This instructable is a gallery of wedding ideas. I will be sharing how to make a table setting with a tuxedo, shirt, wedding gown, place cards, flower arrangements, gift favors, and showing lots of pictures. I also have made a video on how to fold the tuxedo, the shirt, and the wedding gown. This instructable is Part 1 of a 2 Part instructable.

Step 1: PLEASE READ ALL THE DIRECTIONS BEFORE BUYING SUPPLIES

The groom napkins are 18 inches square and the bride is an 18 inch diameter.
1/2 yard of white Cotton or linen fabric for the shirt, I usually get extra fabric because too many times I bought exactly what I needed and made a cutting mistake and the store did not have the same fabric or shade of fabric.
1/2 yard of black cotton or linen fabric for the tuxedo,
A little more than 1/2 yard white cotton or linen fabric for the dress.
2 yards of lace,
(1) small paper Doily ( For the dress bodice ) , 2 if using paper for the dress. ( make sure that the dress doilies are 18 inches.)
Embellishment for the tuxedo pocket, 2-3 shirt buttons, flower for the wedding dress, felt for the bow-tie/ and a small button for the center of the bow-tie.
Matching thread,
Scissors,
Sewing machine,
Glue,
Iron,
Pins,
Seam ripper,
Ruler or measuring tape,
18 inch diameter pattern from cardboard ,
Marker to draw pattern,
Cardboard.

If you are making these for a large wedding I would rent the napkins for the tuxedo and make the dresses if you can't rent round napkins. It cost me about $ 1.50 each. You might get a better discount by ordering bulk. I sew a lot so I had a lot of things already and the cost is estimated.

We have a Hobby Lobby here and every other week you can just about count on a coupon with 40% off of any regular priced item and at our store they give the discount on fabric even if it is on sale but, they don't give it towards any other sale item. They figure 40% off regular price on fabric if it is on sale. You can save a lot by having friends and family save coupons and help you get the things you need. This coupon works great on the large items and fabric because it applies to 1 or 50 yards off the same bolt.

Step 2: PRE WASH, DRY, AND IRON FABRIC

For the best results it is important to wash, dry and iron all the fabric before cutting it. If using silk or speciality fabrics check the end of the fabric bolt to see the washing and ironing instructions. Doing this prevents most shrinkage and fabric mishaps.

Step 3: MORE DETAILED INFORMATION

I used 18 inch round napkins for wedding dress and 18 inch square for the shirt and the tuxedo but you can use 12-18 inch napkins depending on the finished size you want.
Fold a piece of paper to determine the desired size.
Decide which ones you want to make from paper if you want to inter- mix paper and cotton.
You can make all paper if you like.
If you make an all paper dress I would choose 2 different shades of white or prints so the lacy part will show up.
Adjust fabric cuts if you mix paper and cotton to determine how many you need from the fabric.
If using a paper napkin and a cloth napkin for the dress all you need to do is cut the paper napkin the same size as the cloth napkin and fold the cloth and paper napkins together like the picture.
If you are using these for card holders I would make them approx 12 inches.
If you are making the tuxedo to go with it make sure you get the same size napkins for both the dress and the tuxedo.

Step 4: CUTTING OUT THE SHIRT

Cut the cloth on the straight grain of the fabric.
Cut 2 18 inch white square shapes from the fabric to make the shirt.

Step 5: CUTTING OUT THE TUXEDO

1. Cut 2 18 inch black square shapes from the fabric to make the tuxedo. You will basically be making a lined napkin and later fold it into the shape of a tuxedo. You will embellish it to look like a tuxedo. Too bad real tuxedos can't be made like this.

Step 6: CUTTING OUT THE WEDDING DRESS

1. Make yourself a pattern out of cardboard measuring 18 inches in diameter.
2. Cut it out.

3. Mark your fabric using your pattern to cut 2 18 inch round shapes from fabric to make the dress.
4. You are going to be making a lined round cloth napkin and later fold it into the shape of a skirt.

Step 7: SEWING THE TUXEDO AND THE SHIRT

The sewing instructions for the tuxedo and the shirt are exactly the same except you are working with white fabric for the shirt and black fabric for the tuxedo. Simply make the shirt first following these instructions and then go back and repeat the same instructions for the tuxedo making it black.

1. Pin right sides together for the tuxedo and the shirt.
2. Mark center on one side.
3. Mark 3 inches to the right and 3 inches to the left to see your starting and stopping point for the opening.
4. See pictures.
5. When sewing keep the same distance all the way around to make a perfect square.
6. Sew all the way around the napkin beginning in the middle mark of the napkin. See pictures on how to pivot the corners to make a nice corner. Continue sewing around 3 sides. On the fourth side remember to stop at the stopping mark.
7. Trim threads.
8. Turn napkin as shown.
9. Using your scissors or a sharp point and stick it in the corners to square them up, making a nice point.
10. Press under the raw edges ( between layers) to match the sewn areas so you have a perfect square.
11. Press napkin.
12. Top stitch all the way around the napkin to make a nice finished edge hemming the raw edge.
13. Trim threads.
14. Press napkin.

Step 8: SEWING THE WEDDING DRESS

Lay one napkin with the right side facing you.
Pin lace around the outside edge with the ruffle facing the center of the napkin.
Lay the right side of the 2nd napkin over the top of the lace and the bottom napkin matching the circle as close as possible and pin it to all the layers.
Mark an opening about 6 inches to allow for turning.
Beginning with your mark sew around the napkin keeping the seams exactly the same and sew up to your 2nd mark.
Trim thread and slightly trim all the way around the seam to make the napkin lay nice and flat.
Turn the napkin right side out.
Using a cloth over the napkin iron the seam to prevent the lace from getting too hot. .
Turn the raw edges towards the center between the napkins.
Iron and pin into place.
Sew the outside edge all the way around to make a nice finished seam.
Trim the threads.
Press the dress using a cloth over the fabric to protect the lace.

Step 9: FOLDING THE TUXEDO

Folding the tuxedo is not that difficult, but it might take a few tries to get the look you want. You might want to iron as you fold. If you are using paper napkins just follow the instructions for folding the tuxedo, shirt, and dress. For the dress use a paper doily, round napkin, or cut out a paper circle. Here is the video link to view the folding process of the tuxedo, shirt, and the wedding dress. http://www.youtube.com/my_videos_annotate?v=Rz55MiijmaY

Lay the napkin flat in front of you.
Fold the top corner toward you to form a triangle.
Using your finger mark center and fold down the collar pressing it to crease.
Flip over.
Fold left and right corners towards you so that the ends meet in the middle forming the sleeves.
Flip.
Fold the bottom flap up to form the hem.
Flip.
Tuck the arms in to desired look.

Step 10: FOLDING THE SHIRT

Again it might take a few tries to get the desired shape.
Fold the shirt into thirds.
Turn the shirt where the open area is at the top away from you.
Take the corner and fold down about 1/2 inch and keep rolling until you are center for the center of the shirt as shown.
Flip.
Fold left side up about 2 1/2 inch as shown.
Flip.
Fold other end down about 2 1/2 inch to make collar.
Flip.
Fold the bottom of the shirt up about 5 1/2 inches.
Fold down collar tabs.
Before embellishing the shirt, place the shirt in the tuxedo.
Embellish.
To view the video on how to fold the napkins see step 9.

Step 11: FOLDING THE WEDDING DRESS

1. Fold the napkin almost in half leaving a small ruffled border.
2. Fold again as shown.
3. And again.
4. Fold the top point down towards the back to make a waist-line. You want it the size of your bodice front waist.
5. It might take you a few times to find the perfect fold. It does take practice.
7. Next lay the bodice where you want onto the waist and add your embellishments.
9. I made a video on how to fold the wedding dress, to view it see step 9.

Step 12: CUTTING OUT THE BODICE

For the bodice I cut out a paper heart several times until I had the desired shape when laid under the waist of the dress. Then I cut off the pointed end. I cut two pieces of white cardboard so the front and back of the bodice would be white and glued them together. I cut out the same shape from the lace doily and glued it to the cardboard bodice.

Step 13: CARING FOR YOUR WEDDING GOWN

There are articles on the net about caring for your wedding dress. If you do not store and wrap your gown correctly it will yellow. I believe I read never store in plastic. They also mentioned choosing the correct cleaners is very important. If a cleaners use chemicals it could destroy your priceless gown. The article was on EHow but I did not want to link because I was not sure I could here. I even read where it was best to clean it yourself. I wanted to add this information because I felt it was important. Please remember to search this out.

Step 14: DIY WEDDING

If you are wanting a beautiful wedding but choose to be frugal the best advice I can give is to avoid popular holidays and plan everything well in advance. Choose a time of year that fruits, native flowers and weather accommodates the occasion and your wedding theme.

Food, flowers, embellishments, and announcements can become very expensive. You can avoid a lot of these cost by being resourceful. An example is instead of mailing out invitations in envelopes, make post card invitations that are cheaper to mail.

Blogs are great fun to create and you can refer people to your blog with updates about the wedding. Sharing photos of you and the groom is an interactive way of including those who view your blog.

This is so much better in my opinion because people will have an opportunity to get to know you and the groom through your blog. One downside to this is some people do not use computers so you would have to accommodate them.

When choosing the menu go to your favorite grocer and ask to speak with the manager. Ask him/her if you order bulk could he give you a discount. Better than that if you have a local farmer order directly from him. If you choose the time of year that produce and flowers are in season you can save a lot.

Posting a scavenger hunt on your blog could be beneficial, for instance your colors are peach and green. There are friends and relatives that may have peach trees and they just go to waste because owners are old, or too busy to mess with them. Pecans are a good example here because people do not wish to shell them because it takes so much time.

My daughter lives in Georgia and she has a beautiful gardenia bush that is loaded with blooms every year. There are a lot of native plants growing everywhere that is available for occasions just for the picking and asking. Here are pictures of things that grow easily and are plentiful in the spring and summer that could garnish your happy occasion.

I went for a drive and gathered many of these for this instructable. Here is a picture of some of them. Careful selection of these need to be made because some plants would not smell very nicely on the formal dinner table. But there are a lot that will work.

The thrift stores and garage sales are a great place to start your search. Buy this years sales for next years wedding accessories.

Greeting cards are great to use for embellishments. Magazines with colorful pictures are good also. I have made mailing envelopes for letters and cards with magazine pages and was told by the post office that they all enjoyed my envelopes. Permanent markers work best for writing on them.
Local honey would be a great wedding favor by filling small jars and decorating them.

The arbor association sells tree seedlings in vials for their customers as well as seeds. This too would be a great thing to do. They are very reasonable. There are many seeds available if they grow in your area.
Wine bottles are beautiful vases and are usually free for the asking from a winery. They also have a lot of corks.
I hope my instructable has been useful. If you have not seen part two it might interest you to see several other types of projects there.
Thanks for visiting.
Sylvia