Category: Decor

Give the decorations at your wedding reception the romantic look of lace. The intricate patterns shining through these luminarias (paper-bag lanterns illuminated by votive candles) are courtesy of doilies glued inside. Place a grouping of the lanterns in different sizes on the guest-book table or dinner tables for a beautiful, glowing display. We chose ivory paper bags for an understated look, but you can use thin paper bags in any light color. Set the candles in heavy-glass votive holders to help anchor the bags.

Tools and Materials
Light-colored paper lunch bags in various sizes
Ruler
Scalloped rotary cutter
12-inch gold-colored doilies (white ones won’t show through as well)
Utility knife
Scissors
Glue stick or Xyron sticker-making machine
Votive candles in glass holders
Utility lighter

Luminarias How-To
1. Lay each bag flat; use a ruler to guide the scalloped rotary cutter as you cut a new top edge 1 inch below the bag’s original edge.

2. To cut doilies to fit the bag, lay a bag flat on the work surface. Lay a doily on the bag, and determine where to cut in order to create a pleasing design. Cut straight lines with a ruler and a utility knife; use scissors to snip along curves. The final size of the doily should be 1/8 inch narrower than the width of the bag so the doily will lay flat inside.

3. Coat the gold side of the doily generously with glue from the glue stick, or coat it with self-adhesive using the Xyron machine. Attach doily to the inside of the front of the bag, positioning it as desired. After gluing, close the bag, and run your hand firmly over the design to seal. Open the bag, and let dry at least 1 hour.

4. Set the bag in desired location, and then put the votive candle, in its holder, inside. Light the wick once the candle holder has been securely placed; do not carry the lit luminaria.

Source

Set up a lively guest-book table with patterned paper in bright hues. Guests pen notes on origami paper, then seal them with a sticker. The banners above are also made from origami squares — no fancy folding required.

Origami squares come precut, so this guest book couldn’t be easier. Set out stacks of paper (we mixed solids with patterns in shades of red and orange), as well as dot stickers and coordinating pens. Guests write a message to the newlyweds on the back of a sheet, roll it up, seal it with a dot, and drop it into glass hurricanes (place a few samples inside beforehand so guests will take the cue). Each container is embellished with a strip of card stock trimmed with scalloping shears; secure to outside of glass with double-sided tape.
Decide how long you want the banner to be, and cut a piece of double-face satin ribbon to length. For the large banner, we used origami paper roughly 6 inches square; for the smaller ones, we used 3-inch origami squares. For each panel, fold top third of paper over the ribbon and secure with a glue stick; leave 1/2-inch spaces between the panels. Tie 6-inch lengths of matching ribbon between panels; trim away the excess, cutting ends at an angle. Source and more pictures!