{vintage} ✿ Brooch Bridal Bouquet

One of the latest vintage inspired wedding trends happens to be a favorite of MINE...Vintage Brooch Bridal Bouquets. What an awesome alternative to the traditional bouquet, right? Especially if you are lucky enough to have wonderful vintage jewel and gem heirlooms that you can incorporate into your bouquet.

Heirloom Brooch Bouquet by Noaki Jewelry

These beauties are a bit time-consuming though and you need to keep that in mind when deciding between a DIY Project or asking a professional to create your bouquet. Etsy has many talented artisans that can handle your order, keep in mind that you are looking at approximately 8 weeks time and approximately $400.00 to $800.00 in cost. I have found one artist that really caught my attention, Noaki Jewelry out of Los Angeles, California. Her execution of this heirloom bouquet is PERFECT, elegant, and inspiring. Another fabulous aspect of Noaki's shop is that she offers to turn your precious pieces of jewelry into an heirloom brooch bouquet. The cost is $300.00, which after completing my research for this post, is just an amazing price especially for such fabulous work. Please be sure to take a few minutes and look around her Etsy Shop.

However, if you are feeling adventurous and are a total DIY kinda person then this just might be the project for you.

There are several ways that you can acquire the brooches, my personal fave is one that I read where the mother of the bride wrote a short note to family and friends explaining her daughter's plan to make a vintage brooch bridal bouquet for her wedding and her wish to include her family and friends in the process, making the bouquet much more special {something borrowed per se}. The mother also included a photo of the inspiration for the bouquet so that everyone could see what kind of jewelry would work best. She received over 30 donations, at the time of her posting and everyone was thrilled to be asked to be a part of the bouquet. 

Her total investment in the bouquet included the following: postage, cards, padded envelopes and reprints - which she did at Walgreen's for 10 cents each.  She put a $.61 cent stamp on the padded envelope in case the piece they were sending would be heavy - but the whole packet that she mailed took just a $.44 cent stamp on it.

However most of the bouquets that I have fallen in love with have taken approximately 50 to 75 brooches to complete. So you can shop Etsy, eBay, flea markets, thrift stores, or even Dollar Stores for that new-old look. You really don't have to spend a fortune to find these pieces. Many sellers will offer brooches in lots and you can use vintage hat pins, earrings, miscellaneous gems to fill in.

{fabulous sunday} Long Beach Antique Market

So we did it!!! We sold at our first big antique market in Southern California and it was FABULOUS! The Long Beach Antique Market has it all...so many vendors, so many niches, and so many fabulous finds. Took a couple of quick strolls around to see what else was out there, beyond my line of vision, and I ended up wanting half of what I saw. All I could think was 'WOW, I could do {such and such} that THAT!' But I was an extremely good girl and didn't spend a dime on anything. :)

We had some absolutely fantastic customers and potential customers come by our spot. Many of them I passed along my information to so that they can place custom orders for the October 30th event {dang I LOVE custom orders | they are so much fun}. So here's a big YIPPEE to all of you wonderful people that are going to be popping by after stopping by. Be sure to check back later because I will be posting more information in regards to the custom order designs that I have available.

In the meantime please be sure to click on my Pinterest link for many ideas and options for the windows | doors | and shutters that I sell or click here to connect directly to my Vintage Inspired DIY Wedding board, also on Pinterest. Also be sure to let me know if you have any questions. You can email me at quirksbyannie@gmail.com | visit my Etsy Shop at www.etsy.com/shop/QuirksByAnnie | or visit my Facebook page at www.facebook.com/fabquirksbyannie. Thanks again and I so look forward to talking to you all again and seeing you on the 30th. ♥

when one {door} closes...

While living in North Carolina we collected a few antique and vintage doors. Since moving back to California my husband has transformed two of them into fabulous folding tables that we are now using to display our depression glass and other small collectibles at the antique markets. Another door is going to my sister-in-law who is using it to recreate a door she had in a home that she recently sold. She had been using it as a growing chart, measuring me, my nieces, nephew, my kids, etc. for tons of years.

So today I started browsing around to build on some existing vintage inspired ideas for the remaining doors...and I FOUND TONS OF IDEAS!!! A door alone has such great symbolic meaning | couple that with simply perfect vintage and you have a fabulous backdrop for your wedding ceremony and/or reception.

So here are a few pictures illustrating some DIY ideas...

{altar backdrops}

♥

{rustic screen door entrance}

 {autumn inspired arbor}

 {menu}

{seating chart & vintage keys}

{seating arrangements | tags strung up w/ twine & mini clothes pins}

{serving table}

{table}

There are many different places where you can find vintage door these days, even if you don't live in rural North Carolina. Many areas now have architectural salvage yards, you can also shop flea markets, and the Habitat for Humanity ReStore in your area. Once again with vintage pieces the options are near endless and I just love that these are pieces that you can incorporate into your home's decor after your wedding day...{simply perfect}. ♥

{photo credits} Photo One: stylemepretty.com | Photo Two: weddingchicks.com | Photo Three: greenweddingshoe.com | Photo Four: 100layer.com | Photo Five: http://tinywhitedaisies.tumblr.com | Photo Six: http://wedding-cheesecake.com | Photo Seven: http://julieharmsenphotography.com | Photo Eight: http://www.oncewed.com | Photo Nine: http://www.100layercake.com | Photo Ten: http://dwellingsanddecor.tumblr.com

Let's Talk About Mason Jars...

In the vintage wedding scene there really isn't anything more versatile than the simple yet perfect MASON canning jar!!! I have seen them used often and each time I see them featured as part of a wedding I just think "FABULOUS"! The use of mason jars is a wonderful idea for so many reasons. One of the reasons is that they tend to be very inexpensive. You can find vintage canning jars on such sites as Etsy and eBay and often times they are sold in lots. Of course you can find them while treasure hunting through yard sales and flea markets.


Some simply perfect ideas include using the jars as centerpieces; hanging vases; chandeliers; fill them with lemonade | sherbets | votive candles | water and floating flowers | photos | and literary I could go on and on but I will spare you. But in the event that you want to KNOW more...just ask...I have a million of 'em. xoxo

{vintage wedding ✿ inspired diy ideas no. 2}

Lighting of a Unity Candle has become more common place over the last couple of decades. The lighting takes place during the wedding ceremony and is quite often performed in two separate parts. The first, is when a representative of the bride's family and of the groom's family each light a taper candle and then place them in a holder. Next the bride and groom each take one of the taper candles and light the 'unity candle' simultaneously.

There are many explanations to the symbolic nature of the Unity Candle ceremony, but one of the more common ones is that the two lighted candle represent the bride and the groom; two individual and separate hearts aflame. When the bride and groom light the unity candle, the two flames burn as one | two families one | two lights become one. ♥

Add some fabulous vintage vibe by replacing the traditional white unity candle with a vintage oil lamp. The look and ambiance of a oil lamp is soft and elegant, the perfect combination. The oil lamp can be used during the ceremony and then displayed in front of the husband and wife at the main table at the reception. This vintage oil lamp will also make a perfect addition to the couple's new home...{forever}

{add a painted heart | bride & groom | wedding date}

Vintage oil lamps can be found for fairly inexpensive flea markets and many online venues such as Etsy or eBay.

{vintage wedding ✿ inspired diy ideas no. 1}

So now that I have shared with you some of my favorite vintage inspired wedding ideas, I thought I could expand the idea and create some DIY posts. Of course, for the most part, I offer these services but I just figure that you are either going to hire someone to do it for you or you are the type of person to do it yourself and if I don't share then you can find the inspiration somewhere else. I rather be a one-stop-shop for your vintage wedding needs.

Mason Jars with Homemade Vintage Ice Cream

This is a recipe that is near and dear to my vintage heart. My Dad made this ice cream when I was a little girl and I just loved it, so YUMMY and many sweet memories. It is a cross between Brown Bread Ice Cream {which is an English recipe that was popular, especially towards the end of the Victorian Era, when the more well-to-do homes had new cooler making ices more popular} and Grape-Nut Ice Cream {which is a popular regional dish in the Canadian Maritimes and New England}.

Boston Brown Bread Ice Cream

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cups wheat and barley nugget cereal (e.g. Grape-Nuts™)

• 3 cups milk

• 5 eggs, beaten

• 1 cup brown sugar

• 1 cup white sugar

• 1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk

• 1 pint half-and-half cream

• 1 tablespoon maple flavored extract

• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract

Directions

1. Place cereal in a bowl and pour in enough milk to cover (1/2 to 1 cup); set aside. In a large bowl, combine eggs, brown sugar, white sugar, condensed milk, half-and-half, maple flavor and vanilla. Stir until smooth. Place in freezer canister of ice cream maker. Stir in enough milk to reach fill line.
2. Freeze according to manufacturers' directions on ice cream maker. When ice cream begins to solidify, add cereal mixture before freezing completely.

Fill Pint Sized Vintage Mason Jars with the prepared ice cream and store in freezer until just before ready to serve. Use vintage wash tubs filled with ice to nestle the jars. A delicious alternative to the norm and compliments wedding cake fantastically. Of course there are hundreds of vintage ice cream recipes to chose from. ✿ Enjoy!!!

{do you take me}

I'm IN LOVE with vintage...I admit it. And during the course of my courtship with it I have fallen deeply in love with the vintage inspired wedding theme, so much so that I am most of the way committed to expanding my business to wedding planning. Now this is coming from someone who has been married for 16 years, was married in Las Vegas, and has NEVER EVER had that twinge of "ohhhhhh I wish I had had a big wedding". I am completely content with the fact that I got married with short notice and little hoopla...just fits my personality. But now that I have had the opportunity to work with some brides in helping them create their seating charts, menus, photo frame with my antique and vintage windows I have begun to see the allure of planning A wedding, anyone's wedding other than mine or one that requires MY money! hahaha

Once I started looking around for inspiration I began stumbling upon SO MANY lovely vintage finds. MASON JARS on ice in metal tuns with homemade ice cream in each | VINTAGE BUTTONS used throughout the wedding from accent pieces on invitations and thank you notes to splashes of color tossed on tabletops | VINTAGE HYMNALS cut into small hearts and used to decorate the wedding reception tables | ANTIQUE OIL LAMP in place of the Unity Candle | and so much more...

I have started a Vintage Inspired Wedding Ideas Board on Pinterest where I have begun pinning my favs. Seems like every day I fall in love with a new idea. I carry many of the items in my Etsy shop that can be used to create these darling items, ready for your touch or our touch {cause I am always thrilled to design that perfect vintage piece for your wedding}.

I am currently working on a fantastic wedding present for a customer. It is a Six-Pane Vintage Window that I have painted white (or perhaps my husband has painted) and knocked down for a shabby chic look; I will be penning the couples initials {LMB} and their wedding date in the upper left-hand pane and penning their wedding location {Central Park New York, NY} in the lower right-hand pane. Here is a sample glimpse of the initials (just a trial run)...

The final product won't have the silver accent...just the lettering.