Show of hands; how many of you know that there are napkins available that look and feel like a linen fabric but they are actually a quality disposable?
And now you are wondering why you need something like that right?
Well.... for any event, party, or get together where you need a napkin nicer than the standard kind, but real linen won't work. Like say a wedding in a tent.
I needed a quality paper napkin so 250 people could wipe Chinese food off their lips, and I kid you not I love this product, and no I am not getting paid to say that!
The napkins are made by SimuLinen and they are a linen-feel premium quality paper napkin.
SimuLinen also makes other products like table runners, and decorative napkins with seasonal designs.
Check out the part in this video where liquid is poured. I happen to know these napkins absorb just like that, not that I spilled my drink or anything....
Using SimuLinen was hardly any sort of inconvenience.
I think it was a totally smart idea - have you ever tried to wipe liquid of any type, including drool, with a fabric linen napkin? They are not absorbent, but problem solved with SimuLinen that not only look and feel like linen but are highly absorbent.
One reason I needed these napkins could be that I can't sew.
Making 250 napkins was out of the question, and SimuLinen fit our budget better. Plus the time to cut and sew, time that I wasn't willing to put in when I had so many other things to do for the wedding of Daughter #2.
So I guess reason number two was cost and time, added to lack of sewing talent.
Neither I or any of our guests missed fabric napkins even a little.
Besides, what do I need 250 fabric napkins for after the fact, and do I want to wash, iron or store them? Ummmm..... NO.
Did I want the guests to be able to dab up that soy sauce drool and me to never think about the napkins after they did so? Absolutely.
Could the decision to use SimuLinen also be for ease in clean up of the whole event? You betcha.
Our caterer was the one responsible for clearing tables from a tent without facilities.
That meant a rustic set up where plates could only be scraped and stacked because there was no running water, and having to sort napkins was one more thing I didn't want them or me to deal with.
Could we have used cheap paper dinner napkins bought from a grocery store?
I suppose we could have, but this wasn't a picnic 'ya know and while I didn't want real linen for a variety of reasons, I also didn't want to compromise on quality, and there is no mistaking that SimuLinen is a huge step above regular paper napkins.
I tell 'ya they are awesome!
Some of the napkin colors come in a flat pack.
What is a flat pack you ask? It's a big unfolded square napkin that allows you to create all sorts of fancy folds just like fabric napkins.
If you wanted to be all fancy that is.
But we were hosting a wedding with a rustic theme and the napkins had menu bands, so a flat pack was not necessary.
Been there done that on having a napkin folding party, this time around it was one less thing to squeeze in.
Instead Daughter #2 had a napkin banding party where they put the menu bands on, adding a dollop of hot glue to the cardboard bands before they put them around the napkins.
There was a little assembly line of several things that day.
Folks are genuinely surprised when they feel these napkins, being unsure if they are fabric or paper, a little mind game goes on. They look quizzically at the napkin as they rub it between their fingers, thus questioning their own ability to discern if something is fabric or not.
Another reason to choose SimuLinen over a store bought paper napkin - color selection.
We needed gray, and we didn't want it too light, and we didn't want it too dark.
SimuLinen had just the right color in the tri-fold we wanted (not square fold which they also have). They call the color Rich Grey, but I spell my gray with an 'a' because that's the way my elementary school teacher made me spell it.
There are folding videos on the SimuLinen web site if you want to try your hand at something other than the standard look, so really you could get all frilly with your place settings if that thrills 'ya.
Our Won Ton's and rustic pallet table tops didn't require a fancy fold.
Nor did the mismatched china stacked on a antique buggy seat on smooth sanded and sealed pallet table tops.
The bride collected real flatware that had no reason to match anything, in keeping with the mismatched theme.
At night when they came home from work, she and the groom polished 250 forks, 250 knives, and 250 spoons in case their guests didn't want to use the chop sticks they provided.
The flatware fit inside the menu bands and everything stayed secure on top of the napkins.
For a shower gift the brides cousin gifted her with 500 pairs of wood chopsticks.
She's got a few left.
Each setting also had a small bottle of soy sauce.
Folks took those along home with them because they were the cutest 'lil things.
For the bottles that were left, date sticker/labels will be taken off, and bottles sterilized to fill with Halloween spirits.... next year this time.
So Daughter #2 is now a missus...... with a few bottles of left over soy sauce and 250 pairs of extra chopsticks to start married life with.
SimuLinen was the perfect choice for us, they really are darn nice disposable napkins, hence the name that they simulate linen.
We would use them again without hesitation, and with three more offspring to marry who knows when that occasion could happen again.
I'm on a need to know basis for such details considering the next three of the six at marrying age are boys.
SimuLinen has a storefront on Amazon, how convenient is that!
The back side of the menu bands was a personal message from the bride and groom.
And thanks to SimuLinen - I didn't see one person walking around with soy sauce stained lips or grains of rice stuck to their face.
Quick Links:
(Go give 'em a like)
These look truly amazing! I watched the whole video too! Love the menu bands too!
ReplyDeleteI love the picture of your daughter. ♡
ReplyDeleteI've been waiting for a picture of the bride!! Absolutely gorgeous. I love all of your touches - they are so perfect; just the kind of wedding that I would love. Let me know if you need some special labels for next year's Halloween soire. ;) xo
ReplyDeleteSuch a lovely bride!
ReplyDeleteThese napkins look great...pinning for a time I need them!
Daughter #2 makes a beautiful bride. This wedding looks like so much fun in diy alone, not to mention all the heartfelt planning the couple put into it. Wedding aside, I think I"d like a box of Simulinen for my kitchen, one for our bathroom, one for my hobby shed and of course, three for Ken's garage. (the video mentions lint free, how nice is that for furniture diys?) Happy Sunday, Bliss :)
ReplyDelete