One year ago, April 2022, we began our transition into Suite 14 at Boone Square. With a lot of help and support, this move was an incredible accomplishment for our vintage rental business.
It sure wasn’t easy. We worked long hours unpacking and shelving for days and months, had a trumpet fall on my head, tripped over a rug and hit my head, made so many trips to get free crates from a grocery store and boxes from the ABC store, and then pleaded for folks to take the crates, and recycled all the liquor boxes. A few more things happened in there, too, but it all seems like it was so long ago!
To our dismay, we didn’t figure out how to create a super amazing slide show with some awesome befores and afters. Dang. We will persist and it will happen. Maybe next week or maybe next year, but we’ll figure it out. In the meantime, here are just a few side by sides from April 2022 to April 2023.
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We love how our studio works for us and our clients! It’s an awesome space and we look forward to meeting even more clients who appreciate vintage as much as we do!
These two vintage patterns, Old Curiosity Shop and Currier and Ives, may be the most recognizable patterns in America. They were produced by Royal China, based out of Sebring, Ohio. Once a powerhouse in the china business, this American company produced over 1700 patterns from 1934-1980s.
From our own collection, we have these two patterns, but we also have patterns that feature florals, gold rims, and ornate designs. On the other end of the spectrum, we have bold, funky patterns that the company produced in the 1950s-1980s. Like many successful companies, Royal China adapted their look based on the times.
While researching this company, we also uncovered that in 1934 Beatrice Miller applied for the bank loan to start this company with her two male partners. She was turned away because sponsoring a woman-owned business was preposterous. Soon after, one of her partners visited the same bank and their loan was approved.
Beatrice was a pioneer in the pottery business and for all women entrepreneurs. Under her leadership and her two male partners, Royal China thrived for the next 50 years. One other side note, their mission was to make affordable china for the general public that were sold in grocery markets, five-and-dime stores, and other small businesses. They were also promotional giveaways for many companies.
Fast forward from the depression era to the 1950s. Royal China launched a new look for their customers. As a sign of the times, the patterns became more whimsical, bold, and colorful. With names like Blue Heaven, Tell Me Yes, Flower Dance, and Leaf Spirit, these patterns spoke to the hip public who wanted more than pretty flowers with gold inlays. Don’t you love the ad with the title, “Meet the Swingers from Royal?”
Although we have patterns from many companies that followed this trend, Royal China leads the pack for us. We are presenting these by their color family – yellows, browns, oranges, blues, blue-greens, and greens. All of these, as you will note, kept to a simple color palette with their bold pattern. Now, let us introduce you to some of our favorite retro patterns!
Imagine setting your tables with these super cool, groovy patterns. Along with more retro patterns from other potters in our collection, they will be a natural conversation starter for any event!
Passion, energy, positivity, strength – adding even just a little red to a tablescape promotes all of these sentiments. And, did you know that both your appetite and table conversation can be enhanced with this dynamic color? Knowing this, we went on the hunt to find red among our vintage decor collection. Perhaps these examples will spark a few ideas on how you can invigorate your tablescape and event!
Let’s go back to the 1930s, to the time when “talkies” replaced silent film and Hollywood produced classic movies such as King Kong, The Wizard of Oz, and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. Glamorous stars like Katharine Hepburn, Joan Crawford, Vivien Leigh, and Bette Davis, along with James Stewart, Cary Grant, and Clark Gable were household names.
This grand, glitzy time is known as the Golden Era of Hollywood and a fitting theme for Heather and Preston’s wedding. We are beyond thrilled to share photos of this beautiful bash by the amazingly talented Kasey Powell .
We had to look carefully, but here’s the couple in three different roles. What a terrific way to greet their guests!
As a part of this industry in LA, this couple naturally chose something dear to them as they begin to make their mark in film and comedy. Despite the long distance between us, we worked together on the design of the tables and use of our special decor, such as the vintage video camera, microscope, easels, and blackboard frames.
The final result was a spectacularly eclectic and voguish wedding and reception. Our contributions to this glamorous affair included the vintage place settings, vases and bottles, framed table numbers, and candleholders. One of our favorite inclusions was our classic vintage champagne coupe. So chic!
Oh-la-la – those vintage champagne coupes!
These two are “over the moon” in love and we adore their specially designed backdrop crafted by Preston himself!
Goodness gracious! What an extraordinary wedding and we are grateful to have been included in your production. Best wishes you two! We’ll be watching for your talent to shine!
“The moonlight illuminates the path ahead, guiding us towards our dreams and aspirations.”
Shelly was an absolute dream to work with. So flexible, she has such a large inventory, and her prices are incredibly fair! We were able to do everything remotely as we live out of state and even with last-minute changes she was very accommodating. I can’t recommend her enough! We drove from 3 hours away just to use her gorgeous vintage glassware and it really made our tables sparkle and shine. Thank you!!! – Heather
With all the holiday trimmings, Meleah and Devan’s vintage boho wedding was totally glam – big boho centerpieces, hanging wreaths, pine colored runners, and lots and lots of candles. And, the first kiss under the mistletoe? What a memorable moment captured by Assorted Poppies Photography!
The wedding reception tables included place settings with our vintage stoneware plates, colored goblets, and stainless flatware. The table decor, provided by the clients, brilliantly merged the boho and holiday themes.
We join these two cuties in wishing you a beautiful life together! Wendy and Michael, thank you for your kind words! Working with your family was totally delightful!
Vintage Table is very professional, and very friendly to work with. I was very impressed with how they pack their dishes, glass plates and goblets. We chose to pick up and drop off from the store, and everything was packed securely in crates with wheels, so convenient. We were given detailed instructions on how to care for the items we rented. Everything we rented was absolutely beautiful! Thank you Vintage Table for being a part of our daughters special day and for making it possible for her to have the wedding of her dreams! Your tableware is stunning to say the least and your services are over the top! I plan to recommend Vintage Table to everyone I know doing an event!
The Poetry Fox is typing a custom poem on his vintage typewriter for this lucky person!
Yes, a wonderful way to celebrate Valentine’s Day is to enjoy a lovely dinner, eat chocolate, or be presented with a beautiful bouquet of flowers, right? But, how about a personal poem written just for you by the Poetry Fox? That was just one of the activities Alex from Longfellow had planned for their clients and she needed our help staging the table for him. What a super fun assignment!
Alex came looking for romantic, vintage pieces to display on the long table where The Poetry Fox would compose his poetry. As I was working on another project, Alex browsed the decor room and made her list – suitcases, bottles, a radio, a clock, books and a typewriter. Tucked in a drawer, we showed her some of our vintage valentine’s post cards and the roses stand which she loved! With two vintage red tins, she was set.
Thanks, Alex, for choosing our vintage decor for this super cool offering for your clients. We truly enjoyed meeting you and loved this creative gift for your clients! (Thanks for sending us photos, too!)
The classic combination of blue and white was featured in Claire and Ethan’s gorgeous wedding at the historic Merrimon Wynne venue in downtown Raleigh. There’s so much to love about their wedding day – the splendid weather, the stunning ceremony setup, the lush tablescape on the reception tables, and, of course, the blissful couple. These artful photos, courtesy of @mackensiemkern show us how dreamy it all was!
For their wedding, Southern Vintage Table provided the large floral vessels that first greeted guests at ceremony side and then were donned in front of the bride and groom’s seats. Filled with exquisite florals from Hathaway Floral Designs, they were meant to be seen wherever the guests were.
Since this was a plated reception, our vintage blue and white plates were presented to guests with their delicious meal prepared by AC Events. As seen below, those vintage salad plates offer a perfect hint of blue and white at each place setting.
Bravo, Claire and Ethan! This memory-filled day was the perfect beginning to your life together. May your lives be filled with joy, love, and lots of adventures!
Crystals, silver, gold, and wizard wands – magic was in the air at this styled shoot held last September. A collaboration by a host of phenomenal vendors resulted in an enchanting and bewitching vow renewal for Stephanie and Matt, an actual couple who own Beauty & the Budget Events. The ethereal images are courtesy of Southern Belle Photography.
Our contributions to the tablescape included vintage silver platters used as chargers, vintage cream and gold dinner plates, and vintage glass salad plates. Vintage crystal goblets and silver-plate flatware exquisitely complemented the magical theme. Also, take note the crystal candleholders and bobeches – aren’t they brilliant?
The two sweetest colors – pink and blue – were woven throughout the wedding celebration of Madison and David. With our vintage goblets and plates along with American Party Rentals‘ napkins, linens, and flatware, the final table settings were graceful and elegant.
Preparation for the tables actually began in our studio with Madison and her friend. Vintage plate by vintage plate, vintage goblet by vintage goblet, and table by table, the pieces were carefully packed in our crates. The result was that the planning team of Hayley and Hannah set the tables exactly as Meredith wished. A+ work indeed!
What a pretty cake on our vintage cake stand!
Now for the most amazing seating chart ever! Madison cross-stitched each of these gifts for their guests. What a wonderful reminder of this beautiful evening!
Cheers, Madison and David! It was our pleasure helping you celebrate this memorable day. Best wishes for a joyful life together!
We are thrilled to share that Southern Vintage Table has been recognized by both The Knot and Wedding Wire! These two wedding industry giants that many couples use when researching vendors for their weddings, use clients’ reviews and ratings to determine the winners. Needless to say, we are immensely appreciative of our wonderful clients.
Here are a few of our amazing client reviews that almost make us blush:
Set the tone for our vintage-themed wedding
Shelly at Southern Vintage Table has an incredible selection of china and table decor that will add a special touch to your wedding! We got so many compliments on our mismatched place settings and every guest felt unique. The price is extremely competitive and Shelly lets you check out her entire collection and experiment with colors and styles in person before coming up with a game plan. We’re so thankful we found Southern Vintage Table!
Photo by Halifax Hills Studio as well as header image
Classy Style, Classier Vendor
Shelly has a beautiful collection of goblets and china to choose from. From our first meeting to view her inventory, to the final plate selection she was a true gem to work with. She allowed us to pick the plates ourselves which was a fun preparation event and gave the table settings a personal touchI highly recommend Southern Vintage for anyone looking to work with a local small business vendor and have a vintage wedding touch.
Photo by Brian Mullens Photography
Wonderful Dishware from Shelly!
We rented dinner plates, dessert plates, coffee cups, and water goblets from Shelly for our wedding on October 22,2022. The plates she has available are so unique and beautiful, and my mom, mom’s best friend, and I had so much fun going and picking them all out. I had a very specific vision so Shelly let us come and pick out the plates for each table setting. Every time you go back to the stacks you find a new, beautiful plate to add into the selection! Shelly is really nice, and she handled dropping off, picking up, and cleaning all of the dishware before and after the event. Her selection of vintage plates is amazing and her customer service is as well! I highly recommend Southern Vintage Table for weddings and any other events where you might want an elegant looking table!
Wendy Jade Photography
(Southern )Vintage Table is very professional, and very friendly to work with. I was very impressed with how they pack their dishes, glass plates and goblets. We chose to pick up and drop off from the store, and everything was packed securely in crates with wheels, so convenient. We were given detailed instructions on how to care for the items we rented. Everything we rented was absolutely beautiful!”
Assorted Poppies Photography
Amazing!!!!
The absolute BEST!! Shelly was such a joy to work with and has the most amazing selection of plates, goblets, silverware, candleholders and decorations. She brought our ‘vintage garden party’ vision to life with her blue and white china selection! Can’t recommend Southern Vintage Table enough.
Photo by Shelly Heath
Highly recommend!
We could not have had a better experience working with Southern Vintage Table for our spring wedding! Visiting Shelly’s studio to pick out our rentals was one of my favorite parts of our wedding planning process. She has a huge collection of gorgeous inventory, and she was such an excellent resource in helping us come up with the scheme for our table settings. Delivery of the rentals was seamless, and not only did our tables look stunning, but the vintage items added character to the (brand new) venue. Our only regret is not having used more from her collection!
Arika Jordan Photography
Beautiful Vintage Table Rentals!
Choosing Southern Vintage Table for our wedding rentals was one of the best decisions we made planning our wedding! Shelly was wonderful to work with and handled all of the coordination for drop off and pick up with our venue so that we didn’t have to worry about a thing. We rented glassware, plates, and flatware and loved how beautiful and unique each piece was. The amber goblets especially were a favorite that helped bring so much warmth to our table settings. Thank you Southern Vintage Table for a great experience!
Ally and Bobby Photography
Thank you, clients, for sharing your reviews and photographs! Being a part of your wedding day with our vintage rentals brings us so much joy!
