Wedding Blog
I’ve always loved the idea of using mason jars as wedding decor. Martha Stewart Weddings featured these mason jars a few issues ago and I instantly fell in love:
Aren’t they pretty? I plan on adding a bit of sand to the bottom and using poppy ribbon!
For some reason these MSW mason jars were different. They were prettier than the ones I had seen before, and it took me a while to figure out why. They actually have an aqua tint instead of the clear glass we are used to seeing. After some research I discovered that these aqua blue mason jars are antiques. They were produced in the first half of the 20th century before the Ball company (America’s primary producer of mason jars) switched to clear glass. The color is commonly called “Ball Blue”, after the company that made them.
regular clear mason jar
According to a commenter on the MSW site, “Antique mason jars are eagerly sought after by collectors, and are bought and sold not only through antique stores, but also on auction sites such as eBay. While most jars sell for only a few dollars, some have sold for as high as $30,000. The value of a jar is related to its age, rarity, and condition.”
$30,000? For a mason jar!? Wow! I don’t think I will ever go that far, but I must confess that I recently have become obsessed with collecting aqua Ball jars! I have one so far that I purchased on eBay, and more are on the way. Most are less than $10 apiece, including shipping. Mr. K likes them too, so after the wedding we are going to use them around the house as decor.
The first member of our Ball Jar Collection!
Are any of your wedding decor items going to multi-task at home?
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Share this post: All Mason Jars Are Not Created Equal
Thanks for the history of Ball Blue jars — I didn’t know about that!
Yeah, I hope to get cute cake toppers that I can convert into Christmas tree ornaments. 
Interesting, I didn’t know that either! Have you tried http://www.canningpantry.com? You can order cases at a time, and they are reasonably priced
Hmmm…I pulled some old jars out of the pantry the other day, and was wondering why they were blue! Maybe I’ll hold on to them for awhile!
Good luck with your search! If you don’t know what to do with them afterwards, I’ll gladly take them off your hands for you 
- complete with using them to can jams after my wedding in september!
I love the idea of using mason jars. We’re planning on using some around the center of the table with rocks in the bottom as little vases. I’m also planning on potting lots of plants and herbs for decoration which will be replanted in my garden after the wedding.
They’re so pretty– and that’s a pretty cool little historical tidbit. We’re seriously considering doing real touch flowers so that we can put the arrangements around the house later; hooray for reusable decor!
my mom has a basement full of them that she still uses every summer for canning!
She found them on freecycle and pennysaver almost all for free or less than $.10. Lots of people have them and don’t know what they’re worth (i sure didn’t think they’d sell for $5 or $10!)so happy searching!
I actually live in Muncie, IN, where the Ball jars were produced. I see them at garage sales around here from time to time…much less expensive than you would ever find them on ebay! You might also check craigslist in Muncie, IN. Never know where they’re going to turn up!
I’m obsessed with cake stands right now! I only have two, but every time we go out I’m looking for cake stands
I have a collection of these in my house that I started years ago… and the first picture you showed inspired our wedding colors! We are going to use some as vases and others as candleholders. Right now, the collection is above my kitchen cabinets.
I have a collection of these in my house that I started years ago… and the first picture you showed inspired our wedding colors! We are going to use some as vases and others as candleholders. Right now, the collection is above my kitchen cabinets.
I am in love with the Blue Ball jars too, which is why I did a little experimenting and came up with a process to “fake” it! See my recent post about them here for directions: http://bridalbuzz.blogspot.com/2009/01/glass-jars-turned-vintage.html
I was so pleased with the way mine turned out that I give them (along with a floral arrangement) to hostesses or as a get well soon gift!
This may be a good backup plan for you if you cannot find enough jars, or if you run out of funds!
Happy Planning!
-Kristin {bridal buzz}
Haha! Miss Kitten, I am also using mason jars for my reception decor. Fresh cut wildflowers (at least that’s the look I’m going for) stuck in mason jars as centerpieces. I’m started collecting (borrowing) them from all my friends and family and have put a wanted message on freecycle. But I gave up on having the blue tinted ones after seeing how much they were going for on ebay. Good luck with your search!
I am also using mason jars for the wedding and decided to collect them myself, I wonder if the standard clear ones will be antiques one day…great post!!
I am also obsessed with Mason Jars! I love the look of them. How fun!
I’m also using mason jars as vases…and stumbled across the antique blue ball jars for free!
I started saving mason jars on my own, but tried to convince FH that I had totally seen the blue ones. I looked them up, but he wasn’t convinced that buying 20 - 30+ was cost-effective (my goal was to save money on the centerpiece glassware).
One day we were visiting with his grandparents. They have an open kitchen with a window into the family room, and low and behold, on the “top” of the window, I spotted my blue jars!
His Grandma is a notorious collector and garage sale shopper. Turns out, she has collected them for years (it doesn’t hurt that we live in Indiana). She has washed them out and generously set them aside for me to use.
They are gorgeous and there are so many neat ways to use them for Reception Decor!
If it were anyone else, I would say just go with regular clear glass, but since you’re a Poppy and Aqua bride, how could you resist? I certainl couldn’t in your place!
We’ve bought several vases to use in our candy bar, and I actually bought three in varying sizes that are pillar candle hurricanes because I know we’ll use them on our mantle after the wedding! I’ve bought a few things off of craigslist from brides who bought fifteen of one type of vase and then after the wedding thought “What the heck am I going to do with fifteen of these”….I’m trying to buy things that double, unless they are cheap DIY fun things:-)
I love your wedding!! We are using mason jars with sand in the bottom for candles, and mason jars with raffia bows as vases. We’re trying to save money and have a green wedding, so many of our jars are former Classico spaghetti sauce jars!
I heart mason jars. We’re using them for our sand ceremony as opposed to the jars and vases made especially for that. Its something I plan to keep forever and the mason jars fit better with our home decor.
adorable! i had a similar experience…I feel in love with cathedral bottles. They’re tinted a light blue/aqua and are antiques as well. Apparently they’re from the civil war period and were going for about $200/bottle on ebay! You can see what they look like here: http://weddingplanningisfun.blogspot.com/2008/08/vintage-glass.html
I ended up being able to find some look-alikes at various flea markets and such so we’re using those instead. I’m basically collecting all blue/aqua tinted bottles in all shapes and sizes! Here’s some of the look-alikes we found: http://weddingplanningisfun.blogspot.com/2008/09/surprise-surprise.html
I’m also doing the mason jar idea. A family member used to can and has a TON in her house that we are cleaning up and using. I’m also going to make them hanging lanterns. Have you thought of that? You put a thin metal wire (like a guitar wire) around the lip of the jar and make it hang up. They are really nice.
I always wondered why they were different colors, so thanks for the info. I’m also using these as vases.
I already collect Ball jars since I graduated from Ball State University (originally started by the Ball brothers). I’m planning to collect different sizes and use them to hold candles and flowers for our reception centerpieces. Thanks for posting that Martha Stewart picture, I haven’t seen that one before!
I had a bunch of these for our wedding… I might have some left, if you want them. (I even had a few that were purple glass!)
I was lucky enough to acquire 90, yes 90 mason jars that we are using for our centerpieces. Only a hand few are blue, but I still was stumped as to what to do with them after the wedding! It looks as though someone out there would find a need for them
I’m doing a country themed wedding and actually using the largest mason jar for the centerpeices and then doubling the normal size jars as drinking glasses and wedding favors
I LOVE mason jars as vases for centerpieces. We’ve always used them as vases around my house (and as glasses too, which some people find a little weird lol). But my mom has those blue mason jars and they are so beautiful!
I actually just wrote a post on my blog about the beauty of mason jars a few days ago. Lots of pics
http://weddingaroundtheriverbend.blogspot.com/2009/01/everday-well-be-happy-i-know.html
Those are really pretty. I wonder if you could spray paint a glitter on them and make them sparkle more.
We got 50 blue ball jars for $50 on Craigslist! Now we find them for $5 each or more, and we only got ours in October
Oooo I can see how you’d get hooked on collecting those jars… in aqua, no less! They are really beautiful!
I have about 50 antique blue (aqua) mason jars that I have collected, and I will be selling for $2 each on craigslist… I figured I would look up the wedding bee girls for first dibs. Let me know if you are in the Chicago area and are interested! stinkrid at hotmail
Classico spaghetti sauce is bottled in Mason jars! Just a thought…
I saw these too and my wedding colors actually match the color of these jars. I scoured the internet for them and hapily came across this great DIY link to make the cheap clear mason jars (ones you can buy at Micheals) have a blue tint.
Here’s the link.
http://bridalbuzz.blogspot.com/2009/01/glass-jars-turned-vintage.html
I’m planning on trying this out still but from the pictures it looks relatively easy!
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Mrs. Kitten, Austin/Grand Cayman
Age and Occupation: 25, Law Student
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Dental Student
Engagement Date: October 19, 2006
Wedding Date: April, 2009
Venue: The Grand Old House, Grand Cayman
About Me: In 2009 I will get married (after a two and a half year engagement!), become an Army wife, graduate from law school, take the bar, move from Austin to Washington, D.C., and start my career as a lawyer! With all this going on, Mr. Kitten and I decided to have a tropical, "stress-free" destination wedding. Nevertheless, my micromanaging, detail-oriented, perfectionist side has prevailed---I am currently obsessed with every last detail of my "stress-free" destination wedding! But most of all, I'm beyond excited to become Mrs. Kitten on a fabulous Caribbean vacation surrounded by my friends and family!
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