice! Way to be creative and personal! I love it!

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  20. Great idea! I would've liked that for my wedding. Actually, one of our invitations I scrapbooked into the album, but I love this inexpensive idea.

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  21. fantastic idea! Any bride would be blessed to receive such a thoughtful gift :)

    ~ Emily N. from "too Blessed to Stress"

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  22. You are so good! I love it! Hi, I'm Meme from Screaming Meme Designs...I would love for you to stop in and visit! :) Thanks for making my friday better! Meme

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  23. Your so good to shared this wedding gift so informative I really like it. Keep posting!

    toni

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