Learning to Love DIY and saving money: Guest Post at a Mountain Bride

Hello my dears, I wanted to point you over to my guest post at  A Mountain Bride.

I talked about the every(wo)man's/bride's struggle to have beautiful things, save money, and create a few DIY projects along the way (particularly when it comes to wedding planning).   For my married friends and brides, you know how enamored you become with decor, details, and style.  Of course this doesn't come cheap, but there are ways to recreate some of this with a little patience, some internet tutorials, and time.
I didn't exactly become Ms. Martha, but I learned a lot about how /where to save money for projects, gained confidence in creating and designing my own DIY ideas, and retained faith that I could still end up with the item of my dreams.

You don't always have to give up on dreams of pretty.

Please feel free to visit Jes and see my guest post here.
I've also included a few more veil pics (Jes is sweet, she really wanted me to talk about the veil!)

For my full DIY on making an alencon lace waltz length veil, here is part 1 and part 2.

DIY - modeling shots and how to make your own waltz/chapel length alencon lace veil (part 2 of 2)

So we finished cutting the tulle and sewing the tulle on to the comb in part 1.

Attach Lace
1. Lay out the tulle in its entirety. Place the alencon lace carefully around the tulle.

2. Line the lace up to where you want it to end around the front. Mine is 5" away from the comb lining up with my ear which worked out perfectly.

3. If you want a specific pattern at the end, sew that first. I wanted a few more flowers at the end and had to cut my trim accordingly. In addition since alencon lace trim is double faced (flowers face different directions after you cut it) I lined up the same lace accordingly on either side of the veil.

4. Sew the lace to the tulle at the top edges of the trim with a triple knotted double thread. Ensure that the trim covers the tulle and the eyelash fringe is overhanging the tulle. Also ensure your alencon lace is on the right side (corded side is facing outward).

If you ever have to cut a small piece of the pattern, I recommend sewing it to the next piece of trim. This will give the illusion of a continuous pattern and keep the lace from flopping around.

I had a very specific amount of lace to work with. Otherwise my veil would have been a little longer, a full chapel length. Now it's maybe 76" so it's between a waltz and a chapel length.

This also took quite a few hours, especially since I adjusted (i.e. had to rip out the lace with the seam ripper and realign) a few times. I have some extra alencon lace flowers and am wondering if I should sew some in the center. What do you think? It's hard to take self-modeling shots because the veil doesn't drape well when I have one hand up?  This was the best shot I could take and apologies that it didn't resize very well!

Chic 'n Cheap - truly a labor of love and it's something I will pass to any daughters.

Do you like it? Who else is making her veil?