Looking for an easy and creative DIY project? Look no further! Mason jars are versatile and work well for every type of wedding. From summer garden parties to elegant winter affairs, Mason jars can serve as vessels for everything from lemonade to tealights. The best part about adding mason jars to your decor is that they’re inexpensive, widely available and easy to work with.

There’s nothing shabby about these chic antique table-toppers. Spend some time scouring your local thrift stores, rummage sales and antique markets and you’ll be rewarded with some fabulous vintage finds to fill with fresh flowers or candles to create lovely DIY centrepieces.

Let Shakespeare’s play A Midsummer Night’s Dream inspire you to add a touch of whimsy and romance to your wedding celebration.

Product photography by Carlo Mendoza.

Sneak peek of a wedding I was thrilled to produce collectable centrepieces for. Photography by Jen Aaron.

Celebrity wedding planner David Connolly from Rich Bride, Poor Bride has joined Weddingbells as a guest blogger answering all of your burning wedding-related questions. Need some help with the planning process? Have a question about etiquette, organization or budgeting? Post your question in the comment field below and we’ll forward it directly to David.

Happy Thanksgiving everyone! This blog entry transcends a question to give thanks to my grandmother and all she taught me about this career, and life. It is inspired by her knack for throwing a curtain on a card table while filling an empty lemonade pitcher with lilacs from the backyard, all in the time it took for unexpected or forgotten guests to walk from the curb to the porch and be greeted by the screen door swinging open accompanied by her singing, “Finally!”

So when I read about “personalized, found-object collectable centrepieces” being a wedding trend for 2012, I think, “Trend? Me arse. Tanks ma b’ye but we be doin dat dare ting since Judas Priest made Sundees. Now G’waywitcha and yer trends before I puck ya in da moute.”

Or more simply put, ‘Thanks Nanni for truly instilling the belief in me that, “There’s always room for one more at our table.” And the skill-set to ensure that our table would win if there was ever an impromptu, “Who has the nicest table within four blocks?” random, might never happen, competition.

9 Reasons You Should Consider Making “Collectables” Centrepieces

1. Although popularly related to ‘vintage shabby chic’ or beach themes, this method can help create any level of formality or style. Whimsical? Of an era? Minimal? Dramatic? Romantic? Cultural? All of the above? It’s the selection of objects that define the vision.
2. Ultimately visual cohesion will exist through a colour scheme and common textures but don’t be rushed to establish them. Let your initial decor scavenger hunts and ongoing familiarization with the reception room allow must-have pieces, fabrics and/or finishes to inspire you.
3. Places to look: Flea markets, garage sales, attics, basements, closets, your aunt’s lavender farm, your uncle’s tool shed, Craigslist/Kajiji.
4. Choose objects that might elicit guest conversation or possible interaction: photos in a wooden recipe box, a real trophy, newspaper clippings about guests in a journal, a sailor hat on a stand that your grandfather wore when he proposed to the pill box hat at the next table over.
5. Don’t let colour or original purpose prevent you from considering a find that you love… you can change the colour or finish of almost anything and you’ll be surprised at how elegant pheasant feathers coming out of an upside down chandelier can look.
6. Collecting, shopping, packing, recording, transporting, cleaning and setting up on the day takes longer than you think and requires you to enroll a dedicated helper in the plan — far enough in advance that you trust them to make changes.
7. Full marks for sustainability! One stop further on the eco train would be to double your guest favours as decor by incorporating them into your table design. Kitchen herbs planted in 10 terracotta pots or mason jars or soup tins, leather bound books, gorgeous vintage ornaments in a cut crystal punch bowl or hanging from a branch standing in an antique ice bucket, jars of candy, or cupcakes and candles.
8. You don’t have to give the centrepieces away. Especially if their contents include early shower or wedding gifts that suit: the teapot, the photo-frame cube, martini glasses with floating dahlias, the birdcage, crystal candlesticks…
9. Permanent botanical keepsakes like assorted hob-knob milk glass vases holding paper flowers made out of whatever suits the couple best…paperback novels, copies of the wedding vows, sheet music, maps, or fabric flowers in apothecary jars.

Yours in Gobble, Gobble Gratitude (and especially you Nanni…I love you more than Jello),
David
(aka Captain Collectables)

Find me on Facebook at Facebook.com/theaislefile

The crisp weather has inspired us to find the best in fall centrepieces. Warm autumn colours and unique textures are some of the things that we love most about fall. Whether you choose bouquets of wheat and pine cones for your rustic-themed wedding or traditional floral arrangements in deep reds and oranges for your traditional affair, autumnal themes are warm and inviting when the temperatures outside start to dip.

What could be more fun than a wedding filled with loads of glitter and confetti? From dazzling cakes to fabulous flowers, here are five glam ways to add that touch of sparkle.

Photography by Jim Norton. Styling by Catherine Doherty. First published in Weddingbells Fall & Winter 2011.

I feel like this snowy winter day calls for a floral eye candy blog post! Fest your eyes on this pretty wedding we designed last August, let the soft hues warm you. Each bridesmaid’s bouquet was a unique cluster of summer blooms, and the brides was a mix of all the girls bouquets together. Each of the guys bouts co-ordinated with the girls bouquets, which was soooo cute!! The centrepieces were large, organic, full of greens, and designed with seasonal Canadian garden flowers. (More photos after the jump).

Photo: bellafiori.com

Last week I was out for a business breakfast at Toronto’s Four Seasons Hotel. Walking into the lobby they had the most amazing display of peonies, blood orange-meets-coral in colour, presented in a tall, cylindrical vases. Seeing these dramatic arrangements reminded me just how much I love peonies and how amazing they look in centrepieces and bouquets. Peony season is typically from late April through June. They can definitely be found outside of these seasons, but you may have to do a little more research to track them down and be prepared to pay a premium as they will have to be imported. Totally worth the investment if you are a peony lover I think. They are glorious.