Vintage French Inspired Photoshoot with Carla Ten Eyck, Part II
To recap from my previous post, a few weeks ago I had the pleasure of working with Carla Ten Eyck for her September Ten Eyck Tuesday. To view the first portion of this shoot check out my previous post, here! I collaborated with Elisabeth of BLUSH floral design and Beth Chapman of White Dress by the Shore on the color story of teal and pink. All the hair and makeup was done by the talented and super amazing Dana Bartone & Co., who are responsible for making almost ALL of my brides gorgeous on their wedding day (me included)!! My studio roomie Thomas Morlock of Vantage Point Films also shot the entire event from his viewfinder. He ate all the cake AND drank all the champagne!!!
Soo… is Signature Event Rentals not awesome? Their furniture totally made our tablescape go from cool to incredible. I loved their white dining table and we decided to use their Alice Pop hot pink chairs, mixed in with the white padded, clear backed. Elisabeth created a series of beautiful and simple pink arrangements down the center of the table in vintage milk glass containers… gorgeous!!
Party Rentals Ltd in Greenwich and New Preston supplied the hot pink glass chargers and some of the dinner plates. We also used their gold rimmed wine / champagne glasses and gold flatware. All the other pieces are vintage china (lots of limoges), including the tea cups and saucers, white/gold dinner plates and the aqua soup bowls are all courtesy of my friend and etsy shop owner, Jen. Check out her store, Jen’s Closet!
I added little bottles of Moet at each place setting and floated white raspberries in each champagne glass (they were yum!). The beautiful art deco napkins came from this fabulous antique store in Seymour, Connecticut called Yesterday’s Luxuries. They are made of linen and are so delicate and beautiful! Definitely a set of keepers.
Thanks to all the awesome vendors who contributed to the shoot! You can see more of it here on Carla’s blog!
xoxox
Vintage French Inspired Photoshoot with Carla Ten Eyck, Part I
A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of working with a lot of my absolute favorite people on a photoshoot with Carla Ten Eyck for her September Ten Eyck Tuesday. I collaborated with Elisabeth of BLUSH floral design and Beth Chapman of White Dress by the Shore to come up with a unique and fun color story in teals and pinks. All the hair and makeup was done by the talented and super amazing Dana Bartone & Co., who are responsible for making almost ALL of my brides gorgeous on their wedding day (me included)!! My studio roomie Thomas Morlock of Vantage Point Films also shot the entire event from his viewfinder. Plus, he drank all the champagne.
For those of you who don’t know, Carla runs an amazing workshop for photographers once a month where she spends an entire day shooting, educating, and discussing her artform. I’ve attended two Ten Eyck Tuesdays and Carla is amazing!! If you are a photographer in the area (you should travel here if your not!) I highly recommend Carla’s workshop. They are so thorough and detailed. Plus, Carla puts the sass in sass-a-frass.
The location for the shoot was really awesome. The building is an interior designer’s dream, full of lots of shops from furniture to lighting. We took over a blank industrial space with nothing except a few sheets of unused drywall laid up against the wall.
This gorgeousness is all courtesy of Carla and Beth Chapman of White Dress by the Shore who dressed and styled our gorgeous models. Don’t you just LOVE this short wedding gown and feather hair fascinator? It was so delicate and pretty in person! I could have played dress up for hours with all the amazing accessories Beth brought.
That gorgeous, vintage pink bouquet is by the equally talented Elisabeth of BLUSH floral design. I love Dan’s peacock feathered boutonniere. Can you see the peacock feathers tucked into Mandie’s bouquet? Check the neck collage of images!
Pretty gorgeous, right? The furniture is from my FAVORITE rental company, Signature Event Rentals, who are responsible for most of the awesomeness you see. That gorgeous white couch? The clear-backed and hot pink dining chairs?! The leather tufted wall panels?!?! The WHITE dinning table?!?!?! Yeah, they pretty much rule. They’re the best, hands down, and we LOVED having their furniture at the shoot!
Elisabeth created a bed of tightly arranged hot pink carnations for our escort cards, which were pennant flags that I made and hand wrote in gold ink. Antonia from Flower upon Flour blew us away with her tasty little gold petit fours with the hot pink fleur de lis… but the pièce de résistance was definitely her INSANE cake!!
Antonia and I had discussed the color story and inspiration behind the shoot… and when she showed up with this…. we were like… seriously?! A teal cake with a gold birdcage on top and hot pink feathers?!
…. up next, our table and some other fun stuff!
xoxo
Teaser: Marie Antoinette inspired photoshoot with Carla Ten Eyck
Here is a teaser of what’s coming up tomorrow! A photoshoot we collaborated on with our favorite people, shot by the super sassy Carla Ten Eyck.
Stay tuned!
Aisle Runners by Wedding Runways from Branford, Connecticut
I was so excited to be contacted by Jahna of Wedding Runways in Branford, Connecticut. I love that Connecticut has such a talented and amazing couture aisle runner designer. We love to support local small businesses! Wedding Runways’ mantra is they want to “bring red carpet style to your wedding aisle.”
Their selection is truly custom and versatile, offering widths available in 36” or 50” and lengths are available in increments of 25’ up to 150’. They use commercial grade snag-proof material (so important!), non-slip heavy poly scrim and “self-healing” capabilities. Plus, their color calibration system can match your color swatches exactly! They also create matching table runners and soon to come, your very own “step & repeat” backdrop for photo opportunities.
They are currently offering a complimentary, over sized thank you card with your order. You can be photographed holding it and that photo can then be turned into a thank you card to send to their guests. So fun!
Chalkboard Wedding Decor Details
I think everyone appreciates chalkboard. I’m not sure why – it must hearken back to our elementary school days when getting called to write on the chalkboard was fun (at least it was for me!). I love the way chalkboard has been utilized at weddings and thought I’d give you a bit of chalkboard inspiration.
The obvious is chalkboard-turned-menu. I love how this couple used an old surf board as their surface to paint. Since chalkboard paint can go on virtually any clean surface, you can make anything your chalkboard menu. You can do a traditional bistro-style chalkboard menu, or maybe hang chalkboard tiles from clothes line strung between two trees. There are a million opportunities here to be creative and the best part: it is super expensive and easy to do!
In my search for this post I came across this fun and innovative chalkboard vinyl wall decals from Spell It Out Designs on etsy.com. To say I love these vintage / Victorian-inspired chalk frames would be an understatement! Vinyl is easily removable from any surface and leaves no trace that it has been there. While it is great for using on the walls, doors, or windows of your venue you should inquire first whether your location will allow you to do it. If they do, great! You can use these again as menu cards, place card displays, wedding signs (“wedding this way!”), inscribe a quote, thank you, note. Leave it blank and allow your guests to leave you messages! The possibilities are endless. And if you can’t put it on a wall, simply build a surface to put it on.
I’m also totally loving these chalkboard plant stakes used instead as a place card. These are from Crossroads Cottage, but you can easily make them yourself with a little time and energy. They’d be perfect for a smaller wedding! I also love them used in the tablescape design, tucked into a floral arrangement. They would also look perfect tucked into your stationary hors d’oeuvre display, or if you can, on your passed hors d’oeuvre trays.
This isn’t done often enough, probably because it isn’t that simple, but I love the look of these giant chalkboard seatting arrangement displays from a fete event. The key is to have a wedding planner who not only has gorgeous handwriting, but write in a straight line!
This fun and thoughtful idea comes from a wedding featured on one of our favorite blogs, OnceWed. The bride got the idea from Wonderful Graffiti to have a word search at the reception to entertain guests. If anything, it is just pure beauty, and makes for a great photo op. I’m sure her guests had a fabulous time using it, too!
Last but not least, why not add a chalk board (or dry erase board) to your wedding’s photo booth? You never know what message might turn up! Just be sure to have something handy to wipe all the chalk that is bound to rub off on everyone’s black clothing. This is where we tell you that the dry erase board might be a better idea!
Decor Idea: Hanging Light Bulb Vases
I came across this DIY project on Craftershock.com and instantly fell in love. What a fabulous vintage detail to add to your outdoor summer soiree or garden party. I can see them hanging from trees or stringed lights. I love them so much I’m trying to figure out how I can incorporate them in an event of my own! The idea is to find used light bulbs that you can in turn recycle into these hanging vases.
Here is how to make them, courtesy of Craftershock.com
Step 1: Using fine-tooth metal saw, gently saw the bottom of light bulb. Pull out the filaments.
Step 2: Using a hand held drill place metal against some scrap wood and poke two holes opposite from each other.
Step 3: Lace thin wire through the holes and tie off at desired length. Fill with lovely blooms.
Church Door Decorations
While looking through some wedding pictures I saw the bride and grooms name in flowers hanging on a church door. Well . . . of course I thought to myself DIY!!! Remember our tissue paper pomanders? This project is similar and can really add to your special day.
Here is what you will need:
- Tissue Paper
- Scissors
- Stapler
- Paper mache letters
- Hot glue gun
First step will be to create your tissue paper flowers. Begin by using 6 pieces of tissue paper and fold paper back and forth. You will then fold the paper in half add your staple to keep it together and round the edges.
From here you will just open your flower by separating one layer of tissue paper from another. (tip: switch back and forth between the sides as you open the flower to give it a round natural look)
Once you have all of your flowers you will now use your hot glue gun to attach your tissue paper flowers to your paper mache letters.
Here is the finished products:
and there you have it yet another DIY project completed!
Holiday Centerpiece: Carnations
Elisabeth from BLUSH floral design posted a fabulous purple centerpiece on her blog and I wanted to share. I just love these carnations in varying shades of purple. Believe it or not, carnations in bulk (like these) can look so gorgeous. The key is to use a lot and make your centerpiece very full. I agree with Elisabeth, too, that with these flowers the you can use the container to dictate the style of the arrangement. You can use square chunky vases, tall cylinders, old candy jars or medicine bottles, or mint julep cups. Although, I really love the antiqued vessels she used. And the sequin balls? Gorgeous! They’ll sparkle too in candlelight and are a touch of necessary glamour.
If you’re too busy for arrangements this season, give Elisabeth a call. Blush is offering holiday inspired arrangements at a really fabulous price. Get all the details here!
Holiday Party Decor: Outdoor Lighting
Bright twinkling lights against a snowy backdrop is probably one of my favorite things during the holidays. I love to decorate for Christmas, especially outside. If you are planning a holiday get together this year, consider the outside of your home when designing your parties theme. It is the first thing your guests will see as they arrive to your home and the last impression they’ll be left with when they leave. It just makes your event extra special and romantic.
I think variations on the usual outdoor decor is needed, so I did a bit of research to find some unique outdoor lighting ideas and a few new takes on some old ones.
First, I love these icicles that are hung from trees. Martha Stewart has a tutorial on how you can create these beautiful centerpieces to your yard. They seem super easy to make (especially if you enlist your fiancee / husband to do all the work) and the effect is really fabulous. Can you imagine what they would look like after a snowfall? These would work well year round too. I can see them used in a night time wedding as a variation on the ever popular chinese lanterns.
These shooting stars are super dramatic. I can see them scattered through out your backyard — it would be so unexpected! I love lights strung in layers, especially from tree to tree or object to object. It’s almost like creating a canopy of lights. Click here for a tutorial on how to make them.
I love these but they are a bit hard to make. They certainly would be fabulous for cocktail party, scattered and grouped along your sidewalk and on your front porch. They remind me of the outdoor luminaries (which we’ll talk about below), except made with snow instead of white paper bags. But they are so much fun! Martha has a tutorial on how to make these, too. You could vary the shapes depending on what type of “molds” you could find. I bet festive cake molds would work well.
Wrapping your lamp post in evergreen garland isn’t new, but adding this orb lights instead of the traditional string of lights makes this extra special. They look like little snow balls!
Consider lining your steps or walkway with cylinder vases like these, filled with something fun. Cranberries, crystals, ornaments, strands of beads, even popcorn would look gorgeous in these. I think varying pillar candle heights would also create lots of dimension.
Paper bag luminaries are so popular and for a reason — they have a big impact and they are easy to make. All you need are white paper bags, some tea lights, and a little sand which are all available en mass at your local craft store. I love these because of the festive cut outs, which can be achieved with a simple craft punch (or if you are super artistic, an x-acto knife).
I LOVE the big, vintage christmas lights. And what better way to display them then wrapped around an old bicycle. Some other ideas with a similar theme: an old vintage mail box or sleigh.
I love lights wrapped around these rustic grape vine balls. You can find them virtually anywhere and at all different price points. They would look so pretty lining your walkway, in your flower boxes, hanging from a tree, in a flower pot / urn, or grouped together in a sturdy bush.
I hope that I’ve inspired you all to rethink your outdoor holiday decor and make it part of your next holiday soiree!
Vendor Spotlight: Chapeau de Gateau
I came across Chapeau de Gateau on etsy.com this afternoon during my weekly window peeping. I love to poke around and see what the fabulous and talented etsy craftspeople have been up to. Chapeau de Gateau makes mini cake toppers out of ribbon. They have a very preppy “Martha-chic” feel to them and quite frankly, I think they are darling! They would also look beautiful as decor elements for a bridal shower. Wouldn’t they be lovely as a card box (if made on a larger scale) or on the desert table for decoration?
Reinventing the Guestbook: Platters, Quilts, Canvas and “Wish Jars”
I was thinking yesterday about the traditional wedding guestbook. I want to ask all my married readers: what did you do with your guestbook after the wedding? My guess is you need a super-sized swifter to lift all the dust off. Most couples file their guestbook away somewhere and never open it again, which is unfortunate, especially for those who spend good money and thought on custom designed covers and binding. So why should you purchase something that will serve little-to-no purpose after your wedding? Sure, it is a keepsake, but what is so great about a bunch of signatures? Nothing. Does that mean you should give up your guestbook? No, not at all! What it means is you should think outside the box, reinvent what the guestbook is at your wedding, and figure out what purpose it will serve after.
Some of my favorites are items that guests sign: platters, a canvas engagement photograph, a quilt made for the couple. These are all reusable items that won’t be gathering dust somewhere or stuffed in an old shoe box. Some of my favorite platters are featured below. I’ve never had a thing for gimmicks or themes, so I wouldn’t recommend your standard platter with a bride and groom in the center. To me, that won’t translate well while entertaining for thanksgiving dinner. However, a platter with your married monogram, initials, or an excerpt from your vows is extremely beautiful!
Be sure to click on the thumbnail to see the full-sized version!
Platter #1: Serendipity Crafts | Platter #2: Say Anything Ceramics
I’ve also seen a bride and groom ask married couples to send in a photograph from their wedding with the R.S.V.P card. At the wedding, the photographs were displayed on card stock which was removable from a book or hung on a tree. The couples left beautiful messages and words of wisdom next to their wedding photograph, and it was used as a keepsake for the bride and groom. Here is an example from Room Service Home:
Be sure to click on the thumbnail to see the full-sized version!
Another idea which has become really popular over the years is to have a “Wish Jar.” This is what I prefer best, because if you’re craftly like me, you can take all those wishes from your wedding guests and display them. You can have them mounted and framed in a fun collage or you decoupage them on canvas , using glazes and paints to infuse some personality. Another idea? Place them in your wedding scrapbook! What is great about the Wish Jar is you can customize the jar and use it in your home for décor or as something functional. Also, don’t get hung up on the word “jar.” As long as you can place a card in it and remove the card with ease, you’re good to go. So vintage jewelry boxes or hat boxes made a unique spin on the “jar”, as do bird cases, ice buckets, and glass bowls. You can also have fun designing the wish cards where your guests will write words of wisdom! You can tie in the design of your invitations, place cards and menu cards, or go for something completely unique. Here are some ideas for your “jar”:
Be sure to click on the thumbnail to see the full-sized version!
1: Birdcage from Anthropologie Home | 2: Crate & Barrel | 3&4 Pottery Barn
Having a fall inspired wedding? What about a pumpkin for your collector, or even some fun hollowed out gourdes.
Be sure to click on the thumbnail to see the full-sized version!
Image from Better Homes and Gardens, but thanks to Jamie for posting it on her blog.
Romantic Wine Miniscape: Part Deux
My creative juices got the best of me a few days ago and after some more discussion with my Destination Connecticut Wedding (look out! That is one of our new packages! ?) bride, I created some more floral mock-ups! We went with some thick and short chunkie vases and two unexpected vessels… my beautiful “Duck” wine decanter from Pottery Barn, and some vintage glass Coke bottles. If you’ve been reading my blog for a long period of time or know me personally, you’d know that I love using unconventional and unusual things in my tablescapes to amp it up or change the definition of the design. I also love brides who are “daring” enough to have a variety of different table designs at their event. The modern wedding is moving away from those tried and true traditions of uniformity and I couldn’t be happier. Why should every table look the same and why do you’re bridesmaids need to all wear the exact same dress? Dare to be different – but be sure to be yourself! Now, back to my mock ups…
Be sure to click on the thumbnail to see the full-sized version!
I’m a big fan of grouping things in odd numbers… 3’s, 5’s, 7’s… it looks more natural and less forced. I also believe in varying the heights of grouped objects as it adds a nicer dimension to a table display. Using my unconventional Coke bottles, we came up with this fun tablescape that would be beautiful on a dessert or sweet table, favor table, or repeated on tall and thin cocktail height tables for your cocktail hour. You can also use single bottles adorned with one flower each as décor on your passed hors d’oeuvres tray(s). It’s a little bit country, totally unpretentious, and absolutely fabulous. You can find old Coke bottles virtually anywhere, and they are dirt cheap to boot. I love the look of the thick, green-tinted glass. I wish I had taller versions of this bottle because the mixture of the short and tall would look spectacular! This mock up is completely gratuitous as it doesn’t go with my Destination Connecticut Bride’s theme, but I wanted to share the idea with you anyway. . .
In keeping with our romantic wine theme, I grabbed my beautiful and sleek “Duck” wine decanter that I purchased from Pottery Barn as a Christmas present to myself last year. It’s no longer for sale, but you could probably find it on eBay or something similar at another department store. What I loved about this vessel is its sleek and continuous lines. The arrangement is glamorous without being pretentious. Its unexpected but it makes sense, which is important in any good design. We decided that we are definitely using my wine decanter in the bar area, along with some wine bottles and an additional wine decanter from Pottery Barn.
On the tables we’re going to use a mixture of low and tall vases filled with garden flowers and roses. The bride wants it to look “polished yet deconstructed” which should be an interesting challenge for our future florist. The low vases will be similar to the ones pictures below, and we’ll use my cork idea to fill tall cylinder vases which will have similar flowers in them.
What do you think? What are some of your favorite unconventional vessels?
Brown & Green Bridal Shower: The Nitty Gritty
I love weddings and I equally love to plan smaller, more casual and intimate affairs. When our clients approached us with their décor ideas for a brown and green shower, we ran with it and really made every penny go as far as we could. With a little preparation, creativity, and persistence, you can come up with equally beautiful and affordable tablescapes for your next event. I wanted to share with you where we purchased all of our vases, crafting items & supplies. I also wanted to give you a step-by-step tutorial on how we pulled all these small details together which I’ll follow up with tomorrow.
But first, our shopping list:
8 chunky square votive candle holders
$1.97 ea, Wal-Mart
5 Tall, thin vases
$1 ea, The Dollar Store
3 Tall and chunky mosaic vases
$1 ea, The Dollar Store
4 round, traditional vases (not pictured)
1 ea, The Dollar Store
4 packages (two per pack) of 7 inch & 9 inch tissue “bells” (for the kitschy factor!)
$1 ea, The Dollar Store
6 packages of tissue paper in brown, green & hot pink (8 sheets per pack)
$2.29, Wal-Mart
3 packages of stick-on crystal embellishments
$2.29 ea, Martha Stewart Crafts
3 Rolls of ribbon (thick brown, brown/white polka dot, thin green)
$2.97 ea, Wal-Mart
1 Roll of cooking twine
Free, because we don’t cook!
80 stems of fresh assorted mini gerbera daisies
$79.80 (with overnight international shipping!) farmstogo.com
Grand Total: $135 (give or take some cents)
Items used but already owned by us:
Stampin’ Up! Engagement Stamp Set with rubber stamps and ink pads
Cardstock for tags
Hole puncher
Floral wire
Wire Cutter
Circular paper cutter
Fabric glue
Tealights
Not bad, right? The key to beautiful and affordable décor is to shop around for the best bargain. I recommend looking in the stores we’ve mentioned, plus places like Home Goods, The Christmas Tree Shops, Ocean State Job Lot, Big Lots, Marshalls, TJ Maxx, Target, Michaels, Joann Fabrics, and your local discount store. These are all wonderful resources and you can sometimes find the “find of a lifetime!”
Shopping for discounted flowers can also be really difficult. To be sure that you order the correct amount of flowers, do a trial run of your centerpiece beforehand. It’s always good to have some extra blooms on hand, as the shipping process tends to eliminate a few beauties from the bunch. Also, if you are ordering the flowers yourself, make sure they are delivered no more than two days before your event (unless otherwise specified by the floral company). You want to make sure that the flowers you’ve chosen are at the peak of their blooming cycle and are as fresh as can be (no one likes half-dead flowers!) If your floral budget is limited you can do what we did – tie the blooms together to mimic a bouquet. I think it’s just as elegant as a lush and full arrangement.
Tomorrow I’ll provide you with some tutorials on how to take all the ingredients we’ve purchased and turn them into our décor!
Part of the Brown & Green Shower series
- Brown & Green Bridal Shower
- Brown & Green Bridal Shower: The Nitty Gritty
Brown & Green Bridal Shower
This weekend I was super busy with an awesome event, where I got to really exercise my creativity and frugality for a relaxed and casual bridal shower. It was a lot of fun and we were able to do ALL the décor for under $200! Tomorrow I’ll give you the details on how we kept costs so low, and where you can get all these amazing items. Check out our pictures below, and be sure to click on the thumbnails for a larger version!
The Tablescapes
All the tables were adorned with a variety of chunky vases filled with white and yellow Gerbera Daisies that we hand wrapped in twine to give an elegant bouquet effect.
The Details
The yard was adorned with tissue paper “pom-poms” (or tissue flowers, if you prefer) that we hand made. They were all jeweled with small crystals for an added bit of bling, which ended up looking like dew on the petals! All the vessels were wrapped in ribbon in brown, brown & white polka dot, and green. We also made the brides monogram and incorperated it into the tablescapes with some twine and ribbon. I especially love the “mr. & mrs.” we created out of card stock and stamps from Stampin’ Up!
Part of the Brown & Green Shower series
- Brown & Green Bridal Shower
- Brown & Green Bridal Shower: The Nitty Gritty
Vendor Spotlight: Wonderful Graffiti
Click the image to view the larger version!
As an event and wedding planner, you often have the opportunity to “test drive” a lot of products that vendor’s market to brides. We enjoy this process and find it helpful when recommending quality products and vendors to our brides. One company, Wonderful Graffiti, recently sent us sample swatches of their product and we instantly fell in love! What is Graffiti? From the experts themselves. . .
Wonderful Graffiti is very thin pieces of matte vinyl that look “printed” when applied to most smooth surfaces. Your entire wedding Graffiti design arrives on one sheet of transfer paper. Just tape the transfer paper into place, burnish it down and peel it away. Only the individual letters and graphic elements remain. Wonderful Graffiti removes quickly, and won’t harm underlying surfaces.
The possibilities for using Wonderful Graffiti are endless, truly. Since it is nontoxic, easily removable, and doesn’t leave a residue, you can use it anywhere. On the doors of the church, your dance floor, reception walls, or even your “get-away” car.
Personally, I love the element of using typeface and words as a design element in your wedding. With the right font, monogram, poem, and design, you can add a unique piece of art which will act as a focal point to your wedding! Its totally original and something you can customize to suit your style, personality, and individual love story.
Browse their website to view real weddings that used their product. They have hundreds of examples, prefabricated items, and the ability to customize your wedding graffiti into your personal monogram, favorite verse or poem. Wonderful Graffiti can also be used to decorate your home, office, or add an additional element of decor to the next event you throw (we especially liked the Americana themed graffiti in light of Independence Day!).
Monogrammed Cocktail Napkins
Yesterday afternoon my UPS driver delivered customized monogrammed napkins I had made for a client of mine who is throwing a surprise “69th birthday celebration” in August. I ordered them from ForYourParty.com, and I have to say, I’m impressed with the quality of the napkin and the stamped monogram! The guest of honor has a definite style, and is very particular about things. From what I understand, every suit, shirt, tie,… even his shoes have his monogram somewhere on them. So, I suggested that we carry that theme over into his celebration with small and inexpensive touches like the napkins (which were totally affordable!).
Vary Your Escort Cards for Big Impact!
A way to add some dimension and texture to your escort card table is to vary the coloring and design on your escort cards. Play off your color theme by choosing three different colored card stock or ink color and pick the colors at random for each place card. Unless you are going for a monochromatic look, this variation really adds a lot of color and style without being expensive! It’s a simple idea that you can really run with. If you’re using ribbon or embellishments on your place cards, vary the color, texture, and pattern on those. Some of my favorite examples are below, courtesy of TheKnot and the image to the left is from Martha Stewart Weddings.
Dressing Up a Table
I love designing table scapes, especially for intimate dinners and parties. I’m always looking to acquire unique and beautiful vases, pitchers, and other containers to use on the table and as interactive pieces for dinner (I love best when things serve a multipurpose!). I have a closet full of greatly shaped containers in a variety of different textures. While surfing the ‘net this afternoon, I came across this darling website called Three Potato Four. They are based out of Virginia where they run their self-proclaimed “mom and pop shop.” What I love most, besides almost every single item they sell on their website, is that they’ve taken the leg work out of finding unique vintage pieces. They have a wealth of items to browse, but my favorite was their array of unique, delectable and colorful pitchers, containers, vases, whatever!
I first fell in love with this milk bottle carafe that looks so beautiful with a single flower, a bouquet, or just filled with your mornings orange juice. I love the shape of it and the thickness of the glass. It is a unique piece that I can’t wait to use!
Of similar ilk is this vintage water bottle that also looks wonderful with just a single bloom. My mom use to have these types of vintage pieces that she would occasionally pick up at tag sales or estate sales. She especially loves medicine bottles.
My most favorite item is their alphabet gift tags. I’ve emailed them about personalizing the order to just include a set amount of one letter. I doubt it is possible unless they are vintage inspired pieces, but if they can offer that option, these would be wonderful as favor tags and in other elements of a weddings design. And because they are black and white they can appeal to a variety of different decor palettes. Either way, I’m ordering myself a set. For $8.oo, how can you go wrong?
