Author Archives: Jennifer

How to Decorate A Church For a Wedding

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Decorating a church for a wedding requires a selective and careful touch. This is because it is in a place of worship. In the end the decorations can’t be too wild or elaborate because it is a sacred space. It has to look dignified. Remember this is a public place and not your personal party room.

Before applying your imagination to decorating the space you need to talk to the church administrator and see what is allowed. Some churches don’t allow things like lit candles or tossed flower petals. Some churches have a no-decorating policing in general. Ask first and then decorate however you can accord the church rules. Some churches will only allow silk flowers because their members have allergies.

Flowers are one of the most popular and traditional of items used for church decorations. You can decorate the archways, posts and entrance ways. Consider using flowers in a variety of colors to create an exotic touch.

To keep things in place, consider placing bouquets of flowers in baskets around the aisles and at the front of the church. Two baskets of flowers on either side of the entrance where the bride will emerge is a nice touch. You can also place garlands of flowers over arched doorways or in the back of pews. Many brides opt to have balloons attached to all of the pew posts as well. This gives the church pews a very festive flair!

You can go wild decorating the church pews. You can use floral swags or swags or fabric to make them look more unique. Gossamer or organza in the color of the bride’s color scheme is nice.

You might also want to try innovative touches such as filling white lace umbrellas with petals and hanging them from the pews. Horse shoes, corded braid, mini wicker baskets filled with petals, shells and sequins can help decorate a pew.

You can also decorate existing column or pillars or rent movable ones. A decorated arch looks nice around the alter area. Don’t decorate a religious statue with a garland unless you have permission to do so first.

If the Church allows candles these too can add quite a romantic touch to the ceremony. Candles are available in range of colors, shapes and sizes and many are also scented.

Don’t forget to decorate the outside of the church as well. You can line the walk with candles and plants or festoon railings and other architectural details with balloons and ribbons. You can also mount your own floral arches at the entrance of the church to create a spectacular effect.

How to Decorate With Antique Lamps

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There is nothing that adds more elegance and automatic ambience to a room’s décor than an antique lamp. They are fantastic objects to have in a dining room or living room because they not only make a personal statement about you but because they are great conversation pieces. There is nothing like a 1930s big chandelier with large drops of ice hanging from it to help break the ice with your dinner companions.

One of the most interesting antique lamp fads that is around lately is the passion for chandeliers made out of deer antlers. These date back as far as the 1890s and straight through to today. They were standard lamp fixtures in medieval times in Europe (as they do have a bit of a pagan flair to them) but they are also considered to be part of American and Canadian furniture kitsch.

However keep in mind that when you buy one of these deer chandeliers that it is not always that politically correct. Some unscrupulous dealers are selling this type of thing on eBay as being made out of found antlers when what they have done is take the antlers off of live deer. This is a big ecological no-no. You are safest to look in antique shops and for chandeliers that look like they have been found on the ground. These antlers will not have sawed off ends. If they do have sawed off ends you might start the wrong type of conversation at your dinner party especially if you have invited any conservationists.

Yet another very popular type of kitsch antique lamp that is being manufactured right now is the “Sexy Leg Lamp.” This is the lamp that was featured in the movie “The Christmas Story.” It consists of a plastic molded ladies leg wearing a black high heel and it is topped with a shade that looks like a burlesque dancer’s skirt. If you have one of these in your home, your guests are sure to point out that “you have the same lamp that Ralphie’s Dad does.”

A kind of lamp that is getting harder and harder to find but used to be a common sight on top of television sets all over the world is the classic ceramic black panther that is topped with a shade made from paper pressed with glitter.

Perhaps the most popular of the antique lamps are the lava lamps. It is getting harder and harder nowadays to find a real lava lamp from the fifties or sixties. The knock offs that can be had for twenty dollars and be bought in a hardware store are simply not as nice as the ones you find on eBay or in antique shops. This is because the newer replicas tend to be a lot smaller then the original lava lamps that were sometimes tall enough to reach your knee. They also often contain glitter instead of the “lava” and their design is not as nice. If you manage to find a real lava lamp from the fifties then the design from the Atomic Age is certain to become a conversation starter.