My Collection of old Doors/Door Backdrop

So I like old Doors.  I've been collecting them for awhile.  I've driven to the Pass (1.5hours) and I even got one in Utah from my cousin Patty.  They came in all shapes, sizes, colours, and condition.  

We went to Patty's (the handy-woman Patty) garage (which is heated) and painted them all in a morning.  Scott has these cool things called door stackers that you screw into the top and bottom of the doors and they become handles and stack/spacers.  So you rest the stacker on to tables, paint one side of the door, lift with the handles, flip the door and paint the other side.  Then move the door to the floor.  Do the next one, but then you just engage the stacker of the previous door.  They all stack together to dry but don't take up your whole garage.  Brilliant invention, door stackers.  

We also sanded the side we were planning to use.  We left the other side just painted (that way if we decide to use them again and don't want to weathered look we are good to go)

Love the arched door!
Have used that one before in a couple of weddings!

came from a Hutterite colony

This green door also has a full length mirror on the back.
We loved the swinging clothes hanger (as you will see later)

This door becomes a table top

So once they were all dried (didn't take very long), we decided what order they would go in.  We put the wide Hutterite Door in the middle.  Then the 2 window doors on either side and worked our way out.



Once we got the order the way we liked it, we numbered the doors from one end to the next 1-9.

Then we started hinging them together.  Some of the doors hinges worked, others we had to add new hinges.  So once they were all hinged together we took it all apart, taping hinge pins to the hinges.  We transported all the doors back to my garage ready for the wedding.

 We had our Family Dinner and Reception in the same building.  So we put the head table up and took it down for the reception.  The receiving line was in front of the doors.  

 So we just lined the doors up in their order and hinged them together.  Then the fun part of putting things on the doors.  I made some ruffled wreaths, adding brooches.  

We layered frames, added lace.  

On the swinging clothes hanger I hung Kelsey's blessing dress and baptism dress (actually all 3 of my girls wore the same dresses).

Dresses

 This is the radiator table.  I got the 2 antique radiators at the same salvage store that I got the mantel.  They came out of the Jasper Place building in Edmonton.  We connected the table to the radiators so it would tip/move.  I had glass cut to fit into the panels of the door.  This was the table that we used for the food.  Under the glass I had found some mini post cards of Paris at Potterybarn with cute vintage envelopes, so we put them under the glass.  The table was also covered with  doilies, layered trays, some resting on vintage scales.  The basket of flowers was a vintage baby bassinet that I got at my favorite antique store, Station 8 in Columbia Falls MT, which by the way was where I had seen this idea of radiator/door table.  I also saw the crinoline lights there as well (I'll show those in a future post).

 I had a couple more doors at the reception that I'll show in future posts. 

Kelsey and Tanner's Wedding

So we've been busy at our house this past fall preparing for Kelsey and Tanner's wedding!  
It was a perfect day.  The best part was watching them during the sealing ceremony!  They were sealed by Tanner's Grandpa.  

Kelsey never wanted to get married in the winter, so she didn't want it to look at all like a winter wedding, so we used pastel colours and completely forgot that it was cold and chilly outside!
I had fun gathering all the things we used at their reception.  I had great helpers.  Tanner's mom, who is also named Joanne, and I love the same kinds of things.  So it was super fun to work together with her. My good friend Patty is a handyman, but she's a woman handyman, the best kind.  She didn't question any of my crazy ideas as some handymen would.  I'd have an idea and she could make it happen...the best!  My friend Karen who came down from Edmonton and helped me with lace and crinoline lamps. And of course my family.  Kelsey was very diligent with many things.  My parents, did a lot, my mom made the bridesmaids dress which turned out beautifully!  Our boys are so glad its over and they don't have to run errands for me.  Katie for pressing a million doilies, Jessica and Mandy for helping with the favours.  Peter for sacrificing the whole garage, putting up with all my wild dreams, and of course financing the whole thing.  My siblings with their families who traveled from warmer climates in Utah and Vegas to join in on the fun in Canada in DECEMBER, who helped so much!  


Most of my "props" came from kijiji (like Craiglist).  I also frequented thrift stores, a few antique shops, a salvage building supply store and online.  

I'll post some before and after shots.  Some of during.  

I found this mantel at a building salvage store in Edmonton.  It's solid maple.  It had nasty rose coloured tile around the fireplace opening that was all chipped and broken.  I pulled all of that out, pulled out 2x4's that looked like they could come out.  Then used some liquid sandpaper to rough up the surface.  Painted it with BM Aura Dove White with a Eggshell finish.  

 Then I added the wood medallions.  Patty framed and put the piece of reclaimed ceiling tile into the fireplace opening.  She also rewired the plug in the top of the mantel to then be plugged into the wall.
I left this piece un-antiqued.  But by the time it got to the church...it had been antiqued.


We wanted to put wedding pictures of parents, Grandparents and Great Grandparents on it.















The lace was a curtain/mantel shawl, I found at Thrift Village.


Antique camera's, antique store and Pete's Christmas presents.

Joanne's Dress

Grandma Judy's Dress

We also used dress forms to display Kelsey's Grandma Judy's wedding dress.  And Tanner's Mom's Joanne's wedding dress.

I found both dress forms on kijiji.

I'm walking you through the room, by the way.  Lead pane glass window (kijiji), little Grandma chair (kijiji), pink dresser (kijiji), lamp (elements, thrift store and kijiji).  We used the pink dresser for the sign in book.  I also had a stack of blank envelopes that I had people address, so we could send out the thank you s. 

 If you hadn't noticed yet...I love doilies.  Lots of doilies!

I could have sold this lamp 10 times over, this one I'm actually keeping.  I took a old lamp shade the kind with wire under the cloth, ripped away the cloth, starched a whack of doilies, pinned them on the frame and started hand sewing them to the frame of the lampshade.

More pictures another day!