It’s been a crazy week getting ready for our family gathering and I haven’t been able to work on my weekly post but I do have a few pictures to share from last night. Many, many thanks to family and friends who helped celebrate the marriage of our daughter, Taylor, to her Aussie husband, Cameron! More to come next week!
Check in next week!
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Rebekah and I started working together last fall on the table details for her wedding reception. For their September wedding, she and Joey had chosen Mt. Lebanon Chapel in Airlie Gardens for the ceremony and Saint Thomas Preservation Hall in downtown Wilmington for their reception. Saint Thomas Preservation Hall, a restored former Catholic church built in 1846, is a wonderful setting for a vintage wedding reception. They had fallen in love with its beauty and to complement its rich history, Rebecaa wanted vintage table settings. As you might guess, Southern Vintage Table was thrilled to help!
Her wedding reception vision was vintage romance with elegant vintage china and goblets. In addition to the vintage inspired guest tables, Rebekah and Joey’s dessert table idea was both unique and personal – they wanted to offer their favorite tea flavors with the wedding cake at a tea and dessert bar. When she shared this idea with me, I remember thinking what a wonderful idea!
With our vintage dessert plates tucked in the drawers of the vintage cabinet provided by Simply Put Vintage Rental, and our teacups displayed on the vintage sewing machine, also from Simply Put Vintage Rental, the dessert and tea bar was charming and beautiful! One of my favorite features on the tea bar was the samovar, a Russian hot water kettle. Finding this treasure was very memorable and you can read more about it on this post, “Vintage Adventure – A Thrift Shop Miracle.”
We set the tables with our elegant vintage china collection. My staff (aka friends, Mary, Louise and Jami) layered the dinner, salad and appetizer plates to create a beautiful, mixed and matched setting for each guest. Along with our vintage silver flatware, napkins, clear goblets and gorgeous flower arrangements by Kickstand Events, the reception tables were splendidly romantic!
As a special request from Rebekah last fall, Southern Vintage Table gathered a collection of small vintage goblets for their wedding toasts, and although we don’t have photos of these from that evening, we do have a previous post that features them, “Vintage Feature – Small Vintage Goblets are Perfect for the Wedding Toast!” We think you will want them at your wedding, too!
Congratulations and best wishes to you, Rebekah and Joey! Thank you for letting us be a part of this romantic, lovely and magical experience. Also, thanks to Anna Kirby Photography for many of these extraordinary photos and, again, to friends Mary, Louise and Jami for all of their help!
Folks who helped with the beautiful, romantic wedding reception include:
Photography: Anna Kirby Photography
Reception Venue: St. Thomas Preservation Hall
Event Coordinator: Jill White
Floral Design: Kickstand Events
Vintage China and Tableware: Southern Vintage Table
Vintage Furniture: Simple Put Vintage Rental
Reception Entertainment: Stray Local
Caricaturist: Bill Smith
Catering: Pine Valley Market
Baker: One Belle Baker
Lighting: High Performance Lighting
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Southern Vintage Table has now been in business for about a year and a half but I have been collecting vintage things for almost two. As I reflect on these past two years, I can hardly believe how much I have learned! When I started this company I knew almost nothing about vintage anything. Really. I don’t think I even knew the name of one china pattern and I can’t remember ever ironing a napkin or polishing anything silver. As I gleefully embraced my new-found enterprise, I collected in a frenzy. I probably went hunting at least 5 days a week and, as you can imagine, have amassed quite a collection for our rental business.
Now, however, as hard as I know it will be, it’s time to sort, organize and let go of a few things. As I begin this arduous task, I have come up with a plan – as my friend, Mary would say – and here it is in 5 steps!
Step 1: Pull out my least favorite china patterns.
The operative phrase here is “least favorite” because frankly, I haven’t seen a pattern I haven’t liked. But there are a few in our collection that kinda disappear on the table. Admittedly, these were some of the first pieces I picked up and if I were to find them today, I don’t think they would become part of our inventory.
Step 2: Reduce the numbers of the same pattern.
When I first started my collection, I couldn’t help myself – if I came upon 20 plates in one pattern, I’d buy every one. Today I am a bit more savvy and, if it’s a new pattern, I’ll buy no more than 5. With our philosophy, “a little of a lot”, I want to have lots of many different patterns rather than multiples of the same. Of course, there are exceptions to this rule; I have a few patterns that are just extraordinarily beautiful and I cherish each and every plate in that same pattern.
Step 3: Coordinate a visit to a reseller.
Fortunately, I live close to a huge china reseller and can easily sell my extras to them. The trick is to find out what they are buying and that’s pretty easy. I called and asked for a quote in the patterns I wanted to sell. They sent me one via email and now I know their offer and what to pack up. I made an appointment and I’m headed there next week.
Step 4: Sell via a yard sale or Craigslist.
I’m still working on the details of this but I’m considering joining a parking lot sale a local antique business is sponsoring. For $25, you get 4 spaces to sell your wares. Sounds pretty easy. But then again, I may just skip this step and go straight to Step 5.
Step 5: Donate to a local thrift store.
The only hard part to this step is deciding which one. We have many in our area that support a host of different causes and that’s a good problem to have! I think most of my things are headed to a no-kill animal shelter re-sale store, one of my favorite places to find things for Southern Vintage Table.
With my plan in place, I am now at step 3. By next weekend, hopefully I will have reduced our inventory to our best offerings, ready for your next event! Of course, letting go also means more room for the new, like this vintage cake plate I picked up this week. Don’t you love the manufacturer’s mark on the back?
~ On a side note, the graphics for this post were created using one of my favorite iPad apps, Camera360 (thank you, Caitlin, for sharing!) and BorderFX, a free plug-in for Apple’s Aperture. I had fun creating them!
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When I met Maria last spring, I felt this instant connection as she shared her wedding vision with me. She and Jonathan were getting married at Bass Lake and, like all couples, they wanted their wedding to be memorable for themselves, their family and friends. Even though we all appreciate the look of delicate, elegant, vintage china, Maria’s vintage wish for their wedding was whimsical, cheerful and vibrant. I was certain our casual vintage china collection with vintage jewel-toned glasses would fit perfectly!
The mid-century vintage collection at Southern Vintage Table is wonderfully eclectic – some patterns are bold, some are demure, and others are just charming – and seeing them all together is delightful. The spectacular sparkle on the tables was our gold, green, pink and blue vintage goblets. With our vintage stainless collection and vintage napkins, the final look was so lovely!
Maria artfully designed her vintage-inspired welcoming station. Along with our vintage suitcases, crate and books, Maria created a collage of photos clipped to framed chicken wire, decorated a mailbox for cards and displayed a welcoming sign for her guests. She also used a vintage window to frame the seating charts which stood on our large easel. This happy wedding ended with a dazzling sendoff with the sparklers ready to go in our wooden bucket.
The prominent feature of the dessert table was the stunning cake with its vintage record player pedestal. The dark vintage wood against the creamy cake icing and vintage overlay created a dashingly dramatic look. The vintage dessert plates and dessert forks in vintage silver trays completed this gorgeous display.
Vintage is a style with many interpretations. It can be romantic, elegant, shabby chic, retro, bold, charming, quaint or any combination thereof. For Maria and Jonathan, vintage meant sharing a vibrant, memorable experience, filled with love of family and friends. Thank you for inviting Southern Vintage Table to be a part of your wedding day. Wishing you endless love, joy and fun!
These folks helped make this a memorable wedding for all:
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In a recent post, A Celebration of Numbers, one number we were very excited about was our 18 events at the end of our first year. Since that post, Southern Vintage Table has provided vintage items for 13 more happy occasions – a birthday party, a baby shower, nine weddings, one dinner party and one family reunion. We are so happy to share our vintage dinner plates, luncheon plates, silverware, reception table decor, vases, teacups, tiered stands, serving dishes, vintage glasses, milk glass pieces, lace overlays, tablecloths, napkins, suitcases, trunk, wooden ironing board, blackboard frames and so much more!
Now you can see photos from many of our events on our new Pinterest boards. With images from actual celebrations, we hope you will be inspired to see how we can help with your next family occasion. As always, we are very appreciative when you entrust us to be a part of your special affair!
SVT Weddings
SVT Birthday Parties
SVT Baby & Wedding Showers
SVT Family Dinners
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Each week I wait for an inspiration for my Sunday post. Typically I don’t actively look but instead I trust, with my antenna up and ready, that I’ll receive this cosmic message. It’s kinda magical – waiting for something you don’t know when, where or how it will appear – but it can also be a little nerve-racking if nothing has shown up by week’s end. But, knock on wood, that didn’t happen this week and my inspiration was truly delightful.
Here it is – these darling, vintage tea napkins with embroidered roosters. I found them at one of my favorite haunts and instantly loved them. As I studied their delicate stitches, so many questions came up. Who did these once belong to … who would stitch small roosters in the corner of her tea napkins … was tea time a daily part of her life … did she love roosters…? As I stood there, admiring these dainty, charming napkins, I knew my inspiration message had arrived. Chickens and roosters!
I went through our inventory at Southern Vintage Table and starting pulling together vintage items that featured chickens and roosters. I knew they were there but I hadn’t thought of them as a group onto themselves. Not surprisingly, I came up with some dishes, baskets, a tub and salt & pepper sets.
First, let’s look at the dishes and start with, of course, deviled egg trays! My aunt Aline always prepared deviled eggs for our family reunions and she also loved to collect deviled egg trays. I am so pleased that two from her vast collection are now available at Southern Vintage Table. Thank you, Aline!
These vintage patterns and dishes all feature chickens and roosters. I especially love the Provincial pattern by Scio and Weathervane by Taylor, Smith & Taylor. There’s something wholesome and good about having a chicken on your plate or in your bowl!
Here are more vintage chicken treasures in our collection – two chicken baskets, a pair of roosters and even an enameled pan with a painted rooster on the side. Aren’t they all charming?
As I am taking these photos, I remembered the first time I met a chicken. One summer our family, with eight children aboard, loaded up the station wagon and made a road trip from Maryland to Dunn, NC for a long visit with mom’s parents, Susie and Wiley. With chickens, pigs, a mule and a huge vegetable garden, we learned how to gather eggs, pick peas and feed the pigs.
In the cool evening air, we often sat under their big tree and, with an enameled pan in our laps, we shelled peas while Grandma’s chickens roamed freely in the yard. I remember how much Susie loved those chickens, calling out to them by name and throwing corn at their feet, but I also remember that she made the most delicious chicken and dumplings. Sigh. Some tough lessons were learned that summer and I am so grateful for that time we spent on the farm with my hardworking, loving grandparents.
My sisters, brothers and cousins all have these sweet childhood memories about our summers on our grandparents’ farm. Today when I see a chicken, real or on a vintage napkin, I oftentimes think about Susie. Add a little vintage chicken to your next family gathering. Chances are someone will have a cherished memory to share as well.
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There’s nothing more wonderful to celebrate than the arrival of a new baby and when the mother-to-be is one of your dear friends, it gets even better. Carrie and I wanted to bring Gerri’s friends and family together for her first baby shower to share our excitement and joy for the anticipated arrival of her and Darin’s daughter, Marla Jane. A fun-filled shower brunch at Fernrock Farm, Carrie’s gorgeous country estate and flower farm, was set in motion.
We chose a color scheme with sweet hues of pink, yellow and silver to complement our vintage china, decor and flowers. To add a colorful, festive touch, Gerri and I made buntings of all sizes to hang throughout our party space.
To welcome our guests we set up a mimosa bar with a selection of juices in vintage decanters. Two vintage silver-plated pieces made their debut at a Southern Vintage Table event – a large bucket for the champagne and a mirror stand which we used as our bar sign. Lovely vintage goblets in amber, pink and clear glass with small bouquets of pink and yellow flowers in vintage vases and silver goblets completed this greeting station.
The brunch table was filled with a medley of quiches, a fruit salad, deviled eggs, ham biscuits, muffins, an assortment of candies and caramel cupcakes. Yummy! Thanks to friends Trudy, Kathleen and our honoree, Gerri, our guests had a delightful array of wonderful dishes to enjoy. Vintage tiered stands held the quiche muffins and we used vintage fork stands to display name cards so guests could distinguish the different flavors. We also used lots of silver on the table – flower-filled goblets and teapot, trays for the silverware and candle holders.
Don’t you love the petite bouquets of pink and yellow flowers from Fernrock Farm in the small vintage vases and goblets from Southern Vintage Table? We “sprinkled” them throughout our party area – on the main food table, the mimosa bar, along the fireplace mantle and in the crafting room. One thing is certain – beautiful flowers are perfect for any occasion!
Gerri designed our baby shower craft project – making colorful headbands for Marla Jane. With buttons, bows, band stretches and other darling accessories all laid out, we all channeled our inner creativity. While each of us fashioned at least one headband for baby Marla Jane, Millie’s creative energy was on fire! Many of the ones displayed on our vintage frame are her designs.
Next we all gathered in the living room for gift opening time. As with every baby shower ever held, there was lots of oohing and aaahhing – it just can’t be helped! Of course, there also was lots of laughter, baby stories and even a few secrets revealed as Gerri joyfully opened each gift. We ended our sweet celebration with coffee in vintage teacups along with Carrie’s caramel-covered cupcakes. Such a lovely time was had by all!
Congratulations, Gerri and Darin. We all are excited for you two and can’t wait to meet Marla Jane. Bosco is especially eager to meet his new playmate!
New babies, weddings, anniversaries and birthdays are perfect family occasions to celebrate with Southern Vintage Table. Send us an email or give us a call – we’d love to hear from you!
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The year was 1989 – Mary and Lanis were married and began their lives together. Twenty five years later, they wanted to bring their friends and family together to help them celebrate this sweet anniversary. Everything came together so perfectly – a rustic, lovely farm setting, freshly prepared food, spirited drinks, yummy desserts, fun music and beautiful tables with vintage decor. How wonderful is that?
Snipes Farm, once a thriving dairy farm in Orange County dating back from the 1940s, was the perfect venue for their party. Mary chose a soft sea foam color for the dining table linens and the collection of vintage lace overlays from Southern Vintage Table created the delicate, vintage look. With floral help from friends Florence and Ennis, table centerpieces were artfully arranged in vintage blue and clear Mason jars with an assortment of roses, Mary’s favorite, and other colorful flowers. The end result was simply gorgeous!
The buffet tables began with stacks of vintage plates primarily in pinks and blues. The delicious dinner, provided by Porchetta owners and chefs Nicholas and Matthew, included porchetta, shrimp & grits, mixed vegetables, sautéed sweet potato with fennel, mixed green salad and warm couscous salad. The dessert table, covered with vintage tiered and cake stands, was ready for the yummy cupcakes and macaroons created by DaisyCakes. 
Southern Vintage Table added more vintage touches to the party atmosphere. First, guests were greeted with a vintage distressed garden cart covered with flower bouquets in vintage Mason jars. The drink station showcased two terrific vintage pink treasures – a vintage enameled tub and a vintage Coleman cooler. On a table decorated with vintage tins and scale, Mary and Lanis shared their wedding album with guests. Other photos from their 25 years together were strung along the bottle wall at Snipes Farm.
Eating, dancing, laughing and celebrating – as you can see, it was a fun-filled evening for Lanis, Mary and guests. To the friends of Lanis and Mary – many thanks for sharing these photos! 
Congratulations, you two. Here’s to the next 25! Anniversaries, birthdays, weddings or family reunions – all reasons to invite Southern Vintage Table to help you celebrate your next life event!
Here are the folks who helped with this lovely affair:
~ Snipes Farm Retreat ~
~ Porchetta ~
~ American Party Rentals ~
~ DaisyCakes ~
~ Fifi HiFi ~
~ Southern Vintage Table ~
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Last Saturday was a beautiful, reverent and memorable day for Summer’s family. After converting to Greek Orthodoxy this past spring, Summer and Andrew had their marriage blessed or “crowned” and their twin boys were baptized. You’ll love how Summer explains this family occasion. “We’ve been married 15 years, but we are revving up to get heavenly hitched in an Orthodox wedding sometime this summer. Why? Beauty, sacrament, and so we can baptize our babies.” And, because drinking tea is a big part of their family’s life, serving tea in beautiful vintage teacups had to be part of this celebration and that’s where Southern Vintage Table entered the picture!
Following the ceremony, friends and family were also treated to a lovely spread of healthy, delicious food prepared by caterers Molly and Raven. Plated on vintage tiered stands and serving dishes, the food included bacon and pickle deviled eggs, arugula and cucumber tea sandwiches, stuffed dates with chevre, pistachios, and honey, a variety of cheeses and fruits, chocolate almond cupcakes, chocolate cupcakes with vanilla buttercream, gluten-free brownie balls, and honey-fig cupcakes. Southern Vintage Table also provided a charming mix of vintage luncheon plates, silverware and tea napkins for the guests.
Summer also revealed there was another reason tea was important for this celebration – her new novel! “I am a writer, and my second novel, Tea & Crumples, comes out in October 2015. As you can tell from the title, tea is a big part of the plot. Tea is also a huge part of our family’s life together. That’s why we wanted to have a beautiful tea party to celebrate our twins’ baptism and our wedding. Your napkins, silverware, plates, and cups made it so special. It was perfect, exactly as I dreamed. Thank you!”
Wishing you many blessed years to come Summer, Andrew and family. Southern Vintage Table absolutely loved being a part of this memorable family event! Check out Summer’s blog, Writing Like a Mother, for more information about her upcoming book. It’s pretty darn awesome!
For Molly and Raven, this was their first professional event as caterers. Congrats! Molly specializes in vegetarian, vegan, and allergen-sensitive cooking. She would eventually like to do local and sustainable farm-to-fork cooking and likes catering for people who share her ideals about the relationship between food, community, and environment. “I have to say, you’re a really great person for caterers to work with- washing the dishes was actually really fun when we got to look at and exclaim over each beautiful teacup!” I know exactly what you mean, Molly. Thank you! And, one last shoutout – Linda, you rock!
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I love tiered stands – whether they all match or they are all different – a tower of vintage plates filled with yummy treats is so pretty. As I have collected many dishes for Southern Vintage Table, some have come with chips, cracks and other imperfections. Although their lives as dinner or salad plates may be gone, many now sit either under or on top of a stack of vintage lovelies. If you love the look and have some vintage china you’d like to transform into a tiered stand, today’s post will help get you started!
Months ago I researched how to make a tiered stand from vintage plates and found many helpful websites. I like the directions found on “Make a Vintage Cake Stand” on Caroline’s blog, Lifestyle from Caroline. Her steps are a good place to start, but read on because I have more great tips you’ll want to know.
Finding the center is easier said than done! After struggling with an easy, reliable technique, I finally came upon this idea and it works amazingly well.
Measure and cut a piece of cardboard that’s 11″ x 11″ or 10.5″ x 10.5″. Then measure and draw lines 1 inch and 2 nches from the edge on all four sides. If you wish to get even more precise, draw a third square at 1.5 “. As you can see, my template is not perfect but still works well enough.
Now place the plate in the center so that all edges are evenly spaced between the drawn lines. Take a ruler, place it diagonally, making sure it’s at the intersection of the squares in the corner. Draw a line near plate’s center with a non-permanent marker. Repeat the steps for the other two diagonal corners. Where the two drawn lines intersect is the center.
When you are ready to drill with the tile drill bit, elevate and support the plate on two pieces of wood situated between the center. When you finally drill through the plate, you don’t want the drill bit hitting the work surface.
When your drill has peeked through the underside, flip the plate and drill from the backside. This will help you drill the hole through the plate more quickly.
Have a cup of water close by to cool down the drill bit – it gets very hot and can cause the plate to break. Dip the hot drill bit in the water and you’ll hear a hissing sound as it cools. Also, splash the plate with a bit of water to cool it down as well.
Caroline suggests Amazon or ebay for the tiered hardware but I think Etsy is the best choice. I really appreciate the philosophy of Etsy – it’s a group of online shops that either sell vintage, handmade or craft items and many are women-owned. There’s no bidding and many of the shops are in the US. I found that most of the tiered hardware on ebay comes directly from China, Hong Kong or Australia, which means shipping costs more and takes longer. I would also suggest buying more than one set – you’ll get hooked once you get started!
To maximize the versatility with your tiered stand, go ahead and select 4-5 plates that coordinate with each other. If you can, have three different sizes of the same pattern and then two or three patterns that go well with the main pattern. You can then have a tiered stand with all the same pattern or a stand with ones that look nice together.
These beautiful vintage china stands are available from Southern Vintage Table. Create you own or request a set for your next gathering. Your tasty treats will look so lovely! Be sure to see more of our tiered and cake stands on our Pinterest board.
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