DIY: Wire Hangers

I made these hangers back in February, but was keeping them a surprise from MOH E and BM A, as a small little gift to go along with their dresses, which were also gifted to them.

I had been seeing these hangers for years, all over wedding blog world, and knew that when I was going to get married, that I would want them.

After seeing how much they were going for on Etsy, and other craft sites, I knew that I could make them just as well, and for much, much cheaper.

I took a trip over to Michael's and bought some 12-gauge wire, and then over to Target for some sturdy wood hangers.  I also used a pair of wire cutters and needle-nose pliers to help move the wire in the position that I wanted.  You will also need a drill, and some krazy-glue to attach the wire to the hangers.

I'm going to apologize now and let you know that the only pictures that I have are of the final products, as I was sitting in front of the TV watching shows with the family while I was making these.  Also, it's really hard to take pictures while you're drilling, so I also don't have any pictures of that process.  FAIL!

Starting at the end of a roll of wire, I left about ten inches of empty space, and then started to form the first letter of the name that I wanted to write.

The first name that I did was MOH E - Emily.  I decided that I wasn't going to worry about capital letters, and that everything would be done in lower case.  Because the wire was pliable enough to just use my fingers for most of the letters, I only used the needle-nose pliers to help make the "creases," like the 180 degree turns in the letter "m."  Also for the this name, I decided to loop the ends of the wire around part of the first and last letters in "Emily" to help it keeps it's shape.  Once the name was formed, I straightened it out gently, and then cut the wire ten inches from the last letter, just to make sure that I had enough extra to attach it to the hanger.

The next name I did was BM A - Alicia.  There wasn't much that I did differently between this name and the other name.  But, I will tell you that after having made only one, this one was so much easier to do.

After both MOH E and BM A's hangers were done, I started up on mine.  Because I wanted mine to say "Mrs. NewLastName," I actually traced the wooden hanger onto a piece of paper and then wrote out the letters just to make sure that they would all fit size wise.  Then, I got to work on forming the letters, adding a few more twists and loops in to make it look pretty.

Once I was finished, I took out the drill, and drilled holes in the bottom of the hangers where I wanted the wire to attach.  Make sure you test the drill bit to make sure that it's not too thin or too thick - you want the wire to fit in the hole snugly, but not too tightly that you end up bending the wire when inserting it in the hole.  Also, you should use a piece of tape around your drill bit to help guide you into the hanger without risking drilling through the top.  This will also help you determine the depth when it comes time to cut your wire to fit in the hole.

I placed each wire name in the center of the hanger, and bent where the wire met the hole that I had drilled.  Make sure that if you are using hangers that have hooks that don't turn, that they are all going in the same direction.  I compared the length of the bit up to the tape marking, and the excess wire, and then snipped where the lengths matched.  I slipped each end of the wire into the hole, and made sure it looked right, then removed the wire, added some krazy-glue into the holes, and slipped the wire back into the hanger.  I held the wire in the hole until it stopped moving when it was lightly twisted and pulled, just to make sure that it dried in the right position.

Here are the finished products!!

MOH E - Emily / Personal Picture * I fixed the "m" after this picture was taken - it doesn't look so wonky anymore ;)

BM A - Alicia / Personal Picture

My Hanger - Mrs. Z / Personal Picture * Edited for Privacy

So, what do you think?  I'm actually pretty proud of them! Did you DIY your own wire hangers for yourself and your girls?  Can you believe the cost of these on craft sites?! CRAZY!

Pickin' the Ladies

Picking my MOH was easy.  I have a younger sister, and while we really didn't get along very well in middle school and high school, as soon as I left for college, our relationship turn a great turn, and we had a blast when she would come up to visit and when I would visit home for breaks.  I know that all siblings have rocky roads, and believe me, we've had ours, but there was no way I could ask anyone else to be my MOH.  So, I would like to introduce you to my sister, MOH E:

MOH E / Personal Picture

Now, as I mentioned previously, I don't have a lot of friends.  The group of friends I had from high school all lost touch after graduation when we went our separate ways, and while we chat now and then on Facebook, we don't hang out, and we just don't communicate that often. I think that happens a lot, or at least I make myself think that happens a lot, and that I'm just not a friendless loser.

The girls I was closest to in college were great until my junior year, when my class schedule was so overwhelming that I would rather spend my little amount of spare time with FI than them. They started really disliking that, and ignoring me, and that friendship quickly went down the drain after they asked me to be their roommate the next school year and I told them that FI and I were moving in together.  When this happened, I started reaching out to other friends that I didn't live with and saw on a semi-daily basis - those in my music program.  They were great, but again, we weren't that close.

So, needless to say, the only really close friends I have are the ones that I have made after college, which happen to be mutual friends me and FI.  After FI and I moved out to Indiana, one of my music friends from college got engaged, and asked me to be in her bridal party. I of course said yes, and that made me think about all the times we spent together in college.  I was there for her when she was having problems with her roommates, and she was there when I was having problems with mine. We really bonded over that, but at that point, it was really close to the end of our college years, and we didn't have much time left before we went our separate ways. But, the thing that I didn't mention, was that she was the one who introduced FI and I on that trip to New York in college.  If she hadn't been there and been my friend, I would have never met FI.

I decided that if there was anyone that I was going to ask to be a BM in our wedding, it was going to be her. And so I asked, and she was so happy.  Without further ado, here is BM A:

BM A / Personal Picture

 Did you struggle with choosing your bridal party, or did you know right away who you wanted by your side?

Pickin' the Men

FI has a great group of friends that he has been close with since high school.  They all went to different schools throughout the country, but stayed in touch during breaks, summers, and even during the school year, participating in many fantasy sports leagues.  Some even flew or drove to each other's colleges to see each other and hang out for the weekend.  They have been great for me to get to know, and they've even let me in on some of the fantasy sports leagues.  I know - that's big!

After being in BM A's (you'll meet her later) wedding just after our engagement, FI and I decided that we wanted a small bridal party.  BM A and her husband had nine people per side in the bridal party, and her first advice to me after I got engaged was to have a small bridal party. She said the more girls you have, the more drama, and more complex everything gets.  My number one reason for having a small bridal party was that I don't have very many friends.

So, since we decided to have a small bridal party, choosing the guys was difficult for FI in terms of his friends.  FI has a lot of very important people in his life, and while it is traditional for the groom to choose his friends as part of the bridal party, FI went the other route.  FI chose his dad to be his Best Man, and his Cousin to be his GM.

While I love all of FI's friends, and I know that he does too, I think that this is the perfect fit, and while it's not expected, it really is true.  FFIL really is the man that FI goes to the most, and he really looks up to his dad.

So, please meet FFIL & GM Cousin!

FFIL/Best Man / Personal Picture

GM Cousin / Personal Picture