Joy: Our Wedding – Reception Table Centerpieces!
Written by Sara on December 8, 2010 – 10:46 am -{Click here to catch up on our wedding recaps:
Hair appointments; Picking up flowers; Getting ready; The Gown; Our First Look, Girls & Guys Attire, More Photos, Jitters and Communion, Ceremony Decor; Our DIY Ceremony Programs, Prayers, Readings and Music, Walking Down the Aisle, More Ceremony Shots and The Getaway Car}
Here’s a look at the centerpieces that we utilized at our wedding! We used the following items for each table, as well as the cost per item:
- 1-2 birdhouses (depending on size) from my mother’s collection. We did purchase a few birdcages (my Mom mostly has birdhouses, and I love cages!), so I would say that we spent $50 max on 2-3 birdcages.
- A picture of our relatives on their wedding day. While we borrowed many, many picture frames from family members, we needed to purchase a few frames; I would estimate that we spent no more than $25 total.
- Mason jar, tied with ribbon, with a candle inside. We brought these from the ceremony site to the reception site (yay for reuse!), but we needed to purchase one set of jars (my mother had the others!), candles and the ribbon. I would estimate about $25 for this project; we purchased a ton of candles from IKEA for super cheap!
- Letter ‘G’ to represent our last name, Gillis. I purchased these at Hobby Lobby, painted them ivory and distressed them with sandpaper. Total cost for this project: about $15.
- Square of burlap, which acted as an anchor of sorts for the centerpiece. I know that we purchased a large bolt of burlap from Joann’s Fabric for 50% off one day…I’m sure it didn’t cost more than $20.
Here are a few more pictures, including our cootie catcher favors, a note for our wedding guests, our DIY fabric napkins, and our DIY photobooth tickets!
Up next: More reception decor – the wishing tree and our photo displays!
[All photos by Creative Kindling, our lovely photographers]
Tags: birdcages, birdhouses, burlap, candles, cootie catcher favors, Creative Kindling, DIY fabric napkins, DIY photobooth tickets, mason jars, reception centerpieces, Wedding Recap
Posted in Adornments & Embellishments, Budget Weddings, Decor, DIY, Eco-Chic, Inspiration & Insight, Our Wedding, Personal, Photography, Stationery, Venues, Vintage Beauties, Wedding Recap, Weddings | 3 Comments »
Joy: Our Wedding – Ceremony Decor!
Written by Sara on October 30, 2010 – 7:00 pm -{Click here to catch up on our wedding recaps:
Hair appointments; Picking up flowers; Getting ready; The Gown; Our First Look, Girls & Guys Attire, More Photos, and Jitters and Communion}
Before we get into the actual wedding ceremony, I thought it would be fun to show you how we decorated the chapel space! Because the chapel at Augustana is already so, so beautiful, we wanted to keep the decor simple. So, we lined the center aisle with candles in mason jars tied with ribbon…
And after a failed attempt at creating these tissue paper pom-poms to hang on each pew, I purchased these rustic-looking burlap bows from Etsy! I purchased these from a seller who had used them for her own wedding; how fun! I added some grey and yellow ribbon to these, and I also adorned each bow with a brooch that I purchased at an antique store in Lincoln, Nebraska, before Jordan and I were even engaged!
We also placed seven beeswax candles on the altar to honor our grandparents who have passed away. We used yellow mulberries (from my mother’s collection!) to adorn the silver charger plate.
Also, now would probably be a great time to show you our guestbook, which we placed just outside the sanctuary in an entryway. From Etsy seller Lovliday, we had our guests stamp their thumbprints on this canvas and sign their name nearby. How fun!
Next up: A glimpse into the readings, music and prayers that we used in our ceremony!
[All photos by the outstanding Creative Kindling]
Tags: burlap pew bows, Creative Kindling, Etsy, guestbook, Lovliday, mason jars, simple ceremony decor
Posted in Adornments & Embellishments, Budget Weddings, Decor, DIY, Eco-Chic, Inspiration & Insight, Our Wedding, Personal, Photography, Vintage Beauties, Wedding Recap, Weddings | 2 Comments »
Green Monday: Mason Jar Love
Written by Sara on January 25, 2010 – 9:00 am -Happy Monday, readers! I was gifted the entire weekend off from my part-time job at Gymboree, and I got a few wedding-related crafts done! I can’t wait to share them with you soon.
A few weeks ago on Twitter, I stumbled upon a post from Intimate Weddings that literally made me stop in my tracks. Besides boasting a comprehensive venue search for intimate weddings on her site, Christina of Intimate Weddings has also collected tutorials and inspiration for some of the best DIY projects out there, making Intimate Weddings a literal hub of DIY goodness.
Because J and I plan to incorporate mason jars into our wedding decor, Christina’s post on these multi-purpose lovelies caught my eye recently. Before seeing this post, J and I figured that we would utilize mason jars as vases to hold flowers on on our reception tables. But after seeing this picture (at left), I now am on the hunt for more mason jars to achieve this affect!
I’ve always wanted to be married by candlelight, and this picture literally is just oozing with romance. Can you imagine collections of these mason jars lining the aisle?! How amazing.
The best part about mason jars is that they can be reused post-wedding for canning, storing foods like salsa, or utilized for gifts, such as hot chocolate mix, hard ingredients for cookie dough and more. Plus,mason jars are an easy, always available vase for your favorite garden flowers! Therefore, making an investment in mason jars is an eco-friendly, budget-friendly decor idea.
[Photo credit: Intimate Weddings]
Tags: candlelight, canning, DIY, Gymboree, Intimate Weddings, mason jars, Twitter
Posted in Budget Weddings, Decor, DIY, Eco-Chic, Inspiration & Insight, Our Wedding, Vintage Beauties | Comments Off
Our Wedding: So Many Blooming Choices!
Written by Sara on December 22, 2009 – 9:00 am -Happy Tuesday, readers! For me, today marks my second-to-last day at work this week – yay for Christmas! I am anxious to spend time with family this week.
Today’s post is all about flowers!
I already plan to incorporate green(er) floral choices in terms of our reception decorations – my Mom and I have discussed planting wildflowers in her backyard garden and utilizing these in mason jars adorned with lace and twine for our reception tables. I’ve also thought about frequenting the local farmer’s market the week of the wedding and picking up a few collections of flowers to utilize on our wedding day.
As you recall, I’ve expressed my disdain for shelling out hundreds of buckaroos for real wedding flowers that will merely die in a week, so I’m making friends with the idea of carrying silk or synthetic flowers. However, the more I think about it, I would love to carry real flowers myself on my wedding day. (As I say that now, I’m wondering if that’s fair to ask my girls to carry synthetic florals and to carry real ones myself?!)
Remember this inspiration board I made a few months ago on the Style Circle?
While I know that my girls will be carrying sunshine-colored flowers, I still haven’t concepted a clear-cut idea of what flowers I want to carry on our wedding day.
My Mom has always loved yellow roses and daisies, and I think they would make a beautiful combination for my wedding bouquet. I also LOVE these little button mums (that’s probably not at all what they are, but I love them), so I’d be delighted to have those in my bouquet as well. I also am a HUGE fan of sunflowers.
Yet, I once saw a bride’s bouquet that was completely beautiful – and white! She carried only one bloom, but it was beautiful – she carried only lily of the valley, tied with a ribbon. Here’s a lily of the valley bouquet found via the Boards on Wedding Bee:
How sweet, simple and lovely!
What are your thoughts, readers?
Real or synthetic flowers for me? For my girls?
What blooms should I carry?
What is your favorite yellow flower?
Tags: DIY centerpieces, mason jars, Style Circle, wedding flowers, wedding reception, yellow wedding flowers
Posted in Budget Weddings, Decor, DIY, Flowers, Our Wedding | 3 Comments »