Wedding DIY: Distressed Window Seating Chart

Cutting a few corners, without cutting style and vision, was the key to making my wedding day everything I wanted it to be. I’m a nurse- I’m one of the most practical people you will ever meet, but I do love my style. As I show you some of the DIYs I tackled for my big day you will see what I mean – I didn’t see any sense in unnecessaries, but I also had a vision of a rustic barn wedding that I wasn’t going to let go of either.
One of my favorite pieces of the day was my seating chart. Escort cards or reception cards averaged between $100 - $150, even at the lower price scale. I though maybe I could make my own, but I wouldn’t be saving a whole lot more… and would be buying myself a lot more time consumption. On random Monday whilst browsing at ReStore for inspiration for new projects, I stumbled upon a bunch of old windows and paned doors – with the price written on the panes in chalk.  LIGHTBULB. I found a window (actually it’s an old half of a French door set) with enough windows to fit 120 names… and I bought it for $35. Actually, I bought two because I wasn’t sure how much writing space I would need. See Instagram:

I went to Amazon.com and bought some liquid chalk pens in white and started doodling. I was lucky because my window was pretty distressed already, I didn’t need to do much to it. BUT if you find a window that needs a little loving, take some sandpaper and rough it up a little. I didn’t use the big orange door – but I had big plans to paint and distress it if the smaller window didn’t make the cut. In fact… I may use it as a door to my dining room….
I digress.

Things to note:
- Wash the window/door thoroughly before writing
- Get more than one chalk pen – you WILL run out as soon as you almost finish
- Make sure your window will not be up against a light background – it will be hard to read
- Have a wet paper towel ready for when you mess up, it will save you some frustration
- TAPE A PEN TO THE BACK. Please… save yourself a headache on your wedding day… if for some reason something rubs off, a pen will be right there to fill it back in. We had no issues with rubbing or smudging, but ward off the evil spirits and attach a pen. From one bride to another, you don’t want to think about things like this on your wedding day.
This window WILL get reused – I’m thinking of putting pictures in each window pane and hanging it in my craft room… oh, the possibilities are endless! sigh.

Thanks for stopping by!
Cheers,
Bridget
xoxo