The Classic Bride Loves Antique Signet Rings

Signet rings embody classic preppiness to their core and I love that they can become family heirlooms - they're the perfect 'other' ring for your wedding day! They're typically made of gold or silver and feature a monogram, initial, seal or family crest.  I've personally been on the hunt for one for myself for about a year now. I'm hoping to find an antique beauty with pearls and/or sapphires but it's turning out to be a challenging hunt. Regardless, here's a few of my favorites (both new and antique styles) I found on Etsy:

Personalized crest signet ring.

Diamond engagement signet ring. (You could have your married monogram engraved on this beauty!)

Sterling silver signet ring (customizable).

Antique family crest signet ring (circa 1920). Umm, I'm dying over this one. The pearls and acorns are just too much! Love.

 Antique Men's Victorian Signet with rose gold.

Which ring is your favorite? Are you thinking about incorporating a signet ring in your wedding? Please tell! :)

CB's Tip: It probably goes without saying but my favorite are the antique signet rings. If you agree and don't have any luck on Etsy finding what you want, check out the jewelry counters at antique malls and vintage boutiques and look for a blank ring that you can have personally engraved. Bonne chance!

All images via Etsy. This is not a sponsored post.

Something Blue

Over the past few months, I've been busy stocking my wedding boutique with pretty vintage finds that will make your wedding shine. Today, I thought I'd share a few pieces from my shop that could be your perfect something blue (and/or something old):

This old-school Tiffany blue-colored fan takes me right back to summer days of visiting my great-grandmother in the upcountry of South Carolina when I was just a wee thing. I think its charm would be well placed at an outdoor summer wedding, don't you? A graceful way to cool off guests!
Find details and ordering info about this retro-licious fan here.

Whether you want to type your love a sappy wedding day letter or provide guests with a fun + quirky way to leave notes in lieu of a guestbook, this chic Tiffany blue-colored typewriter will do it all in style!

Antique mason jars will always make darling vases. I especially love seeing them holding creamy white flowers at a coastal wedding. They can look positively dreamy lining a wooden altar in front of the sea. Shop the full collection of my blue mason jars here.

See the full collection of my shop's blue wares here. There's also lots of other pretties for your wedding - from vintage bridal attire to cake toppers to all sorts of French treasures! Hope you stop by for a look! xx.

How to Use Antiques in Your Wedding: French Perrier Menu Board (for sale!)

One of my favorite things to see at weddings are signature cocktails - they have the possibility for such creativity, both in the recipes and the presentation. It's a great way to show your personality as a couple and inject your style through the menu. I intended for this post/shoot to line up with the Kentucky Derby but I'm a little late to the party, oops. :( Nonetheless, I love this forest-green French Perrier sign and I've staged it for a deliciously preppy derby-worthy (wow, that's a mouthful!) wedding. Hope you feel inspired and the sign is for sale if you're interested! (details below)

Glass swizzle sticks are the best. So glad my Mom convinced me to scoop these pretties up at an antique shop years ago!

About the French Perrier Sign:
I found this charming French bistro sign at a German flohmarkt on the German/French border while I was living in Europe. I'm a huge fan of Perrier (They have the best styling - we have an assortment of Perrier drinking glasses, too) so I immediately fell in love with the sign, knowing it would be a fun and whimsical menu board for the kitchen (or wedding!).

I especially love knowing that this sign most likely used to grace a French bistro or cafe, letting its patrons know the specials of the day. And the green and creamy white palette would mesh so easily with so many wedding palettes - I especially love the idea of having it for a garden chic wedding. (I totally would have used it in my own wedding if I had sourced it in time!) For this shoot, I styled the board as a cocktail menu but you could just as easily make it a dinner menu or even use it as an escort sign, directing guests where to sit. The possibilities really are endless. I used a white wet erase chalk marker to pen the menu and what's great about using a chalk marker is that you can take a wet cloth and wipe it right off for a new design!

The board does have a few imperfections from use - some of the green color has worn off in a few spots (which you can see in the photos - click photos to enlarge) and there is a small indentation on the upper left portion. Other than that, it's good to go! 

The board measures 22.5 x 35 inches and is made of a thick plastic material.

Price: $148.00 + shipping
If you're interested in the Perrier sign and would like to request a shipping quote, just message me your zip code at theclassicbride@gmail.com! First come, first serve.

ps. If you want to purchase the sign and like how I've designed the menu and would like me to pen your own custom menu or design, I'm happy to do that for an additional amount depending on how involved it is. Just e-mail me at theclassicbride[at]gmail[dot]com and we can chat about it! :)

This awesome Rhum ashtray is for sale, too. Just e-mail if you're interested. :)

How to Use Antiques in Your Wedding: Love Locks for Engagement Sessions (+for sale!)

As part of my antiquing series, I've been sharing some of my favorite ways to incorporate antiques in your wedding. I've shared how to use vintage French enamel pitchers, watering cans, French champagne buckets and French vintage baskets as vases ... and today, I'm going to share another favorite: Vintage Love Locks! 

I've had a small obsession with vintage locks for years. They just tend to be so pretty and so much cooler than modern locks. I think they're a great little prop to use for engagement sessions - whether you're adding the lock to a love lock bridge like the ones in Paris {which is what J&I did in this shoot} or simply holding the lock while your love holds the key ... a beautiful shot for Save the Dates! Anyway, I thought I'd share two pretty locks I currently have with you. If you're interested in either {or would like more info/measurements/photos}, just e-mail me at theclassicbride[at]gmail[dot]com! :)

I love the art deco-y lines of this lock and that it says "MAIL" - fun!
Note: The MAIL lock is in the locked position and does not have its key.

And you may recognize this next heart-shaped lock as it was featured in CB's Parisian Love Shoot - if you scroll down, I'm sharing a few excerpts from the shoot so you can see it in action. ;)

Can you get over this little lock?! The heart shape had me at hello and I just love that charming design around the keyhole - it couldn't be cuter if it tried, amirite?!

Note: The heart lock opens and closes easily but is missing its key.
ps. Even though this lock is missing its key, I think it would be darling paired with a petite-sized skeleton key for a Save the Date with your honey! No one has to know the key doesn't fit. ;)

Here's a few photos of the heart-shaped beauty looking pretty in Paris from our shoot with Juliane Berry:

"Attached" to the Pont des Arts ... but not for long! ;)

I also have one other lock for sale which you can check out right here. I call it my cupid's arrow lock. ;)

Again, if you're interested in anything {or would like more info/measurements/photos}, 

just e-mail me at theclassicbride@gmail.com!

And if you missed my series on flea marketing for your wedding, catch up here!

All color images by moi; all black and white images by Juliane Berry.

Classic Wedding Investment: Creative Ringbearer Boxes, p.2

Yesterday, I shared a few of my favorite alternatives for ring bearer pillows (if you missed the post, you can catch up here). I promised a few more fun ideas today and I hope I won't disappoint! Everything featured in this post will soon be heading straight for the (online) shelves of my little shop, CB Vintage, so if you'd like to place dibs before stocking takes place, just e-mail me at theclassicbride[at]gmail[dot]com. I'm happy to answer any questions about size / dimensions / shipping / additional photos, etc. :)

Boy, that mint green French Opalex ashtray sure is cute ... I wonder what it would look like as a ring box for a ring bearer to carry ...

TA-DA!

Doesn't it look like an enchanted little bird's nest? I just adore the minty color!

I found this cutie at a vide grenier in a tiny town in northern France. :)

Next up, I couldn't resist this sweet vintage paper box advertising a little French shop in Lille, France. The pale blue color and gold lettering hum in unison and the pretty design makes me wonder what goodies the box used to hold. I think it's the perfect little token to hold a pair of rings down the aisle:

I also promised yesterday that I'd share where I rounded up my natural moss (for free!). I scooped this selection of moss from my Mom and Dad's front garden at their last house in Alabama. They had a great little shady spot near their porch where the most beautiful green moss thrived. And the great thing about moss is that it maintains its green color after it has dried - the moss in these photos is about 4 years old and still looks alive and pretty. You can also purchase moss at craft stores if you don't have a great little garden at your fingertips. ;)

Next up, I found this darling cream French bonbon box (made of thick plastic) at another French flea market and fell in love with the ornately decorated lid which says "Sucre Dulcor" "Paris" ... if this wasn't made for a wedding ...

Isn't she a beaut? Here's another of my favorites - the simple but beautiful Pastilles tin:

I have a few other pretty French tins that would be equally enchanting for a ring bearer ... or to hide a secret love note:

Lastly, I adore pastel kitchen enamel and I made it a mission to collect a few French vintage enamel lunch pails while I was living abroad. A vendor once told me that men would tote them to work around WWI and after. I love the history and I just find them positively charming in their quaintness ... and hello, pretty ring box:

And that's all I've got for ya today - I hope my ideas have inspired you to get creative for your little ring bearer! I'll share a few creative ideas for the flower girls soon, too! Stay tuned!

And do tell what you plan on having your little ring bearer carry down the aisle. ;) I'd love to hear!

All images styled and taken by moi.

Classic Wedding Investment: Creative Ringbearer Boxes, p.1

I will always love a classic ringbearer pillow {my Mom once cross-stitched a monogrammed pillow for a friend's wedding and I'm still swooning over it!} but I'm also really loving alternatives to the pillow. I thought I'd share a few of my favorites with you today.

You may remember this amazing glass box used for the rings from Violet + Jason's Ohio wedding I shared a few months ago:

Photo by Adam Lowe Photography

I kinda made a huge fuss over the little glass box on Instagram {you can follow me here}. I love that the couple added some natural moss for cushioning - it adds great color and texture! And they didn't stop there! They also included a ceremony called 'warming of the rings' where the guests get involved and pass the rings around and wish the couple good luck and bless them. Here is a link with more info about the ceremony.

And how can you not love a ringbearer pup? The darling black lab from Matt + Laura's New England wedding is too cute for words - and I love a good floral collar - perfect for attaching the rings:

Photo by Kat Hanafin

I also love the idea of getting creative and using beautiful vintage containers as ring boxes for the ringbearer. A few goodies I have lined up for my CB Vintage shop seemed too perfect so I decided to do a little impromptu photo shoot with some of my wares to show you just how great they could be! As always, if you see something you'd be interested in purchasing, just shoot me an e-mail at theclassicbride[at]gmail[dot]com. I'd be happy to pack anything you see and send it right off to you for your wedding. :)

Similar to the glass box used in Violet and Jason's wedding, I love this little antique glass box I found at the Lille, France flea market (read about all the fun I had at the market here) a few years ago. It sits a little crooked {which I freakin love} and is missing one sidepane of glass but I don't think that takes away any of its inherent charm ... I actually think it adds charm! I love the faded red tufted material inside - I like to imagine the box having once belonged to a little French princess who kept her most prized pieces of jewelry inside. How cute would it be to have a ringbearer tote this pretty down the aisle?

The sidepane of glass is missing but whatevs ... it's still adorbs! Don't you agree?

This next idea is a little outside the box (see what I did there? (;) but I think it's incredibly cool - use a vintage (extra points if it's French) ashtray as a ringbox and use some green moss as a natural cushion:

I have a weak spot for collecting French ashtrays because they just exude Frenchness to me ... I imagine Eva Green languidly puffing on a cig and blowing smoke rings at a Parisian streetside bistro while waiting for her lovaah to arrive. ... Or Brigitte Bardot doing the same in St. Tropez ... you get the idea ... it conjurs up sexy French vibes that are irresistible. And who wouldn't want to inject a little of that in their wedding, right? What makes it even better is that most of the vintage French ashtrays I collected have French ads for a product or cafe or bar on them and many times they were also used to deliver the bill to customers. I love a piece with good history, don't you?

Under the moss, this French ashtray says St Raphael.
If you're interested in purchasing and would like more photos,
just e-mail at theclassicbride[at]gmail[dot]com.

For a more pared-down, natural look, I love the idea of using a vintage French pitch pot and again using moss as a natural cushion. I scored a heap of these cute little clay pitch pots in Provence:

 Cafe au lait bowls are rather charming, too:

And, lastly, for today, a good vintage tin always makes a beautiful ring box:

The best part about using a unique ring box for your wedding is that you can continue to use it as a ring box well after the wedding on your nightstand or in a place of prominence in your home. Hello, classic investment.

Tune in tomorrow for more pretty vintage ring boxes for sale! I've saved the best for last so make sure you come back! ;) I'll also tell you where I found my pretty moss (for free!). xox.

Photos by moi unless otherwise stated.