Decor Galore

I know that food, photography, and music all play a big part in making a wedding a success but there is no doubt that my wedding forte is decor.  I want my wedding decor to be unique with a shabby chic twist.  

Our ceremony is going to take place at my church, First Evan.  The sanctuary is perfectly beautiful in my eyes.  It is not over the top ornate or fancy, but it has a clean and traditional beauty to it that I absolutely love for a wedding.  In my quest to have some different decor than the usual, I have decided to use a collection of lanterns perched on the stage's half-walls to bring a unique flair to the ceremony.  I plan to fill these lanterns with tall white pillar candles and have some type of small flower arrangements placed between groupings of lanterns to add color to the backdrop.

What do you think of my collection so far? Lucky for me I spotted these beauties just about everywhere I have chosen to shop lately.  I got most of them for a GREAT deal at my local Marshalls and TJ Maxx.  Two were purchased from Target on clearance, and my mom and I splurged on a couple beautiful ones at Sheffield's antique mall that we will take home to our own homes after the wedding! I am super pleased with my finds and can't wait to see how it will come together! (hopefully it will turn out how I envision it in my head)

I'm still contemplating ideas for the decor that we will stand in front of on the stage. I have considered getting two small trees to flank on either side of us and hang small glass votives with candles from the branches.  I think it adds a little bit of rusticness and the outdoors to the ceremony.  If that idea fails I have also seen beautiful large iron fixtures that could flank us with a large array of beautiful flowers cascading over the sides.  I wish I had a picture to describe this idea but I don't.  I just don't really like the idea of a flower arbor.  I know they can be pretty but it's not my exact style and I feel like it would cost way to much and go to waste.  At least the trees and standing iron fixtures could be used at our house right?! haha too many decisions.

I have also started purchasing glass bottles of all different shapes and sizes.  Some old, some new, but all are so uniquely beautiful and I can put them to good use in my home after the wedding.  Why do I need glass bottles and vases? Well...I want to use these for centerpieces at the reception! During my nightly overview of wedding blogs, I have been so inspired by crafty and shabby chic weddings.  I am not particularly impressed by large, fancy flower arrangements.  Instead, I love the simpleness of a few pretty flowers arranged in unique bottles.  

 

Aren't these so cute?! I love this inspirational picture!

Here is part of my collection so far! What do you think? See what I mean about how each one is unique in its own?  I have some old milk bottles, a few beautiful ones with lots of details, and the two small glasses on the left are made of recycled glass. (I'm even being "green") I have a set of 8 of them that I purchased super cheap at TJ Maxx.  Some people are intimidated by these stores and think they have nothing but crap but trust me, if you are patient and enjoy searching, you can find some GREAT deals! 

I originally thought of asking a good friend of mine who sews to help me make some table runners for the reception tables.  I envisioned pale pink and seafoam fabric running down the middle of the round tables then on the ends that hung off, I wanted to try adding a ruffled edge made out of a fun printed fabric.  Sounds cute and girly right? But the more I got to thinking about it, it was going to be more of a hassle than anything and end up costing more than I want to spend just on some table runners.  Now I'm turning to ever-so-reliable burlap to do the trick.  I love burlap.  If you can't tell from the picture we already have burlap running the length of our kitchen table and our dinning room table is also covered by it.  I love the rustic, casual, and homey (sp) feel it adds to any decor.  Thus I plan to either cut burlap runners or use large burlap squares to place under my flower arrangements.  This way, the bright flowers will stand out as well and won't be competing against the colored runners.  Not to mention, it will be a cheaper and easier alternative as no sewing is required :)

For now I will leave you with that.  I can't wait to post about my project I am starting tonight. 

Hint: it involves ribbon...my favorite!