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Using Driftwood in a Wedding or Party Theme

By Kim Foster

Whether you’re planning a romantic barefoot wedding at the beach or you’ve simply chosen a nautical theme party, using driftwood in a wedding or for your party is one of the most dramatic elements available for your party décor.

Not only is driftwood naturally-occurring and often obtainable for free, but it also adds a perfectly casual yet classy touch to your special occasion. Plus, as an added bonus, driftwood stands up to wind and weather, unlike expensive fresh flowers that will wilt in the heat. Check out these clever ideas for using beautiful, eco-friendly driftwood for your wedding or party.  If you don’t have driftwood available to you locally, check out this tutorial on how to make your own driftwood, or these online sources for obtaining some good driftwood pieces online to get your projects started. Recommended from Amazon for creating Driftwood Furniture including driftwood arches – great for a wedding. Driftwood Furniture: Practical Projects for Your Home and Garden

•    Driftwood Menus

Adding driftwood to your special event menu is a lovely way to add the driftwood theme to your tablescape.  Buy inexpensive frames that have a back stand, make copies of your menu and insert into the frames, then attach driftwood pieces using a hot glue gun and your done.  When the party is over, remove the menus and add your favorite photos from your special event.

    •    Driftwood Sailboats

Use simple Driftwood Sailboats as table décor.  Follow these simple instructions for making these easy driftwood sailboats which look amazing when added to any beach themed wedding or party décor and are super easy to make.  Surround your sailboats with other driftwood pieces, shells, candles, sand flowers and you have your simple yet elegant and inexpensive table decorations.

•    Driftwood Arch

To begin with the most obvious and yet one of the most striking uses of driftwood, consider exchanging vows with your beloved under a driftwood arch.  Driftwood arches range from stark and simple to breathtakingly intricate, and are easy to enhance in many ways, should you choose. You can cover the entire piece with greenery, or add fabric or ribbons to flutter in the ocean breezes. LED lights wound around the arch look lovely for a nighttime wedding, bringing that radiant glow to your face and that of your intended.

•    Driftwood Vases

You can just easily make a driftwood vase for holding flowers as you can a driftwood candleholder – the same technique is used.  Find a large cylinder glass vase – clear or even a pretty seaglass color that will show through will work just fine and attach it all the way around using a hot glue gun then just add your choice of flowers.

•    Driftwood Signs

Signs are often used to point the way to the ceremony or reception, to urge guests to “Choose a seat, not a side,” or simply to display the names of the bride and groom with a loving message or a romantic quotation underneath. Driftwood signs look right at home in any natural or “shabby chic” venue, and are easy to personalize by painting freehand or using stencils. Driftwood can also be used to frame chalkboards, and messages in chalk can of course be erased after the big day, so you can continue to use the signs in the future.

•    Place cards

Search online for “driftwood place cards” and you’ll find so many artful ideas you won’t know which to pick. For starters, you could decide to paint or carve each guest’s name directly onto a small piece of driftwood, creating for each person a unique wedding favor as well as a placeholder. If painting or carving seems too labor-intensive, you can cut small slits into pieces of driftwood to hold handwritten name cards, or drill tiny holes into any small, irregular pieces of wood and insert wire card holders.  This idea from June Bug Weddings.  Photo by Harrison Studio

•    Driftwood Candleholders

If you’d like to add a cozy ambiance to your tables, driftwood can be used to make candle holders in countless imaginative styles. If you have a long driftwood log at your disposal, small divots can be cut into it to hold tiny tea lights. You might also arrange sticks of driftwood vertically around a glass candle holder, or directly around a wide candle itself. They can be decorated with ribbon, though twine or thin rope would also be in keeping with a nautical or beachy feel.  For a tutorial on how to make driftwood candleholders click here.

•    Driftwood Garland

When frilly bows and ribbons just won’t fit in with your theme, you can add a truly unique finishing touch to your wedding décor by creating driftwood garlands. Whether natural colored or whitewashed, a collection of driftwood twigs can be strung together and draped from furniture, laid casually on a tabletop, or used as a tie-back for fabric. Add a few sand dollars, shells, or starfish to turn it into an idyllic seaside accent.

•    Driftwood Chandelier

For the more ambitious decorator, nothing says “drama” like a handmade driftwood chandelier. The idea is more do-able than you think, and like so many driftwood items, you’ll find that chandeliers can range from intricately entangled sculptures, wired for electricity, to  plain driftwood sticks used to suspend candles in beautiful holders. Metal candle holders are often used and mason jars are popular, too, but any colored glass container can add interest to the piece and tie in with your wedding motif as well.

•    Driftwood Cake Display

If you can find the right piece of driftwood, it can be a clever display to highlight a beautiful wedding cake, champagne fountain or food tray.  Make sure your unique piece is capable of holding the weight of whatever you want it to hold and then properly balance and support it for a spectacular driftwood  display your guests will be talking about for years.

•    Driftwood, River Rocks and Flowers

There’s something simple yet serenely beautiful about smooth stacked river rocks and purposefully placed flowers against a backdrop of driftwood that will set the tone for a beach themed wedding.  Hot glue them together so they stay attached then artfully place them on your guest tables or scatter them about your reception area to set a sea inspired zen like ambiance complete with driftwood, flowers and river rocks. 

 •    Driftwood Centerpiece

Use driftwood as your centerpiece.  Driftwood is naturally beautiful and can easily stand alone as a piece of sculpture or use it as an integral part and incorporate it along with other natural elements.  Include flowers, stones, shells, intertwined or sculptural driftwood and candles.  Simplicity is key.  It doesn’t need to be elaborate to be beautiful.  And don’t forget to add a hint of your colors for your special day, event or the season your celebrating.

The allure of driftwood lies in the history each fragment holds. Once young and green, every piece has traveled far and changed much from its original form. Tossed by the waves for many years, it has finally landed on the sunny shore—time-worn, but still strong and beautiful. There is no better symbol for an enduring marriage than driftwood!

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