Knitting & Nuptuals

I have a confession to make. Ok, apart from sneaking scoops of Nutella when no one is looking. I have been planning my wedding from the time I was about 8. 

The madness started when I received the "My Perfect Wedding" board game (I kid you not - it existed and it was fantastic). The object of the game was to successfully book your band, flowers, dress, etc with enough money left over to walk down the aisle and get married. The game pieces include plastic engagement rings in four different colors and the grand prize of a yellow plastic wedding band. I think people got sick of me playing it so much, so I played with my dad a lot (insert Father of the Century award here).

By the time I was a tween, my best friend and I would go over what dress we wanted to walk down the aisle in, color of flowers and bridesmaid dresses, and who our celebrity groom would be (I'd like you all to know that I called dibs on Jonathan Taylor Thomas, my friend chose Andrew Keegan and we were both lived happily ever after in our imaginary marriages).

As time went on, I luckily found myself helping those around me as they planned and executed the most important day of their lives. Two of my closest friends got married over the past year, a few more are about to - and now, as I see myself close to accepting a proposal from my boyfriend of a year, I am increasingly looking at the smaller details of wedding planning. Specifically, I'm looking at how my knitting skills/obsession can be intertwined in all of this.

I'm not a huge fan of the "garter" tradition myself - but a hand knit garter is a great way for someone to contribute to a wedding. The stitches are usually quite fine, as is the quality of the yarn used. Hand knit garters take a lot of time and care to create, and therefore can be a great option for a mother-in-law, grandmother, godmother, aunt, or friend to give to a bride-to-be.

Another hand knit item could be either bomboniere (thank-you gifts) for attendees or for a bridal shower. Hand knit doilies, wash cloths, tea cozies, coffee cozies, etc etc. These can be of course be part of a theme (i.e tea-party themed bridal shower, wash cloth for spa themed shower and so on) or just be something special you decided to knit up as a thank you for your guests. If you chose to have a bridal party, you can make knitting nights with them and everyone can have a hand at creating something as well.

There are many benefits to knitting thank-you favors. First, it can be very budget friendly (depending on the yarn used). Cotton washcloths are usually knit up using about $2 worth of cotton yarn each. Second, it can be an effective way to de-stash and use up your free time while still enjoying knitting.

The downsides, however is mainly that some guests may not appreciate the time, talent and effort of a hand-knit item. Depending on the size of the wedding and the number of attendees, knitting up dozens - or hundreds - of favors may be more effort than it is worth. 

All in all, I think I will try to incorporate some of my knitting passion into my future wedding. After all, apart from a wedding being a celebration of two people's love for each other, I think it's important for it to be personal and display personality and taste.

Until next time,

Little Miss Cowl Co.