For several days prior to their wedding, I had been having debates in my head about my clients wedding photos. I wanted to give them something that would bring an added flair for their wedding photos; something...custom. I thought about what that special thing would be for several days, until I had the "Ah-HA" moment. I would make them a monogrammed banner in their wedding colors! Something that could be incorporated into their photos AND be a cute display item for their home. Not one to waste time, I guesstimated what I would need in order to complete the project and quickly drove 10 minutes away to my local Michaels, the haven for crafters. I wound up getting:

2 medium wooden initials

1 large wooden initial

1 spool of ribbon - 8 yards

1 pack of eyelet screws

1 small bottle of acrylic paint

1 sponge brush

The first thing that I did was figure out the placement of my eyelet screws. Initially I placed one screw on the top center of each medium initial.

I later found that the initials hung better if two screws were added to the farthest ends of the top of each letter, so I adjusted my screw placement. The large initial received one screw at the top of each point on the 'M'. The wood was pretty soft so I was able to screw the eyelets in by hand, using a little pressure.

Once my eyelet screw holes were in place, I removed the screws and proceeded to paint the letters. The reason why I placed my holes, and then painted, is because I didn't want to mar the paint job by trying to put the screws in after the fact. (Sounds like this makes sense, right?) I removed the screws before painting because (OCD?), I didn't want the screws to get paint on them. But all of my theory went out of the window when I had to go back and change the placement of the screws. My paint job was not damaged at all by the new screw placement.

The letters were dry after about two coats. At that point I added my eyelet screws and begin threading the ribbon. To make sure that I didn't have any crazy looking gaps in my banner, I threaded and knotted the ribbon to each screw as I went along. I measured the distance of each letter by eye, but fee free to mark points along your ribbon for spacing sake.

The result was a pretty nice looking decorative banner that my bride absolutely adored.

Total Cost - $16.80

Total Time - About 4 hours

Level of Difficulty - Easy

Brides Joy - Priceless!

It's official. Chronicles Photography is now a destination wedding photographer. I got back last night from photographing S+E's destination wedding in Paradise Island, Bahamas, and a paradise it was. I have only witnessed a few weddings that had such an easy flow, and this was one of them; even with over 100 guests in attendance! The love for these two was so tangible that even hotel guests and staff wanted to bless the couple. Everything was perfect for my bride and groom. I can't wait to share some of the details from the day and talk about the special gift that I made for them. Stay tuned!