Q. Hi Jordan!
Since I know how much you love Mason jars, I thought you’d be the perfect person to talk to. I just got engaged and we are planning on getting married next summer. We want a very DIY wedding with as little cost as possible.
My idea was to somehow incorporate Mason jars for the decorations at the ceremony or reception. Can you think of any unique ways to use them as decoration for a wedding? We are having a small garden wedding if that helps any. I love doing crafts so I think I could handle just about any idea as long as it wasn’t too expensive.
– Jessy
First, congratulations!!!
Now, some ideas to get you started:
1. The most obvious way to incorporate Mason jars into your wedding decor is to use them as part of your tablescape, filling them with candles and/or flowers. For a personal twist, try adding seasonal/regional additions, like seashells (if you’re having a beach wedding), stones (if you’re in a rural setting), or even things like cranberries and nuts. Fill them 1/3 of the way up with whatever suits your decor (even a little sand or coarse table salt works nicely) and add either real votives or LED votives (I used half and half for my wedding to minimize smoke and heat, since it was a pretty small room with low ceilings).
To add interest to the table, consider interspersing vintage glass vessels of different heights filled with the flowers of your choice around your Mason jar candleholders (you can also flip this and use the Mason jars for flowers, as pictured above center, and the assorted vessels for candles). And incidentally, a great money-saver is to ask your bridesmaids to donate their bouquets to the table decor upon entering the reception – just make sure to tell your florist or caterer to leave an empty vase waiting at each table.
2. Hanging Mason jar lanterns, like the ones pictured above left (via Etc Etc) make gorgeous, rustic lighting options. You can buy them here ($18 for a set of 6), but they’re so easy to DIY: just wrap a length of wire around the lip (tightly, so the jar won’t slip out), and then affix another piece of wire to the first piece to serve as a handle. I’d fill these with LED lights, just because, hey, you never know: one might come tumbling down, and a fire on your wedding day might dampen the mood a bit. As an alternative to the look, try securing them with twine and filling them with flowers to create hanging vases.
3. You can also wrap Mason jars in twine to create unique vases for the tables (these would also make adorable favors if you’re having a small wedding; just place a flower in each one and tie a label with each guest’s name and seating assignment to the neck).
4. Another great favor idea incorporating Mason jars: DIY body scrubs or recipes-in-a-jar. This is fairly labor-intensive, so it’s probably better for a smaller wedding.
5. Of course, Mason jars make fun drinking vessels. How about setting a big metal bucket with ice and sealed mason jars filled with lemonade or my guava sangria by the entrance, and then letting each of your guests select a jar to sip from during the ceremony? Or, as in the picture above right, you can set out empty Mason jars with a sign encouraging your guests to use them as their personal drinking glass throughout the wedding (I’d have a few extras on hand, as people tend to lose things like this a couple of cocktails in). If you add labels with names to each jar, they can pull triple-duty as seating cards and favors.
Be sure to let me know what you end up doing! And for more wedding money-savers, click here!
xo
J
