THE ART OF COFFEE

When you think about including coffee in your wedding, you are probably thinking of having it there in it's traditional form as a steaming cup of delicious brew. But don't box coffee too soon, it's a versatile substance that can add far more to your wedding than just it's aromatic flavour. It can also work as decor and as this specific blog will talk about, decor using the coffee stain. It's not just an annoying thing that happens in the morning to your important documents, the coffee ring can also be art.

The simplest use of the coffee ring stain at your wedding is to use the stain for your guests' name setting. It creates such a subtle look and a personal touch with the handwritten names and the best part is how cost effective it is. No need to waste loads of money on expensive designed stationary, all you need is a mug some coffee and a pen. It's that simple. Brew a relatively strong cup of coffee, put it in a saucer or bowl, dip the bottom of your cup in the coffee (make sure you get the coffee right round the bottom edge of the cup) press the bottom of the cup onto a piece of paper with even pressure and voile you have a coffee ring. More porous paper of course makes more effective stains. You can make small coaster size versions that you can place at each setting or if you are really adventurous you could have a paper runner with all the names, but you could even use material instead for this, coffee will stain white cloth just as well. If you are going to do the coaster size ones think of actually making them into proper coasters people can use. Then your name settings can double up as your guest favors.

What you can also use the coffee stains for is your guest book. You could either have a large piece of paper with coffee rings that each guest can write their names and leave a note or you could even have a book filled with coffee ring stained pages. It adds a different meaning to a coffee table book.

Another fun use for the coffee ring is to create a backdrop of coffee stains. This could go behind your main table, hang behind the bar or can even work as your backdrop for your photo booth. To add to this, a cute idea could be to write short stories and phrases in the different rings highlighting the big and the small moments in your relationship with your fiance.

If you are worried about your whole wedding smelling of coffee, then a simple solution is to cheat your coffee stain by finding an image on the internet and just printing the stains. Although not as authentic as the real DIY task, it creates the same effect in a practical way.

So if you weren't planning to drink coffee at your wedding think seriously about including it in your decor. It's cost effective, creative and unique.