Wedding Wednesday: Pew Hangers

It's been awhile since I did a wedding post, so I thought I would share another fun tidbit about your special day. Since I didn't have the blog when we got married, it's fun to look back on the planning and fun and share some of our special touches.

Today I wanted to share with you a little about our church flowers.  We got married in a rather large sanctuary, and while we had a big wedding, it certainly wasn't 500+... and I'm pretty sure you could have fit 750 people or more in our church. So, we wanted to be sure we filled it with flowers and some greenery. Which, means money. Something we were trying to save. So, I got creative.

We had a super long aisle, and I had always wanted pew hangers - which is where the money adds up. Anyone who has met with a florist knows those suckers can go for 75+ a pop! and we needed at least 6 for each side. After talking to my florist {who was a saint - and so ridiculously affordable I almost fainted the day we met - more on that for another post} we decided that if I could make the pew hangers she would fill them for $25 each. So, I started looking for ways to make a pew hanger and came up with a super simple craft.

This is what I made! What you need:

I roll of wallpaper print/design

Cardstock

1 can silver or gold spray paint

Hot glue gun

Scissors

Hole punch

Rribbon of your choice.

I wish I had more pictures to share of the process. But its very simple. 

First decide the number of pew hangers you will need. We had 12, six on each side, skipping two pews between each. 

Next, unroll your paper and measure a 12x12 square and cut. My roll was 12in. wide so it was an easy cut. Roll your square in a cone shape to be sure it's the size you want. Once you have your size, cut the remaining hangers. 

Lay them flat and spray paint in a sunny area. They dry pretty quick, but I let mine sit all day before moving to the next step. The silver was very pretty and made them look almost real. 

Heat up your hot glue gun for the next step.  

Roll the square into a cone shape, using hot glue to secure the sides together, down the front of the cone. This is pretty hidden once you fill with flowers, so it doesn't have to be perfect. 

Now you have your cone. I took a sheet of card stock and rolled it, and stuck it inside to give some more body to the cone. You can afix with hot glue, but you shouldn't have to. It will stay on its on. 

Next, putting your ribbon on them. I put clear tape inside on each top side of the cone to give reinforcements. Using a hole punch, make even holes on each side and thread your ribbon through. Tie the end in a large knot to hold. I used 2 yards for each pew hanger so you had ribbon hanging down from the top. I imagined a bow, but who really noticed?

I delivered them to my florist and they filled and hung them. They were even impressed with how real they looked! Fun and easy project for your big day.

As for the rest of the church, we placed one large arrangement behind the alter and covered the lecturn with a simple green garland. We relied on my bridesmaid bouquets to add a pop of color to the alter, so it looked pretty full, but simple. On the outer door to the church we had sprays of flowers... but we didn't get a picture, and to be honest, I never saw them! Waste of money? Maybe the guests enjoyed them.