Photos As Party Decor

Printer’s Mistake or Happy Accident?
Creative Ways to Personalize Your Bash With Photography

A soft-spoken painter of landscape art often said that there are no mistakes, only happy accidents. Well … sometimes there are actually just mistakes … but with a little thought and ingenuity, you can figure out how to make them work in your favor.

I recently encountered this exact scenario while working on some invitations for a colleague’s daughter’s wedding. I had ordered 100
(5 x 7-inch) black and white photos of the happy couple, printed on heavy card stock, to be included in their invitation package.

When the order arrived from my printer, there were about 250 cards (I was only charged for the 100 that I ordered) – the printer’s mistake. But from my vantage point, I had just received 150 FREE pieces of décor for the wedding and/or reception – a really happy accident for me!

So I started thinking about how we could incorporate these images into either the ceremony or the reception. I landed on the idea of cutting the cards into triangles and clipping them to strings of twinkle lights using mini clothespins. Voila … personalized, stylish banners that I could use throughout the reception hall!

You could do this exact project on your own – and on purpose – by using your home computer to print out images on card stock and cutting them into pennant-type shapes for a banner.

But the project got me thinking about other ways to incorporate photography into party décor to really personalize the space for your celebration.

Here are a few other easy-to-execute ideas:

• Table numbers using acrylic stands that you can insert a photo in, and then attach adhesive vinyl numbers to

• Vellum wraps for candles or vases - Print photos on vellum paper and cut to shape to wrap around a glass votive candleholder cylindrical glass vase.

• Hang from tree branches at an outdoor venue in small frames.

• Use candid shots to decorate a fence or pathway at an outdoor wedding.