10 Things to Buy for Your Wedding That You Can Reuse Later

We all know that weddings are expensive.  Even if you are DIYing or putting together a wedding on a budget, you will have to spend some cash to make your big day possible.  One way to make those costs seem not so painful is to look for items for your wedding that you can reuse later on in your married life.  Some of these items may be party supplies while others can be decor.  You can get very creative with reusing your wedding items and the bonus is you will be reminded of your special day every time you see them!  Here are five items from my own wedding that I have reused:

We bought 100 of these cheapie wine glasses from Ikea because it was cheaper than renting them from a supply company (our caterer provided all of our other dishes/flatware so this would have been the only item we rented from an outside company).  Because we had so many, I gave some away and kept some for myself.  I have never run short on wine glasses (even for parties!) and I don't really care about breaking them since they were inexpensive and already served their main purpose.

These drink containers were actually purchased by my mom and I luckily inherited one of them after the wedding.  I have used it at several parties.  It is a cute and easy way to have water/non-alcoholic beverages available to guests.

This green B was purchased at the Rose Bowl Flea Market.  I painted it green to match our wedding colors and it served as a focal point for our reception decor.  After the wedding I repainted it, (see the tutorial here) and it now hangs as a focal point on our living room gallery wall.  This one is special because it really reminds me of our wedding and I love getting to see it every day.

Paper lanterns are a great way to decorate for any wedding.  These lanterns also look great later on, hanging in your backyard or on your porch.  They are also another good option for party decor.

I've used almost everything from our dessert table multiple times since the wedding.  The cupcake stands are great for any party (and both my mother-in-law and my sister used them at my two baby showers) and all of the trays and cake stands can be used at holidays to serve appetizers or desserts.  The pink polka dot stands are actually upside down boxes.  They now live in my office and house some of my craft supplies.

And five items from Pinterest that can also easily be reused (click pic for original source):

These candy dishes could easily be reused throughout the house or at parties or holidays.

Metal buckets like these make for a stylish self-serve bar.  I have used ones similar to these at multiple parties and events.

If you create any sort of picture display for your wedding, you can easily transfer it to your home as a piece of decor.

Lanterns make great centerpieces (and usually cheaper ones that flowers) and can be used again in your backyard, porch, or your home.

This cake topper would be an adorable piece to display in your bedroom or bathroom after the wedding.

So even though it might hurt to shell out the bucks for some of these wedding necessities, try to remind yourself that they are not going to be used once and tossed.  With a little creativity, you can reuse these pieces multiple times and really get your money's worth!