By Kim Foster
Whether you’re planning a romantic barefoot wedding at the beach or you’ve simply chosen a nautical theme party, using driftwood in a wedding or for your party is one of the most dramatic elements available for your party décor.
Not only is driftwood naturally-occurring and often obtainable for free, but it also adds a perfectly casual yet classy touch to your special occasion. Plus, as an added bonus, driftwood stands up to wind and weather, unlike expensive fresh flowers that will wilt in the heat. Check out these clever ideas for using beautiful, eco-friendly driftwood for your wedding or party. If you don’t have driftwood available to you locally, check out this tutorial on how to make your own driftwood, or these online sources for obtaining some good driftwood pieces online to get your projects started.
• Driftwood Menus
Adding driftwood to your special event menu is a lovely way to add the driftwood theme to your tablescape. Buy inexpensive frames that have a back stand, make copies of your menu and insert into the frames, then attach driftwood pieces using a hot glue gun and your done. When the party is over, remove the menus and add your favorite photos from your special event.
• Driftwood Sailboats
Use simple Driftwood Sailboats as table décor. Follow these simple instructions for making these easy driftwood sailboats which look amazing when added to any beach themed wedding or party décor and are super easy to make. Surround your sailboats with other driftwood pieces, shells, candles, sand flowers and you have your simple yet elegant and inexpensive table decorations.
• Driftwood Arch
To begin with the most obvious and yet one of the most striking uses of driftwood, consider exchanging vows with your beloved under a driftwood arch. Driftwood arches range from stark and simple to breathtakingly intricate, and are easy to enhance in many ways, should you choose. You can cover the entire piece with greenery, or add fabric or ribbons to flutter in the ocean breezes. LED lights wound around the arch look lovely for a nighttime wedding, bringing that radiant glow to your face and that of your intended.
• Driftwood Vases
You can just easily make a driftwood vase for holding flowers as you can a driftwood candleholder – the same technique is used. Find a large cylinder glass vase – clear or even a pretty seaglass color that will show through will work just fine and attach it all the way around using a hot glue gun then just add your choice of flowers.
• Driftwood Signs
Signs are often used to point the way to the ceremony or reception, to urge guests to “Choose a seat, not a side,” or simply to display the names of the bride and groom with a loving message or a romantic quotation underneath. Driftwood signs look right at home in any natural or “shabby chic” venue, and are easy to personalize by painting freehand or using stencils. Driftwood can also be used to frame chalkboards, and messages in chalk can of course be erased after the big day, so you can continue to use the signs in the future.
• Place cards
Search online for “driftwood place cards” and you’ll find so many artful ideas you won’t know which to pick. For starters, you could decide to paint or carve each guest’s name directly onto a small piece of driftwood, creating for each person a unique wedding favor as well as a placeholder. If painting or carving seems too labor-intensive, you can cut small slits into pieces of driftwood to hold handwritten name cards, or drill tiny holes into any small, irregular pieces of wood and insert wire card holders. This idea from June Bug Weddings. Photo by Harrison Studio
• Driftwood Candleholders
If you’d like to add a cozy ambiance to your tables, driftwood can be used to make candle holders in countless imaginative styles. If you have a long driftwood log at your disposal, small divots can be cut into it to hold tiny tea lights. You might also arrange sticks of driftwood vertically around a glass candle holder, or directly around a wide candle itself. They can be decorated with ribbon, though twine or thin rope would also be in keeping with a nautical or beachy feel. For a tutorial on how to make driftwood candleholders click here.
• Driftwood Garland
When frilly bows and ribbons just won’t fit in with your theme, you can add a truly unique finishing touch to your wedding décor by creating driftwood garlands. Whether natural colored or whitewashed, a collection of driftwood twigs can be strung together and draped from furniture, laid casually on a tabletop, or used as a tie-back for fabric. Add a few sand dollars, shells, or starfish to turn it into an idyllic seaside accent.
• Driftwood Chandelier
For the more ambitious decorator, nothing says “drama” like a handmade driftwood chandelier. The idea is more do-able than you think, and like so many driftwood items, you’ll find that chandeliers can range from intricately entangled sculptures, wired for electricity, to plain driftwood sticks used to suspend candles in beautiful holders. Metal candle holders are often used and mason jars are popular, too, but any colored glass container can add interest to the piece and tie in with your wedding motif as well.
• Driftwood Cake Display
If you can find the right piece of driftwood, use it to display your beautiful wedding cake or show off your wedding cupcakes. Make sure that it is capable of holding the weight of a cake and then properly balance and support the cake for a spectacular driftwood wedding cake display your guests will be talking about for years.
• Driftwood, River Rocks and Flowers
There’s something simple yet serenely beautiful about smooth stacked river rocks and purposefully placed flowers against a backdrop of driftwood that will set the tone for a beach themed wedding. Add them to your guest tables or scatter them about your reception area to set the ambiance.
• Driftwood Centerpiece
Use driftwood as your centerpiece. Driftwood is naturally beautiful and can easily stand alone as a piece of sculpture or use it as an integral part and incorporate it along with other natural elements. Include flowers, stones, shells, intertwined or sculptural driftwood and candles. Simplicity is key. It doesn’t need to be elaborate to be beautiful. And don’t forget to add a hint of your colors for your special day, event or the season your celebrating.
The allure of driftwood lies in the history each fragment holds. Once young and green, every piece has traveled far and changed much from its original form. Tossed by the waves for many years, it has finally landed on the sunny shore—time-worn, but still strong and beautiful. There is no better symbol for an enduring marriage than driftwood!
