D I Y Cake Backdrops

There are so many unique, interesting, personal, inexpensive, beautiful ways to decorate your cake table at your wedding.  Today we want to suggest a few DIY options that take some time, but not as much money from the budget.


Some great vintage inspired options are to add photos to string or ribbon to add panels behind the table, create paper rosettes in your wedding colors with paper and string them together to hang from the ceiling and add color to the cake table, find a great vintage piece of fabric that works with your wedding colors and hang behind the table in either single panels or a block piece, find windows or frames and paint them to look vintage and arrange as a background, you can also use paper or fabric banners with 'Mr. & Mrs.,' 'Love,' or 'Congratulations to the Bride and Groom' or even a personal message to or from the couple.  So many options are available to be made by hand.  You can use pictures as inspiration or go to your local craft store and look and what is available.  Here are some ideas we like!

photo ideas from Etsy.com, theKnot.com, and Weddings.com

What type of Honeymooner are you?

After the celebration of your wedding with family and friends, it is time for you and your spouse to get away.  Whether the bride and groom rush off to a honeymoon or delay the vacation to a later date, honeymoons are always a factor in planning a wedding.  Newlyweds are starting to vary from the traditional honeymoon time frames.  A new trend is for the couple to take a short vacation just after the wedding weekend, usually low key and more relaxing, and then 6 months to a year later actually go on their honeymoon.  This permits the bride and groom to take a much needed break following the wedding activities and excitement and then take a longer, more adventure filled trip at a later date.  There are four basic types of honeymooners: Beach Combers, Mountain Climbers, Attraction Hunters, and Adventure Junkies.

Beach Combers consist of those couples wanting the sun and water.  They pick an island, coast, cruise, etc. to fly or drive away to.  Popular destinations for beach combers are Hawaii, Caribbean, Central America, and Mediterranean.  If you want to look outside the norm, consider Brazil, Seychelles, Cooks Island, and Thailand.

Porto da Barra Beach, Brazil

Anse Lazio, Seychelles

Chaweng Beach, Thailand

Tapuaetai, Cooks Island

Mountain Climbers typically want the scenic view of towering white peaks or rolling majestic hills.  You can choose a secluded cabin or luxurious resort.  Many newlyweds flock to Lake Tahoe, Breckenridge, Austria, or Italy.  To find something of the beaten tourist path, look into Montenegro and Chile.
 


Montenegro

 

  

Ski Pirigallo Fingers, Chile


Attraction Hunters always look for entertainment.  These couples want to tour castles in Ireland, visit museums in Paris, meet and greet the Disney characters at Disney World, sample wines in the Napa Valley.  Alternatives for these honeymooners are Cape Town, South Africa, Monet's Gardens in NE France, or Great Dixter Gardens in SE England.

Robben Island, Cape Town

Monet's Gardens, France

Great Dixter Gardens, England

Adventure Junkies want to find experience something exciting on their honeymoon.  Some may just want to experience little adventures while others take on new and exciting challenges.  These husband and wife teams want to dive under the ocean surface, ski down a black diamond, camp in national parks, take a safari through Africa, ride a camel around the pyramids, raft the Grand Canyon, sailing the seas, and so on and so on.

Many couples may share interests in multiple categories, but what type of honeymooner are you?

For more honeymoon ideas, contact me at heather@vintageandlace.com!

Have a great day!
Heather

Vintage Wedding Signs: DIY Project

thingsrbetterwithaparrot.typepad.com/homegrown-wedding

Handmade signs are a simple and functional addition to your wedding decor. Not only do they add a certain fun, vintage ambience to your wedding, they also serve the important purpose of making sure your guests know where to go. 


We recently made a simple version of our own so we could show you just how easy this really is! 

The ideal material to use is recycled or aged wood. However, we didn't have any lying around so we opted to buy some inexpensive wooden boards from our local craft store. 

Tip: For the most inexpensive options, check the section of your craft store where model airplane/car building supplies are located. These thinner, light weight pieces of craft wood are perfect for gluing to a post with basic wood glue. You can also glue a nice ribbon to the back of the craft wood as a hanger that should hold just fine. However, if you want to attach a metal hanger of some type that requires puncturing the wood, we suggest going with a thicker option found at a hardware store. 


Because this wood is brand new and doesn't have that vintage charm we love, you will also need some wood stain or brown paint to create a quick "aged" look. Tip: Check the local hardware store for returned/sample/mistake paint that is often good quality and extremely discounted. That is where we found our bucket of brown paint for just a few bucks!

In addition to your wood, you will also need a small amount of white paint (or any other color you choose) for the writing, a medium size brush, a wide bristle brush, and some newspaper to keep your space clean. That's it! 


To achieve the vintage look use the wide bristle brush to make long sporadic strokes across the board with your dark brown paint. Be sure to leave some of the natural wood exposed so the desired affect is achieved. 

While you wait for the brown paint to completely dry, begin to conceptualize what you want your signs to say and what type of font you'd like to use. First think about the functionality of the signs: Will your guests be relying on these signs to point them in the right direction? What is the best way to communicate what you want them to know? 


It is also very important to think about how big the font needs to be for your signs to be clearly visible. For example, if your guests will need to see your sign from a main road where the speed limit is a bit higher, then make sure your font is bold and large enough. However, if your guests will be viewing the sign in a drive way where they will be going more slowly then you may not need to use such a large font. By the same token, if your sign will be placed on a walking path, then you can use an even smaller font and possibly write more. Just remember that keeping things short and sweet is often the best bet. 


If you want your signs to look more rustic choose a print font that is imperfect.

 If you want a more formal appeal, then choose a cursive font. 

weddingbee.com

Keep in mind that the point is for these signs to look handmade, so they don't have to be perfect. Don't sweat it if you can't make them look as flawless as those pictured above! You can save the calligraphy for those invitations! 


Now for the fun part! Get creative and come up with interesting ways to tell your guests what to expect. We chose to mark the reception driveway with a sign that says: "Dinner and Dancing". We have also seen "Party Here". We really like "Happily Ever After Starts Here", "Here comes the bride", or "From this day forward" for ceremony sites. We also like "Slow: Cocktails Ahead" for showing your guests where to find drinks and food. 


You can also simply put your names with a heart or plus sign and the date. Or, you can put "Mr. and Mrs, ____. established (your wedding date)". This can be a great keepsake to hang in your home as a reminder of your special day. 

Now that you have your ideas and your paint is completely dry, you can start to add the words. If you are a little nervous about jumping right in, you can use a pencil to lightly write your words before using the paint to trace over the lines. This is a good idea if you are concerned about the spacing of your letters and words.


For our sign, we chose an off white paint to give it a little bit more of a vintage touch. We chose a thick, large font so the sign would be clearly visible from the driveway. We also accented the font by making the ends of the letters a little wider so they would feel a bit more fun! 

That's basically it! Simple, fun, and inexpensive -our favorite kind of project! Of course, you can get more creative than this and add ribbons, more colors, etc. depending on the look you are going for, the amount of time you have and your creativity comfort level. 

We hoped you enjoyed this introduction to DIY wedding signs. This is a project that even the craft-challenged can undertake because part of the charm is in the imperfections! 


Thanks for visiting our blog, please also check out our website at www.vintageandlace.com and like our Facebook Page: Vintage and Lace Wedding Specialists for other tips, tricks and projects to make your wedding day one-of-a-kind! 


And, as always, feel free to contact us with any questions or comments, or to learn more about our Wedding Planning Services!  


Rachael@vintageandlace.com


Note: If your signs are going to be outdoors for an extended period of time or you want them to last for years to come, we suggest spraying them with a protective gloss or coating.

Summertime! Outdoor Weddings are in Season





Garden Vineyards



Outdoor weddings allow for a beautiful backdrop with little need for additional decor.  A wedding outside can be held in a garden, natural park, vineyard, farm, rooftop terrace, backyard, and so many more locations.  The location typically speaks for itself.  Allow that to play into your design.  Sometimes it is best to keep it simple.  Also, choose the venue that plays to the dreams you have for your wedding day.  If you want flowers everywhere - pick a garden in full bloom.  If you are a wine lover - select a vineyard.  If you and your fiance love to spend time in the great outdoors - look at the natural parks in your area.  With all the splendor that comes with an outdoor wedding, there are also risks involved.  The best method is to be prepared and work with any elements that could occur on your wedding day. 





Abbey Road Farm

 


When thinking about outdoor weddings, one concern is always 'will it rain?'  It is important to have a back-up plan; that may include another site in case of rain (make sure to inform your guests if there is an alternative rain location), having tents on hand, or using umbrellas (as shared in a previous post). 




Red Ridge Farms

Wind can also play a part in how you design and plan your wedding.  It is best that the bride's hairstyle can accommodate this element.  Also consider the length and material of the bridesmaids' dresses, you don't want any incidents to occur when vows are being said.  In addition, think practical necessities.  For stationary that will be placed for guests to receive (like programs, seating assignments, etc.), make sure to have it anchored down.  You can do this when taking into account the design of your wedding.  One options is to add a sheer or colored ribbon (within your color palette of course!) over the table and staple or otherwise secure it on the bottom side.  Make sure the ribbon is very taut.  The wind can be a blessing in disguise on a warm day, just  be prepared. 



Sunflower Garden

 Speaking of the warmth, summer days can get warm especially if you are under the heat of the sun.  A great break from the sun for a bride is to use a parasol (you can even rent vintage and/or lace ones!).  Parasols can also be used when taking photos adding a signature element.  Having fans for guests is also a good idea.  A creative way to do this is to use an engagement photo as the image on the fans or to put the programs on one side.  Another good policy is to have water available for guests and the wedding party prior to the wedding.    

  



Bridal Veil Lakes



  

Summer months are a beautiful time of the year for a wedding, take into account these little precautions and your outdoor wedding will be a success!  Contact us at info@vintageandlace.com for additional ideas!









 







The Importance of Assigned Seating

As we move full speed into summer and the most popular wedding season, we wanted to look at creative ways to show your guests to their seats.  Having assigned seating can cause some difficult layout decisions, but when seating is limited and you have to make the most of each table, then assigned seating is typically the best option.  Guests tend to sit with others they know when they have the option thus leaving open seats at many of the tables.  When your guest count is barely within the parameters of room capacity, then having open seats at several tables causes the last groupings of people to either delay sitting down or break up their parties.  In addition, assigning seats takes the worry of guests rushing to reserve a place when they first enter the reception space.  Our recommendation: assign seats and have fun with the table numbers/identifiers!  Make it part of the decor.

There are many options for identifying seating.  The most traditional is numbering the tables with a beautifully scripted card.  These pictured are templates available at marthastewartweddings.com.

You can get a little more personal and include the number with a picture or on artistic blocks showcasing a passion or hobby.  Here is one of many examples we found on Etsy.

 Brides and grooms can also incorporate the numbers with floral arrangements, chalkboard signs, favors, candles, numbers on wine bottles or rocks, and another endless selection of possibilities, examples available on Etsy and marthastewartweddings.com.

Another creative option we like is to use a theme to identify your tables for the guests.  Pick something that portrays you.  Some ideas we came up with are wine varieties (Cabernet, Pinot Grigio, Pinot Noir, Shiraz, Merlot, Chardonnay, Malbec, etc.) and showcasing the different wine bottles on the different tables.  Another fun identifier is countries the couple have been to or wish to go with images of the countries.  What describes you as a couple?

Enjoy this time and know the effort you put into who will sit with who at which table will provide clarity and calmness on the wedding day!

Contact us for more ideas that fit your wedding at info@vintageandlace.com!