Wedding Blog
Sorry I’ve been a bit behind on my posts, but I just got back from a trip to LA for some last-minute wedding-related errands, and I’ve got lots to share with you!
I thought I’d start by showing you our table numbers.
As you might recall from a previous post, one of the themes uniting our decor and paper goods is papercutting, an art form cherished in both the Chinese and Jewish cultures. One day, I thought to myself: “Self, wouldn’t it be cool to have papercut table numbers?” And myself said: “Yes, self, that would be cool. You are a genius.”
(This, by the way, is the insanity that develops during the last months of your wedding planning when you realize that no one wants to hear about your wedding anymore.)
I searched on Etsy, and discovered the amazing work of papercutdiecut. Her art pieces are so meticulous and detailed that it boggles my mind that they are done by hand. And while she is clearly well practiced in the ancient art of papercutting, she has an aesthetic that is modern and quirky — this is definitely not the papercutting you get on the streets of Shenzhen for a dollar.
I convo’d her, and she came up with a few beautiful designs for me to choose from. We ultimately settled on a design that is sort of rococo meets art nouveau, and within less than a month, she produced these amazing papercut numbers!
Aren’t they so delicate and lovely? I’m going to frame them in floating glass frames, and put a votive behind each frame so that the numbers will cast pretty shadows on the table.
All photos courtesy of papercutdiecut
I can’t recommend papercutdiecut more highly. Not only is her work exquisite, she is also the most responsive and honest of any Etsy seller I’ve worked with. When it turned out that the numbers took her less time to produce than she anticipated, she refunded a significant portion of my payment. When does THAT ever happen?!
Papercutdiecut can do table numbers and letters, as well as art pieces that would make great gifts for parents or an officiant.
How will you personalize your table numbers?
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Those are really amazing! I love them—it’s such a neat idea, too!
Wow, what a neat and creative idea. I’ve never seen table numbers done like that, and they are fabulous!
Ahhhh those are amazing!!! I had no luck with papercutting vendors! So I changed my whole gameplan. Glad to see you did very well with it!!
I am in love– those are the most beautiful table numbers I’ve ever seen!
Like your invitations, these are just breathtaking! I can’t wait to see it all come together!
Those are absolutely amazing! I can’t believe she does that by hand! I do good to cut a straight line! lol
Those are so unique. This is the first time I have sene anything like it, I think you will wow your guests! 
Those are incredible. What a great idea and such a creative way to combine both of your cultures.
Those are fun and really unique!
I am going to make table numbers myself using family member’s wedding photos.
A brief history of who they are and how they fit in our family tree along with their photo and a table number will all be incorporated on the tripod of paper.
I thought of this as I was exploring my grandparent’s old photos and came across the best wedding photos from the past generations.
I am excited to include many of the people who can’t be there and introduce our families to each others in a unique way. I would like to think that if it’s primarily his family at a table it would be my family’s photo on the table.
Thanks for the fun idea.
Wow those are really gorgeous!
Have you thought of any way to re-use them once the wedding is over? Are any of the numbers significant to you that you could display them around your house? (ie. anniversary date?) There’s sooo nice it would be a shame to only use them for the one day.
I’m sort of speechless. That never happens. I think I may have just changed my entire table number game plan. Ooh I wonder if the Cricut would do this. Not that I have one…but I want one 
interesting…not that I could ever make mine look like hers, that is something to give a shot! OR perhaps I’ll give it to my (much more artistic) FI to try out.
Gorgeous! I can’t wait to see pictures of your full centerpiece.
Those are amazing! Such a unique idea, HC. And I am drooling over the butterfly piece….
Those are gorgeous!
We are using stacks of antique books as our centrepieces (with something added to them - not sure what quite yet). The books will also double as favours. And we’ll have one book standing up that will have the name of an author instead of a table number. FI and I are very much into reading and books so we thought this would kill 3 birds with one stone, plus look really romantic.
Whoa. Those just blew my mind. Too bad I’m having an open seating reception, otherwise I would love to have table numbers as beautiful as those.
You’ll definitely have to give us an idea of how they will look in the frames with the votive candle, I’m sure it will be gorgeous!
oh wow. those are beyond amazing! if these were mine i’d figure out ways to incorporate them into everyday life!
Amazing!!! Thank you, I think I’m going to have to convo her
those look awesome.
What a great etsy seller to refund you the time she didn’t need!! that’s the best freakin part!
Wow, those are incredible. I’m going to have to remember this when my time comes.. =]
Great idea and even greater find!
lovelovelove papercuts, but isit just me or does it hurt just thinking about them being done??
those are amazing!!! i think i just found my table numbers!
oh wooooww! Those are so beautiful!
High Five!! These are AMAZING!!! I love the delicateness of all the numbers.
We are actually not sure yet. We have three options and are just bounce back and forth.
omg… those are fantastic! I may swipe the idea from you someday… =X
i love love love these! it would also be perfect for my snowflake themed wedding if i could find someone to do it here in the philippines! haha..i thought that since everything about the wedding was about me.. we were going to do our table numbers according to things that my fiance likes and somehow incorporate those..
wow–those are going to make such a great impression for your guests, really unique and beautiful (and you have to save them and use them SOMEhow after your wedding! maybe mat and frame the numbers that make up your wedding date??)
Those are absolutely AMAZING. I’m blown away and rethinking my table numbers after seeing them!
Wow, those are absolutely amazing!!! And the way that you are planning on presenting them sounds so beautiful!!!
I may check her out! My doily-esque DIY table numbers are looking pretty shabby now! 
Those are so gorgeous! Thank you so much for posting this. I will definitely check them out.
Thanks for the encouraging comments! I hope they will turn out well once I frame them.
@Ms. Red Head: I love that idea — I have so many family photos too, and I was thinking it’d be fun to use them.
@miss_peony and @Jesso: THANKS for the idea to keep the numbers with our anniversary date! I’ll totally do that. I was thinking of also lending them out to our many friends who are getting married in the next few months.
@EAQ219: LOL. If you come up with a way to DIY this, you HAVE to let us know. But papercutdiecut charges less than $4 per number, so it’s pretty affordable to have her do them too. It’s just framing them that’s expensive . . . .
@hedgehog: You’re a woman after my own heart; I love antique books!
@Mrs. Green Tea: I think I’d go blind. Or poke myself in the eye and then go blind.
@snoopnaz23: Yay! I can’t recommend her work more highly; you’ll have to let me know how it turns out!
@Miss Taffy: You are a DIY queen! Shabby and Taffy do not belong in one sentence, unless “chic” comes in between.
oh my goodnesssss…. those are AMAZING!
i never knew this was even humanly possible — from my klutzy perspective
AArgh, those are just the prettiest things i HAVE EVER SEEN. You have to use them in your home afterwards!
Each number is a piece of art. How special is that? You rock! I am not 100% sure yet, but the plan is to use pics from all of the places that we have visited. How exactly we’ll do isn’t decided, but it’s the basic theme as of now. Your tables are going to look amazing!!!
Wow! these are amazing, i just had a look at their shop and the prices are really reasonable considering the time and care that must go into the making of the. I thinking i may have to purchase one for our Lounge! Thanks for the link Miss Hot Cocoa!
those numbers are beautiful!! so intricate and special…they will really be a beautiful touch to your tables…for my wedding, i’m going with something a little bit different…i love bees and there are some underlying bee themes in our wedding…and i found wooden bee cut outs a Michael’s…so, i am going to paint them and put the numbers on its wings and then glue the bee to a stick and place it in the center pieces so it looks like it is flying around the flowers….
omg miss HC — they are gorge! I cannot WAIT to see them incorporated into your overall decor at the reception
That is so neat! I can’t wait to see pics of your tables all set up with the candles…
those look great!
For my table numbers I bought number stickers and placed them on the clear vases of the centerpieces. So it saved me money too! My centerpieces doubled as table numbers!
They are beautiful!!!! Wow I’ve never seen them before but I loveS!
@CaitlinRivera: I love that idea, and you can name all the tables after the places!
@laurab12: So affordable! These numbers ended up being about $3 each.
@ms. circus peanut: That is SO adorable!
@ljcadv: So clever. You know I’m all about two-for-one!
OMG that is the most original table number idea I’ve seen!! I LOVE LOVE LOVE those!! And refunding your payment?? What an awesome seller!!
I love this idea and have contacted the seller to see if it could be customized to my colors.
Question for you - did you find the floating glass frames yet? I don’t even know where to look.
Thanks,
Lauren
@LisaAnn: She’s actually doing them for me in purple (the black ones are just the mock ups), so I think she’ll be able to help you. I haven’t bought the frames yet. I was thinking of ordering cheap ones like these: http://www.pfile.com/product/par-j-lf/Floating-Frames. I’d like to spray paint them antique gold to match our ballroom. But I don’t know if it’d work.
wow, these are gorgeous!!! i can’t wait to see them in the frames…and adding the candle for a shadow effect? you’re a smartie, hc!
I wish she would put which designs are her own. I am in love with the chinese style of paper cutting and have bought a few pieces from my last trip to China. A few of those exact pieces are on her site and way over priced like the Nestle bird and butterfly circle. I wish she would be more clear that not all her pieces are handcut by herself.
The numbers are so beautiful and intricate! She is super talented. I’m sure they will look fabulous when framed and ready for their debut on your tables.
GORGEOUS. I love your idea of floating frames and candles. The shadows are going to be divine.
please disregard my comment. i convo’d the artist and she handcuts all the designs, but sometimes uses patterns from books.
Stunning! Can’t wait to see the tablescapes completed…ooh la la I’m sure!
I just got these!!!! Thank you, they are perfect!! I have black tables, so I can’t do the shadow, but I am working on another way to fit them in. The seller was awesome and threw in some extras just in case. Even my fiance loved them (seriously…that is a compliment!)
@keggerssk: That’s awesome! I hope they turn out great for you. How about putting them in shadow boxes lined with white paper? If you put attach the numbers to the inside glass of the shadow box, then you’ll still get the cool shadow effect.
Those are really amazing! I can’t even imagine how much time and energy it must have taken to do those.
Those are beautiful! She’s incredibly talented. I cannot even imagine having the ability or patience to do that. Our table numbers are probably the first wedding planning detail I decided on (meaning, got the idea from someone else). I’m going to get cheapo triple picture frames, put the number in the middle, and pictures of my fiance and me at the age of the number on the sides.
i just got these too and i loooove them! i’m having some trouble finding a shadow box for them, do you mind sharing where you got yours? Can’t wait to see your finished product. =)
@milena: Hi! I’m excited you got these too. I ended up framing them in cheapie $1 acrylic frames from Christmas Tree Shop. You can see them here: http://www.weddingbee.com/2009/03/11/chinoiserie-guestbook-vignette/
These are great! Can you show the final result at a table? how did you use them?
@Natalie: Yes, I’ll definitely show the final results on my recaps!
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Mrs. Hot Cocoa, Boston/Los Angeles
Age and Occupation: 31, JD/PhD Student
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 32, Medical Student
Engagement Date: May 30, 2008
Wedding Date: March, 2009
Blogging Since: April, 2008
Venue: Ritz Carlton, Marina Del Rey
About Me:
I am a professional student by day and an amateur cupcake taster, bargain shopper, and wedding planner by night. I am obsessed with NPR, the Food Network, paper, dance shows, Anthropologie, post-structuralist theory, Weddingbee!, "The Office," and celebrity gossip. When not procrastinating from my dissertation, I spend time catering to Jellyby, our overly anxious shih tzu, and getting to know Mr. Hot Cocoa. We have only been dating for fifteen years, so it's like I'm in love with a stranger! From the East Coast, we are planning a Jewish-Chinese Extravaganza in L.A., where we both grew up.
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