Post # 1
Member
6 posts
Newbee
So, I am on a tight budget; and, I want to have a really unique, personal, authentic wedding. I have seen ‘real wedding’ articles mention that the bride and her mom, or her friends, or whomever, attended rummage sales or estate sales, or scoured through antiques shops to put together a collection of this or that element of the wedding (antique boxes to use for centerpieces, or beautiful mismatched china to use as chargers, etc). I really love this idea of creating a collection of beautiful things, picked up here-and-there to use as decor for my wedding. And, being on a budget, I can’t really think of a more affordable way to gather 20 [nice] glass vases for a floating-candle aisle runner, or 200 [quality] votives and holders to spread throughout the reception, or 80 [coordinating] charger plates, than to ask family and friends to be on the lookout for bargains for the types of items I’m looking for, and snatch them up for me when they come across them.
But, I’m concerned that I will end up with a big mish-mash of ugly items, or junk, or spend more money than simply going to a website and ordering in bulk a mass-produced, standard, and maybe lower-quality item. Has anyone actually put together a collection of items like this for their wedding? Or, has anyone attempted to organize family and friends to help find mass quanitities of wedding decor? Any tips?
Thanks!
Post # 3
Member
680 posts
Busy bee
@FutureMrsMCT: we had a mis-match of pretty items, and it turned out great! Vases, plates, charges, etc. brought to you by the fine people of GoodWill, Craigslist, and estate sales. 🙂 It takes some time, but it can work out! Chin up!
Post # 4
Member
14703 posts
Honey Beekeeper
This is a bit of what I collected. I don’t have any pictures of the final product on the tables themselves, but I did a huge mishmash and I had so many compliments on my decor that I was shocked. People still ask me if I have this or that so they can have them. I mixed thrift stores, antique stores, clearance sales and dollars stores.
Post # 5
Member
6257 posts
Bee Keeper
@tksjewelry: I so wish you had pictures!!
OP, this is not always as cheap as you’d imagine. A lot of places have gotten wise to these trends–whenevever I was looking for mismatched china, the only things I could find for less than about $5 a plate was butt-ugly. Milk glass and cake stand prices were insane.
You definitely can do the scavenging/collecting, but you may have to think a bit outside the box of what the current trends are.
Post # 6
Member
680 posts
Busy bee
Oh, and keep an open mind while you’re bargain hunting. I found the thing that’s behind our cake at a thrift shop. No clue what it actually is! I got it for $3, painted it gold, attached ribbon, and it became a backdrop for our cake. 🙂
Post # 7
Member
14703 posts
Honey Beekeeper
@EffieTrinket: me too! I’m so disappointed I don’t. I need to call a few friends and see if anyone got any. I was lucky and hit right as the trend was starting and still found tons of milk glass super cheap.
Post # 8
Member
1283 posts
Bumble bee
@FutureMrsMCT: If you are in the US, Dollar Tree has pretty good quality vases for $1 each. You can order online in bulk. If you want to do something unique, you could do a unique item or two at each table along with some of the dollar store vases. That way you could still have ‘mismatched’ items but you wouldn’t have to search for so many of them.
Post # 9
Member
45540 posts
Honey Beekeeper
Remember too that you can often get better prices at garage sales. It’s more work because you have to go to more places.
Post # 10
Member
289 posts
Helper bee
@julies1949: Very true! I’ve been scavenging/collecting since July when I got engaged. During the summer, I got a lot of milk glass at garage sales for 10 cents each. Thrift shops are getting more expensive… one of ours wants $2/milk gase vase now! The larger milk glass items, the ones with ripples and bubbles are up to $15 at the thrift shops too. I’m not paying that. Like a PP said, I think they are catching onto the trends. I’m stubborn, so rather than pay more than I want to for a second-hand item, I leave it, knowing I will come across it cheaper at some point.
Keep in mind that while garage sales are soooo much cheaper, its hit and miss, you can head out to a dozen and find nothing. That makes for a “wasted” day. Whereas a thrift shop tends to have a couple items at a time, but you’ll pay a little bit more.
Good luck, if I can find a pic, I’ll show you what I’ve collected so far. My wedding is next September and I probably have 80% of my decor for tables!!
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