Flowers, Favors and Decorations

What Are Some Cheaper Centerpiece Options?

We’re on a very, very tight budget, so we don’t have the money for lavish flower centerpieces. How can we dress up our tables inexpensively?

Start by recycling anything and everything you can. Snatch the bouquets from your bridesmaids and turn them into centerpieces for some of your tables. Your ceremony decorations can moonlight as reception centerpieces, too—as long as your house of worship doesn’t require that you donate them to the congregation after the ceremony.

Flowers aren’t the only natural choice for decor. Line pretty baskets or bowls with moss and fill with fruit (or a mix of fruit and flowers) for a lush look. Or put out tiny pots of flowering plants, like African violets, which your guests can take home as favors.

Candlelight adds a lot of ambience for a very small cost. Put a few votives on each table with a bit of ivy or a satin ribbon draped around them. Or scatter some rose petals around the tablecloth. You could also use candlesticks of varying sizes for an eclectic, romantic look.

Even your choice of tablecloths can make a huge difference. If your site provides the linens, ask if they have overlays in colors that match yours. Just placing a fabric square in a vivid color over simple white cloths will really brighten up the room.

Or try something really different and create centerpieces from objects you already own: grab your favorite framed childhood pictures and arrange a few on each table for a sentimental look.

Key into your interests—bookworms can stack antique volumes among the candles; vintage collectors can put out a few of their favorite things, whether ginger jar vases or antique dolls. You’ll have your cheap centerpieces, and your guests will be able to learn something about you.