For the first few months after getting engaged, I threw myself into wedding planning. I’ve never been particularly into crafts, but I found myself maniacally scouring Pinterest for ideas, hoping to gain some inspiration for all sorts of things. In particular, I wanted to find different styles of centrepieces, with my criteria being that it had to be simple to make and cost effective. Eventually, I planned a theme and colour scheme, and from that I then amalgamated lots of different ideas to create something that was exactly what I was looking for. I showed The Bloke what I had come up with, and thankfully he liked them as much as I did.
You will need:
Materials. After I had decided what I wanted I went to Birmingham Rag market, where there are endless craft market stalls that sell every type of material imaginable for rock bottom prices. I wanted to ensure that I didn’t run out, so I bought 11 metres of wide double-edged lace, 8 metres of burlap/hessian, 4 metres of ivory curtain cord and 10 metres each of three different types of ribbon, for the unbelievable price of about £20.00. For the small jar I needed music manuscript paper, but I have tons of that already as I’m a musician, so I cut up an old piece of oboe music into strips (I haven’t played the oboe in about 15 years, and won’t be doing so in the future). It is possible to order sheet music online or purchase it from charity shops and music stores however.
Incidentally, I have seen the small jars with pages from books used instead of manuscript paper, which look equally as beautiful.
Glue gun and glue. I bought a mini glue gun and glue sticks from Hobbycraft for £6.00.
Jars. I’ve been very lucky in that a local store sells mason jars for half of the price that department stores charge, and I worked out that the middle jar (500ml) is the same size as the sauce and jam jars that are sold in supermarkets, so I have saved ones that we have used and my friends and family have given me theirs too, which has saved me a lot of money. For a set of three jars, it has cost me about £3.00.
This is what I did (click on the images for the full size):
For the large jar, I measured out a piece of lace, glued the edge on one side and then stuck it onto the jar so that the lace was centred. I took to time to ensure that the lace pattern matched, and then cut and glued the other end over the top.
I waited a few seconds for the glue to dry, measured a piece of thicker purple ribbon and glued it in the middle of the lace at the same point where I had glued the lace.
I then glued a smaller piece of ribbon around the top of the jar.
For the middle jar, I measures and cut a piece of burlap and repeated the same process that I had done with the lace – glue and the edge and stick in the middle of the jar
I added a thin piece of ivory ribbon in the middle, gluing and sticking the edge at the same point where I had joined the burlap.
I then measured and glued ivory cord at the top of the jar.
The smaller jar was slightly more fiddly. I measured out and cut a strip of manuscript paper. In the middle of the strip, I cut out a small heart shape, taking care not to crease or damage the paper. I then glued one end, stuck the paper onto the middle of the jar and joined it from the other end with more glue.
I then added a thin purple ribbon at the top of the jar.
Voila! Easy, cost effective and I know that when they are filled with beautiful purple and white flowers and Baby’s Breath, placed on a wooden board and surrounded by tealights in glass tealight holders and paper hearts it will look beautiful!
The Bloke was messing about with his camera the other day, so he took some pictures for me to demonstrate how it may look with more atmospheric lighting:
What about you guys? What crafty ideas did you do for your wedding?
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Suzie Speaks 
50 million years ago when I had my first wedding, I made all the bouquets and centrepieces and decorations. I can’t believe I did that as I would never even attempt that now. These jars turned out really nice! Now fill them with Hershey’s kisses for my table.
Sorry, Elena, I’ve just found you in my spam folder! Hershey’s???? When we live down the road from the Cadbury’s factory??? Once you’ve eaten a flake you’ll never look at chocolate in the same way again!
We were married way back in the dark ages before Pinterest. Drats! So many great ideas on Pinterest. Our entire wedding was a community effort. My mom made my dress and several bridesmaid dresses. One of my bridesmaids made a couple more dresses and did the flowers. Different family members were on tap for different jobs. The biggest creative thing I did was create a big wall collage of photos of both of us, from baby to adulthood. People loved the collage. I supposed now more couples do video slide shows during signing of papers or a part of the ceremony or during the reception. 31 years ago, technology was not really a part of wedding planning! LOL But – we did have a friend video tape the ceremony on one of the earliest video recording machines I’ve seen. If I were getting now, I would totally live in Pinterest Land for ideas. Love seeing what you are doing!
That sounds amazing! I’ve loved how involved my friends have got in the whole process!
These are lovely, Suzie. Mason jars – the new crystal, and so much more versatile. Can’t wait to see them filled with flowers. You made beautiful centerpieces, and some other bride-to-be will certainly adopt your idea.
We did nearly everything for our small backyard wedding 44 years ago. I designed and sewed my own wedding dress as well as my husband’s shirt, made my own bouquets and all floral decorations including a tiny bouquet for the top of our cake, drew the master artwork for our invitations, made the floral headpieces and boutonnieres.
One original thing: I bought beautiful floral bed sheet tops and cut them into circles to use as tablecloths – far less expensive than buying 10 tablecloths back then. We used them for years and years afterward.
And one huge mistake: We couldn’t afford to hire a professional photographer so we gave rolls of film to about 6 friends who owned SLR cameras. Of the hundreds of photos snapped that day, there isn’t one decent photo of my husband and me together. In fact, the snaps of people in general were awful.
It’s different today with cameras as part of every smart phone and most people having no idea what camera film was. Still, I urge you to hire a professional wedding photographer, and be sure to request the special shots you really want.
Thanks so much Sharon! I’ve been incredibly lucky in that a bloggy friend is also a pro wedding photographer and he has offered to do the pro pics for a ridiculously generous price. His photos are incredible so I’m very excited!
Wish I’d seen your picture before my daughter’s wedding,Suzie. We really couldn’t afford the price of all the flowers, especially for centerpieces. So we used squat mason jars, tied them with burlap twine and filled them with baby’s breath. Wish I’d thought of the lace!!!
That’s the general look I’m going for – burlap, twine etc are on lots of other things I’ve got planned too. I got the lace idea from Pinterest – it’s a better resource than any magazine I’ve bought so far!
So very beautiful and a great idea. I’m aiming at making some summer lights for outside with the jars 🙂 And I made some Christmas table center piece ones too a couple of years ago… still use them 😉
Thank you! Ooh, Christmas… I hadn’t thought of that!
absolutely love seeing all these photos of the final products. Made me a bit nostalgic! ❤
Aww thanks lovely!
Reblogged this on DJ Willow The Wisp and commented:
Something for Marie’s sisters to do!
Thanks for reblogging!
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