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I Need All The Teacups

How I used my thrifting talents to create the perfect ambience, in my home and for my wedding

By Christina BlanchettePublished 3 years ago 6 min read
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Photo by author, edited in Canva

I used to watch TLC's Hoarding: Buried Alive and empathize with the traumatized people who were stars of the show. Not that I've ever been in a full-on hoarder situation, but I love to collect things and have a hard time letting them go. I'm strangely fascinated with second-hand shops, seeing all the things that others have successfully traded away.

I love collecting, it can be so satisfying. I’m fairly certain this is an inherited trait from my Nana. She antiques like a boss, I’m more of a casual collector. My Nana married her high school sweetheart in 2004 - they reconnected and realized they shared a love of the same pottery. If you have a favourite kind of pottery, it is life-affirming to find someone who understands that. It’s Moorcraft if you’re wondering!

The blue and white are my own Moorcroft pieces

But I digress. I’ve had so much fun over the years visiting these second-chance shops. I bought my first home in 2012 and decorated it with wonderful things that I was lucky enough to stumble across. I went from a two-bedroom condo to a bungalow, I wasn’t in any danger of an extreme hoarding scenario just yet!

I was ecstatic to find an extra-large decorative vase that perfectly matched my old living room. One of these days I will use it to house something more impressive, for now, it's storage for flowers used in crafts. I know that it would make a perfect home for pussy willows!

These crystal glasses just happened to be the same pattern as the bowl that my Nana used on every special occasion to make her infamous coconut and orange salad. I found the matching butter dish, too! I often wish that I belonged to the generation that got to choose their crystal pattern as part of their engagement. Instead, I will happily settle for family heirlooms and the thrill of finding their matches.

And of course, the totally random but strangely alluring rustic jug collection (no seriously, I absolutely love these!) The earthen jars and old moonshine containers sit on top of my bookshelves, adding to the comfortable ambience of my sitting room.

Only a snippet of the full collection

When it comes to thrifting with a mission nothing compares with how I acquired my wedding decor. My husband and I had an intimate wedding at a gorgeous inn in Walter’s Falls, a small town near the Niagara escarpment. This was his second go around and we already had a baby together so we weren’t looking to go massively all out. Our dream wedding was intended to be a celebration with loved ones to formalize the family that we already were.

I wanted a casual Victorian theme. What I mean by this is that I wanted to include aspects of the Victorian era or things that were Victorian-adjacent or just Victorian-esque items. Okay, it was really just stuff that I liked under the guise of a theme. I did splurge a bit and bought some custom Victorian purple boots on Etsy, but otherwise, we were on a limited budget.

Enter the obsession: teacups. I decided that every place setting would have a different and special teacup and saucer as part of the decor and to be used for the coffee service (there was also tea, that should go without saying). What followed was an ambitious hunt for teacups in every single secondhand store that I could find.

Not only was I searching for teacups, but my whole family got involved, too! My sister brought me a pair back from her travels in Eastern Europe. My dad found some that belonged to my Great Grandmother. My Nana even used her antiquing superpowers and sent a few to add to the collection.

Some were stunning, silver-plated or certified 60-year-old bone china. Others were less so, sturdier and robust. Those we gave to the kids so that they were included, too. One of my fondest memories of that time is having a tea party with my stepdaughters with the teacups that they’d picked out. They weren't exactly enamoured with the cucumber sandwiches, but the scones won everybody over.

I am fairly certain that our decorator believed that I was totally nuts, but she was wonderful and adapted to my crazy ideas. My husband and I had a fall wedding, and before she could utter the word ‘red’ I steam-rolled through with my counter of orange and purple, with royal blue accents. And, oh yes, the 80 or so teacups.

I made the table signs and our favours were personalized M&Ms

She’d suggested a sweetheart table for us, which worked perfectly. We had more flower girls than bridesmaids or groomsmen, and I loved the idea of a more intimate setting. It also created another opportunity for personal touches. The search for teacups yielded other elements that seemed made just for us.

My ornate candlestick holder, which I felt brought the whole thing together. We recently used this during Earth Hour, the cat thought sniffing the flame was a smart idea. He singed a few whiskers but otherwise learned his lesson without too much damage.

These toasting glasses for the wine that we picked out from our favourite local vineyard and had our own labels designed (orange to match the decor!) We visit Coffin Ridge Winery at least once a year to stock up and these beautiful glasses make an appearance on special occasions.

The gold felt more Celtic than Victorian but I was in love with them regardless!

The random frames that held the strange illustrations printed on dictionary pages that I found on Etsy. Yes, it’s fair to say the decor was eclectic. Now my home decor is equally so!

Victorian formal animals

And my blue stallion, the My Little Pony groom. The bride was a well-loved childhood toy of mine. They were meant to be cake toppers, but we ultimately decided against having a wedding cake. The catering package came with cheesecake, what more do you need?

We are kids at heart

The inn was fabulous in working with my strange requests and thoroughly cleaned all the teacups, placing them on the tables. To prevent a potential hoarding scenario, I worked out a deal with our decorator. In exchange for some fancier floral arrangements, I gave her the majority of my collection to keep and use in her future endeavours. I held on to a few of the more precious ones.

The boot vase ultimately was cut from the sweetheart table but still has a prominent home in my china cabinet

I managed to keep my hoarding tendencies at bay and our wedding ended up being a wholly eclectic and wonderful day. We shared elements and activities that we love with all of our guests. From crafts to karaoke, we had a day that was uncommonly ours, made even more memorable through the addition of so many thrifty finds. And, of course, a unique teacup for every place setting.

Photo credit: all photos used in this story were taken by the author.

If you enjoyed this article, please consider leaving a❤️! Thank you! -Christina

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About the Creator

Christina Blanchette

Hello! My day job is spent working as an engineer, I am a mom of 6, avid reader and part-time creator.

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