Two of your good friends are getting married, or maybe your friends who are married have decided to renew their vows. For significant events like these, of course you’ll want to do something extra special for them, but what? Well I have an idea for a handmade journal that will be the perfect gift for an engagement, bridal shower or even a vow renewal or anniversary for a couple that is dear to you, and it’s a gift that they will treasure forever.
Make the happy couple a Love Notes Journal. This handmade book will be all about them, individually and as a couple – past, present and future. It’ll be a place for them to record their hopes and dreams, and it will become something they can turn back to down the road, to help them remember their commitments to one another and what is important to them both (even after the honeymoon period has ended).
A FEW JOURNAL DESIGN NOTES
The journal is double sided, one side is for the groom-to-be, and one side is for the bride-to-be. Because it’s two books in one, you can customize it to fit the personality and the interests of both your friends, even if they are complete opposites (yes, many times opposites do attract)!
THE COVERS
The covers I created followed a love theme down to the matching string art hearts and XOX binding pattern. On the “hers” side of my journal, I used white thread and a wrap-around string art technique. Flip the journal over and you’ll see the “his” side that I created with blue eyelets, black thread and a post-wrapped string art technique.
THE CONTENT
While I am happy with the way the covers turned out, the inside is where the real magic happens! There are 5 signatures and 3 different types of sections in this book. Each has a very specific purpose.
SECTION 1 (The “Before” Sections)
The top section on the “hers” side will be devoted to the bride-to-be’s past. This is where you, the journal-creator, can include photos and 2D ephemera (for example, concert ticket stubs, hand written notes, childhood images, etc.) from the “before they married” period of their lives. Flip the journal over and fill the top section on the “his” side in a similar way, except this time the content should be focused on the groom-to-be.
A few ideas for customized Section 1 content:
- Add childhood “before” photos of the bride and groom.
- Add photos of the happy memories they shared- vacations, celebrations- things like that.
- Add a page or pages for notes and well wishes from their closest friends- you can even have their friends provide a selfie photo to go with their message.
SECTION 2 (The Love Notes Sections)
The 2nd section on each side will be the “love notes” sections. This is at the heart of the journal (pun intended)! In these pages, the bride and groom-to-be will write their innermost thoughts and dreams for one another. The couple should pick a future date to share these thoughts with one another, and keep these pages private until then. The selected date might be the night before the wedding, sometime during the honeymoon, or even as far out as their 1-year anniversary.
If you think it sounds like it might be a little intimidating for couples who aren’t natural writers or romantics, think again! This section will include prompts to get the happy couple’s creative juices flowing. On the first page of this section, write the words “Dear <enter bride’s name on his side, enter groom’s name on her side>, ” . Then, on each double page spread in this section, add each handwritten prompt at the top as shown below. I added a Washi tape border to prevent my pen from bleeding through to the other side.
Some possible Love Note prompt ideas:
- Quirky Little Habits of Yours That I Adore:
- The thing about you that drives me wild is…
- One of my funniest memories of you is…
- When I look ahead 5 (or 10, 15, 20) years, this is how I picture our lives together…
- 3 Promises to You that I Will NEVER Break:
- The song that reminds me of you is…
- The Story of Our First Kiss:
- The Top 5 Things I Love About You:
- An Acrostic Poem for <insert groom/bride’s name here>
- One thing you don’t yet know about me is…
- I believe your greatest strength is…
And, if you think it will be IMPOSSIBLE for either the bride or groom to keep themselves from peeking before the agreed upon date, you’ll want to include a privacy feature to guarantee the contents remain secret. In my journal I included a fold-over section divider can be sealed with a personalized thread or ribbon, sticker seals, or even a custom wax seal. Just include the seal of choice as part of your gift along with a short note offering journal completion instructions and you’re good to go.
Some Sealing Options:
To include a privacy feature, you will need to provide something that can be used to seal the Love Notes section. The image above shows a fold-over section with holes for a snip-away cord or ribbon tie. You can also omit the holes and use either stickers or, if you want to get fancy, a wax seal with personalized stamps for the bride and groom. Whichever option you choose, remember that your friends may need to seal and re-open their own sections multiple times before they are done, so be sure to provide enough of your chosen seal material to allow for this.
Custom Cord or Ribbon Ties
My example is secured with a simple black string, but I recommend you get a bit more creative on this. You might weave together strands of colored thread or embroidery floss to form a cord that is long enough to feed through the holes and tie to seal. Provide a different color pattern for the bride and for the groom (and be sure to provide multiples of each). Or you can provide 2 rolls of narrow ribbon; One roll for him and a different one for her.
A wax seal, with individualized his and hers stamps (their initials perhaps?) will make this gift even more amazing. Each will need to remove their previously applied wax seal each time they update their respective sections, but if they keep their seal and wax in a safe place, they will be sure the contents have remained secure.
These are inexpensive and easy to find. Provide two different styles, one for her and one for him. They will need to peel away or cut the stickers each time they update their respective sections. Remind them to keep their own stickers in a safe place and keep their loved one honest!
SECTION 3 (The Center Section: Goals & Dreams)
In this section, you’ll provide prompts on some of the goals and dreams the couple shares. One page should be titled “Our Bucket List.” On this page, the couple can brainstorm and jot down all the things they hope to do together in their lifetimes. At the top of the rest of the pages, write “By our __ anniversary, we hope to have…” (fill in the blank with 1st, 5th, 10th, 25th, etc.) then in the body on each of these pages, include a few category prompts.
A few category ideas:
- Dream vacation (i.e. spend a week in Italy)
- Bucket list item (i.e. hike 25 miles of Appalachian Trail)
- Career goal (i.e. be promoted to team lead, start our online business)
- Personal goal (i.e. run a 5K, become pregnant, buy a home)
JOURNAL CUSTOMIZATION
The real beauty of a handmade book is that you can customize it down to the very last detail. Think about your friends- if one prefers to communicate with drawings or painting, you may want to incorporate drawing paper or watercolor paper in his or her love notes section. If one is an avid bird photographer, you might want to choose a bird for the cover design. You should also customize the prompts. If you know the groom writes poetry, prompt him to compose a poem for the bride. If the bride loves music, you might have her write down the lyrics to a song that makes her think about her guy. You get the idea!
I hope this inspires you to get creative with your gifts- or possibly even to make one of these for yourself and your significant other. It’s never too late in a relationship to be romantic (or even a little sappy)!
To learn how to make the project featured in this article along with 5 other handmade journals, sign up for my mailing list and I’ll email you to let you know when my upcoming online course, Artful Journal-Making, is released.
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