Wedding Mason Jar Lanterns

IMG_5414

I spent today with my Mom, sister Brooke, and Marcie, my sister-in-law and and Jen, sister-in-law-to-be.  Can I just say I love those women.

We were busy with plans and decorations for the upcoming wedding of Josh (my brother) and Jen.

I am so excited about the creative “Make it Do” ideas we have for the wedding… it’s going to be beautiful.

The reception will be outdoors on a patio of a local restaurant.  We are so lucky that the restaurant has a large pergola and trees surrounding the patio from which to hang lanterns.

So the project of the day was to make Mason Jar Lanterns.

We found a wonderful tutorial for the lanterns on one of my favorite websites One Pretty Thing.

Here is the link to the tutorial.  To make this project you will need:

  • Mason jar
  • 2 1/2 – 3 1/2 feet of wire
  • wire cutters
  • pencil
  • pliers
  • sand or potting soil
  • voltive candle

Here’s how we made the jars:

IMG_5421

1.  Start with about 3 1/2 feet of wire (the tutorial suggests 2 1/2 feet, but this doesn’t hang low enough off the pergola as we needed.)  We are using wire that has been wrapped in a fiber… found at Micheal’s (with a coupon of course.)

2.  Measure 8 inches in from one end and twist the wire around a pencil.  Twist a second time to secure.

IMG_5425

3.  Wrap around the Mason jar just under the large lip.  The narrow mouth jars work best.   Twist it tightly to secure. Then use your pliers to twist it again to make sure it’s good and tight.  (We don’t want Mason jars dropping from the sky on the wedding guests heads!)

IMG_5428

4.  I placed the pencil through the side with the loop to give it one last twist to secure.

IMG_5430

5.  Thread the long end through the loop to make the handle.IMG_5437

6.  Now twist both sides up around the handle.

IMG_5438

7.  Use your pliers to make sure the twist is secure.

IMG_5440

8.  Fill with potting soil or sand.  Add your candle.

IMG_5414

One down and 39 more to go.  It’s a good thing I collect Mason Jars.  I will tell you the story of my mana (I mean Mason Jars) from heaven sometime.   Let just say I should have enough to can to my hearts delight and light up the wedding.

These are going to look great lit up and lovely all around the wedding reception.  I can’t wait to see it.

13 Comments

  2. I went to an evening wedding at a local winery last summer and these were hanging in the trees – by the dozens. They were stunning. Thanks for sharing the how-to. And make sure to post plenty of pictures from the wedding!

  3. Perfect. I am a wedding decorator and I have been asked to create these for a bride having a tent wedding. Where did you hang these? Thanks for the nice how-to pictures!

    • Hi Mary, We will be hanging these from a metal pergola that is over the patio. We are also making some for the dinner tables and they will just sit on the table. As you can see from the picture, they also work hanging in a tree. Good luck, Calli

      • Lovely. I used mason jars for a Country Western wedding and put straw and battery operated candles in them to prevent a fire. I like the sand idea with real votives. If you want to see what I do, check out http://www.mjdecorations.com. Thanks!

  6. Well ladies, a new twist on your wedding lanterns, my son is a small town country boy, (not a cowboy) and he is graduating h.s next month and i am making these lanterns to hang around the yard and off the deck. My daughter is the one that suggested it after seeing them on line. I bought ribbon to give them some color (school colors/class colors) but im thinking that the plain like you made are just as adorable and more “manly”. His party will be great and I know his small town friends will enjoy it! Thank you!

  8. I really like this idea, very cute, just a thought you can get outdoor mod podge and add a few drops of food coloring to the glue and paint the outside of the mason jar to give the jar’s some color, maybe you can match the wedding colors and because it is the outdoor version it is safe to leave out doors.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *