New Bern Wedding Venue's wedding favors Worth Keeping: An Interview with Mr. Slate, 5 things to consider when planning your wedding day in New Bern, NC "Wedding Venue favors you'll love!"
There is something especially meaningful about a wedding detail that doesn't disappear when the celebration is over. New Bern Nc Wedding Venue favors you'll love
At Magnolia Manor 1843, we love helping our couples find ways to make their wedding feel unmistakably theirs—and whenever we can do that while supporting another local business, even better .
Recently, we sat down with Mr. Slate, a local maker specializing in custom engraving and etching, to talk about creating personalized pieces for Magnolia Manor and, more importantly, the possibilities he can offer our couples.
New Bern Nc Wedding Venue favors you'll love! Magnolia Manor 1843, a historic wedding venue in New Bern Nc is thinking engraved rocks glasses for your groomsmen. Personalized wine or champagne glasses for your bridal party. A beautiful cutting board or charcuterie board engraved with your names and wedding date. Small bottle openers your guests can slip into a drawer, bar cart or even a pocket—and actually use for years to come. Lets create wedding favors your guests will love!
These aren't favors destined for the trash can at the end of the night. They're useful little reminders of a really wonderful day.
Magnolia Manor 1843 helping couples with wedding guest favorite party favors with Mr. Slate laser
Magnolia Manor 1843:
So we asked Mr. Slate to share a little about his story, his ideas, and how couples can turn ordinary wedding details into something worth keeping.
"New Bern Nc Wedding Venue favors your guests will love"
1. First, tell us a little about Mr. Slate. How did you get started with engraving and creating personalized pieces, and what do you love most about making something specifically for another person?
Mr. Slate Laser Works is a veteran-owned and operated business built from a passion for creativity, craftsmanship, and personalization.
The business began with a simple idea: I purchased an affordable laser engraver and started making slate coasters to see if I could turn a hobby into a small side business. As friends, family, and customers began seeing my work, the business naturally grew into something much more.
Today, I specialize in creating personalized and custom laser-engraved products. What I enjoy most is collaborating with customers to bring their ideas to life. Whether they have a specific design in mind or just a concept they want to explore, I enjoy taking that idea and turning it into a finished piece that has meaning and purpose.
Every project is an opportunity to create something unique—whether it’s a gift for someone special, a way to commemorate an important occasion, or simply something a customer wants to keep for themselves.
What started with a small laser and a simple idea has grown into a business centered around creativity, craftsmanship, and making each customer’s vision a reality.
Magnolia Manor 1843:
As fellow small business entrepreneurs, we understand the heart, dedication, and attention to detail that go into building something you're proud of. We love supporting and celebrating other local businesses that share those same values, which is why we are delighted to collaborate with Mr. Slate and showcase his beautiful craftsmanship to our Magnolia Manor couples.
2. Let's talk bridal-party gifts. If a Magnolia Manor 1843 couple came to you and said, “We want to give our bridesmaids and groomsmen something personal that they'll actually use,” what would you recommend?
When it comes to bridal-party gifts, I would recommend something personal, practical, and customized to each member of the wedding party. Some great options include personalized credit-card-style bottle openers, slate coasters, engraved glassware, flasks, keychains, and other keepsakes they can actually use long after the wedding day.
The great thing about custom laser engraving is that there really isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer. The possibilities are almost unlimited. We can work with the couple’s ideas, wedding theme, or individual personalities to create something unique for each bridesmaid and groomsman.
My goal is to take a simple gift and turn it into something personal that reminds them of the special role they played in the couple’s wedding day.
Magnolia Manor 1843:
At Magnolia Manor, we love the idea of creating a personal “brand” for your wedding day—something that feels uniquely yours and can live on long after the celebration is over. Rather than choosing a generic gift from a big-box store, consider something thoughtfully engraved with your monogram, wedding date, or a special sentiment: whiskey or wine glasses for your bridal party, a meaningful keepsake for your parents, or even a beautifully engraved bottle or gift for one another. With Mr. Slate, the possibilities seem almost endless, allowing you to turn a simple gift into a lasting memento of one of the most important days of your lives.
3. Wedding favors can sometimes be forgotten—or even left behind. What are some personalized favors you could create for an entire guest list that are practical, affordable and special enough that guests will actually want to take them home and use them?
For a wedding favor, I’d focus on something guests can actually use rather than something that will simply sit on a shelf. Personalized slate coasters are a great option because they can be customized with the couple’s names, wedding date, initials, or even a design that matches the wedding theme. They’re practical, affordable for larger quantities, and serve as a lasting reminder of the special day.
Other options could include personalized keychains, bottle openers, small engraved wood pieces, or other practical items. With laser engraving, there are many ways to create favors that are both meaningful and useful while still fitting within the couple’s budget.
Beyond favors, I really enjoy helping couples create something that allows them to hold onto the memories of their wedding day. To me, that’s one of the most special parts of engraving—you’re not just making an item, you’re creating a piece that can become part of someone’s story.
There are so many possibilities, including personalized signs, guest books, photo frames, cutting boards, glassware, keepsake boxes, and custom pieces featuring the couple’s names and wedding date. I’ve also enjoyed working with customers to incorporate meaningful details, such as a favorite quote, special location, family names, or even elements from their wedding invitation or theme.
Magnolia Manor 1843:
At Magnolia Manor, we encourage our couples to think beyond traditional wedding favors that may be left behind, discarded, or simply never used. We love the idea of choosing meaningful, useful keepsakes—something thoughtfully personalized that your family and friends can enjoy in their homes for years to come and, each time they use it, be reminded of the special day they shared with you.
4. Beyond favors, how can couples use engraving to commemorate their wedding itself?
What I love most is taking an idea that a couple has in their head and turning it into something they can physically hold onto. A wedding day goes by so quickly, but a personalized engraved piece can stay with a couple for years and bring those memories back every time they see or use it. Being able to play a small part in creating something that meaningful is one of the things I enjoy most about what I do.
Magnolia Manor 1843:
For favors for all of your wedding guests, we love the idea of keeping them small, useful, and personal. Engraved bottle openers, wine openers, keychains, coasters, small wooden keepsakes, luggage tags, or even personalized bar accessories are wonderful choices because they can easily become part of your guests' everyday lives. Add your wedding date, monogram, or a small symbol from your wedding, and instead of another favor that gets left behind, your guests take home a useful little reminder of the beautiful day they celebrated with you.
5. We're excited about creating our own Magnolia Manor pieces with you and introducing your work to our couples. What do you envision for the future of Mr. Slate + Magnolia Manor, and what kinds of exclusive or customized pieces would you love to see us develop together?
I’m really excited about the possibility of building something special with Magnolia Manor. I see this as more than simply creating products—I see it as an opportunity to collaborate and develop pieces that become part of the Magnolia Manor wedding experience.
I would love to create a collection of exclusive Magnolia Manor pieces that couples can’t get anywhere else. That could include personalized wedding signs, engraved champagne glasses, custom guest books, keepsake boxes, cake-cutting sets, bridal-party gifts, welcome signs, and smaller favors that incorporate the Magnolia Manor name or branding.
I also think there is a lot of potential in creating custom pieces specifically around each couple’s wedding. We could take elements from their invitations, venue, wedding date, or personal story and turn those details into something they can keep long after the wedding day.
What excites me most is the opportunity to sit down with the Magnolia Manor team, share ideas, and create something together from the ground up. I enjoy the creative process and the challenge of taking an idea and turning it into a finished product.
Final word from Magnolia Manor 1843:
“At Magnolia Manor, we believe beautiful occasions deserve beautiful details that live on long after the celebration ends. We look forward to working alongside the talented team at Mr. Slate to create thoughtful, personalized gifts and keepsakes that turn life’s most special moments into memories you can hold onto for years to come.”
Supporting Local & Creating a Memorable Guest Experiences
Mr. Slate,
thank you for taking the time to sit down with us, share your ideas, and show us the many ways custom engraving and personalized gifts can make a wedding celebration even more meaningful.
At Magnolia Manor 1843, our historic wedding and event venue in downtown New Bern, North Carolina, we are all about the guest experience. We believe a memorable wedding isn't created only through the big moments—it's also found in the thoughtful details that make your family and friends feel welcomed, appreciated, and part of something truly special.
That's why collaborating with Mr. Slate feels like such a natural fit.
From personalized wedding favors and engraved bridal-party gifts to custom rocks glasses, wine and champagne glasses, bottle openers, keepsake boxes, cutting boards, and charcuterie boards, couples have so many opportunities to create something personal that their guests will actually use and enjoy long after the wedding day.
As a fellow New Bern and Eastern North Carolina small business owner, I have a special appreciation for businesses that take pride in their work, pay careful attention to the details, and understand the importance of exceptional customer service. Those are values we share at Magnolia Manor.
Our goal has always been to give our couples—and the people they invite into our home—an experience that feels personal, thoughtful, and distinctly Southern. Connecting our couples with talented local New Bern wedding vendors and artisans is another way we can make that experience even more special.
Mr. Slate, we are honored to collaborate with you, both on custom pieces for Magnolia Manor 1843 and on new ideas for the couples who choose our historic New Bern wedding venue for one of the most important days of their lives.
Here's to supporting local, creating beautiful things, and turning the smallest wedding details into keepsakes that bring back wonderful memories for years to come.
Thank you, Mr. Slate. We can't wait to see what we create together.
— Leigh
Magnolia Manor 1843 | Historic Wedding & Event VenueNew Bern, North Carolina
Q: Where can you find this unique and talented team?
A: He is located inside another great local business called The Wood Shop.
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