As I've mentioned before, I have worked in the wedding industry as a stationery designer for the past eight years. In that time, I've enjoyed seeing the ways that trends shift and morph in regard to weddings. In the past couple of years, as resources such as Etsy and Pinterest gained popularity, handmade or repurposed items gained value. In the wedding world, this translated to a shift toward crafty, rustic, DIY decor.
Furthermore, as once-everyday objects become obsolete, they gain artistic value. For instance, as maps have been replaced by smartphones and other GPS devices, I've noticed beautiful vintage maps appearing in wedding invitations as custom envelope liners and many couples now have custom maps hand-illustrated to guide guests around the wedding destination.
One of the biggest icons of these DIY/throwback movements has been chalkboards. Overtaken by markerboards and smartboards in our children's classrooms, we now see chalkboards appearing everywhere from christmas ornaments to wine glasses to high-end clothing stores. In the stationery world, we even see faux-chalkboards printed as greeting cards and notebook covers.
Today, I'm going to share with you four ways in which I've been asked to incorporate custom chalkboards into wedding decor. The look is trendy and the custom element allows for the overall feel to be tailored to your specific look and feel. And once the big day is over, you're left with a cool board that you can now erase and repurpose!
#1 Bar Menus
This goes hand-in-hand with another wedding trend I love - creating a custom cocktail (or cocktails) for the evening. I love this idea of his and hers drinks. This could easily be a really cute way to list all the beer and wine selections, as well.
#2 To Offer Guidance
It can be difficult to manage the flow of guests as they arrive, especially since many of the key players are busy preparing for the ceremony are cannot be around to give any guidance. Leaving your guests notes that look beautiful enough to catch their eye can help to keep them clued in as they try to find a seat, grab a program, AND say hi to friends and family members they haven't seen in forever!
#3 Photobooth Signage
Okay, maybe this is similar to #2 but the photobooth thing is so big right now I felt it deserved its own section. Again, let your guests know what you expect of them (putting on fire hats and Harry Potter glasses and then being photographed) in a way that catches their attention. Then, proceed to laugh at pictures like this:
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| Loved ones: sorry I posted this picture of us without your permission. If you feel your identity is insufficiently obscured we can talk about it. |
#4 Ceremony Program
You may remember this one from an earlier post. A poster-size chalkboard program eliminates all the paper that inevitably ends up scattered around the floor of the venue. Plus its a nice way to catch your guests' eyes as they walk in, offer a welcome, and set the tone for the evening.
