(ARA) There are few events in your life that will leave as big of an impression as your wedding day. You’ll never forget how loudly your heart appeared to be beating as you marched down the aisle, the look in the eyes of your significant other as you said your vows or how good that first kiss as man and wife felt.You’d like to think you’ll remember every little detail of that day for the rest of your life, but memories, even good ones, have a tendency to fade away over time, unless you make a concerted effort to keep them alive. One way to do just that is by personalizing your wedding.

Rather than letting your wedding planner do everything for you, get involved! That’s not to say you need to deal with setting up the venue and hiring the band. Just tackle some of the fun stuff - like the invitations, party favors and decorations.

* The Invitations

Instead of choosing an invitation out of a book and placing an order, which is so impersonal, take the time to make your own. Not only will this activity make you feel more a part of the planning process, it’ll be a big money saver.

You can find everything you need to get the job done at your local Michaels Arts & Crafts store. The chain carries a large selection of invitation papers, ranging from every day cardstock to handmade papers and vellum. You can buy them individually or in packages. Then, use your home computer to create the same professional look you’d get if you ordered them from a printer.

Once you have the invitations printed, go to town! The only limit is your imagination. For beach themed invitations, you might stamp the cards with palm trees or seashells or stencil on starfish. Or punch a hole near the top and tie beach-themed cutouts or small charms to the card with thin satin ribbon.

For heavenly cards, choose blue or silver paper and use star and moon stamps. Drop a few loose silver stars in the card before putting it in the envelope. For a beautiful summer wedding, place a sunshine stencil on top of a yellow card and “paint” with thinned glue. Remove the stencil and sprinkle with orange and gold-colored glitter. When it’s dry, shake off the excess and voila! A special invitation to send to your friends and family.

* The decorations

Now that you’ve gotten into the excitement of doing it yourself, take the inspiration and run with it. Arts and crafts stores have entire aisles filled with wedding-themed materials you can use to decorate the chapel and banquet hall.

Ribbon of all shapes and sizes can be used to decorate the aisle you’ll march down and the tables at the reception. If you’ll be having a tropics or beach-themed wedding, you can fill glass vases with colored sand and sprinkle colorful sequins or tiny seashells on top. You can also add personal touches, like colored glitter or themed trinkets to the candles at each table.

* Favors

It’s also fun to add a personal touch to your favors. Your guests would be delighted to receive a gift of handmade soap commemorating the day. Or you can show your thanks with a box of chocolates, candles or bubbles, wrapped in tulle and tied loosely with curling ribbon in the same color you built your wedding theme around.

Whatever style you choose for your wedding, your guests are sure to appreciate the time and thought you’ve put into it — and you’ll create memories for you and your family that will last a lifetime. For more ideas for personalizing your wedding, log on to www.michaels.com.

Courtesy of ARA Content

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