Bridal Bouquet: All the Pieces

After her own wedding, Jessica Gorlin-Liddell gathered up the jumble of mementos — invitations, programs, photos, ribbons, leaves she’d stuffed into the pockets of her chuppah — and brought them to her studio, Tesserae

After her own wedding, Jessica Gorlin-Liddell gathered up the jumble of mementos — invitations, programs, photos, ribbons, leaves she’d stuffed into the pockets of her chuppah — and brought them to her studio, Tesserae Studio Gallery, in Mt. Airy. But instead of scrapbooking, this mosaic artist arranged, set and grouted the detritus into a picture frame for — what else? — a wedding photo.

Now, wedding mementos are a huge part of her custom-mosaic repertoire. One bride hired her to memorialize a honeymoon in Spain with a frame that features bits of museum tickets, stamps, paper currency and a subway map. Another bride’s family considers it good luck to break dishes the night before a wedding — she brought the shards to Tesserae and a few weeks later carried them out as a serving tray. “Sky’s the limit,” Gorlin-Liddell says. “I can incorporate anything — a cake topper, sea glass, a piece of the veil.”

Just remember to school your attendants to think like scavengers, says Gorlin-Liddell. Otherwise, you might find items in the trash that could have framed a picture of you and your new groom.