Vintage Hankies

Oh My Gosh!!!  This is my most favorite thing.  Well almost my most favorite thing,  there are lots of things in my life, that get me all wound up.  This is WAY WAY WAY up there though.  "Vintage Hankies" of all shapes, colors and uses.  They are such a wonderful creative addition to just about everything.  I wish I would have used them more in my wedding, by making a cohesive theme of them.  However, I didn't come across the idea until my wedding planning way too far along.

Here are some great ideas I wish I would have had the chance to utilize:

Save the Dates thanks to The Wedding Chicks:

 or even Invitations thanks to June Bugs Weddings:

Napkins maybe, from Joielala:

  

Plus, I like Hankie Banners, Placemats, Coasters, everything really...

No, not for me, not this time at least!  I'm sure I'll be trying to blend these ideas into my life in the near future.  But, I couldn't live without "Tears of Joy."  All over weddingbee are wonderful ladies praising the glory of this wonderful idea.

First, I bought lots and lots of hankies on ebay.  I bought only "lots" which basically mean large bulk hankies,  I tried to find ones from old real estate auctions. I didn't care if they said they were "well used" or "for crafting."  I got so excited everyday when I would see my next lot of hankies delivered in the mail.  It was a true surprise to see what I would get inside.  I ordered about 200 hankies for my wedding of about 100 guests.  This way, I could sort out all the ugly and stained specimens.  I only wanted fun hankies and found it cheaper to buy in bulk risking getting some ugly ducklings along the way.  I ended up using about 100 hankies, and ended up having about 40 over after the wedding.  The men didn't partake in the hankie fun, but some girls got excited and had to have more than 1. :)

I machine washed and dried my hankies, throwing out the truly holey and ruined hankies.  This is the result, hanging in my parents back yard.  My test hankies!  Oh, I got so excited!  So So excited!!!

 

Colorful, floral, vintage, unique, just what I wanted to surprise and bring a sentimental touch to my wedding.  I ironed the hankies.  My mom made another sign!  This one to tell our guests to take a hankie for their "Tears of Joy".  I found a lovely corner which all the guests would walk by on the way to the wedding, from which to hang my touching tear rags. 

And for a final touch, I dyed some of wooden clothespins with RIT dye green.  A lovely finishing touch.

I really like how it turned out and got lots of compliments from the guests.  It's apparently a totally unique and creative idea; well at least for those who don't read wedding blogs obsessively, hahaha

Update:  Do you wanna Upcycle your Hankies post wedding.  Here is a great idea for incorporating Hankies into your decor.

Official Photography by Mandy Ballard