Making of a Wedding: 1001 Origami Cranes

Did you wonder what ever happened to the 1001 origami cranes everyone helped to fold? In keeping with the lovebirds theme, I thought it would be neat to put them into a bird cage...

but finding a birdcage large enough to house a thousand cranes wasn't an easy task! Finally found one on sale online at a home decor store in New York. LOL, as you can tell by comparing its size to my curious little Latte sitting in the background, this was pretty big...about 36 inches in height and 24 inches in width.

After all the cranes had been folded, the next step was a mathematical problem...and oh, what a problem! Before I could begin stringing the cranes, I had to calculate the number of strands and number of birds per strand needed for 1001 cranes. This was quite a challenge for my feeble brain especially since the length of the strands and number of cranes decreases as you move out from the center of the cage. In this photo you can see the little tags I had to use to label each strand with it's length and location of where it needed to be tied onto the cage.

In order to get all 1000 cranes to fit into the cage, the ten longer strands in the center of the cage had to be strung with the cranes nestled right on top of each other, with no space in between.

The next 35 strands were strung with the birds about an inch apart. I used 8 Lb. test fishing line to string the birds and strips of rubberband cut about 1/4 inch long as stops to keep the birds in position on the line. I know many people prefer to use seed beads as their stops instead, but I just couldn't see myself stringing the beads, and having to measure the distance between each little bead. The pieces of rubberband were much easier, especially since I could easily move them up or down the line to space and position the birds. You can see the strips of rubberband in the closeup photo above, but when everything was put together, they were barely noticeable.
With the help of my bff Aunty Pat, it took us 2 days to finish stringing the cranes, and another day for me to tie all the strands into the birdcage.

And here's the finished birdcage filled with 1001 origami cranes symbolizing a thousand years of happiness for the newlyweds at the entrance to the reception. Thank you once again to everyone who helped us fold cranes, and to my son in law's cousin Kiki for sharing her photos from the wedding!