My best childhood friend got engaged! Super exciting news, right?!
After recently losing two very close family members, this is the happiest possible news that any of us could’ve wished for her. Plus, who doesn’t like a good love story? Sail away on an amazing vacation cruise and gaze out at the beauty of the stars only to catch, out of the corner of your eye, the glimpse of another sparkly, shining bit of perfection and the love of your life down on one knee… it’s almost as if it was a story pulled from a romance novel. But no, this is her life; her very real life, her amazingly smart and lucky man, and her own incredible story.
Now, of course, I’m not at mercy to spill her full life story for the masses but one thing I can say is how truly happy I am for her, for him, and for their impending nuptials. That being said, I cannot help but set my mind into all things wedding related. Oh how I despise you yet love you, oh dear Pinterest. Yes, you all know exactly what kind of love-hate relationship I’m talking about here.
That inevitable excitement to find and pin spectacular ideas, crafts, recipes, designs, and more only to realize that you’ve essentially wasted hours upon hours of your time. Yes, that. Add to that the excitement of a recent engagement (and our own new house) and you’ve got a recipe for disaster. As amazing as Pinterest is, this time around, it failed me. Oddly enough, that was a good thing. It got me racking my own mind and I ended up thinking of a pretty neat idea. Insert cliche light bulb nod here –>
Wanting to put together a classy little gift while still managing to keep it unique started off as a task much easier said than done. Of course, my little ones wanted in on the project, too, so keeping it kid friendly was making it a bit tricky. In the end, however, it was his proposal that rang the thinking bells – nautical themed! Of course, living by the shore for the majority of my life means that I have an infinite amount of beach themed crafts and goodies running through my mind at any given time. Once I decided on going that route, the rest was a breeze… or sea breeze!
This particular couple does a lot of travelling and I opted to tie that into the mix. Typically, when one goes on vacation, souvenirs are often brought home. Most of those, however, usually end up being goofy, odd items that get lost, misplaced, or tossed out over the course of time. I wanted to give them a way to hold on to these memories, those places, that adoration of travel, and this love for each other. Here are the basics:
- Two different sized glass vases
- Sand
- Various seashells
- Extra decorative items of your choice (I kept it simple with ribbon and an initial)
I started by putting the smaller vase inside the larger of the two and I partially filled them with sand from our local beach. After decorating it with various seashells, starfish, sand dollars and similar beach themed items, my work was done but theirs is just beginning.
The idea behind it goes a little something like this… The local sand represents the foundation of their relationship and symbolizes that their life together began right here. Now, when I gift it to the couple, he will add a handful of sand (that he secretly brought home from their proposal vacation) to the center vase to signify their engagement and location thereof. From that point on, they can continually add in handful by handful of sand from each new venture they journey on together. And, one day, they can look back on a life well lived and the memories they’ve collected with each and every grain of sand.
Who would’ve thought that a little bit of dirt could, symbolically, mean so much?
Congratulations Kelly & Mark!
Best wishes, always!
76 Responses
Such a sweet idea and a great way for them to continue to celebrate their journey together! Congrats to them!!
What a super sweet way to document their engagement and life together. I wish I had a handful of sand from the beach where my husband proposed to me. I would have loved to create something as beautiful and unique as this thoughtful gift to your friend. : -)
What a very sweet concept!
What a great way to commemorate that special honeymoon!
Lovely, and lovely idea. And did your kids help with it?
Congrats to the couple.Love this.
i have never seen a light bulb like that, so cute 🙂 So fun to celebrate.
The vase gift not only looks fabulous but the symbolic nature of the sand that is in there now and will be placed in there as the years go by is just beautiful.
That’s very touching. You are a good friend and a great gift giver. You did a such a nice and special job. A beach theme is fun for home decor, too, my parents had collected lobster traps, sea lanterns, and it made cool decor!
That’s a great idea for weddings, and for memorable vacations or commemorable occasions. The ribbon and Initialled tag add a classy touch.
That is such a wonderful story! Best wishes to your friend
That is such a unique way to remember your special time together while on your honeymoon! So special!
That’s so lovely, what a wonderful gift to give. We spent 3 years in Hawaii and now live in Florida, I’m a sucker for nautical theme decor as well!
You are really creative. I do not think that I would have been able to come up with such a inspirational gift as this. It is pretty,and I would love to receive this gift from you if I was getting married. You did a great job, and I am sure they will love your gift! Congrats to the Bride and Groom.
Living in Florida for a few years I used to have alot of beach themed decor.I really love that lightbulb!
what a great idea! i think it is very romantic to put the sand in the vase. and congratulations to your friend, sounds like she deserves some happiness in her life!
Nice! And look at that cruise… makes me want to jump on and get away from this miserable weather.
What a great thoughtful friend you are. Crafty too! This will make such a fantastic gift. So thoughtful and special. Sounds to me like she has everything a girl could want. The love of her life and a great best friend.
Best of luck to the happy couple! What a sweet, sentimental and symbolic gift to give and get! I just love it! Thanks for the idea.
I wish Pinterest was around when I was planning our wedding. We did not have much money since we were so young and just starting out and ideas like these would have def helped out. Congrats to the happy couple and may they have MANY MANY happy years together.
those are really nice,that ring is beautiful,love all the photos
I love the lightbulb!
I think this is a wonderful sweet idea to do this. Reminders of the time spent together and the pretty things that touches their heart string when ever they look at it. Hope they have a happy and long life together.
This is so sweet! Congrats to your childhood friend.I think your vase was a wonderful idea.
the shells between the vases is a really good idea!
What a pretty and thoughtful gift. I love it.
This is such a neat idea and I like the story behind it and The candle and the sand being the grains of their life together and that they can add sand from special places in their marriage, I like you idea and I also wish Kelly and Mark best wishes.
I live at the beach! This reminds me of that. THank you for sharing!
That’s a great idea and it turned out really nice. I wish I had thought of doing something similar.
Very unusual pieces and it would reemind me of summer- which is nice when its snowing 🙂
very sweet idea, congrats to the couple
That is so creative.
this is so cool!
This has got to be one of the sweetest and most thoughtful things ever! I love the symbolism and how meaningful it is! Thanks so much for sharing!
hahaha Okay the kid siting next me said ooooooooooooooo coool light bulb! I want that! Doesn’t every kid love Disney?
I love a thoughtful gift, very pretty!
Wow what a wonderful Idea. Congrats and love that ring
What a great thing this is….memories to last a lifetime.
those are so pretty. they would be perfect for a wedding in my area..i live on cape cod surrounded by beaches.
Well, that’s touching!
what a beautiful idea and a keepsake to make and cherish for years. Congrats to Kelly and Mark!
What a beautiful idea any couple would love and chrish this for years to come 🙂
lobve the star fish jar
That looks like a sweet idea! Congrats to them and thanks for sharing
What a great gift! I love how you tied their cruise and their special time into the perfect gift. I think it will be cherished for ages. Congrats to your friend!
That is such a cute idea to remember an important time or just a fun trip! Love it!
Wow! That’s sweet! I love the jar!
This is so awesome, I love this idea and I’mm sure so many others wish they had done something like this as well. You are so darn clever, I am just amazed by this and think this is one gift they will cherish. You’re brilliant!
Congrats to the couple and kudos on your wonderfully creative vision to put this unique and specialized gift together which will continue to commemorate their life journey
I love it! My sister recently took her family to florida where they visited several different beaches and she brought home shells and sand to do something similar. Thanks for sharing your great idea!
Anything with a beach theme makes me smile. What nice memories for the happy couple,
I love this beach theme, so sweet. Congrats and best wishes to the couplw!
It will have more of a special meaning because of the love & thought that was put into it! Looks awesome!
That’s a nice idea, I know someone who did something similar
I love beach themed decor, and it makes a nice gift for any age, couple, single! You can’t go wrong, if you are in doubt.
nice prize package
want to win
Nice idea, you got me though….as I was reading I was just sure there was going to be a candle somewhere in that center glass vase with maybe something like lighting it on special occasions to let the light and the love shine through.
What a great idea! My husband and I travel a lot and even though we have been married for ten years, this seems like something we could start for future trips.
This is such a adorable idea and a super cute idea thanks for sharing this one and happy holidays.
Congrats to your friends, I got married 5 years ago and I wished I had pinterest then. These vases are beautiful too.
I personally don’t care for beach themes but I love your ideas. 🙂
I love this such a great idea
This vase is beautiful. I wish I could find things like this at the store.
What a gorgeous present to give to the new couple. A vase inside another vase is so pretty and I like all of the items in the Vase. You did a good job, and this is a wonderful gift to give.
This is a nice and personal kind of gift to keep the wonderful memories of a special time just buy looking at the decorated vase as a remembrance. Alot of time music or things bring back memories to our minds
Love the gift you made for them! Sounds like such a personalized gift! Sorry about losing someone.
What a great idea and makes the perfect gift.
congrats to the happy couple.and you came up with a neat idea so the can remember in the years to come
I’m not super big on the beach theme, but because it holds such beautiful memories, I think it is wonderful for them to have that reminder all the time of their love!
The heart is too cute!
Congratulations to the couple!I love the vase!
Very nice! I used to do this when I lived by the sea.
Super cute ideas, plus I’d use these for my own house as well as gifts!
Oh, you are such a romantic! What a sweet idea. I’m sure the lucky couple will love it–and you, for the thought and caring you put into it.
I love this idea!