Message in a Bottle Invitations: Perfect for Your Beach Wedding
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.
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.
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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.
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.
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Has anyone tried to mail the plastic bottles in the white boxes? I am wondering if the post offices uses their tape to tape it all up? Thanks!
Used the Wedding Invitation Message in a Bottle idea for “Save the Date” for my daughters Beach Wedding. Used Landshark Beer Bottles instead of purchasing bottles (a few friends that work in resturant/bars saved them for me). Labels came off very easy and bottles do not say Landshark on them, have a shark fin design around the top. Made labels with my daughter and her fiance’s engagement picture for the front of bottle. Purchased #9 corks online. Added sand collected from beach where wedding is to be held, tiny seashells and drink umbrellas. Used pineapple scented oil on cork. My daughter is hand delivering bottles to all possible instead of trying to mail. Everyone has really loved them. Appreciated all the ideas I got from this site.
Hi Donna,
I am making my own message in a bottle save the dates also. You inspired me with the Landshark beer bottles, I have a few people that work in restaurants that can get them for me. Can you give me the exact dimensions of the #9 corks? It seems like there are a few out there! Also, what was the size of the label you affixed on the bottle? Did you use your home printer? THanks a million!
Dee
We just sent out all of our invites for our destination wedding in Fiji next May. I have attached a picture for you to see. We also put a bit of tropical scented oil underneath the cork, so it would have an enticing scent to it.
We have received so much positive feedback from these. People LOVED them. It makes you feel proud of all the homemade work you put into each and every bottle….
Best wishes.
P.S.
I have extra supplies to sell if anyone is considering making these very special invites!!!
Hi,
What supplies do you have i am looking at making these invites and would be interested.
Thanks
Shalane,
I have glass bottles, corks, seashells, and even some scented oil left that you could choose from. I opted to go with the glass bottles, b/c I felt the plastic bottles looked cheap. I also have some bubble wrap left, along with the white boxes to ship them in.
I do not have any raffia left, which is what I used to tie the scroll and also stuff the box (on top of the bubble wrap). Please let me know if your interested. I think I have around 25 bottles and supplies to go with them; I will have to double check for you. Congratulations!
Hey I am interested in making these invites for my wedding coming up do you still have extra supplies? please email me and let me know!
Heather,
I do still have supplies left. I believe I have about 20 glass bottles, with corks, and seashells. I will have to count them to make sure. We used glass bottles, b/c we felt that the plastic bottles looked a bit cheap. I used raffia for the ties, and had the invitations made for me by a friend. We burnt the edges of the invitation to make it look old too. The raffia you can buy very cheap at a local Michaels or Joanne Fabric store. The key is to use very little sand, that is where the weight comes from. Please let me know if you are interested in purchasing what I have left! Best wishes,
Eliz.
Do you still have the supplies? If not where did you get the bottle from? I want glass becuase I also felt the plastic looked cheap. All the places i am finding for the bottles are pricey because I only need 20. Thank you
LISA,
I think it’s your lucky day!! I have just about 20+ bottles left. We ran into the same problem having to buy them in large quantities. Anyway, I have the bottles, boxes and corks. I also have some scented oil, which we dabbed the cork with to make it smell a bit tropical when opening up the invite. As far as the rest goes, I bought a ton of raffia from JoAnne Fabric, or Michaels and tied two raffia strings together and wrapped them around the necks of each bottles. I then stuffed the boxes with bubble wrap on the bottom, a bit of raffia on top of that to make it look pretty!
I think I have some seashells left too, but I will have to look. I’d be happy to figure out a deal for you if your interested!
yea if you could figure out a price for that would be great. Are they the 5oz bottles?
Lisa,
I will figure out a price tonight for you and count the exact number that I have and everything. So I will post a message to you late tonight or first thing tomorrow morning, so we can get you started. Hope this works out for you!!
Lisa,
Good news! We have a total of thirty (10 oz) bottles, with all corks and shipping boxes included. We also have scented oils and seashells in all different sizes.
You can pick up sand and raffia at your local hardware and Michaels/Joanne Fabrics store. We picked up sandbox sand. We would be willing to sell you all of these for $75.00, plus the shipping cost to send them to you, which is considerably cheaper than what we paid for them, as you probably already know from visiting countless bottles websites. Anyway, let me know if that works for you or what you are willing to pay.
I hope this works out for you.
Eliz
Has anyone used beer bottles? I’ve started saving Bud Light Lime bottles, they are clear and the labels come off real easy. Know a few people who work at bar/restaurants that can save for me. Trying to figure out what size cork to buy online. I’m thinking a #9 Tapered cork. Want it to go half way in bottle. If anyone knows for sure please post.
I think those bottles will be great! It saves from just buying them from a company straight out!
I’m in the process of making 30 bottles for my destination wedding. I used bottles of orange and strawberry “Crush” that I bought at walmart for under $3 for 6 bottles. The small label peeled right off and I just used a brillo pad to get the extra glue off. I bought #7 corks (i believe) and they work..
There are a couple things I’m not sure about still tho..
1. How early do you send them out for a destination wedding? We are getting married in mid Nov, and I want to give the guests plenty of time to prepare.
2. What size shipping box do you use?
Other than that, I think I’m doing well. They look adorable! This picture is one I found online that I have been following. I need to post pics of my own too when they’re done. Let me know how yours are coming along! I’d love to see them! :o)
Can you tell me where you bought the corks from and what you used to wrap around the outside of the bottles. They are absolutley beautiful
Just some ideas for you all…. we just finished our Message in a Bottle invites and they turned out sooo cute! Here’s what we did:
-bought plastic bottles at OrientalTrading.com on clearance. they were filled with V-day stuff, but we emptied them out. It was super cheap since the holiday had passed. Plus they opened on the bottom of the bottle so it was easy to fill up.
- bought tropical theme paper at office supply store and I hand calligraphied our invites on them (2 invites per sheet- cit them in half longwise). I put our wedding website and phone# for RSVP.
-after the invite was printed, we tore the paper all the way around the perimeter for the “burnt” look and we soaked the invite in fresh brewed tea to give them an “old” look. then baked the invites for 3-5min at 250 degrees. its SOO much easier and cleaner than burining edges!
- in the invite we used sand, palm tree foodpicks, starfish(both at orientaltrading) and shellls. we wrapped the invite like a scroll and tied with raffia. we also bought pina coloda oil and dropped onto the cork stopper for a tropical smell (walmart craft section).
-around the neck of the bottle we tied very thin rope and raffia with a tag that each persons name on one side and on the other side “should this find you…”. we bought marking tags on string at an office store, cut off the string, and soaked them in tea so they weren’t stark white. again, wrote in calligraphy.
They turned out great and were really inexpensive. And thanks to my fiance’s tea-staining ideas… they look old but stayed in great shape!!! Good luck!!
The Oriental Trading Co. tip was a great one! I just found the bottles for 12 for $7.99, that’s 67¢ each! The catch is: they come with Pirate Puzzles inside lol; they aren’t marketed for invites but they’re the same bottle they sell for invites. Be warned though, these have a screw-open bottom so if you want a smooth, seamless bottle you need to get a different kind. The screw-open kind is great if you want to put larger items inside like starfish, larger sized seashells, etc.
I actually just placed an order at invitationinabottle.com, as that company charged only 89¢ a a bottle for the seamless plastic bottles, and they charged “actual shipping” rather than tacking on a handling fee. If you have a business address you can ship to, shipping is even cheaper. Hope this info helps!
p.s. I just LOVE the tips from Laura, especially about a better way to burn your edges. My kitchen was a mess of ashes the last time I did this!
Hi Ceshell,
How did the bottles from invitationinabottle turn out?
Please let me know.
Thanks!
Sheesh, did I never respond to this? Sorry about that. They turned out great! They were exactly the same nice-quality seamless plastic bottles as I’d ordered from a different company the first time I made MIB invites 3 years ago…but were much cheaper due to the lower shipping costs. If you live outside of California they may be even less $ since I had to pay sales tax. We did this for invites for a teacher’s appreciation luncheon and the teachers just LOVED them. Get the coconut oil to drop in too - it really makes an impact. Thumbs up!
Thanks Ceshell for your tip, that website is fantastic. You have no idea how long I have been looking for what I want specifically with no luck. Thanks for that. So pleased
You are most welcome. I know how hard the search is- I’ve done it twice now!
Ohhh and another thing…
How do I seal the bottles? I dont want to send them in boxes. I’m getting plastic bottles with corks. But how do I seal it so it won’t come undone in the mail, but they can still open it when my guests get the invite?
Help! I’m making my own message in a bottle invitaions for my wedding. I need suggestions on how to send the RSVP information. Should I add an envelpoe and RSVP in with the invitation? OR should I just add another paper giving my # and email address? It’s not going to be a real formal wedding. Only about 50 guests. Any help would be great.
brandy google search diy message ina bottle wedding invites. the thing to do is add either a smaller piece of paper(same type) inside of the invite and wrap with twine that way it will saty shut. ( see pic i posted; i thought the outer card would be a cute rsvp with your names etc. for an informal wedding)
*HOW TO MAKE YOUR MESSAGE IN A BOTTLE INVITATION
*Homemade Message-in-a-Bottle Invitations
Just wondering if anyone knows where to buy the boxes? I have made the message in the bottle myself but haven’t been able to find any boxes
I’m getting my boxes from http://www.uline.com. This website http://www.sandartsupplies.com also sell them.
I’m also doing the bottle invites. I got my boxes for .12 each from pkging.com here’s the exact address where the 7×2x2 boxes are. They fit my bottles perfect, and they are great quality. You do have to put them together though. http://www.pkging.com/productdescription.aspx?catID=2001&range=1&IsSearch=0
Good luck!!
I’m so mad I just saw this comment! I looked everywhere and finally found my boxes on ebay.. $15 for 25. pkging.com is WAY CHEAPER!! I wish I would have seen this sooner!
Where can one purchase the bottles for the wedding invitation in a bottle?? either in Canda or the USA?? I would need about 50. I like the creative way to make the invites to everyone…… Thank you for your suggestions … Mrs Schable
try homebrewit.com
Well im renewing my vows here in 2010 and I have found that if you want to make your own message in a bottle invitations companies like http://www.coloredsand.com are the best to go to for bottles w/corks, sand, robbon, tape and seashells to make your own they cost considerably less than all the other companies charge. The shipping cost of course is on you but at $1.30 per bottle it is well worth it saving you over $200 or more in the long run. You get to design your own invitations using light parchment paper and vellume as well in any shade you want. But that is just my opinion on what I myself have discovered doing my searching.
Hi i need some help on how 2 set my invertations out for my wedding. Im getting married in Turkey in 2009 and want my invertations 2 be in 2 languages 1 in english for my english guests and 1 in turkish for my turkish guest but all on same invertation, But how will i set it out and wot design should i put on it? Wendy
how much is shipping on an invitation like this? Are these available already esembled?:-?:-?
I used paradiseinvitations.com they were had a great selection and everyone absolutely loved the invitations. Great service as well.
And one more thing….they mail the bottle as is. No box or anything. My guests were completely shocked when they got their mail.
I am making my message in a bottle invitations and I have most of my supplies. now I am wondering what is the best weight/type paper to use for the actual invitations? And are there any sites with good temples that relate to beach weddings. Help!!!
Re: Where to get bottles? I found that commercial bottles can become expensive so I used a little ‘nouse’. I rang a couple of local wineries and told them I was making my won message-in-a-bottle wedding invitations - did they have ’spare’ bottles that I could use to try and keep my costs down? A few wineries couldn’t be bothered with me. However, on of our larger suppliers actually found the idea charming and supplied me with 60 bottles of my choice - brand new with corks - for a potion of the cost from a commercial venue. Instead of paying AUS$2.00 per bottles, they charged my AUS$0.50 a botle, that’s right….and no shipping costs. Use your charm and manners and doors open……it’s worked a treat for me so far.
Hi Sharon - great info on getting local wineries involved with the bottles - how big are the bottles - are the regular size wine bottles???? Help -= what a great idea!
I found some nice glass bottles with the cork at Old Time pottery for $2.99 each. They had some for $1.99 bu not as nice. Good luck
well, i’ve been looking at different websites about where to put the response cards/envelopes, etc. i guess you could make a smaller roll like the main invitation, and put the envelope in the actual box…or you could put both in the box where the recipient could see it…..as far as the magnets go, you could probably put just about anything into the bottles, but would you want an STD magnet that’d look all rolled up and would be hard to place somewhere like a fridge??
i hate that when it happens..drives me nuts!
where to get the bottles…you could order them online, or you could go to a craft store like michael’s, etc. or, if you’re a thrifty person, why not check out places like goodwill? or the dollar stores? i think there’s several places online where you can order everything you need to make your bottle invites and you just print and assemble yourself. good luck ladies! our invites will turn out to be phenominal!
I would also like to know where to get the bottles for the “message in a bottle” idea. Do you find these at craft stores or do you have to order them?
hi! where can i find the wedding invitation with peacock feathers on this page?
I am wanting to make my own wedding invitations in a bottle but Im not sure how to put the response cards and self addressed envelopes? I have already bought my bottles and boxes… Please help….I need a response fast