How I’m turning my wedding into home decor

how to dry flowers Close-up of dry flowers bouquet in jar — (Image credit: Getty Images)

Content creator Lucy Kalice is one of Ideal Home's new Open House contributors, sharing her thoughts on cleaning, home decor and making the most of small spaces. See the rest of her articles here.

So I have some big news…I’m getting married this month!! *cue internal squeal of excitement*

My fiancé Sam and I got engaged in August 2024 so it feels very surreal that the wedding is this month. People aren’t lying when they say it comes around fast, it feels like only yesterday we were looking at wedding venues and now I’m about to walk down that aisle!

1. Personalised match boxes

It’s not often that a wedding favour is chic AND useful but that’s exactly what personalised match boxes are. I LOVE them!

My friend got married in March of this year and for place names she did personalised match boxes. It’s so unique and everyone loved it. Not to mention they were the perfect size so I could fit them in my handbag to take home.

I have about 5 packets (yes I did go round and collect peoples if they’d left them behind – I was a bridesmaid so it’s allowed ok??) but now every time I light a candle, I use the matches and it brings me back fond memories of the wedding.

2. Preserved flower frames

Flowers are such a big part of a wedding, especially a bride's wedding bouquet. Now obviously fresh flowers don’t last very long after a wedding, a matter of days at most. Which is such a shame because they are such a special part of a wedding day and also, they cost a fortune!

But there is one way you can make it last a lot longer. I’ve seen people turn their bridal bouquets into art by preserving the flowers and framing it. Not only does it look beautiful, it’s incredibly unique as no one will have that art in their home and it’s a reminder of such a special day.

3. Wedding coffee table book

Personally I think wedding guest books are a waste of time…all the messages are copy paste repeat of each other and does it actually ever get read or looked at afterwards?

Instead what I do think is quite useful and nice, is having a coffee table book made up of your wedding photos. It’s not the official wedding photo album, we don’t want mucky fingers getting on that one!!

This is just a compilation of your favourite wedding photos, in a coffee table book. It will look good, and instead of just being a random book you got off of Amazon, it’ll actually have some meaning and purpose.

A living room with a rustic wooden coffee table styled with coffee table books, a vase of flowers and a scented candle from Pott with matching matchsticks

4. Wedding guest art

When I tell you I am OBSSESSED with this last idea. It’s so cool, it’s so unique and therefore we simply had no other choice than to do it at our wedding.

You get a pack of playing cards and you ask your guests to write messages or sign one card each. It’s up to you how many you want signed, the more cards the bigger the art work. Then you frame the cards all together and it creates a really cool piece of artwork.

Which one are you choosing?

Lucy is a content creator with a Masters degree in Broadcast Journalism from City University of London. Ever since buying her first home in 2022, she’s been obsessed with finding ways to keep spaces sparkling clean and organised.

From genius home hacks, to everyday cleaning routines, her content shares tips and tricks that inspire others to create homes that feel as good as they look. She shares her home with her partner, Sam, and their adorable dog Dudley, who often steals the spotlight of her videos.