Reduce, Reuse, Recycle (like a bride)

There are very few wedding related ideas that have lasted from the beginning of the planning process till now...  The overall vision of our wedding has changed, a lot, since the engagement.  But, there are some things I haven't been able to shake (from my mind or my to-do list).

One of my absolute favorites is the use of old windows somewhere in the wedding.

They could be used as a menu, listing out yummy choices with vintage flair:

Menu Window from Rustic Wedding Chic

Or, perhaps to present the program of events for guests...  A little more cost effective and environmentally friendly than printing 100+ paper programs, which will inevitably end up in the trash.

Program Window from Timeless Southern Home

Finally, they could be used for any other miscellaneous messages we'd like to share with our guests.  The idea of letting guests sit wherever they want during the ceremony is one of my favorites (probably because our lack of wedding party will leave us without ushers):

Take a Seat Window from Weddingbee

So, with these visions dancing in my head and a Google offer grasped in my hand, I begged casually asked the FI to make a trip with me on Sunday.  Where in the city of Pittsburgh might a bride be able to make a vintage window vision become reality, you ask...

Enter Construction Junction...  (sounds of harps and light shining through clouds)

From Pittsburgh Skyline

Their website bills the store as "Pittsburgh's only non-profit building material reuse retailer".  A bit of a mouthful that ends up meaning a place where you can find donated materials from torn down buildings, items left over at the end of a building/DIY project or who knows what else.

Usually, this is not the type of place you can go with a plan...  It's more of a browse and see what you can find that interests you.  But, this time, I knew I could find what I needed: old windows.

And, find them we did...  We ended up with two windows: one two paned ($2) and one six paned ($6)...  You pay by the pane!  We also bought a long, skinny cupboard door ($2), that should make for another nice sign somewhere, maybe with chalkboard paint.

Plus, we ended up with a few unexpected surprises.  The FI scored a couple pieces of pegboard ($3 ea) for the garage.  

And, the piece de resistance?  Three red locker doors ($15 ea)!  That's right, not lockers that can be used for storage, just the doors with their frames still attached.  Full size, my height or taller, metal locker doors!  Can you tell how excited I am about these?  Why?  Well, we're planning on stripping them down, re-painting them and hanging them as art (eventually... as in when we move into an awesome new house someday after the wedding).  We even talked about putting messages or additional art behind them since the doors still open.  So COOL!

Anyway, I'm not sure how many cities have a place like Construction Junction.  If yours does, I'd highly suggest checking it out.  You never know what great finds you might be able to score for your wedding or otherwise.

Did you find yourself shopping at any unusual places for wedding supplies or decorations?  Do you get ridiculously excited over old, dirty hunks of metal, too?  (Or, is that just me again?)