In Defense of Using Thrift Store Dishes/Silverware At Your Wedding, by Cassie
Food Porn
By
on April 01, 2009
70
Those of you who've read my book know that our guests drank out of "Muglies," used mugs from second hand stores that we then decorated with wedding stickers. For those of you who are considering going a similar second-hand route for your wedding flatware, OBT member Cassie offers some encouragement…
I just want to say that I am having an absolute blast finding awesome, unique, and totally, insanely cheap dishes and silverware for our wedding.
Last weekend I went to a thrift store and got 40 pieces of silverware (in good condition), 10 wine glasses, and about 5 coffee cups (all attractive, in very good shape) for freaking FOUR DOLLARS AND SEVENTY-FIVE CENTS. I actually cackled on the way back to my car.
Every time I make a purchase like this, I take the stuff home, wash it by hand, and then wash it in the dishwasher, too. Then I wrap it in clean towels or clean "batting" stuff, pack it away in a box and carefully label what exactly is in there.
I originally thought all of this would be way too much of a hassle, but I love it. Since my wedding is still seven months out, I have plenty of time and don't feel rushed. I also thought that it would be a pain carting everything to the reception site. But you know what? If I rented stuff, I'd have to drive 25 minutes to the rental place, pick it up, and then drive it to the reception site. And then take it back the day after. So this will actually save me time when the wedding comes.
I just wanted to post a quick pep talk for people who might be considering second hand dishes and/or silverware but are feeling unsure. My wedding has taught me that, as with many things, if you take the time and energy to really search and put effort in, you end up with way, way cheaper and — more importantly — more interesting results. And the fact that I'm having a blast in the process doesn't hurt. If you'd view this kind of thrift store hunting as a chore, then obviously don't do it! But if you're like me, then I suggest you give it a shot.
About Ariel Meadow Stallings
Author of Offbeat Bride: Creative Alternatives for Independent Brides, Ariel acts as the publisher of all the Offbeat Empire websites. She lives, loves, and dorks out hard in Seattle, WA.
arielletk said
I too am getting thrift store plates for my wedding! We're having a pretty small wedding (only 22 people in total) so it's not so bad..so far I've gotten 18 big plates and 22 appetizer plates, and we have 6 weeks to the wedding (I plan to make another trip later this week). We are using plastic silverware and cups probably..still debating whether to get paper plates or real plates for dessert.
Another great things that most thrift stores have are mason jars, which make great candle holders for centerpieces- I put some ribbon around the rim and am holding candles in place with river rocks I picked up at a crafty store. http://abandoningeden.blogspot…eices.html
Beti said
Good for you! I love this thrifty, creative, eco-friendly, supporting-charitable-organizations way to subvert the WIC! Hurrah!
Berlin said
I've been buying vintage bone china, silver and crystal to use at our wedding. Our guests will be taking demitasse saucers home as keepsakes and are more than welcome to take the china they used for their meal as well. There will be both a tattoo artist and tarot reader/shaman during our reception. It's these little bits that make a celebration memorable.
Doni said
this is amazing. i love this!
Melli said
I am SO emailing this to my mom and my fiance, who think I'm insane for wanting to do this!!
AnArtfuldodger said
That's adorable! I love that look!
TMae said
We used thrift store / garage sale flatware and muglies at our wedding. It was inexpensive, typically benefitted a good cause (the thrift store), environmentally friendly, and when we were done with it, It was perfect for us.
Tessa said
Who washed the dishes after the evening? We are going totally DIY and I would like to minimize/eliminate any work to be done that night. Your thought and experience is greatly appreciated!
Heather said
Hell yes! I think a great thrift store find is the modern equivalent of the "hunt"… it fulfills some deep primal urge – and nothing makes me giddier
Another note to the "thrift store dishes at your wedding" nay-sayers, the mix-and-match vintage look is so totally IN according the wedding style gurus. So while the box brides are paying out the nose to have that look, a resourceful offbeat bride can get hers for pennies!
Heather said
I think it's a great idea! I got all my centerpiece decor at thrift stores, over the last 12 months. I chose not to do the dishes b/c our wedding was quickly approaching 140 peeps and carrying, washing, storing them was too much for me (and ended up not saving much money – other than I could have resold them).
I agree, though, MAKE IT FUN! If you think of it as another thing on your "To Do" list – skip it. But if it's crafty and a fun adventure – it's the LOVE that will make your wedding memorable.
Jasmine said
What did you decide to do for your centerpieces? I want to, but can't find a look/ideas online that I like that is still fairly cohesive. Any ideas would be great!
Lindsey said
I took the laurel leaves right out of my backyard and spray painted them with stencils and a variety of finishes. I also bought bulk feathers on line to include (I'm doing a Great Gatsby Cocktail themed wedding and feathers were very popular in 20's decor). They turned out absolutely awesome and with teh exception of the vases that I bought (gold mosaic) and plan to sell afterwards, I only spent about $8 each on my center pieces. Plus it was really fun.
Jasmine said
What did you decide to do for your centerpieces? I want to, but can't find a look/ideas online that I like that is still fairly cohesive. Any ideas would be great!
kingdaughter said
Where are these thrift stores that give such ridiculously good deals? All the ones around here are much more expensive…
Chris said
I agree … the traditional thrift stores (Goodwill, Salvation Army) seem to be getting more expensive. My best luck seems to be at garage sales, rummage sales, flea markets, but only if the people selling them are unaware of how desirable the vintage/mismatched look is these days!
erica said
Don't forget that if you re-donate the dishes, you get a tax benefit for the donation to a charitable organization. Money to the organization from the purchase, dishes back to the organization for others, and a tax benefit for you — so much better than paying for rentals and the ultimate in eco-friendly re-use.
Lilia Ahner said
That's a great idea. I've seen so many cute vintage plates at thrift stores in my area.
Sarah Beth said
We must all have the same things on the brain – cheap! upcycled! – because I too thought of this idea a couple of days ago!
I really like the idea of donating what you don't keep – that's the ultimate in good karma points.
Great to see other peeps so into alternatives to "china service" (What is that, anyway? Is it actually real china, or just cheap chinette?)
Liz said
Ha!! We are doing the same thing! That's great!
amber said
hahaha this is too funny! i just went today and picked up 101 plates for $26!! i'd been going back and forth debating weather to do it. mis matched china was the ONLY thing i was really excited about, but thought $$$$ might get in the way. 101 plates found….i only need 99 more!
Grace Tasedan said
Your wedding wouldn't happen to be over would it? Or on the East coast? I am desperately searching for someone who scored big on something like this, for me to get some help collecting the number I need.
Vera said
Where does the term muglie come from?
Ariel said
Vera, "Muglies" is a portmanteau word that I made up to describe the ugly mugs that we were using at our wedding. Ugly + Mugs = Muglies. If you want to know the full story, it's in the book.
kelly said
I gave vintage tea cups with a 2oz decorated bag of loose tea, all wrapped in tulle with a satin bow as my "tea party" wedding favors. It brought down the house! It was beautiful, unique, memorable; best of all it was cheap!
Jean said
Kelly! Where did you find the vintage tea cups?
Jessica said
I want to do this but I've been having a hard time finding them too!
Valarie said
I've bought some dishes at yard sales…great stuff…for next to nothing…I, too, am excited about having real plates…without the hefty price tag…
Sarah said
I would totally love to do this, but I fear – who will do the dishes after?!
Chris said
I've wondered this too! So far, my best solution is … well, just pitch in with family the day after and clean up together. We're just going to have cute buckets out for guests to toss their dirty things in as they're done (next to trash cans).
Bianca said
How many guests are you guys having? I have been seriously considering this for our BBQ wedding (to avoid disposables. ugh, the waste!). But I have 250 guests. Is anything doing a wedding that big?
I also have reservations about the glasses. Do people only use one during the whole reception?
Grace Tasedan said
I am in your same boat. I hope you find something. My wedding is coming up fast! (July 31st). I wish there was a link to a site that people posted their collections of plates. That would be SO great. I would drive a couple hours to pick up a nice lot of things.
Emily said
There are eco-friendly disposables out there that don't cost an arm and a leg if real dishes don't end up working out for you. I'm getting mine from sustainableparty.com.
Arden said
I too have been excited about the thriftstore thing, but have found that my local Value Village and Goodwill prices aren't better than rental prices, and I have been a bit daunted by getting enough plates for 80-90ish folks. So, I've decided to start with 3 things: small coffee cups, silverware, and mason jars for center pieces (which are all consistently priced below rental prices).
Maybe when yardsale season is here I will feel up for giving plates and wine glasses a go. And if someone in the Seattle or Bellingham area was interested in combining efforts and using at each of our weddings, I'd be game (will have to post on Offbeat Bride Tribe).
As for what to do with the plates afterwords, I read in Conscious Choice that a environmental org called Sustainable/Vashon has a "Trash-Free Bash Stash" of a bunch of mismatched dishware people can borrow. Brilliant! I was planning on seeing if my local GreenNeighborhood group would be interested a similar thing, and I could give it to them.
Cassie said
For those who mentioned prices, it's true not all thrift stores will give you a good deal. One of my local Goodwill stores prices every glass at a dollar, which is more expensive than rental prices. I happen to be lucky enough to live by a few independent thrift stores that are much cheaper. One of them does the "colored tag 1/2 off" sale, with a different color every day. Most of the coffee cups I buy are originally priced at about 30 cents, so they end up being 15 cents when I buy the right tag color. Another thrift store had a "spring cleaning" 75 percent off sale, which is where I got a lot of the stuff. But in general, these stores prices their wineglasses at about 40 cents, silverware at about a dime, and so on…so it's much cheaper.
I haven't checked out garage sales yet, but I'm hoping that will be another way to rake in the inexpensive stuff. And there you can haggle!
We're going to have our wedding helpers rinse everything off at the end of the wedding. My FMIL volunteered to take about half the stuff home to wash (gradually) in her dishwasher, and I'll do the other half. We are going to redonate everything. Of course, guests are welcome to take home whatever they want.
Also, FYI, I'm shooting for 60-70 people at my wedding. If I had over a 100 or 200 people, I don't think I'd be doing this. It all depends on what you think you can do.
Erin said
Like Cassie said, keep an eye out for the special deals at the thrift stores. Goodwill here has a couple of days a week where the color tag of the week is on sale, but the better deal is at Savers, where 4 days a week the color tag is 50% off, and 1 day a week the color tag is 99 cents.
50% off days are perfect for glasses and single plates (normally $1), 99 cent days are perfect for tablecloths and sets of dishes. And yes, some of the independent thrift stores are cheaper. The thing I'm finding harder is silverware, as they wait until they have a big quantity of it and then sell a tray's worth all at once. I've only found those once so far and bought 5 trays of silverware. The cashiers think I'm nuts.
jx said
once you take it home and wash it, it's just like all the other stuff in your cupboards: used, but clean. I really dont understand the people who are so negative "how could you use USED stuff for your ______ (wedding, party, home, whatever)" ?????
for me, I started going to the flea market with Mom when I was 7. it didnt take long to realize most of the things I like are not made anymore so thrift shops, yardsales, and fleamarkets are a resource to be treasured!
I would like to add that if you are collecting such things, it is worth the time to send out a general email to friends and family because they might be ready to donate those extra plates or 3 wine glasses, to the local charity, and happy, or even happier! to give them to you.