Personalizing your wedding is sew simple

Every bride wants her wedding to be unique -- why else would some couples agree to profess their love on the crest of a roller coaster. Fortunately, you don't have to go to this extreme to personalize your nuptials. With a bit of ingenuity, a can-do attitude and the proper tools, even ceremonies steeped in tradition can be tailor--made.

For instance, many brides select a motif and stick with it from shower decorations to the icing on the wedding cake, says Nina Kay Mileneus, a sewing expert and recent bride. Perhaps a lovely monogram is selected -- something very elegant and practical for beyond the special day. With one of today's computerized sewing and professional embroidery machines and a simple touch of a button, the bride-to-be can stitch this monogram on everything from table linens to her garter. Mileneus did just that. She picked-up on a floral design from her mother-in-law's very delicate, antique veil.

"So much of the entire wedding process is focused on the bride and her family. I wanted my mother-in-law to feel equally as special. Besides, I loved the idea of integrating a part of her past into the day that marks the beginning of our future," says Mileneus.

She coupled her sewing machine with her PC and special sewing software, the Husqvarna Embroidery Pro Customizing system, to scan the design and then embroider the floral motif on her modern-day gown, napkins, table toppers, ring bearer's pillow and even the dresses she made for the flower girls' dolls.

If flowers and monograms are not your thing, don't worry. Most all of these dream sewing machines offer libraries of designs featuring every imaginable category from fly fishing -- for the bride who wants to let her husband know "Nothing will change once we're married" -- to religious symbols and traditional doves.

Consider these possibilities to make your wedding planning hassle-free and your wedding day truly special all while sticking to your budget.

• Purchase linen guest towels from a discount department store then embroider your selected motif in one corner. Give these delicate treasures as gifts to friends and relatives who host pre-wedding parties and showers.
  
• Need a guest book? Use scrap fabric from your wedding gown or perhaps one of grandmother's heirloom table runners to cover an inexpensive journal. Trim it with matching lace and of course add your theme design.
  
• Make a wine bottle wrap from a fabric triangle trimmed with your embroidered motif. Add the happy couple's monogram. Then stitch a buttonhole in one corner to slip the opposite corner through to secure the wrap around the bottle.
  
• Present bridesmaids with a gift they can use the day of the wedding and treasure for years to come. Create an elegant envelope or Victorian-look drawstring bag embellished with your theme.
  
• An easy to assemble project, and a really unique accent, is a fabric sconce inviting any number of decorative options including the wedding's theme motif. Fill with long stemmed wild flowers for the bridesmaids to carry or as pew decorations.