Preserving Some Special Details

Ok opinion time.  I'm not a huge fan of doing too much decorating in one's house with wedding stuff.  Going overboard with that kind of makes you look like you don't have a life.  Sure, dry your bouquet and hang it in your bedroom, but please do it tastefully!  Nobody wants to see it collecting dust next to a pile of books.  And while I'm at it, I maintain that one really gorgeous framed wedding photo is so much better than 100 in bad frames (I'm not saying we all need to limit ourselves to just one, which I certainly won't, but it doesn't have to be 100- grandma and grandpa didn't have 100 photos of their wedding out, and they were alright).  And for goodness sake, please don't line up a whole bunch of wilted pieces of paper on a shelf.  You have to remember, nobody else loves this stuff as much as you do.

But.

I loooooove shadow boxes.  My MIL made one for my SIL after her wedding, using fabric from the dress, a program, bouquet flowers, etc.  It was an absolutely lovely and tasteful way of displaying those little mementos in a way that won't collect dust- and allows the beauty of the objects to shine through!  So of course, making shadow boxes was exactly what I wanted to do with some of the goodies I had leftover from our wedding.  I'm also working on a scrapbook, but that could take years to complete, so in the mean time I have these to enjoy!

[caption id="attachment_1954" align="aligncenter" width="223" caption="Our invitation, with roses, greenery and eucalyptus from the bouquets and one of the bridesmaids' birds!"][/caption]

[caption id="attachment_1955" align="aligncenter" width="223" caption="Our program with more flowers and greenery, my grandmother's Irish linen handkerchief which had been wrapped around my bouquet, a cookie cutter favor (in the shape of a snowflake for obvious reasons) and an extra boutonniere. This one lent itself to a few more things!"][/caption]

Ok I admit, these photos don't really do the shadowboxes justice.  But check this out:

Me: hey hon, what do you think of these here in the bedroom?

J: What?!  Why don't you put them where people can see them?

Me:  Do you think people want to look at our wedding stuff, really?

J:  Are you kidding they are sweet.  You seriously should put them downstairs!

Me:  *speechless*

Yeah, that is right, my super manly man husband just insisted I put the shadowboxes out.  That means they must be good.  Oh and by the way, I got the frames at the Christmas Tree Shop for $5.99.  You can find bigger versions, or versions with different colored frames, at Pottery Barn and Michael's but they won't be $5.99.  Just another reason I'm proud of these little guys!

Furthermore, these were really, ridiculously easy to make.  The boxes come with push pins and have soft backing, so it is easy to pin the objects into the box for display.  You don't even have to get out your hot glue gun!

[caption id="attachment_1956" align="aligncenter" width="300" caption="The shadowboxes make their public debut!"][/caption]

What ideas do you have for preserving wedding mementos?