Wedding Countdown Calendar

My sister is engaged! I wanted to do something really special to celebrate the upcoming year with her and make every month of planning and preparation something to be treasured. Inspired by a Christmas advent wreath by Martha Stewart, I put together a wedding advent wreath that counts down to her big day. She gets to open one box every month, each one containing a personal note and a small gift to make her feel wonderful. If you are looking for that perfect gift to give for the bride-to-be in your life, this is just the thing!

Each box is labeled with a different month to tell  the bride which box to open. There is also one additional box for the day before the wedding with something a little extra special.  I printed these labels on my computer, cut them into long strips, and wrapped them around the boxes. The hardest part is choosing the right colors and design. The assembly is a snap.

The wreath is made from a wood base, bought from a local craft store, and wrapped tightly in satin ribbon. The boxes are individually decorated then attached with a hot glue gun. It is held up by a small loop of sturdy fishing string tied around the base.

The best part of making this wedding wreath was assembling the boxes and deciding what to put into each one. Here you can see a sample of a note that I included to accompany a gift in each box. Not every box has a gift per se;  some are merely notes from the heart, bits of advice, even poetry and comical notes about weddings.  I also tried to stuff a tasty piece of chocolate into each box that afforded me the space. Who doesn’t like to get come chocolate every now and then?

The first month of this calendar has a one-year subscription to a bridal magazine to help her get started with the planning process. If you want make your own wreath, the options are limitless. Include notes from other family members. Give her something old, something new, something borrowed and something new.  Collect items of historic value from your family to hand down to the bride. Think of her favorite activities and things and include gift certificates.

In designing the wreath, I chose colors and a style that matched what my sister had chosen for the wedding. This way I knew it would be something that was in line with what she would like and treasure in connection with the whole experience of planning the wedding. If make a wreath, be sure to consider the bride’s choice of colors  and wedding style.

Here is a photo of Martha Stewart’s Christmas gift-box wreath that first inspired my wedding “advent” wreath for my sister. It gives you another idea of how it might come together with different colors and a different number of boxes.