Using wood crates to decorate for weddings and parties

Disclosure: I was provided crates and pallet from CratesandPallet.com to use whoever I wished, but all decorating ideas and opinions expressed are all mine.

Since we just talked about using old windows to decorate your home, let’s talk about using some other wood objects in decorating … and that is wood crates!!  The trends of DIY and decorating must shock people sometimes… I mean can you imagine the guy who delivers produce today or the famer years ago imagining that those wood crates that he uses would be a highly used and sought after item to use as décor or storage in your home?!   The same with old windows, pallets – oh the pallet trend!  I know my brother works in the electrical/construction industry and when I talk about using pallets or pallet wood in my home he sort of gives me a crazy look.  Because to him that is the trash laying around the construction site – but to me it is TREASURE!

I recently was introduced to a company called Crates and Pallet at Haven Conference. 

Yes – crates AND pallets!  A DIY/rustic girls dream!   They sell all kinds/sizes of wood crates, some unfinished wood shelves, pallets  from new and reclaimed wood, and pallet wood!   They also have several project ideas for using crates and pallets (some I had never thought of!) on their site as well.

Some of you will love this – if you have wanted to do a project with pallet wood but don’t have a source to get them or don’t have the tools to pull them apart – you can order broken down strips of pallet wood for a very reasonable price.  

They don’t sell their products directly on their site but you can find their large crates at Walmart stores or in store at Home Depot along with their whole line of products online at Home Depot.com (which you can order and pick up in store if you want.)

So I knew I had several decorating events coming up along with using some crates in areas of my home so Crates and Pallet was kind enough to send me some of their crates and a pallet to work with.

I got 3 of these small crates.  I will show you my favorite use for these later in the post!

And 6 of the large crates – oh, I love these!  They are so versatile to use for EVERYTHING!

And one of the quarter pallets.

Since I LOVE decorating, I love planning parties, and I love food… I have been asked several times to help people I know decorate for weddings and events.  I also used to be the shower coordinator for my church and  have shared some of the showers I have planned/decorate for and hosted in the past on the blog – you can find them here. 

The theme for many weddings, showers and events right now is the elegant rustic theme with pallet wood signs, mason jars, burlap, wood slices, lace, windows, and all of that good stuff!  So I wanted to show how and why I incorporate wood crates into decorating for parties, weddings, or events. 

I recently helped one of the girls in our college/single class with her August wedding – we did a bit of planning before and then she asked if I would  her decorate when the day got here.  I loved her rustic burlap/yellow and vintage theme and was happy to loan her some of my vintage décor (windows, lanterns, crates, etc.)  The bridesmaids wore light yellow dresses with cowboy boots, and the guys were white dress shirts with the sleeves rolled up a bit with jeans, a brown vest, and a yellow tie.  It was the perfect theme and colors for an August wedding.

Here’s the food tables leading into the main room.

Her tables had simple centerpieces of a rustic wood slice topped with a mason jar and a pretty flower arrangement on top of burlap runners and white tablecloths. 

The groom is very good in the kitchen (yes, she will be one lucky girl!) and he actually prepared all of the meat for the reception meal.  Pulled pork, and several different flavors of chicken – it was really good!  The bride and groom also made homemade strawberry jam for favors – isn’t that just amazing! 

We had talked about ways to display these and the crates were a PERFECT solution!  I stained several of the crates and the quarter pallet with some Dark Walnut stain by Rustoleum and they turned out beautiful! 

The jars were so cute topped with a piece of gingham yellow fabric tied with some twine. 

This table was the one of the highlights of the reception and fit her rustic elegance theme perfectly. 

Now for those small crates – they make perfect drink dispenser stands!  I LOVE all the fun drink dispensers you can buy in stores right now… but some of them don’t come with stands which makes it awkward for actually dispensing the drink.  But these small crates are just high enough without taking up too much space or being too high.  These were also stained with Rustoleum Dark Walnut stain

We also ended up using an unfinished small crate to raise up this platter of fruit.  That’s the thing with these crates – you can use them completely unfinished, stain them or paint them – whatever fits your style!

This was another table she set up to display some photo albums, for gifts and cards, and for her buckets of bubbles that would be passed around to say farewell to the couple.

A crate painted white added some layers, depth and height to this table.

Here’s another wedding I helped decorate and do food for this past December…  This bride did a salty and sweet dessert themed reception and I loved how this cheesecake table came out!   She had toppings for you to top your own cheesecake slices and the crates made the perfect way to display the cheesecakes on top of platters on top of rustic wood slices. 

Yummy!  Now I want cheesecake!

She also had a flavored popcorn table again using crates to add height and allow you use different levels to display food. 

Whenever you are arranging a table of food for a party or event some of the same rules for decorating your home apply.  You don’t want just a flat table with flat plates laid on it.  You want height, interest, texture, and layers!  Your home is the same way – you don’t just have a flat, 1 dimensional surface – you have furniture and small décor on top of tables, then things hanging on the wall and curtains for height to draw your eye up,  and then pillows, throws, décor, and baskets for texture…

Here’s a wedding shower I hosted at my house and blogged about here.  I don’t have a long flat wall without windows or something in the way where I can do a display table  so I used a board and blocked my dining room door into the kitchen with a board and setup my main food table there.  Again – fun pom-poms hanging from the ceiling to give height along with a backdrop of shutters and a fun banner and then on the table tiered servers, cake plates, and crates to add layers and more interest!

And another shower with some simple finger foods hosted at our church…  I blogged all about this shower here and tips on hosting a budget friendly party. 

Once again some crates painted white fit in perfect with the décor and added height, interest, and texture to the table.

And one last shower!  This was the bridal shower for the same girl who had the rustic dessert themed wedding reception earlier in the post. 

I loved how this shower turned out!  It was like a elegant, modern, woodland/rustic theme and this dark stained crate fit in perfect with the décor and added a fun display backdrop on the beverage table. 

So I bet you won’t look at that wood crate you see at Wal-Mart or Home Depot the same way, now will you!   The best thing is if I am having to transport all of this décor, serving dishes, linens and such to an event, I use the crates as my storage totes too!  I just pack it all in the crates, load my car and then when I get there it is all used to decorate for the event.   And you might just be seeing what I do with them when I get home in a later post – yep, I use them there too!

I hope that gives you some ideas using wood crates for decorating for parties and events.  I would love to know if you use wood crates in your home or in decorating somehow.  I am always looking for ideas too so tell me about or share a picture here in the comments or over on facebook.  And make sure to check out those wood crates at Home Depot or Wal-Mart the next time you are there.