The perks of working in packaging – a wedding post

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If we’ve met in person, it’s fairly likely I’ve told you that I’m getting married (sorry! I’m just very excited). If we haven’t, hello I’m Sophie, Marketing Manager, and I am tying the knot this year. Bryn and Eileen, founders of Jones & Cane, are mother- and father of the bride. As it’s wedding season I thought it might be possible that some of you, our customers, would be in the same situation.

This isn’t just another excuse to tell anyone who will listen about my upcoming nuptials though! It occurred to me that it’s actually been very useful working for J&C whilst planning a wedding. We’re having a pretty outdoorsy event, in tipis on a Norfolk field, and my work “shopping” list has been a big one.

You don’t need to be on Pinterest for very long to discover a huge number of pins and boards relating to “rustic weddings”, “country weddings”, “barn weddings”. The key aesthetic of all these things seems to be to make your venue look like the set of The Darling Buds of May. Hmmm, I thought as I browsed, interesting… We’ve sold all sorts of things to production companies for set-dressing, from wartime dramas to Martin Fowler’s veg stall in Albert Square. And a large proportion of our customers are farmers in the fabulously beautiful Norfolk countryside, where time is a little bit behind the rest of the UK. If I couldn’t find inspiration from that, not even Pinterest could help me.

So here is my shopping list:

• Fillis string. Hairy brown string is pretty useful in most wedding décor situations, especially if you’re going for the rustic look. We’ll be using it for: tying balloons to pretty much everything, attaching our pew decorations in the church, securing fairly lights in the hedge, hanging paper lanterns in the marquee, maybe even attaching the ring box to the wrist of the ring bearer….

• Cut hessian. Table runners, chairback ribbons, covering haybales to sit on, an impromptu doormat on the way into the tent if it’s wet out, bunting even. Very versatile stuff… Hobbycraft have ideas too!

• Cardboard boxes. No matter what you need to transport to the wedding venue, I’m guessing it always turns out to be more than you thought. A few sturdy cardboard boxes are always handy.

• Striped paper bags. Perfect for favours. We’re filling ours up with pic’n’mix and then sealing them with pretty printed labels. They’re also great for smaller guests as they look pretty filled with colouring pencils and small distracting presents!

• Film-front paper bags – if there’s any delicious cake left we’ll be sending guests home with a slice in these. It’s a big “if” as far as I’m concerned!

• Clear bin liners. I suspect we will be generating a fair bit of recycling  – bottles and cans galore – and so we’ll be bagging it up in clear bags to distinguish it from the general waste. A small tweak but probably quite useful in the clean up!

• Hessian sacks are great for covering the bottom of potted plants in the decor. They’re perfect for sack races if your guests are athletic (or tipsy), and if you’re a crafty type they can be personalised, embellished and beribboned for any number of purposes!

As well as these stock items, I also had a little sneak around the warehouse and picked up bits and bobs like samples of vintagey-looking crates, sacks and bags that we’ve accumulated over the years. If you have contacts in the farming, food or packaging industries it might be worth asking them for the same – £40 for a vintage wine crate on Ebay? Not if I can help it!

Small details at smaller prices

As the list shows, planning a wedding involves thinking about all sorts of small details – if I’d not had a quick wander around our showrooms, guests might have left clutching slices of cake in their hands! OK, that’s an exaggeration, but it does show that it’s worth considering less glitzy (sorry Jones & Cane) suppliers for the little things. Dedicated wedding websites sell several of the items above at vastly inflated prices simply because they’ve labelled them as “wedding” products.

Obviously we can’t offer bespoke floral arrangements or ice sculptures or live doves or champagne cascades. We can however help you to tick some of the practicalities off your list in a jiffy. If you’re local pop in and see us, and if you’re not have a browse of our website – we aim to deliver to most mainland UK postcodes within 48 hours if we possibly can. Congratulations in advance!