Vintage Feature – Merry Hill’s Pastoral Beauty

Tucked down a dirt road in western Orange County is the farmland of Merry Hill, a beautiful, pastoral venue. This rural property, passed down many generations of the Nelson family since 1754, hails as the “oldest continuously owned family farm in Orange County.”  Merry Hill is also designated as a one of 1600 North Carolina Century Farms, which means it has been “continuously maintained” as farmland by a single family for at least one hundred years.  With 52,000 total farms in North Carolina, this is indeed an accomplishment to note!

The current Nelson owner, Lynne, has recently opened up her family property for others to enjoy as a wedding and event venue. Her lovely homeplace, luscious grounds, and open fields are the perfect location for families to gather to celebrate special occasions. Complete with horses, minature mules, farm dogs, and peacocks, Merry Hill is delightful for everyone!

This weekend and next, two brides have invited Southern Vintage Table along with Fernrock Farm to be a part of their festivities and we are both very pleased and excited! More photos of these two weddings will be forthcoming!

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Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Vintage Feature – Glamourous Vintage Vignettes

Early this year Jamila contacted Southern Vintage Table about helping with her August wedding at the Virginia Dare Ballroom in Raleigh. She and her fiancé currently live in California but their wedding will be here in North Carolina with family and friends.

The historic Virginia Dare Ballroom is in the former Sir Walter Raleigh Hotel, built in the early 1920s, the same time period portrayed in The Great Gatsby. With that beautiful backdrop, Jamila and Victor want a vintage look for their wedding with elements of silver, gold, and pearls, reminiscent of this glamorous time .

So, using my Mother’s Day pink roses, I created a few centerpiece mockups and sent these photos for Jamila and Victor to consider. They said “Yes!” We’ll be tweaking these formulas a bit closer to the time, and, of course, I’ll be scouting the thrift stores with their glamorous vintage vision in mind!

Looking for a unique look for your centerpieces? Take a look at our centerpiece decor collections and packages!

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Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Vintage Decor Rental NC

Vintage Adventure – All In A Day’s Work

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC


It was all in a day’s work – scouring the local thrift stores for unusual vintage items. And, true to thrift shopping lore, I didn’t see what I was looking for but I did find some terrific treasures I couldn’t pass up!

As I browse around a thrift store, I’m thinking about our clients and their upcoming celebrations. One of our brides, Anna, is getting married next month and together we designed her table centerpieces which include lots of lovely items such as vintage tins, frames, brass candle holders, and teapot vases. She also loved the vintage petite artwork as much as I do. A few of these items are pretty rare to come across, but the vintage gods must have been directing me this week because many were there, on the shelves, as if they were waiting for me to pick them up!

I am so looking forward to seeing many of these new items gathered together on Anna’s tables along with the other charming trinkets in our vintage decor inventory at Southern Vintage Table!

  • Vintage Brass Candle Holder
  • Vintage Decor Rental NC
  • Vintage Decor Rental
  • Vintage Decor Rental
  • Vintage Decor Rental NC
  • Vintage Decor Rental NC
  • Vintage Decor Rental NC
  • Vintage Decor Rental NC
  • Vintage Decor Rental NC

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Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Southern Vintage Table Event – Katie & Ryan Get Hitched!

It’s true – it’s all in the details and Katie and Ryan didn’t miss a thing with their beautiful wedding and lovely reception! With the help of wedding coordinator, Amy Wurster of Knots ‘N Such and Southern Vintage Table, and after months of planning with friends and family, Katie and Ryan’s vision of a rustic yet elegant celebration was realized. From the big details to the personal touches, it was a memory-making day for all!

It began at Fairview Baptist Church where friends and family witnessed the sweet wedding ceremony officiated by pastor, Hoyt Shuford. From there, guests migrated to the reception at The Big Barn. We all love this place, not only because of the family connection, but because it’s historic and authentically rustic.

While Katie and Ryan embraced the rustic atmosphere, they also wanted it to befit their romantic celebration. After swaths of cloth were draped across the ceiling and cascaded down the interior wall, and market lamps hung, the next step was to add the small vintage details.

The wooden tables are definitely part of The Big Barn’s charm and to showcase their beauty and history, we used an alternating table runner with vintage lace sewn by friend, Cynthia, and a layered doily stream provided by Southern Vintage Table. The decor, although slightly different from table to table, featured vintage treasures from our collection such as brass candle holders, alarm clocks, stacks of books, and frames. The charming petite coral rose arrangements, fashioned by Amy, added that perfect “pop” of color.

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

After the table centerpieces were in place, our final preparation was setting up the greeting and card stations. Take notice of the terrific vintage picnic basket, child’s chair, and the baby’s breath tucked in the pockets of the old suitcase, brass goblet, and metal pitcher. Such wonderful vintage details!

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental

The sweetest details were the personal ones shared by Katie and Ryan. The mantle was bedecked with photos of their engagement, the handmade box that held the engagement ring, the famous “Get’in Hitched” sign made by a friend for their engagement party, and the lighted “J” at the bar.

Perhaps the loveliest displays were the dessert and sign-in tables. Covered with one of our vintage lace tablecloths, the beautiful tiered cake was flanked by photos of Katie and Ryan’s parents and grandparents. Also, note the table next Katie’s exquisite portrait – as a memento of their day, they created a poster with a heart from their thumbprints and guests added a personal message to the couple.

One last touch, added to the tables and in honor of all who came to celebrate with the newly married couple, was a beautiful message. “We feel that the finest gift is one that helps others. We truly appreciate that you are part of this special day! Love Katie & Ryan.”  And, with that came their gift to the Fairview Baptist Church Food Pantry. So thoughtful!  Wishing you two joy, happiness, and endless love!

Southern Vintage Table

Of course, family and friends took part in this special event as well as these amazing individuals and businesses!

Wedding Coordinator & Florist – Knots ‘N Such
Vintage Decor – Southern Vintage Table
Venue – The Big Barn
Officiant – Hoyt Shuford
Catering – Johnny Bakatsias Catering
Rentals – Classic Party Rentals
Photographer – Ginny Corbett Photography
Videographer – Andrew Kennedy Cinematography
Lighting – K2 Productions
DJ – Michael Gay
Cake Designer – Faye’s Cakes
Hair Artist – Lanee Brooks Salon

More to come about this delightful couple’s wedding when Ginny’s photos are available but here’s a preview, capturing the end of a memorable day for all!

Ginny Corbett Photography

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Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Southern Vintage Table Event – An Easter Family Dinner

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Our Easter surprise came as a last minute request to set the table for a Sunday family dinner – sweet!

Our design began with a vintage floral printed tablecloth, layered with bright green placemats and yellow napkins. We chose vintage stoneware patterns that featured green, yellow, and brown, and the sparkling jewels of the table were Sharon’s amber thumbnail tumblers – so gorgeous in the afternoon sunlight!

The centerpiece vignette included an eclectic mix of vintage gems – brass candle holders with yellow candlesticks, a mixed bouquet in a vintage vase, moss-covered egg cups and china purse, a vintage Easter postcard poised on a fork stand, and a cute ceramic basket filled with colorful jelly beans – so many fun, delightful touches to this stunning table!

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Sharon absolutely loved her beautiful table and knew her Easter dinner guests would, too.  As I am in the moment, writing this post about this intimate family dinner and thinking about our upcoming wedding this weekend, I realize once again why I love our business.  Each event, dinner, affair, and occasion, small or large, grand or casual, is an opportunity for Southern Vintage Table to create a beautiful, unique, vintage-inspired table atmosphere for the most important guest list – yours!

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Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Vintage Feature – Sunshine Yellow Tablescape Vignettes

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC
Hues of yellow and gold inspire a new set of centerpiece vignettes!

In last week’s post we unveiled our new Vintage Centerpiece Packages!  I must admit, I am super excited about this concept because now our wonderful collection of vintage decor can more easily harmonize with each other in unique table vignettes. After refining the concept last week, I wanted to design another set and it didn’t take me long to find my inspiration  –  my favorite signs of spring, forsythia and daffodils!

I love the color yellow – it’s warm, bright, and evokes happiness. With this joyful color of spring in mind, I gathered our vintage items of yellow and gold, picked flowers, cut sprigs, and began creating. Let’s test the steps from last week’s post with our new spring-inspired vision:

Step 1:  Determine how many clusters you’ll need for your vignette.
3-5 clusters on each table.

Step 2:  Decide on the number of different groups of vignettes.
8 tables with 3 different designs – Group A – 2 tables; Group B – 3 tables; Group C – 3 tables.

Step 3:  Create a formula for each vignette grouping.
Goal – Gold metals, two sets of flowers/greenery in each setting, candle lighting at each, ceramic vases, yellow candlesticks

  • Group A (5 items) – Metal – brass candelabra, clock, brass vase, small brass frame; Organic – two flower bouquets; Ceramic/Glass – medium ceramic vase
  • Group B (6 items) – Metal – 3 brass candle holders of different heights,  medium framed picture; Organic – flowers, sedum plant; Ceramic/glass – large porcelain vase, glass coaster with gold trim, sedum teacup planter
  • Group C (5 items) – Metal – brass candlestick holder, pillar candle holder (metal or ceramic); Organic – small flower bouquet, sedum plant, large/small twig ball; Ceramic/glass – ceramic vase, sedum ceramic creamer/pitcher planter

Here are three ideas for a bright, cheery look for a table featuring yellow!

Step 4 – List the items needed by their three groups.

  • Group A – 2 Tables – 2 Each
    1 brass candelabra, 1 large procelain vase featuring yellow, 1 vintage clock, 1 brass vase, 1 small brass frame with yellow insert
  • Group B – 3 Tables – 3 Each
    3 brass candle holders of different heights, 1 medium porcelain vase featuring yellow, 1 gold/yellow teacup with sedum, 1 glass coaster, 1 medium brass frame with yellow insert
  • Group C – 3 Tables – 3 Each
    1 brass candle holder, 1 tall yellow or cream ceramic vase for small bouquet, 1 ceramic/metal gold pillar candle holder, 1 gold/yellow creamer/sugar dish/teacup with sedum, 1 large/1 small twig ball

Step 5 – Let Southern Vintage Table select, pack, and deliver your items!

We’d love to help you create your unique table centerpiece!  For yellow lovers, check out last year’s post, Happy Yellow Vintage China,  And, for beautiful, locally grown NC flowers, check out the flower offerings at Fernrock Farm which provided the lovely daffodils in our arrangements. Thank you, Carrie and Bill!

This was way too much fun – look for another set of vignette inspirations coming soon!

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Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Vintage Feature – Announcing Our Centerpiece Packages!

Vintage Decor Rental NCIt’s time to check off the second of our three goals we set at the start of the new year!  Southern Vintage Table is now offering our collection of cool and wonderful doodads and small linens in a “per table” package so you can customize your own vintage look.  Announcing… (Drum-roll, please…)

 ~ Southern Vintage Table’s Centerpiece Packages! ~


You have your guest list finalized and now you’re ready to design your vintage table centerpieces.  You want something different for each table but you also want the tables to look coordinated and you don’t have time to scour the thrift stores for cool vintage stuff. No worries!  We’ve got you covered in 5 easy steps with an example to boot!

Step 1:  Determine how many clusters you’ll need for your vignette.
To follow the decorating rule of odds, you’ll need 1, 3, or even 5 clusters depending on the size of the table and the size of the bouquet.  Of course, the rule of odds can be ignored but it’s a good place to start.
~ For our example, we are using a small bouquet in a milk glass vase as one cluster and need 2 more.

Step 2:  Decide on the number of different groups of vignettes.
This step is to help you get organized with the details. If you have 3 tables, maybe you want a different vignettes for each table. But if you have 8 tables, maybe 4 different vignettes times 2 would work best.
~ For our example, we have 9 tables and we are going to use 3 different groups of vignettes (Groups A, B, and C).

Step 3:  Create a formula for each vignette grouping.
Here’s where the creativity comes in! To help focus choices, we have categorized our vintage items by the material they are made of – metal, organic (wood, paper, cloth), and glass/ceramic.
~ For our example, the goal is to represent each material category and vary the heights. We also want to include a small bouquet and some form of candle lighting. Here are our example formulas. Note that each grouping has a different number of items but still have three clusters in the vignette.

  • Group A (5 items) – Metal – Brass candleholder; Organic – Doily and small wooden stand; Glass/Ceramic – Milk glass vase and sedum teacup
  • Group B (5 items) – Metal – Brass candle holder and silver box; Organic – Doily and dried rose; Glass/Ceramic – Milk glass vase and votive insert
  • Group C (7 items) – Metal – Picture frame and short pillar stand; Organic – Book stack, small doily, large doily; Glass/Ceramic – Votive and milk glass vase

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Step 4 – List the items needed by their three groups.

~ For our example, we’ll need the following for our 9 table centerpieces. Although we are using the same basic items in the groupings, each vignette will be a little different! How wonderful is that?

  • Group A – 3 Tables – 3 each
    small wooden pedestal, teacup sedum, medium doily, short milk glass vase, tall brass candlestick holder
  • Group B – 3 Tables – 3 each
    small metal box or similar item, dried rose/flower, medium doily, short milk glass vase, tall pedestal candle holder
  • Group C – 3 Tables – 3 each
    book stack, low pedestal candle holder, small/medium frame. small doily, tall milk glass vase, glass votive

Step 5 – Let Southern Vintage Table select, pack, and deliver your items!
Ready to get started?  We can help you create your own “formula” and suggest items for your unique, fun, and charming centerpieces!


~ Items ~

Metals – frames; postcards on fork stands; candle holders (brass and silver); candle stands; small metal boxes; small metal pitchers; alarm clocks; sifters; kitchen scales; decorative tins; brass animals; silver-rimmed coasters; small silver trays; sad irons and trivets

Organics – books; doilies; wooden boxes; wooden frames; sedum teacups; baskets; pine cones; shells

Glass/Ceramics – milk glass vases; blue, green, and clear glass vases; ceramic vases and planters; votives; bottles; glass candle holders; ceramic figurines and boxes; salt & pepper shakers; petite teacup & saucers

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Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

Southern Vintage Table Event – A Valentine’s Bridal Shower for Katie!

“Created by Michelle” provided this beautiful, scrumptious “naked” cake. The gorgeous backdrop was designed by Katie, Lauren, and Ryan!

One of life’s happiest events is a wedding and right up there with it is the traditional celebration for the upcoming nuptials – the time-honored wedding shower. And, Katie and Ryan’s shower was even more special because Katie is our delightful niece. She and our daughter, Taylor, grew up together which means this day was pretty special for many of us!

The event took place at the Schley’s Grange Hall – a wonderful facility north of Hillsborough that is an affiliate of the NC State Grange and National Grange organization. Their mission is to serve the local farming community and their building is available for groups to use and rent. It was perfect for our large gathering of 60+ friends and family who wanted to share their good wishes with Ryan and Katie.

To add extra sweetness to the occasion the date for the shower was set for Valentine’s day. Our color scheme featured pinks and blues with a splash of Valentine’s. Katie’s sister, Lauren, sewed light blue base cloths to peek through our beautiful, vintage laced overlays. Bouquets of roses, baby’s breath, and tulips added a fresh spring look in our vintage milk glass vases. Final decor touches included vintage frames, postcards, votives, glass candle holders, and – yum – Hershey’s kisses.

The tables were set with mixed and matched vintage china teacups with a tea napkin tucked underneath, and our lovely vintage patterns of silver-plated flatware. Vintage blue, clear, and pink goblets added the colorful sparkle. Since the delectable treats were served as a buffet, our vintage luncheon plates were beautifully stacked and ready for guests.

Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

As a “Thank You” to her guests, Katie baked sweet favors and shared their personal meaning with us. Last Valentine’s Day on the way to a game, Ryan presented her with a box of chocolates. Now, this was no ordinary box; it contained dark chocolate turtles!  As Katie shared in her story, she had mentioned how much she loved dark chocolate and Ryan remembered this. But, the other part of Ryan’s choice is they were in the shape of Katie’s beloved animal, a turtle. So, as you might guess, Katie loved his sweet gesture! This is one of their favorite memories together, and now it is also one of ours!

“Best shower EVER!! Everything was elegant and so beautiful! Shelly did a great job picking out the right china and glasses for the shower; all of the colors worked perfectly together. The Valentine’s Day theme came across well in a subtle way while still feeling like a bridal shower. I loved everything about it! Shelly even remembered a few of the pretty vintage post cards that I like and she included them in the centerpieces as well! It was a perfect bridal shower and I feel so blessed to have such wonderful friends and family that each worked so hard to help bring it all together. I had a great time celebrating with and seeing so many of my friends and family! After seeing how beautiful everything was at my shower, I’m even more excited to see the final outcome of the centerpieces at our wedding reception. I know Shelly will make it just as lovely! Can’t wait for our Big Day!”  – Katie

My pleasure, Katie, and thank you!  I join Katie in thanking all who put together this joyous occasion – bridesmaids, Heather, Katie, Sarah, Brittany, Krystle, and Megan – sisters, Lauren and Andrea – mother, Joy – and family friend, Cynthia. More photos will be forthcoming from photographer and friend, Jenny Swanson, and we’ll be sure to share!

Katie and her lovely bridesmaids! Heather, Katie, Sarah, Katie, Brittany, Krystle, Megan

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Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC

 

 

 

Southern Vintage Table Event – A Valentine’s Dinner Party

Southern Vintage Table Vintage Decor

The love of a family is life’s greatest blessing. – Unknown

The sweetest of all holidays brought a wonderful request from Sarah – an invitation for Southern Vintage Table to help with her Valentine’s Day dinner party.  She loved our vintage place settings and decor when we set the table for her family’s Seder dinner last year and we were thrilled to be asked back again.

We packed mixed and matched vintage dinner and salad plates, silver-plated flatware, water and wine glasses, and decor items for her 40 guests. Since her dinner was buffet-style, our main setup mission was to create beautiful centerpieces for her tables. With Jami, Priscilla, and Sarah’s gorgeous selection of flowers, we did just that!

Our centerpieces began with our assortment of vintage silver-plated trays. Lush bouquets of roses and tulips along with accents of vintage frames, tins, votives, and bowls filled with chocolate kisses completed our Valentine’s look. On the coffee bar, stacked with vintage teacups, and around the room, Priscilla and I created sweet vignettes with Jami’s adorable moss-covered purse arrangements.

Southern Vintage Table Vintage Decor Rental NC

Thank you, Sarah and family, for inviting us to be a part of your family celebration! And, many, many, thanks to friends, Jami and Priscilla, for our delightful evening together! Any occasion with friends and family alongside is always magical, wouldn’t you agree?

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Southern Vintage Table Vintage China Rental NC