I Love... Bottles & Flowers

Now I'm sure you've all noticed by now my slight (?) addiction with wedding DIY and my slight (?) preoccupation with using every day items to create something really special for someone's big day. It's amazing what you can use or adapt when you look around you and don't just see a tin can full of baked beans for example but an can that could be turned into something really fabulous. It's the ultimate in eco wedding up-cycling and I'm all for it.

And, in that same spirit, today's post is all about bottles and flowers. I just love these ideas - so simple, so cost effective and such a great way of creating a large scale display (or even an installation daaarrrrllllingggs!) easily and on a budget. If you're going to do this, wash & store your bottles carefully as you use them, prep them at home before taking them to you venue with the wire or ribbon around the necks to hang them and don't worry about measuring lengths or the hangings - part of the joy about this look is the unplanned!

So next time you're at the supermarket, shun those plastic bottles in favour of glass - get yourself a great decorative display that you can totally recycle afterwards. Now, who would have thought that tomato ketchup bottle would make it to your big day...

Above - I love the beautiful simplicity of this display - such a great way to make and empty space really special on a budget. Bottles suspended with just one or two flower stems in it means these are economical displays to create (think ahead and save any empty bottles whilst you're planning) Image - Elizabeth Anne Designs

Above - and I love this image too. Again, these fabulous bottles, just with simple stems, really make the inside  of this plain little gazebo come alive. Perfect wedding DIY - cost effective, simple and BIG on impact. Image - Jonathan Ong

Above - now this is a different look that I really wanted to share. Here the bottles are suspended from underneath the confetti cone holder. And unexpected place for them but it's a great idea because that prop will still look great now even when the cones have been taken. Image - Just Judy

Above - this is a great homemade centrepiece. The branches form the main piece of the display, all held in a gorgeous great big vase and the bottles and flowers have been hung from them. More colour and softness is added by putting more flowers & bottles on the table below too. Such a big display so would be so easy to recreate or adapt yourself. You could also use  the table below for seating cards, favours or a guest book. Image - via Ruffled

Above - love love LOVE this image. I love the kissing couple, the smiling best man, the colour of the bridesmaid's gown but it's those hanging bottles decorating the ceremony area that I  just can't get enough of. They are fabulous - big impact, low cost. Amazing. Image - W Scott Chester

I Love... Milk Bottles

I totally have a thing about glass at the moment - cut glass, clear glass, coloured glass, jars, vases, you name it if it's made of glass, I'll like it right now. My son on the other hand, likes sweets and his personal favourite is the humble milk bottle. So that got me thinking about milk bottles, but the 'proper' kind, for weddings...

Milk bottles are a great prop for weddings - they're cute, they're kitsch, you can dress them up or leave them nude. Use them for flowers or fill them with some milkshake and a stripy straw for fun drinks. Use them on their own or group them together, hang them from trees or backdrops or place them on tables, pathways or windowsills. You can buy them on-line and recycle them after the big day or you can give them away to homeward bound guests.

So, embrace the humble milk bottle as a gold-top design prop (and add some milk bottle sweets to a candy buffet too, just so my son doesn't think 'his' milk bottles are forgotten either!)

 Above - these milk bottles have printed menus attached to them - such a simple idea. You could use the same idea for a seating plan (each bottle showing a different table's guests) or as decorations on a drinks table with the labels naming the different drinks. Lots of options! Image - All About You

 Above - love this ideas! Here, a number of bottles are loosely filled with flowers and then bound together to create one large display. This would work fabulously as a ceremony decoration which you could then pick apart to decorate a cake table, a drinks table or seating card display. Image - Country Living

Above - here the milk bottle has been attached to a hook stand to make a little lantern. These would look great lining a pathway as the sun goes down... Image - My Kate Parker Wedding 

 Above - large milk bottles with numbers on make a great double-act as a centrepiece and table number combination. You could either print the numbers onto stickers and cut them out carefully before applying or use an etching spray and stencil to get the same affect. Image - Oh Joy

 Above - again, the milk bottle is doubling as a table number but this one has a little extra zip with the addition of the bird decoration but anything that fits with your day would work really well.  Image - via Planet Mithi

 Above - little milk bottles with a single stem create such a pretty seating card display. The tags with guest's seating assignments are just hung around the neck of the bottles. This would certainly be something that would be easy to do yourself (just remember to take a little watering can to top up the bottles, scissors to trim the flowers and the tags too of course!)  Image - The Knot

Above - these milk bottles have a little hand tied posy popped inside and they're all lined up along these gorgeous long tables. What I like here is the wrap around the bottle (you could use lace, ribbon or fabric) as it hides the stems, covers the water line and just adds a touch of luxury. Image - via Style Me Pretty 

 Above - now, I'm not saying it's practical for your bridesmaid to walk around all day clutching a milk bottle bouquet holder but why not use your bridesmaid's bouquets to decorate your cake table or similar? Leave a bottle with water on the table and during dinner, pop them into the water rather than just having them left around. Image - via Wedding By Color

Above - milk bottles work wonderfully at this fresh green & white wedding, perfect to hold a few small blooms in between the large arrangements but ho-hum, creased table cloths. I must focus on the pretty bottles instead... Image - Wedding Bells