"Handmade Weddings" Makes Homespun Hot

By Lexi Green
May 17, 2011

handmade weddings

Sabrina Moyle and Eunice Moyle, and Shana Faust, authors of the new book, Handmade Weddings

handmade weddings Paper garlands, fabric-wrapped gifts, vintage teacup centerpieces... There's a fine line between kitschy cute and crafty crude—especially when it comes to an event as momentous as a wedding. Enter Handmade Weddings, an expert wedding planning guide to that makes homespun nuptials hot.

Handmade Weddings' trio of authors boasts a serious DIY wedding pedigree: Sisters Eunice Moyle and Sabrina Moyle run the stationary company Hello!Lucky, where they specialize in personalized paper goods that run the gamut from invites to menu cards. Their co-author, Shana Faust, is a talented stylist and creative director who has worked for big names like Martha Stewart and J.Crew.

Sabrina and Eunice Moyle met Shana Faust in 2004, when Faust, then the Senior Style Editor at Martha Stewart, enlisted the Moyle sisters to help her with the paper elements of her own handmade wedding. After the Moyle sisters completed their first book, Handmade Hellos, in 2008, they turned to Faust to help style their next book, while they crafted the projects. Visits to flea markets, craft fairs and supply stores provided plenty of inspiration, as did Eunice’s own ceremony, which was featured in Martha Stewart Weddings.

The result? A soup to nuts wedding idea book covering everything a bride-to-be could want when trying to navigate the DIY wedding space. Handmade Weddings is broken up into six different wedding themes, complete with color charts: Retro Homespun, Girly Romantic, Happy Graphic (the Moyle sisters' favorite), Organic Minimal, Modern Classic and Found. Within each theme there are about 10 craft projects to help pull the look together. Each project is identified by level of difficulty, budget and time. It's also noted as to whether the DIY wedding project requires a group (enlist your girlfriends, or better yet, the groom-to-be!) or an individual endeavor.

yarn bottles, paper chains, ribbon stir sticks

The yarn bottles, paper chains and ribbon stir sticks are among Shana Faust's favorite DIY wedding crafts from Handmade Weddings.

cake topper from happy graphic, heart fans, veil

The cake topper, heart fans and veil are from the Happy Graphic chapter—the Moyle sisters' favorite.

The Moyle sisters tell us that the bi-coastal collaboration to produce Handmade Weddings (they live in California, while Shana is in Brooklyn) worked seamlessly. The three women worked by phone and email and also met in person in each other’s home towns. Shana Faust was in charge of Handmade Weddings photo shoots and styling. She also gave creative input as Sabrina and Eunice Moyle crafted the DIY wedding projects.

Some of our favorite Handmade Weddings projects include the homemade fabric-flower veil in the Girly Romantic chapter and the heart-shaped paper programs in the Happy Graphic chapter. What were the authors'? “My favorite projects are the ones that are the simplest to create.” says Faust. “The paper link chains, yarn wrapped bottles, heart programs, and ribbon tied stir sticks are just a few. These homemade wedding decoration ideas involve materials that are readily accessible and the end product packs a lot of punch.”

Handmade Weddings (via YouTube)

She also notes that weddings aside, many of the ideas in the book work well as home decor, weddings aside. “My daughter and I recently made mini paper link chains for her room. They make her room feel festive and happy, even when it’s dark or rainy outside!”

For all three women, eBay was a go-to resource when putting their Handmade Weddings book together. “It is such a treasure trove,” says Shana Faust. “For Handmade Weddings I bought small props as well as hard to find supplies and materials from overseas vendors. I bought a beautiful set of vintage scalloped napkins from Japan, some old ribbon spools from France that I used for the cover, and many, many yards of fabric that I used for styling.”

“eBay is like having a fabulous flea market at your fingertips!” The Moyle sisters continue.

And so, with suggestions from the Handmade Weddings team, we searched eBay online auctions for items worthy of a DIY wedding. “We almost prefer designing and preparing for a party over the party itself!” the Moyle sisters tell us. Well ladies, we’re starting to think you could be right.

eBay Items Worthy of a DIY Wedding

1. Gold and White Snowflake Fabric

(buy it now price, $10)
2. Vintage Novelty Dot Fabric

(buy it now price, $8.85)
3. Vintage Ribbon Tape

(buy it now price, $2.50)

1, 2, 3: Vintage Fabric and Ribbons: Both Sabrina Moyle and Faust say that eBay is a great resource for finding vintage fabric and ribbons for DIY wedding décor.