Traveling to the beautiful city of Prague only intensified my love for everything crystal. The Bohemian crystal from Czech Republic is world-renown and dates back to the renaissance period. In the early 18th century, Bohemian crystal was a dominant trade and was in high demand all across the world…from statesmen to diplomats…everyone had to have it. The Czech Republic has held its reputation for high quality, and hand-crafted crystal wares for almost 4 centuries.
I absolutely love the look of crystal – the way it absorbs and reflects the surrounding light. It is said to bring peace and comfort to a home…but I think it also adds elegance and opulence to any environment.
One of the most well-known crystal houses in Prague is Moser. But thanks to world trade and the internet, the highest quality crystal is just a click away. And many event rental companies offer a variety of beautiful pieces to choose from…including:
Clockwise from top left:
Decorate My Wedding crystal wedding tree
National Party Rental crystal chandelier
Linen Effects crystal card holder
Unique Tabletop Rentals crystal candelabra
Special Events Rentals crystal ball stand
Rentals To Remember crystal salt & pepper shakers
Largest Chandelier Rent – rent the largest crystal chandelier in the world
Stuart Rental simple crystal glassware
Also, be sure to check out this incredible colored crystal glassware from Longchamp Folie
I have been researching all over the net for supplies to make crystal wedding trees. here is what I found so far.
1) Swarovski or lead crystals are pretty but WAY too expensive for multiple trees.
2) Plastic beads or curtains cut up are way too CHEAP. Use caution with this idea!
3) Glass crystals are the most middle ground choice.
4) You should be able to put together a tree with about 40 strands or less according to the designer I talked to at Cristalier.com. (they offer it for free and have good prices on strands – you might want to check them out even for just the free advice)
5) Shipping real trees is expensive. I was quoted almost $800 in shipping alone to have 6 large trees sent (5′ size) – No thanks!
6) Beware of sites that offer trees that you need to pay a down payment and wait for months to get your tree. I wouldn’t want to be left treeless in the last days before my wedding.
7) Most trees have the willow look (accoring to the designer I talked to) but this can be more expensive since the tree has to be really full. But you can also get a really pretty tree by swagging the strands across from branch to branch instead of draping them. That could save some serious money!
8 ) Order samples! If you are in doubt, invest a few dollars and order samples! Do you really want to wait until the last minute and find that you are unhappy with the plastic curtain you thought would look good. Just order a sample and be sure. I ordered samples from 4 companies (plastic, acrylic, glass and lead) I decided to use the glass. The acrylic was my second choice. But the plastic stunk – I mean actually smelled bad and the lead was beautiful but very costly. Most companies will allow yuo to return the samples too. I spent $60 in samples and probably saved hundreds know that I now what I will be using.
9) watch the videos on blog.crystalweddingtree.com. The quality isn’t all that great but you can get an idea of different looks. This helped me come to the choice that my largest center tree will be more “willow” style (I don’t know if that is an actual term, but that’s what the designer kept calling it) and the others around the hall will be more the swag style.
I hope this help someone out there, mostly I wish someone would have told me all this. It would have saved me alot of time and energy these last few months.
Best of luck out there and Congratulations to all the Brides!
Soon to MRS GINA!
I have been researching all over the net for supplies to make crystal wedding trees. here is what I found so far.1) Swarovski or lead crystals are pretty but WAY too expensive for multiple trees.2) Plastic beads or curtains cut up are way too CHEAP. Use caution with this idea!3) Glass crystals are the most middle ground choice. 4) You should be able to put together a tree with about 40 strands or less according to the designer I talked to at Cristalier.com. (they offer it for free and have good prices on strands – you might want to check them out even for just the free advice)5) Shipping real trees is expensive. I was quoted almost $800 in shipping alone to have 6 large trees sent (5′ size) – No thanks!6) Beware of sites that offer trees that you need to pay a down payment and wait for months to get your tree. I wouldn’t want to be left treeless in the last days before my wedding. 7) Most trees have the willow look (accoring to the designer I talked to) but this can be more expensive since the tree has to be really full. But you can also get a really pretty tree by swagging the strands across from branch to branch instead of draping them. That could save some serious money!8 ) Order samples! If you are in doubt, invest a few dollars and order samples! Do you really want to wait until the last minute and find that you are unhappy with the plastic curtain you thought would look good. Just order a sample and be sure. I ordered samples from 4 companies (plastic, acrylic, glass and lead) I decided to use the glass. The acrylic was my second choice. But the plastic stunk – I mean actually smelled bad and the lead was beautiful but very costly. Most companies will allow yuo to return the samples too. I spent $60 in samples and probably saved hundreds know that I now what I will be using. 9) watch the videos on blog.crystalweddingtree.com. The quality isn’t all that great but you can get an idea of different looks. This helped me come to the choice that my largest center tree will be more “willow” style (I don’t know if that is an actual term, but that’s what the designer kept calling it) and the others around the hall will be more the swag style.I hope this help someone out there, mostly I wish someone would have told me all this. It would have saved me alot of time and energy these last few months. Best of luck out there and Congratulations to all the Brides! Soon to MRS GINA!
Fantastic! Thank you for sharing!
Fantastic! Thank you for sharing!
I saw some fantastic artificial manzanita branches used in some gold and orchid centerpiece trees on a florist website http://palloosflowers.com under the centerpieces category. You have to click the arrow through a few pictures before you see it though. Palloos says they got them from http://www.etherealdecor.com Very natural looking and the florist says they were easier than working with real manzanita and were the best artificial branches they have ever found and strong enough to hold the crystals no problem.
I saw some fantastic artificial manzanita branches used in some gold and orchid centerpiece trees on a florist website http://palloosflowers.com under the centerpieces category. You have to click the arrow through a few pictures before you see it though. Palloos says they got them from http://www.etherealdecor.com Very natural looking and the florist says they were easier than working with real manzanita and were the best artificial branches they have ever found and strong enough to hold the crystals no problem.
Does anyone know where to get the crystal globe thing that is in the last picture? I tried the Stuart Rental link and it doesn’t work.
Does anyone know where to get the crystal globe thing that is in the last picture? I tried the Stuart Rental link and it doesn’t work.
Hi Heather,
It appears that the website has been changed. Stuart Rental can be found at http://www.stuartrental.com/products_stuart_rental/. Good luck.
Lara
Hi Heather,It appears that the website has been changed. Stuart Rental can be found at http://www.stuartrental.com/products_stuart_rental/. Good luck.Lara