Homemade Message-in-a-Bottle Invitations for a Beach-Themed Wedding

The timeless notion of finding a message in a bottle is not only romantic, but can be a wonderful, unique way to invite guests to your beach-themed wedding. Message-in-a-bottle invitations are easy to make and create a big impact on guests. Imagine their surprise when the invitation for your wedding shows up and it is a beautiful bottle with a parchment paper invitation inside! Although postage will be higher for this type of invitation than for traditional invitations, you can't beat the unique touch and whimsy that message in a bottle invitations can add to your wedding. Here are some instructions on how to put together these invitations for your own wedding.

To get started, you will need to head to your local craft store to pick up supplies. You will need small bottles with corks, sand, parchment paper or "old" looking paper, ribbon or cord either in gold, silver or in the colors of your wedding, and some small sea shells to sprinkle in the bottles. Or if you prefer instead of sand and shells you can use silk flowers, confetti or other small, decorative items to place inside your bottles with the invitation.

Once you have gathered together all of your materials you are ready to begin. The first thing you will need to do is to determine what size you need to cut the parchment paper to in order to have it fit inside the bottle. Experiment with different sizes to see what size will fit best in the bottle while still being easy for guests to remove. Once you have determined the ideal size, cut enough pieces of parchment paper to that size for all of your invitations. You can either print your invitations with a printer or hand write them using a calligraphy pen for an extra special touch.

Once you have printed or written your message on the invitations you will need to roll each of them up to put inside a bottle. Roll them tightly and then tie them securely with a piece of cord or ribbon. If the invitations are wide you may need to tie both ends with separate ribbons to keep them tightly wound. If they are narrow you can probably get by just using a single ribbon to secure them in the middle.

Next, put a small amount of sand inside each bottle and a few sea shells. Don't overdo it on the sand since the more sand you add the more expensive they will be to mail. If you are adding decorations besides sand and shells to your bottles add them instead and arrange them in an eye-pleasing manner that still allows space for your invitations. Once you have any extras added to the bottles, insert the invitations. Finally, seal each bottle with a cork. If you would like you can tie a pretty ribbon or cord around the neck of each bottle to give it a little extra flair, or you can just leave them plain for a simple, elegant look.

Although these message in a bottle invitations take a little time to put together they are quite simple to make and really make a big impact for a beach themed wedding. Use your own creativity to add whatever extra touches you would like to make them one of a kind and unique for your wedding.