Mismatch it Up
If you're having a small wedding and you or your fiancé find the idea of browsing second hand stores and garage sales every weekend, not too daunting, you may want to follow in the recycling footsteps of a number of bridal couples who have chosen to provide their guests with second hand finds.
From dishware for the reception, to glassware for the cocktail hour, second-hand items used in a first-rate way is a great way to save yourself some money, while benefitting the environment and your own eclectic design dreams.
Perfect for a more informal outdoor or backyard wedding, mis-matched plates, glassware, cups and serving utensils sourced from a number of different venues, gives an old world charm to what could otherwise be normal, bland table settings.
For every 50 people or so for whom you have to provide dinner plates, dessert and appetizer plates, glassware, and silverware for, be sure to give yourself at least six months of weekend searching. An estimated number that could stretch to more than a year, if you choose to have more than 200 people in attendance.
With your color scheme in mind, it's also helpful to decide beforehand if you are looking strictly for china pieces or if your search can widen to include stoneware pieces, as long as they fall within your color scheme. This may also be the time you decide on what "period" you are ultimately looking for whether it be dishware that was created within the last few years, dishware with a retro feel created in the 1970s, or vintage styled dishware created even earlier.
Once the hard work of collecting all your dishes has been done, the next challenge before you lies in how you will set up your mismatched dishware. If you choose a combination of china and stoneware, you may want to work to ensure that one table is set entirely with china, while another is set with stoneware. Additionally try to keep the patterns as close in line as you can, sorting pieces by the colors in their patterns, as well as the size of the patterns, and the size of the plates themselves.
While some bridal couples will choose to give their mismatched plates to friends and guests as wedding favors after the dinner, when they have been whisked away, washed and returned filled with tasty squares and treats, this can constitute a lot of extra work for whomever is in charge of dishwashing. A better solution would be to save all the dishes and sell them at your own garage sale thereby recouping some of the money you spent, to further reduce your cost per plates.
Step out of the mold and set your table with your own mismatched set of dinnerware for a visual treat that will also save your wallet.
©2009 Weddingstar Inc.
