Message in a Bottle Invitations: Perfect for Your Beach Wedding
With help from Lauri Jean Crowe
if you haven't been living under a rock in a Shanghai alley, you've probably noticed that the craze for beach weddings shows no signs of flagging.
And if you're one of those brides who wants nothing more than a barefoot walk down a sandy aisle, we've got good news. It's simple for you to send out unique wedding invites guaranteed to pique your guests' curiosity and get them in the mood for a seaside affair.
To start with, you'll need to do a little shopping at the closest craft store. Add these items to your short list:
- parchment-style paper
- beach sand
- some seashell "confetti" (bags of small shells)
- modestly-sized bottles in the classic shape, in either glass or plastic, with matching corks.
- some gold or silver cord, or satin ribbon in one or more of your wedding colors.
Of course, you can get fancier than this and create a unique design that's totally yours, but these few items are great for your prototype run.
Starting from Scratch
Start with the parchment. This is what you'll use to print out your specifics: the who, what, when and where. Tip: before you get all fancy with your design, cut up a piece or two of plain old paper into different sizes, so you know exactly what dimensions roll up easily in your bottles.
Once designed and printed, you'll want make the parchment inserts simple for your guests to pull out (imagine a frustrated guest poised over your bottle with a hammer — not the effect you're going for). Step one is to attach some kind of pull mechanism to the center of your invite ... a cord or a ribbon, say. Glue it, or punch a hole and thread it through. Step two is to roll up your invitation and tie it tight, so it won't expand inside the bottle and become irretrievable.
Of course, you can also add your own custom touches. For example, you might include a map with torn, charred edges (like the pirate maps of old). Or instead of just tying your invites closed with a cord, you could use a satin ribbon and a wax seal.
Playing with Sand
Now that you have your parchment inserts all sorted, it's time for the fun part: the bottles. At its simplest, all you need to do is pour some sand into the bottom of your bottle (you don't need much ... an inch is plenty, although you can play with it. Just remember more sand = higher shipping costs). Now sprinkle in some seashells, and tuck in those invites. Seal everything in with a cork, but don't forget to leave the end of your pull cord or ribbon hanging over the outside.
This alone makes a beautiful invitation, but you can personalize it even more by making a custom label for your bottles ... perhaps including a photo of you and your sweetheart, for those far-away relatives who haven't seen you in a while. Or consider adding a pinch of essential oil or fragrance to your sand and shell inserts. Choose something bridal (freesia) or tropical (coconut). As long as it's not overwhelming, it could be powerfully evocative.
Getting Them Ship-Shape
Of course, you don't have to make your bottle invitations in order to enjoy them. There are plenty of companies who'll take care of the whole thing. Some even mail them out individually. But there's something about the personal touch that makes a recipient feel appreciated.
Just be sure you have a tough-enough container when mailing your invitations, especially for glass bottles. Use plenty of decorative packing material, and ideally, send a test box through the mail to yourself before you send out the flotilla to friends and relatives. This not only gives you confidence your bottle will survive, it also offers a great preview of your mailing costs.
Then, send out your custom creations to everyone, and prepare to receive those sincere oohs and ahhhs from all your delighted guests.
message in a bottle invitations, message in a bottle, wedding craft
hi i would like to order 3 dozen how much would they be and how long would it the shipping take?
Ladies these are all beautiful!!! I just bought some plastic bottles with corks, but i forgot BOXES!! Ahhhh!!!
Who knows a good website to snatch some up. The bottles are only 8in long. Thanks guys!!!
I have 58 boxes that are 10x2x2. How many do you need?
Hey I need 30 boxes, could you send me a picture of them? and how much are you looking to sell them for?? Also I am located in SA so do you know shipping costs??
I am very keen :)
Cheers Karoline
Hey I’m looking for some 7 oz message in a bottle about 200 bottle if someone is selling them please tell me! I need them for my invites thanks.
Hi there
I want to make bottle invitations for my wedding. Can anyone give me any tips on how to make them look good and how to attach bits and pieces to the bottle. I am going for a beach theme. Cheers
Hi Jen
I am really keen I need 30 boxes, how much are you looking to sell them for?? Do u think you could send me a picture?
Cheers
Karoline
I was wondering how much it is to ship the boxes? I’m trying to decide between plastic or glass bottles and I’m wondering what the price difference is on shipping them??
I read on a site which sells both glass and plastic bottles that the plastic ones average $1.34, and the glass $2.70. This depends on how much sand and everything you put in…a few sites said to put only about an inch of sand.
Does anyone have any glass bottles leftover they want to sell?? I found the cheapest 7″ glass bottles to be $1.25 each but it included the cork and the box :)
Most of mine average about $3. Some a bit less and others a bit more. Ohh I did glass bottles
I have some boxes for the message in a bottle invites from uline.com is anyone wants them. We can negotiate a good price. There are 58 total. They fit LandShark glass bottles perfectly with #9 corks. Please email me if you are interested.
Hey there, I’d love to purchase some of the boxes you have left over. I only need 12. How much would that cost? Thanks! Amber – Email me at Amburgerz12@aol.com
I am interested as well. I only need 10. (8x3x3). Email me pls. Mayraflores17@hotmail.com. Thanks
How many do you have left? We are using Landshark also! I’m not sure yet how many I need.
tmcin16@gmail.com
Hey! I really want to do this idea for my invites has anyone got any idea where i can buy plastic bottles for these invites??
Hope you can help :)
Hels,
* here
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Hels,
* one more site
I have boxes leftover for approximately 60 invitations. Let me know if anyone is interested! These invitations were amazing to make and everyone loved them so much!
Hi Jamie
I need some boxes… could you send me a few pics :)
Cheers
I also have boxes if you need some. They are white.
Hi Jen
Sorry it has taken so long for me to get back to you. How many boxes do you have? I need about 30. and what sized bottle do they fit? and also where are you located I live in South Australia, so I would need to know not only shipping cost but how much you want for 30 :)
Thanks heaps Karoline :)
I am interested I need 10 (8x3x3). Mayraflores17@hotmail.com. Thanks
Jamie could you send me some pictures of the boxes? Im very interested! Thanks
Do you still need boxes? I have 58 total.
hey what size are ur boxes?
Hi I love the message in a bottle idea, I just need to know where to buy the shipping boxes from ( I’m from Australia) I also wanted to know where to buy the scented oil from to soak the corks in :)
I would love some advice :)
Cheers
What did you ladies do for reply cards? Did you guys make yourself and send in the bottle with the stamped envelope for guest to send back or did you send separate? I have begun the process of making my invites but I am finding no one has said anything about reply cards. Thank you.
We didn’t do reply cards. We had a website, where all of our registry, wedding information, etc. were. We had a small insert that we rolled inside the invitation and that listed our website and where to reply online. I know that a lot of people aren’t as up to date with using the internet, but it’s convenient and it worked out well for us.
We did boarding pass reply cards, which we made ourselves.
Where did you guys buy the corks from? Where is the cheapest place to get the corks?
I still have the corks. They are size 5. The cheapest place to buy them from is indigo.com.
I have 60 glass bottles left over. They already have sand inside and shells. Also have beautiful ribbon already tied around the neck. (Can remove if youd like) There are two types of ribbon. One I would call sunset because it is orange and yellow – a gauze material. The other is more opague and teal. Bottles already have corks that have been soaked in sea breeze scented oil. I also have rolls of flower pressed paper. One is beige with brown and green flecks, the other is beige with green leaves pressed into the paper and the other is white with pearl colored flecks. All can be printed on. I used the white to print on and the beige as a background and attached the two. Please email me for more info and to make best offer. amilya213309@aol.com
I ordered from colored sand and spent under $130 for 75 invites for ererything. My question is for the labels on the boxes. What did you use or did you handwrite on the boxes
Tanya, is “colored sand” a website you ordered your invites from? If so whats the website? Thanks
Hi all! I just made my message in a bottle invites and am so happy with how they turned out! I used the Landshark bottles with the sailboats on them, soaked my #9 tapered corks in tropical pineapple B&B works oil, sand-beach shells-starfish, and presto! A cute invitation!
I have some supplies left over:
44 white 10x3x3 boxes
6 bottles (4 already have sand, shells, umbrellas, and corks) I do have 2 extra corks for the other 2 bottles
TONS of umbrellas
Small shells and larger shells
Starfish
Raffia
I will sell all of this for $20 + shipping. Send me an email at whitaloo@hotmail.com if you are interested.
sks bottles have the best price bottles and the quality is perfect i got the plastic ones as i shipped them with out the box (which they sell too) or in mail as is for i think it was like $1.55 each no box nothing and my guested loved walking to thier mailbox and recieving them as is.
Hi!
What bottles did you buy that you didnt have to use a box? How does that work??
Thanks!
Just wondering if anyone knows where to buy the white boxes? I have made the message in the bottle myself but haven’t been able to find any boxes. I need 40 if anyone can help?
I’m in Australia so if anyone know’s could you let me know how much as well, please????
Hi…I also need 30-35 bottles and any other material. Please email me with info sarai372@gmail.com Thanks
Hi i just bought 50 bottles with corks and boxs delivered to my home for £200.00 from a place called violate @ blue you will find them on rthe internet . hope this helps
Please tell me where to get the boxes unless someone has some they can sell at a good price
Hello,I have 38 or 40 corks, if anyone needs some. They fit bud light lime and brava bottles #7′s I had to buy them in bulk.
I still have 12 bottles 2
cups of sand/shells and 45 corks for $5
are your bottles glass or plastic?