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Wedding Table Essentials: Disposable Napkins

by on April 21, 2013

mydrap_napkins1

 

Sometimes when you’re planning a wedding, what you think will be a “no-brainer” can sometimes turn out to be the most difficult to figure out. Every wedding has a few of those elements, and as trivial as they might be, they can take up a huge chunk of your planning time. One of the things I got so hung up on (as far as time spent looking) were napkins. It seems so simple, right? But for some reason I just couldn’t find what I wanted. Initially I was looking for vintage-y, floral napkins that I could actually keep (and wash, obvs) after the wedding as heirlooms. It sounds silly, but I was really into that idea. I even thought of making my own…going to fabric stores and measuring rolls of fabric and seeing if it would be most cost-effective that way. But trying to find 125+ napkins for under $300 was pretty much impossible, so I gave up on that idea.

We ended up going with an event rental company that let us rent them for around $2/each, and it worked out fine…but the patterns and colors were kind of blah, so we ended up just going with white. I would have much preferred to go with something a bit more rustic of at least colorful, and had I known about wash-or-toss napkins, I would have looked into them.

If you’re currently on the search for inexpensive napkins and don’t want to break the bank (or deal with a rental company), these are a great option. While one company seems to be the main manufacturer of them (MYdrap), they come in a several sizes (they have cocktail, luncheon and dinner), as well as colors and patterns (mostly for the luncheon napkins and placemats).  Buy them here.

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Reception Decor: Composer Busts

by on April 21, 2013

Mini composer busts halbe

 

I’ve talked about my love (obsession?) for Beethoven before, so finding these awesome and inexpensive statues via Country Living magazine totally made my day. These mini composer busts were apparently popular and mass-produced in the 1950s-1970s, and were usually gifts from piano teachers to their students (my piano teacher never gave me something awesome! I guess the trend stopped by the 90s). A brief online search turned up several collections of these available via eBay and Etsy for as low as $4/statue. They are small (typically 5″), and either made of chalkware, vinyl, or porcelain, and they were made by several different manufacturers. Halbe seems to be the most popular on eBay, but I think a deep-dive could turn up other brands (Country Living mentioned they got theirs from Herco Industries.

I think these could be great as part of your reception table decor, and you could group two on a table in between flower arrangements or another creative centerpiece. After the wedding, you can display them on a bookshelf as part of a fun design. If you were having a smaller wedding you could even give them away as wedding favors, especially if they’re only $4/each.

 

 

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Inexpensive Centerpiece Ideas

by on April 14, 2013

Flowers can get expensive, especially when you have to fill out an entire table with them. While I wouldn’t forego using flowers entirely, there are easy and inexpensive ways to add non-floral color and whimsy to your reception tables…and most of them involve fruit!

My favorite table fruit are definitely lemons. They’re bright and cheerful, and perfect for spring or summer weddings. You can place a couple footed serving bowls of lemons in between small arrangements of flowers (or even single bud vases if you really want to save), and the result will have just as much impact as a table full of flowers (if not better).

lemon wedding centerpiece

While the bowl above (from Crate and Barrel) is great, at $54/each you’re going to end up spending more money on it than a floral arrangement. Instead, look for a footed glass bowl that’s more inexpensive, like this IKEA Gottis serving bowl for $9.99

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Another great inexpensive option for a centerpiece is pineapples…and you don’t even need extra serveware for them. I think pineapples are perfect for weddings with a french/middle-eastern theme, and will look amazing alongside flowers such as ranunculus, anamones, or peonies.

justinmarantz.com2_

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Alternative Flower Decorations

by on July 15, 2012

 

I’m typically not a fan of fake or dried flowers, even though they can often make a more realistic (and cost-friendly) alternative to real flowers. I think this stems (no pun intended) from years ago when I was obsessed with anything having to do with Feng Shui, and read that dried and plastic flowers (unless they were silk) were bad for your home. While I’ve stayed away from them since, there are a couple exceptions to this rule that I think would make great additions to your wedding decor (and are good Feng Shui to boot).

The first is lavender. I recently saw dried lavender on top of a cake and loved the casual and country chic look of it. Lavender, for those still interested in the Feng Shui angle, is both a flower AND an herb. And, since dried herbs can be considered good Feng Shui, they wouldn’t technically be bad just because they’re dried. Using dried lavender stalks on top of a cake is a simple, DIY cake decoration. You can buy them online here

 

While on the same website that sells the dried lavender, I stumbled across these gorgeous flowers made out of tapioca wood. While they’re technically fake flowers (which is a Feng Shui no-no), they’re made out of wood rather than plastic. Since wood is a natural element, this is a workaround you could get away with. These would be beautiful in a bouquet, in a centerpiece, or used as some sort of garland. You can buy them here.

 

For those of you interested in Feng Shui, a great beginner’s book is Lillian Too’s Easy-to-Use Feng Shui. It’s especially useful if you’re moving into a new house or apartment and want to get some good mojo flowing! I often found it interesting that a lot of my instincts for how to arrange furniture or what to pack/get rid of always seem to be rooted in the same school of thought. If you’re OCD like me, it’s the perfect guidebook! LOL.

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