Vintage patterns are a huge source of inspiration for us, vintage wall paper especially. Second Hand Rose in New York is hands-down the best source, with a large, well-edited selection.
Vintage wallpaper (or any wall paper, for that matter), can be used as the inspiration for the style of your entire wedding, from the invitations, to the day itself. It makes perfect place mats (just mount a second sheet of heavy cardstock to the back to prevent curling), and strips make elegant napkin rings. The paper can be used to wrap vases (we suggest using Chinese tea tins, and gluing the paper around it to create a lovely bud vase), and to decorate favors and program covers (wrapping a patterned band around the program, for example).
Add intrigue your reception cards by double-pasting (fancy lingo for gluing the paper evenly to the back of a second card) the paper to the back of the cards, creating an expected design element. You can double-paste the paper to the backs of your table number cards as well.
Note to brides: We'd love to design custom wedding invitations based on any of these patterns, so if you like what you see, call us!