Posted on May 22, 2023 by Jacqueline Larcara
Seating charts, signage, centerpieces—oh my! Choosing decor for your big day can be daunting, but also a ton of fun if you’re a DIYer. Get inspired by these unique ideas from NJ couples.
Couple Catherine Nemeroff & Steven Nunziato
Venue Blue Heron Pines Golf Club, Egg Harbor City
Inspo Wine lovers Catherine and Steven chose to repurpose wine bottles as table numbers. “We love wineries and wine, plus we were trying to save money where we could. We collected wine bottles the entire time we were engaged.”
Where They Shopped Lights and fake corks, Amazon. Numerals, Etsy shop: DreamCraftzOnline.
Couple Lisa & Rocco Maietta
Venue The Park Savoy Estate, Florham Park
Inspo “Since the Park Savoy used to be a speakeasy, I wanted to give my seating chart some sort of feel that you required a key or secret to enter. My husband put his carpentry skills to the test and built the entire thing from scratch.”
Where They Shopped Styrofoam boards were glued to sheetrock and painted black, Home Depot. Keys, Amazon. Wooden numbers and “The Key to Your Seat” letters, Etsy shop: ROWandcoAZ. Name plates, @dbeardendesigns on Instagram.
Couple Hayley Scuderi Capriola & David Capriola
Venue The Mill Lakeside Manor, Spring Lake Heights
Inspo “My husband and I, coming from very close families, wanted to celebrate the people in our lives whose love stories we looked up to and admired.” They displayed vintage black-and-white photos of their grandparents alongside their parents’ wedding portraits.
Where They Shopped Frames, HomeGoods and HomeSense. “Generations of Love” sign, Etsy shop: HeartilyDesignCo.Vases and flowers, Wild Aura florist.
Couple Jessica Grawehr-Patterson & Tim Patterson
Venue Bear Brook Valley, Fredon Township
Inspo Jessica, who loves being crafty, saw a similar seating chart online and knew she could pull this off herself. “I grabbed 99 percent of the photos from social media and then I had to ask a few people to send me one. I incorporated as many wedding pictures of married guests that I could find. We organized them on the board by table number and stuck them with glue dots. As a final touch, we included the photos in their thank-you notes!”
Where They Shopped “My dad had the idea to use Azek trim, which is a PVC board that’s already white and can be bought at any lumber yard.” “Our Favorite People” letters, Etsy shop: Carpenter Farmhouse. Photos, printed at Walgreens.
Couple Jacquelyn D’Avella Ferrick & James Ferrick
Venue Mallard Island Yacht Club, Manahawkin
Inspo “On our first date, James and I discovered we both have a unique favorite color: orange.” The couple wanted their wedding decor to portray, “the colorfulness of our relationship and personalities.” They selected candles in a wide array of colors, hand-painted the vases and spray-painted the table numbers. “My biggest concern was that everything wouldn’t flow together, but we’re so pleased with how it turned out!”
Where They Shopped All items from Hobby Lobby and Michael’s.
Couple Alana Ciolek & Paul Papapetrou
Venue The Mansion at Mountain Lakes
Inspo For their guest book, Alana and Paul, a musician, used records. He chose LCD Soundsystem’s All My Friends. She picked Taylor Swift’s 1989. “We like the idea of being able to frame and hang them in our future home so we can forever look at them.”
Where They Shopped Records and metallic pens, Amazon. “Love Binds Everything Together in Perfect Harmony, Please Sign Our Records” sign, The Jess Press.
Couple Kristen & Brian Sardini
Venue Ryland Inn, Whitehouse Station
Inspo After postponing their wedding three times due to Covid-19, Kristen and Brian wanted to keep things lighthearted on their big day. “I wanted something that would make our guests smile and laugh as soon as they walked in, and this sign did just the trick.” Fun fact: this sign was used almost a year before the hit Lizzo song “About Damn Time” was released.
Where They Shopped Sign designed and produced by the bride.
Couple Renee & Rob Brown
Venue Waterloo Village, Stanhope
Inspo Renee and Rob wanted their wedding vibe to be rustic yet whimsical. “I chose the clear frame so the table numbers didn’t stand out too much and take away from everything else I had on the table. The flowers inside the frames were baby’s breath. It was a total DIY.”
Where They Shopped Frames, Amazon. Numerals, made on bride’s Cricut.
