Summertime, also known to some as wedding season, is one of the best times of the year. The sun shines bright, people are active, and spirits are high. What better way to spend a summer weekend than celebrating the unification of two beautiful souls?
This year, my best friends Tanner and Cas are getting married. They’re the first ones from our friend group to tie the knot, and we couldn’t be happier.
Several months ago I asked Cas if she’d made any arrangements for wedding favors. She says she hadn’t. Naturally, I pounce on the opportunity to offer custom stamped soap favors for their wedding
Most businesses who offer soap favors for weddings, parties, and events only have soap with custom packaging. Here at Gage’s Natural, I offer unforgettable memories via custom stamped soap!
Custom Stamped Soap
Right away I’m brainstorming ideas. After some back and forth with Cas, and some last-minute inspiration from another good friend Liv, we finalize the Musser soap design.
This design wasn’t a walk in the park; the branch design took some time to make on 3D software, and stamping posed unique hurdles. Nevertheless, we were excited about the result!
Now, onto the packaging.
Cas is well aware of my “Ground Yourself” philosophy of sustainability and natural living, and she’s right there with me. She wants a more minimalist style appearance, so we wrap the soap in twine with a tag. Twine is made from cotton, which is sustainable and widely available. The tags are made from kraft paper, another compostable and eco-friendly solution for labeling and packaging.
I write down the scent on the tag, wrap it around the soap, and I get two thumbs-up from Cas. It seems most fiances nowadays like this classy look, and I think it’s a great solution that aligns with our values. The prototype has been approved and looks good- now for production!
The wedding is June 1st, but the soap needs some time to cure and harden, allowing it to last longer in the shower. With just a few weeks until the wedding, I stamped the last bar of soap, and pressure was alleviated. All that’s left now is to label and wrap the soap.
With 100 attendees to the wedding, I’m able to offer several different scents of soap. I made the bulk of the soap with lavender and spearmint scents, but also included some sweet orange and lemon scented soap as well.
Wedding Day
The wedding day finally catches up to us. In a flurry of excitement and anticipation, we decorate and prepare the tent, tables, chairs, bar, firepit and surrounding areas.
The custom stamped “M” soap is placed in baskets labeled “Wedding Favors” and people are soon crowding around. I overhear some guests say they were impressed with the custom stamped soap, and that they loved the scents.
But we couldn’t spend all day marveling at the soap- we had a wedding to throw!
The time arrives, and everyone settles in. The wedding party lines up, and the music starts playing. We slowly make our way down the aisle, smiling at all the loving friends and family here for Cas and Tanner’s wedding. The newly ordained minister, our charismatic friend Skyler, stands at the front ready to officiate their unification.
Outside in the sunlight, under a tree in front of the pond, perfect temperature and weather- you couldn’t ask for anything better! Skyler begins with a short but significant story that’s brought us to this present moment- the day our friends dressed up, drove 45 minutes from State College to Altoona so Jake could experience dinner at Chili’s for the first time, and Cas professing her love to Tanner after dinner in the parking lot!
That night didn’t go as planned for Cas, but it planted a seed that slowly grew. Over time, Tanner would find himself falling for Cas, eventually leading them to this moment. The crowd enjoys some chuckles, vows are exchanged, and everyone cheers as the groom kisses the bride.
Party Time!
The best man Luke performs a speech as everyone finishes their catered Chipotle (Cas’s favorite). We make a toast to the married couple, and tables are swiftly moved aside to make way for some dancing.
It doesn’t take long for us to start “getting down on it!” We grab the mostly-full bottles of champagne to pass around the dance floor, and friends and family start joining in.
It was the most exciting wedding for many people, and the most important event thus far for our tight-knit friend group. Several hours of fun, laughter, and good times go by, and Jake closes out the night with some acoustic guitar by the fire.
The soap was a hit, everything went according to plan, and no major issues arose. It was a perfect day that couldn’t have turned out better for the bride and groom. Congratulations to Mister Tanner and Misses Casadi Musser! :)
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