Custom temporary wedding tattoos

One favor idea that's totally punk rock or heavy metal is customized wedding temporary tattoos.

Yeah, you know the ones you used to get in the chewing gum wrappers? Just like them. How cool is THAT? Totally memorable, totally rad, and totally cost effective.

Most stockists offer a range of stock tattoos which you can customize with your own colours and words. Or if your wedding uses a motif or you want to copy one of your own inked designs, you can ask for a total custom order. I've included some of the stockists below.

Stray Tats

You can upload your own design or select from their gallery. An impressive array of cool Halloween, fairy, pin-up, celtic and dragon designs. You can add writing on any tat and order in any quantity you like. Prices range from $2 per unit upward, with discounts for bulk orders.

Australian Temporary Tattoo Shop

For the Southern Hemisphere couples. In-stock and custom designs (min order 50 of in-stock designs and 1000 custom designs). Prices start at 70c per tattoo with discounts if you order over 100.

FNR Temporary Tattoos

Large US stockist of custom and temporary tattoos. Huge selection available with prices starting around 7c per tattoo. orders begin at 50 tattoos for in-stock designs, 1000 for custom designs (but they say this is negotaible). Options for glitter and glow-in-the-dark tattoos. made from FDA-approved inks and safe for children.

Temp Tats

Special Wedding Design service package - 500 2inch tats for $79 - this includes adding your own custom design or using any design from their extensive range, with your own custom colours, names and date. Lots of cool pictures so you can see how they look.

Punk Rock DIY Candy Buffet

Argh, well, I suck. Second day into Favour Feb and I'm already behind on the posts. I WAS halfway through this post yesterday, but a power cut that destroyed half of Auckland city (my half) and a disasters with the wonderfully delightful ARC bus service left me rather annoyed and powerless and short on blogging time. Rest assured I shall make it up to you all today, perhaps with a wonderful BONUS post later on. Yaaay!

I'm doing a feature on Alexzandra and Kevin's fab punk rock wedding later in the month (be prepared for quite possbily the COOLEST WEDDING CAKE EVER), but for now, a sneak peak at their oxblood red, zebra print and black decor and their awesome CANDY BUFFET.

One of the joys of a candy buffet is that you don't have to supply dessert, so although they're not necessarily cheap, they're probably cheaper than the $10 a head dessert menu from your caterer. They're also SO much fun and just about the coolest thing you can have at a wedding reception, EVER.

DIY Punk Rock Candy Buffet

You will need:

• Several bell jars, containers or bowls for the candy
• black, red and zebra print ribbon
• white cardstock
• contrasting cardstock - black, red or zebra print.
• pattern for chinese takeout boxes (either download and print a pattern online or buy a takeout box from a craft shop and flatten it out)
• bulk sweets
• plastic scoops
  

1. Well before the wedding, copy the pattern onto the white cardstock several times - one box for each guest. Cut these boxes out and glue them together.

2. On a computer, draw up some suitably punk rock nametags for your guests. Print these out and cut to a uniform size - say 2cm by 6cm.

3. From the zebra print paper, cut squares slightly larger than the nametags - say 4cm by 8cm. Glue the nametags to the centre of the zebra print paper.

4. Glue the tag onto the front of each takeout box.

5. Purchuse several bulk bags of candy - choose your favourite childhood sweets or the latest chocolately goodies. You could look for sweets that match your wedding colours or flavours that say something about you as a couple. If your buffet table will be outside in the sun, try to avoid chocolates as they will melt.

6. Source your jars and candy containers - for the punk rock look, scour second-hand shops for odd shaped jars, decanters and vases. Mix a few martini glasses in for effect.

7. Using the same method as the nametags above, make labels for your candy jars.

8. Take the ribbon, and wrap around the centre of each jar. Secure in place with double sided tape. Cover the join with the label and glue in place.

To Set Up the Candy Buffet

1. On the Eve of the wedding arrange your jars on the table in an aesthetically appealing pattern

2. Rearrange when fiance comes along and 'accidentally' messes up your design

3. Fill jars with candy in a punk rock fashion - think stripes and swirls, clashing colours and skulls and sparkles as accessories. Cover table with cloth, keep out of sun, and clamour in excitement for the following day.

Favour February: Weird n' Witchy Gothic/Pagan soap

Welcome to Favour February, where I shall herewith post many ideas for wedding favours for the dark at heart.

While most of my readers come from the US and the UK, where favours are standard wedding faire, I thought I'd enlighten some of you who live in other parts of the world as to what exactly a wedding favour is. This is probably not necessary as any wedding magazine contains ample information about these delightful things. Exhibit A:

This delightfully bland chinese takeout box would be filled with jordan almonds, candies or chocolates carved with the bride and groom's initials or some other such thing. The favors are then placed at each guests setting, often with a nametag attached at a jaunty angle. Alternatively, they're arranged on a platter in the centre of the table as a centrepiece. The guests can either eat their candies while they wait for the bride and groom to finish mucking about with the photographer, or they can take the box home as a way to forever remember the happy wedding day - or at least as long as the chocolates last.

So where did this alien tradition come from? Well, we have the Europeans to thank. When a European aristocrat threw any kind of party, whether it be a wedding, birthday party or fraternity kegger, they'd send each guest home with a bomboneire - small boxes made from porcelain, metal, crystal or precious stones filled with delicious candy. It's easy to see how this tradion evolved into the wedding industry ploy for moneys that we see today.

Oops. Did that sound snarky? Forgive me.

While I think wedding favours (especially the ones you'll see this month) look FABULOUS, they're a totally unnecessary wedding purchuse. AND they can be expensive. Say you're inviting a hundred guests - at $1 a favour, that's $100 - and that $1 won't buy you the cute little boxes, let alone the chocolates or jordan almonds to fill them. More than likely, you're looking at $3-$5 per person - around $300-500 on favours alone. Who needs that in this shady economic climate?

But my skully brides are a special breed - they have all sorts of wonderful, quirky ideas for personal favours that guests love and that don't cost the earth. And I know many of you feel pressured by parents, relatives or society in general (not that you should necessarily listen to them) to include favours. Thus, the idea of Favour February was born.

I've had tons of emails from businesses, artists and DIY brides sharing their ideas and enthusiasm for cute little skully favours. I love you all - thank you for your enthusiasm. I've still got some gaps in the programme, so if you're in the business of favours or you're a Skully bride with some rad ideas, shoot me any email at steff_green AT hotmail DOT com and I shall hook you up with a guest feature.

And don't forget, for more favour ideas for Halloween weddings, pick up your copy of the Halloween Wedding Planner!

Without further yammering, I present your first favour idea of the month - Gothic, Wiccan and Pagan soaps from Weird n' Witchy

A Suffolk-based soap company, Weird n' Witchy create handcrafted soaps from natural ingredients. blood-red roses, celtic knots, bats, skulls, pentegrams, coffins, baby dragons...you name it, they've created it. They also carry a selection of bath bombs and other bathroom delights - and they specialise in wedding favour packages. They can even customise their soaps to your wedding colours. How rad is that?

Queen of Sheba, £3.80, from Weird n' Witchy

Now these beauties don't come cheap - around £2-4 poind per soap, so they're better if you're buying favours for a small wedding. They do, however, carry several soaps for under £1 - some as low as 40p!

Coffin soap, £2.25 from Weird n' Witchy

Check out Weird n' Witchy's website. They accept all major credit cards and paypal, and ship internationally. And return tomorrow for another wonderful favour idea.

Want a BadAss, Punked up Wedding Ring?

Skull Mask Ring from BadAss Jewellery

Calvin Munroe at Badass Jewellery creates a bold, edgy collection, including skull, horseshoe and bomber cat rings. For the punk who has everything, he's even got a toaster ring! Badass excel at custom work, so send Calvin your ideas and let him work his punkass magick!

BadAss products are stocked in several stores across the US, but you can also order online from their BadAss Storefront. You can even check out the Badass Jewellery blog for updates and randomness.