Vintage weddings are so much fun.
Every now and then, every one of us likes indulging in a bit of playful nostalgia.
As you might guess, there are few better occasions for doing this than during a wedding ceremony.
After all, a wedding ceremony is you carrying a wonderful tradition into a bright future while also honoring the people who have already been with you through your life.
And along with all your other aesthetics, you’ll want to brainstorm some vintage wedding decoration ideas for tables to anchor and tie everything together.
Fortunately, we’re here to help you start that process with this article. 🙂
*Note: Keep in mind that everything in this article applies to both wedding showers and wedding receptions.
1. Mason Jars With Local Flowers
If you’re reading this, you’re probably in America.
And here in America, there is a difference between urban vintage and rural vintage.
Rural vintage tends to be more rustic and down-to-earth, while urban vintage tends to be more ornate and even opulent.
You can pretty seamlessly blend both in most cases, but when it comes to vintage wedding decoration ideas for tables, few things represent a sense of classic rural Americana better than a few mason jars filled with local flowers, especially on top of a wooden table.
2. Elegant Crystal
This can mean drinking glasses, wine glasses, candleholders, or anything else made of luxurious glass crystal.
And when we said a minute ago that you can usually blend urban and rural vintage together, crystal glassware is an example of this.
Whether urban or rural, many families in past eras kept some crystal in the house and considered it proper for special occasions.
3. Brass Candleholders
If you aren’t comfortable with fragile crystal candleholders, go for brass instead.
This look is just as appropriately vintage without you needing to worry about whether or not one of the kids is going to break something.
And just like glassware or good silverware (more on that later), anything made of brass will last a lifetime, and more if it’s properly taken care of.
These days, we can’t build a house that lasts longer than a couple of decades before it starts falling apart, but the fact that ancient cultures made stuff from things like brass is a big part of why we know as much about them as we do.
Symbolically, brass also represents what you want to last and stand the test of time.
That makes brass (or bronze) candleholders perfect as vintage wedding decoration ideas for tables.
4. Fine China
No, not the country.
We’re talking about classic ceramic plates, bowls, and other dinnerware.
Much like with crystal, people in the past generally prized fine china and kept a set for special occasions.
You know, like weddings.
In fact, it was probably more common than not to see fine china at a wedding or even a friendly dinner party.
Bringing it out for guests was a way of showing that you appreciate them being there and that you feel the occasion warrants the extra effort.
5. Antique Silverware
It would be weird to pair fine china and crystal glassware with plastic forks or, Heaven forbid, sporks.
Whatever you do, please no sporks.
They neither pierce solid foods nor hold liquids like soup effectively.
They are truly the most inferior of all cutlery.
Like people in past eras did, treat your guests to a classy dining experience with a proper set of antique silverware.
If you don’t know where to get a proper set, classic American brands like Oneida are always good calls (just don’t look too deeply into how the company started).
Whenever possible, it’s best to make the different aesthetic elements of your decor congruent with each other.
Basically, this just means that you shouldn’t have one very classy element (like fine china) right beside a very cheap and casual element (like plastic cutlery).
6. Old School Table Centerpiece
This could be an antique globe, a gramophone, a classic bust, or even an old-timey flower arrangement.
Back in the old days, there were few things people liked using as table centerpieces more than flower arrangements, small statues, and porcelain figurines.
And you’ll get even more bonus points for any statues or figurines that depict characters or scenes that people in your target era would have been familiar with.
These include things like characters from ancient Greek or Roman mythology, statues depicting scenes from Shakespeare, and any figurines ever made by Norman Rockwell.
7. Lace Table Runners
People in pre-1960s America sure did love lace.
And who can blame them?
Lace is classy without being obnoxious and cheap without looking, well, cheap.
Like any other table runner, their job is to make the table look prettier while also holding everything in place and protecting the table from spills and mishaps.
But unlike other table runners, that last part about protecting the table has been partially sacrificed in favor of making the table look even nicer.
So be more careful with these.
Step Forward By Stepping Back In Time
This list isn’t a long one, but we hope it’s gotten your mental gears turning and inspired you with a few fun vintage wedding decoration ideas for tables.
There are many more than these to be had, and we’re sure you’ll think of more.
The past was going on for a long time, so they came up with a lot of interesting design and decor things for you to discover and experiment with.
Just remember that people in the past generally knew what they were doing when it came to weddings, so you can have some faith that the things you find will probably fit together pretty well as long as they’re all from the same general era.
