7 Tips to Reuse Your Wedding Stuff

Once the honeymoon is over and your place is filled with boxes and boxes of decorations, leftover party favors, a house full of flowers, in short all of the stuff that you bought for the wedding that didn’t get eaten, drunk, or thrown away, what do you do with it? A frugal wedding trend is to reuse or repurpose the stuff in some way. Here are some tips on how you can reuse some of the stuff you purchased for your wedding.

• Let someone else borrow it, or give it away.
Do you know someone else getting married soon, maybe a relative, a bridesmaid, or a close friend? If it’s something that can be reused, offer to let them borrow it, or just give it away.

• You now have a year’s supply of candles to use around the house.
If you use candles in your ceremony and as decoration at the reception, chances are you’ll have a fair number that didn’t get burned up. We had a candle tree that used two inch pillar candles. The ceremony was short enough that these candles were less than a third of the way used. They lasted quite a while around the house.

• Future party (birthday, baby shower, friends bachelorette/ wedding shower, etc.)

• Dry your flowers.
After the honeymoon you might come home to a dining room table covered with vases of flowers. The bride’s bouquet, one or two of the bridesmaids’ bouquets, and a lot of the flowers from the reception were waiting for us. One way to save your flowers is the hang them up to dry for use as decorations or to display around the home. Be aware, not all flowers last as long or dry as well as others.

• Bring out serving ware or trays on special occasions or holidays if they’re too fancy for everyday use.
This is a great tip for those who decided to buy some of their serving ware or trays instead of renting everything. When making purchases the frugal bride might keep in mind how the purchases can be reused. If you buy a cake stand, or a cake knife, or a drink dispenser, for example, pick something that goes with your theme, but keep in mind how suitable it will be for reuse later.

• Give your bedroom a taste of the honeymoon.
Bring something special back from the honeymoon, or display something from the wedding, to give your bedroom a taste of the honeymoon, year-round. Have some of the unused wedding candles or dried flowers on display, or hang a sign or a small chalkboard from the wedding on the bedroom wall. Have a visual reminder to keep the memory fresh.

• Frame your announcement, program, or other printed material.
Not everyone has a custom designed invitation or wedding program, but any printed material with your name and the date can be framed as a special keepsake.

• Bring something memorable from your wedding on your anniversary trips.
Make each anniversary more special by incorporating something from the wedding. Maybe you’ll use the glasses from your first toast to celebrate each new year, or hang that “just married” banner over the bed.