Three Things We Upcycled from Our Wedding

Our wedding was the most fun, romantic, magical day ever. The big day and the rehearsal dinner were also huge investments by our family. While we were planning and budgeting, my heart would sink by how much everything cost, and that it would all be over after one little day. I tried to guide our decoration choices as things that could be reused or repurposed. Three things I recycled or reused from the wedding:

1. Our table runners. Instead of renting fabric table runners we bought some thick wrapping paper. They were all different geometric patterns in cream and gold, which I loved more than the other option of renting solid fabric table runners.
   
   
   
   
   After the wedding, the florist stacked up all the papers and sent them home with us. I use them as wall decor, Christmas gift wrap, note cards, anything I can think of. And I always smile, reminded of the big day, when I use up some of it.
   
2. The flowers. Brian wore his boutonniere during the whole reception, including the getaway at the end.  
   
   
   
   It seemed too sad to throw away the boutonniere, so we took it with us to Florida on our honeymoon, clipped to a coat hanger, hanging upside down. It took three weeks to fully dry, and then I put it in a shadow box to display on our mantle. A month after the wedding, my bridesmaid Paige surprised me with some dried flowers she had salvaged from a bouquet. It's also on our mantle, displayed in a vase from our wedding.
   
3. Picture Frames. Pinterest is full of very cute wedding signage, most of which is painted on large pieces of wood or artistically scripted on chalkboards. We knew after the wedding we would not have a use for wooden signs or chalkboards, so we opted for cheap picture frames from IKEA. We had four signs: a large "Welcome" sign, and three small signs, with our list of available beverages, instructions for the guestbook, and a reserved sign for our family's dinner table.
   
   I use the frames around my house. The large on is already pictured earlier in this post, and the smaller three are in our living room framing some wedding photos.
   

*bonus, kinda sorta recycling but not really*

The photo booth. We didn't want to give a typical party favor that most people would throw away quickly. The only useful party favor we could think of were matches or something edible but we didn't love either of those ideas. Instead we chose a photo booth that printed photo strips on the spot.

We asked our friends to print an extra copy and put it on a book for us. I love love love love love love love love this keepsake. Not sure as this counts as recycling, more like just keeping something forever, but I'm halfway-including it on this list because it's one of my most cherished possessions.