Ribbon wand send offs are our favorite new way to celebrate the bride and groom at the end of their ceremony. Not only can the wands be kept as a memento after your big day, they also don't leave behind a mess that can harm the environment like rice or confetti can. We love this idea so much, we created a tutorial on how to make them yourself using our personalized ribbon!
Image Source: Southern Weddings
Ribbon Wand Tutorial
• 8 inch Cookie Sticks (We used Wilton)
• Eyelet Screws (19 mm)
• Pliers (optional)
• Personalized Ribbon
• Unprinted Satin Ribbon of Varied Colors and Widths
• Fabric Glue (clear drying)
Step 1: Cut Your Ribbon
To get started, cut your ribbon to the desired length. The white ribbon shown above was printed continuously with the same message, while we had our blue ribbon printed favor style. This means that the bride and grooms names were printed at one end of a specified length and their wedding date was printed on the other end. This pattern is repeated along your spool of ribbon so you simply cut the ribbon between the lengths. When ordering favor style ribbon, you must specify the length for printing. We chose to have our ribbon printed in 30 inch lengths, but you can definitely make yours longer or shorter to suit you. We recommend following all of the steps to make one wand before cutting all of your ribbon, this way you can be sure you like the completed look.
To get started, cut your ribbon to the desired length. The white ribbon shown above was printed continuously with the same message, while we had our blue ribbon printed favor style. This means that the bride and grooms names were printed at one end of a specified length and their wedding date was printed on the other end. This pattern is repeated along your spool of ribbon so you simply cut the ribbon between the lengths. When ordering favor style ribbon, you must specify the length for printing. We chose to have our ribbon printed in 30 inch lengths, but you can definitely make yours longer or shorter to suit you. We recommend following all of the steps to make one wand before cutting all of your ribbon, this way you can be sure you like the completed look.
TIP! Create more finished edges for your ribbon by using very sharp scissors as well as treating each cut end of your ribbon with clear drying fabric glue to keep the ribbon from fraying.
Step 2: Attach Screw Eyes to Cookie Sticks
Each cookie stick will have 1 eyelet screw secured to the tip. The cookie sticks already have a small pin hole at the top, which is perfect for inserting your screw. Simply twist the screw with one hand, holding the stick steady with the other. You may need to use pliers for this, depending on your finger strength. Repeat this step to create the number of ribbon wands needed. If you have invited a lot of guests you may want to invite some friends over to help! Make sure everyone has super clean hands to keep the white paper sticks looking spotless!
Step 3: Tie Ribbon Around Eye of the Attached Screw
Thread your ribbon through the eye of the screw attached at the end of one cookie stick. Bring each end of the ribbon together and match them up to find the center. Tie a strong knot here, securing it to the screw eye. Repeat this step as many times as you want. We chose to tie three lengths of ribbon onto each of our wands, which creates 6 ribbon ends streaming from the wand tip.
TIP! We love the clean white look of the paper cookie sticks, but there are ways to dress it up. One way is to wrap washi tape (patterned tape) around the stick. You can also use a glue gun or two-sided tape and wrap the stick with ribbon. Get creative!
And now, you have beautiful personalized ribbon wands to hand out at your wedding. We took them out side and played with them in the sun. The ribbons look so beautiful when the wind catches them. They will be a stunning addition to your send off. Ribbon wands are also great as children’s birthday party favors, for tucking into Easter Baskets, or a flame free substitute for sparklers on the Fourth of July! You can see the finished creation below!
Happy Crafting!
