,l; Message in a Bottle Destination Beach Wedding Invitation
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Message in a Bottle Destination Beach Wedding Invitation

by Barbara
(Peoria, AZ)

Message in a Bottle Invite

Message in a Bottle Invite

My fiance and I are getting married in Lake Tahoe, NV this upcoming August :D
For our invitations, we wanted something that would really WOW everyone and also get them in the mood for a fun destination beach wedding. So fun!

I know what I have written below looks like a lot, but these invites are really simple and FUN to make! I just want to be as detailed as possible so you can recreate this look if you want. HAVE FUN!





WHAT YOU NEED FOR THE BOTTLES:

- 6 1/2 INCH TALL GLASS BOTTLES
I wasn’t able to find this size bottle at any of the craft stores in my area. Or boxes. I did however find bottles AND boxes from http://www.sandartsupplies.com/ for a reasonable price + S&H.

- BEACH DECOR SAND
Brand: I used ACTIVA PRODUCTS INC. – sold at Michaels

- MINI SEA SHELLS
I found these at Michaels right next to the sand.

- METAL CHARMS
Brand: BLUE MOON BEADS: “Tokens” and “Lost & Found” designs– sold at Michaels. Each of these packs come with 6 designs.

- GLASS BEADS
Brand: JEWELRY ESSENTIALS - the pack came in white, light blue, and medium/dark blue shades. Item# JC11277-13

- HEMP CORD(or raffia or some other type of string)
Brand: JEWELRY ESSENTIALS: NATURALS 10 lb hemp cord – sold at Michaels

- GORILLA GLUE or super glue
- SMALL PAINT BRUSH to brush the glue on

Blue Moon Charm Lost & Found Metal Ocean Assorted Antique Silver 6pc


Blue Moon Charm Tokens Metal Sealife Silver 6pc



HOW TO MAKE THE BOTTLES

- Fill each bottle with 3/4 inch to 1 inch of sand.

- Drop in a variety of seashells – however many you need to make it look nice. I filled each bottle with 1 to 2 “big” shells (whatever would fit in the small bottle opening) and then filled it up with smaller shells – different styles, colors, etc to give it variety!

- Wrap the hemp cord around the neck of the bottle, weaving the ends of the hemp cord through the charm and back again as many times as the charm loop allows. Tie a knot (under the charm). Two hemp cords will now dangle under the charm. String the glass beads onto the hemp cord and when you have as many as you want, tie two knots to secure the beads from falling off. Do the same for the second piece of hemp cord.

- On the backside of the bottle from where the charm is, you will want to secure the hemp cord to the bottle – otherwise it will slide off as the neck bottle tapers. I used Gorilla Glue since that is all I had laying around the house and it worked great. I used a small paint brush (it will get ruined so use a cheap one) to lightly brush glue onto the glass/hemp. I left it to dry overnight.

- The bottles are done! Now time to add your invites!!!


WHAT YOU NEED FOR THE INVITATIONS


- Parchment paper if available. I used some premium quality paper I had laying around that I was using for resumes earlier in the year and it turned out great!

- I designed the invitation to be approx 4 inches wide and 5 1/2 inches long.

- I found a cool image on the internet of Sand Harbor (Lake Tahoe Beach Park) and used that for the background of our invitation.

- I opened up with a cute beach theme poem/saying:

A perfect shell is a gift from the sea
As beautiful and unique
As our love will be

and filled in all the other important information an invitation should have.
As of yet, we haven’t found a reception site, otherwise I would have included a really cool map to the site. I definitely recommend making a “treasure” map. I was in a rush to get the invitations out so I had to do without it.

- After printing out the invites, tear the paper along the border to give it a worn/weathered look. You can brown the edges too if you’d like.

- Roll up the paper into a small scroll and secure with the hemp cord. Make sure to leave about 5 1/2 inches to 6 inches of the cord to hang outside of the cork a little bit. You want your guests to be able to pull the invite out of the bottle.

- Drop the scroll into the bottle and secure with the cork.



SHIPPING NOTE

- The really cool thing about the boxes we ordered along with the glass bottles is that the boxes were MADE FOR the bottles. Your message-in-a-bottle will fit snuggly in the box. I used two shades of blue tissue paper inside the box to represent water. If you’re concerned about breakage, you could always use bubble-wrap or Styrofoam.


Comments for
Message in a Bottle Destination Beach Wedding Invitation

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Mar 02, 2010
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So Creative.
by: Beth

I made these as well and have received nothing but compliments on them. My only suggestion is to make sure that you attach the cord to the cork somehow (I used glue) because I received some feedback that people were spilling the sand all over. They didn't realize that they could just pull on the cord to get the invite out. I dont know if it was just my invites or not, but thought I would save someone else that experience.

Nov 24, 2009
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Awsome!
by: Angie

I love this! I've been looking around at message in a bottle invitations for a long time, but they're all much smaller and I wanted a larger invitation. I just have two questions, how many did you make and how much did it coast to ship one box? I can only personally hand about half of my invites out, the rest I have to ship. So shipping can add up.

Aug 24, 2009
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Additional Information
by: Anonymous

So I made these yesterday and they came out great! Only a few things just FYI-- make sure when you buy the gorilla glue that you get the CLEAR bottle. I accidentally got the "dries white 2-times faster!" bottle like an idiot so I had these white globs that I had to go back and razor-off. Also, make sure to practice several times how you would like to tie the knot. I used these charms also (which were beautiful) but some of the holes, especially on the "lost & found" set, are too small to go through more than once. I found some additional starfish charms by the same "lost & found" group that had great big holes and found that these worked the best. Be sure to give yourself some extra room for the beading as well, as fraying hemp can be somewhat frustrating. I ended up dipping a small part of the end in candle wax and cutting it at a 45-degree angle to get the beads on better and it was such a time-saver. I originally bought the sand at Michaels for $1.99 (it comes in a 1-lb bag) but actually found cheaper bottles at WalMart for $1.79 and they were 1 3/4 lb bottles. Either way be sure to get a small funnel as fine-grain sand is somewhat testy to sweep out of tile grout. Shells are also somewhat expensive at my Michaels, so what I ended up doing was purchasing shell party necklaces (in the same area of the store) and cutting them appart. I got more shells for less money. Anyway, thanks so much again for posting this-- I absolutely love my invitations.

Aug 16, 2009
Rating
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Absolutely Perfect
by: Mandy Beccard

I've been looking at hundreds of invites today, and after about 5 seconds of seeing this I decided this was the one for me. I'm getting married in Jamaica and I absolutely LOVE your idea!! Thank you for being so detailed-- I would never have found those bottles without your link. I budgeted about $350 for my invitations and I'm getting them all done for less than $100! Thank you again!

Jun 01, 2009
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WOW
by: Karen

WOW!! I can't believe you made these yourself, so professional looking and fun! Incredible attention to detail, and creativity. Can't wait for the wedding,these invitations really make me want to go to the beach.

Jun 01, 2009
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Very creative!
by: Anonymous

This is such a great idea for a wedding invitation! So unique and it makes a great keepsake! I can't wait for the wedding! :)
-Scott

Jun 01, 2009
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Striking and Inviting!
by: Anonymous

The message in a bottle invitation is immediately eye-catching and unique. The design is superior to any invitation I've ever seen and the very nature of the packaging makes the receiver eager to open it!

May 29, 2009
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Very Cool!!!
by: Robert

This is such a special occasion and it deserved a special invitation. I think you did a great job! An original idea that made me feel very lucky to be invited.

May 20, 2009
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Very beautiful and fun idea!
by: Anonymous

Way to go, Your invitations are absolutely adorable. I had no idea you created them yourself. I love them! Your invites are so great I can't wait to see what the wedding involves;) Best wishes and good luck with your remaining planning.

Heidi

May 20, 2009
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Awesome!
by: Rob

As a guy, I'm not normally impressed by invitations, but this was just flat out awesome. Love it!

May 20, 2009
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So Unique and Beautiful!
by: Val

Oh my gosh! This Message in a Bottle invite was so inspiring and just the cutest thing ever! I've never been so excited to receive a wedding invitation. It made me want to run out and make my own! Definitely the best I've ever seen :)

May 18, 2009
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Super cute invitations
by: Kimberly

Most wedding invites I have received are the standard plain paper or picture invitations that won't ever leave a lasting impression. The message in a bottle invitation is so unique and cute that it's an invitation you will not only remember, but one that you can display next to the wedding pictures (pending) or as flair to any of your own beach pictures or decor. It is a thoughtful and well put together idea that isn't too expensive to re-create and one that will have your wedding guests talking about it the day of the wedding! Great job Barbara!

May 17, 2009
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OMG this is the COOLEST invite EVER!!!
by: Susan

I love the attention to detail with all the shells, sand, and beads. The paper is so elegant and perfect for the Lake Tahoe setting of the wedding. I want to see more of your creations!!

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