Buy Handmade!

{source}

With more and more wedding ideas and projects taking shape (and with that more and more $$ being spent on various items), I've been thinking quite a bit about this idea of supporting the arts and buying handmade -- a worthy cause that I'll admit I sometimes neglect to support despite my close ties, appreciation and convictions.

It is no surprise that in this economy, artists are taking a huge hit. And yet, here I am, planning a wedding, needing to be a consumer of the very products many artists out there are making/selling! It may not be a realistic goal to say that I will "Go Handmade" 100% throughout this process, but I *can* take small steps in supporting artists by turning to them for things like paper needs, jewelry, bridal party gifts, etc.

I'll be the first to admit that sometimes it is just easier and more convenient to head to a mega-store or mall or the internet (thereby eliminating interaction with real people completely), especially when there is a long list of purchases to knock out. But isn't it sometimes nice to know the PERSON behind the product? And with something so intimate and special as a wedding, it seems even more appropriate to have a name, face and voice on the other side of those "investments" rather than some mass-produced item -- real people with stories of their own, struggles and joys and a REAL LIFE unfolding around them as they make their art.

Here is a sampling of some of the cool, wedding-related handmade stuff I've found lately:

Designs By Portobello
Inky Livie
Veiled Beauty
Jilly Designs

And I recently stumbled upon this site , which is an entire blog dedicated to fun and different Etsy wedding finds. It is here that I discovered it is possible to REGISTER with Etsy! How cool is that?!

And while I'm throwing links your way, here's one more to check out:
Etsy: The Storque: Handmade Weddings

Of course, this doesn't just apply to wedding planning -- it has brought up an interesting question for me personally in my everyday life: why don't I support artists and Buy Handmade more often? I want to be more aware of this fact and challenge myself to more often turn to a site like Etsy before heading to a store like Target (and OH, how I love Target!) when it comes to artwork, household items, clothing, etc.

I am curious to know if anyone out there has attempted to plan an ALL HANDMADE wedding? Please share your stories and thoughts :)