I love you.

I know.

:)

Okay… before you start… click here if you’d like a soundtrack to go along with this post while you read. For our wedding ceremony, we used a string quartet version of Canon in D for the bridal party processional and Take My Hand by Emily Hackett for the father/daughter walk down the aisle (side note: try watching that video and not crying… I can’t do it… and I #couldnt on the day either; had to take a few huge breaths before walking down the aisle because I was about to be a blubbering mess).

DIY-ing a wedding can be a little bit stressful but overall a whole lot of fun. The real reason I wanted to DIY so much of our wedding was to get all of those personalized details there’s really no other way of getting!

Photo Credit: Brooke Beasley Photography

From day 1, I knew we had to incorporate Star Wars in some way. Danny and I both grew up on the movies, and come on, it’s Star Wars… it’s just plain fun!

Photo Credit: Brooke Beasley Photography

I wanted to make Star Wars ties but still wanted to keep them as classy as possible ;) so I decided to use the character fabric as the lining instead of the main fabric.

 

Gaaa! So cute. I would’ve bought a ton of this fabric if it’d been available, but at the time all I could find was a fat quarter from SewingdoingShop on Etsy. It’s a Japanese 100% oxford cotton, which I’ve had good luck with in the past. The quality was fantastic! I had some help cutting from my MOH… she very carefully cut each lining piece so that each character would fit perfectly at the end of each tie ;) There turned out to be just enough to cut all of the tie and bow tie lining pieces. I made a total of 8 ties and 2 bow ties.

For the main fabric, I went back and forth a LOT and was really worried about ordering online because I wanted the ties to match the bridesmaid dresses. Finally bit the bullet and ordered 2 & 1/2 yards of this GORGEOUS Copenhagen blue silk/wool gabardine from Fashion Fabrics Club. I opened the box when it came and it matched my fabric swatch EXACTLY, until I realized that was the wrong side of the fabric. The right side (shiny side) actually didn’t look the same at all but I got a few votes and we decided shiny ties were more important than an exact color match :) Mind you, aside from my bridal lace, this was the most expensive fabric per yard that I’ve ever purchased, but it ended up being completely worth it. I tried to channel my inner Brooks Brother making these and decided quality was key. :) Plus they were still less $$ per tie than anything the guys could buy or rent and they made a great gift!

As far as the pattern goes, I’ve made a good number of ties in the past using vintage McCall’s 2568 (see here and here), but after making them a few times, I finally learned that vintage ties are shorter than modern ties (insert laughing/crying emoji face here)! Oops… :P And, although I could’ve just lengthened that pattern, I also wanted to make them a little more professional with the edge around the lining at the tip (not sure if there’s a name for that?!).

After a quick google search (thank you, internet!), I found this fabulous pattern and tutorial which worked out perfectly. The pattern was for skinny ties, so I adjusted it a little to get a more standard width, trying to mimic THIS Brooks Brother’s tie from Danny’s closet.

 

My practice tie was made using scrap fabric (grey herringbone from Mood Fabrics also used here, and a mystery blue scrap) :)

The real ties came together quite nicely once everything was cut. I find the long hand sewing very therapeutic, even though it takes forever and a day :) And it was so much nicer now that I know how to use a thimble. Seems like a simple skill, but honestly I had no idea how to use them until Camp Workroom Social last year (thank you, Brooks Ann!). As it turns out, they are really helpful little tools (I use this one and love it) :)

Lighting was terrible in that one ↑ – the color is much more accurate below ↓

To complete the groom and groomsmen gifts, in addition to the ties, I found these awesome socks which went pretty well with the color scheme from Happy Socks, and some really fun personalized tie clips from Tesoro Jewelry on Etsy.

 

  

Photo Credit: Brooke Beasley Photography

The tie clips were great quality and I would highly recommend them… even though one was stamped upside down (oops… ha… turned into a good laugh though… Danny’s brother wore it proudly) :) Each of the groomsmen had their initials on the back and “groomsman” on the front, and the fathers had little personalized messages on theirs.

 

(only the groom got a watch) ;)

Funny story about the watch tho… it had a protective cover on it and we didn’t realize it until he dropped it on the honeymoon and thought he scratched it… turned out to just be the line on the plastic (you can see the red line in the picture). Ha! We are not good at having nice things.

Photo Credit: Brooke Beasley Photography

Last but not least, the ring bearer bow ties! I used the same fabric as the ties and this tutorial! They came out so perfect. Ahhh… look at those cuties…

 

Photo Credit: Brooke Beasley Photography

The little ones always steal the show. There’s no question about that. :) Suspenders are from here.

And to finish us off, just a few more pictures of the ties in action (credited of course to Brooke Beasley) :)

 

(brotherly love… one of my favorite photos) :)

Yay! You made it to the end! Don’t leave yet, though…. read this ↓

So I HAVE to mention… Danny had very few requests throughout the whole planning process (other than cake tasting, which we didn’t even get to do…), but he wanted to use THIS as our recessional song leaving the ceremony. So perfect… it went very well with our subtle tie theme and got a wonderful/surprised reaction from friends and family. Ha! I admit I can barely remember the moment it was such a blur, but I do remember it was pretty amazing.

:)

Until next time,