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Wedding Budget Tip #15: Upcycled Wedding Decor

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This post is part of a recurring series here on BSB where we share wedding budget tips to help you save money on your wedding! You can access all the wedding budget tips on a single page for your convenience and future reference. This post is all about how you can upcycle items to use as wedding decor for your reception!

Wedding Budget Tip #15: Upcycled Wedding Decor
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Wedding Budget Tip #15: Upcycle items you have around your home to use them as wedding decor!

Wedding Budget Tip #15:

Upcycle Items you have around the house (or in your recycling bin) to use as wedding decor.


Upcycle Items to Use as Wedding Decor

Have you heard of Upcycling? If you’ve never heard this term before, allow us to define it in wedding-speak for you:

up·cy·cle |  (verb)

to reuse discarded objects or materials in such a way as to create a product of a higher quality or value than the original.

“Sara saw an opportunity to upcycle the wine bottles in her recycling bin by painting them to use as wedding centerpiece decor.” 

Turn Trash into Wedding Decor Treasure

As you can see, upcycling is a great way to save money and create custom, personalized decor items for your wedding day. Just think of all the items you have around your house that could be reused or repurposed for your wedding day.

Items like tin cans, glass jars, wine bottles, frappucino bottles, coffee cans, and other items you might toss in the recycle bin can take on a new life with the help of a little DIY. Spraypaint, adding fabrics or lace, or even glitter can totally transform your household items into gorgeous centerpiece vessels and decor.

Upcycling for your wedding is a great way to be less wasteful, both money-wise and environmentally! And the effect can be just as lovely as any professionally designed decor you’ve seen.

Upcycled Wedding Decor Ideas for Your Big Day

Check out these ideas to turn trash into treasure for your wedding decorations!

records upcycled wedding decor

Old Records as Upcycled Wedding Decor

Bride blogger Casey created these cute table numbers by upcycling some old records. Head to your local thrift store and pick up some old records to use as decorations for your wedding (or your home!)


upcycled fabric banner wedding decor

Upcycle Fabric to Use as Bunting

Casey also created these bunting banners by using some new items and repurposing some fabric scraps. If you’ve got old patterned bedsheets around your house, you can totally cut them up and use them for a project like this. Or buy a few sets for cheap at a thrift shop!


upcycled tin cans wedding decor

Upcycled Wedding Decor Idea: Tin Can Centerpieces

I love the gold-painted tin cans displayed in this post about creating a glamorous wedding on a budget. (Hint: Upcycling is a great way to pull off a luxe look for less!)


upcycled wine bottle wedding decor

Spraypaint Wine Bottles to Create Upcycled Centerpieces

Give your old wine bottles a fresh coat of paint in various metallic hues to give off a luxe look without the hefty price tag! Extra glam points for adding glitter.

Photo by Julieta


wine cork monogram upcycled wedding decor

Create Wedding Decor out of Wine Corks

Use old wine corks you’ve collected to create a Wine Cork Monogram. You can hot glue the corks together to make a large, oversized letter of your new married initial to display at your wedding reception. This project makes a fun piece of home decor as well!


envelope liner tutorial

Utilize Old Wrapping Paper, Newspaper, or Book Pages

Use old wrapping paper or paper scraps to create custom wedding envelope liners. This simple project can really take your DIY wedding invites up a notch with a wow factor, especially if you use glitter wrapping paper as we did in our example!


Create Table Numbers using Wine Bottles

Turn old wine bottles into table numbers! You can use spraypaint, stencils, stickers, glue, glitter, or any other fun materials to personalize your upcycled wedding table numbers.

Photo by Amber Kay via United With Love


Make Your Own Milk Glass with Spraypaint and Glass Jars

Get the milk glass look for less by spraypainting old jars and vases! Give them a touch of texture by adding dots of glue to smooth bottles and vases before giving them a coat of solid white paint.

via glitter inc


Use Fabric Scraps or Remnants to Create Wedding Decor

Use scraps of styrofoam and fabric to create custom fabric letters for wedding decor! You can also make oversized letters for a Monogram or Initials out of carboard. Check out this cardboard letter DIY tutorial we’ve previously featured.

via ArtTherapyStudio


Give Old Shoes a New Life: Upcycled Wedding Shoes

Upcycle an old pair of shoes with the help of paint, glue, and glitter! You can create a glittery wedding shoe in your color scheme from a pair of pumps, sneakers, or flats! The best part is the paint and glitter will cover up any scuffs, so they don’t have to be brand new.

via The Dress Matters


Put Paper Scraps to Good Use for Wedding Decor

Use paper scraps to create some really unique scrolled garland! You can use construction paper scraps, newspaper scraps, or even slice up pieces of paper from cards you’ve collected over the years for a personal touch.

via Bird’s Party


upcycled gold painted wine bottles centerpiece brit jaye

Upcycled Painted Wine Bottle Centerpiece

More painted wine bottle centerpiece inspiration from this real wedding shot by Brit Jaye. We seriously love how a coat of metallic spraypaint takes glass bottles and jars from trash to treasure!

Photo by Brit Jaye


Painted Wine Bottle Centerpieces

More painted wine bottle centerpiece inspiration from this real wedding shot by Stephanie Kase. Want a rosy romantic feel to your upcycled wedding decor? How about these rose gold painted bottles as centerpieces?

Photo by Stephanie Kase Photography


There are so many ways to create wedding decor without spending a fortune, using items around your home that might otherwise be thrown away.

Need more ideas? Check out our DIY project tutorials!

So tell us: are you doing any upcycling for your wedding? Or would you consider using upcycled wedding decor? Join us in our community to chat more about wedding budgets and more!


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Wedding Budget Tip #15: Upcycle items you have around your home to use them as wedding decor!
Wedding Budget Tip #15: Upcycle items you have around your home to use them as wedding decor!
upcycled wedding decor ideas

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