Cheap Wedding Centerpieces Ideas

When you are planning your wedding, you will quickly learn that staying within your budget can be a huge challenge. Costs can spiral out of control and you’ll find yourself looking for creative ways to save money while still having the wedding you want. If you use your imagination and rely on friends and family, you can make the decorations at your reception look beautiful without spending a lot of money.

Low-Cost Themes

Hosting a Mexican-themed party is a festive--and cheap--idea for a reception. For centerpieces, use colorful sombreros placed on bright serapes surrounded by maracas and Mexican puppets. Add brightly colored linens that complement the serapes. An Asian-tinged affair is another elegant but inexpensive way to decorate tables. Bamboo trees make lovely, simple centerpieces, as do DIY arrangements like square vases filled with black rocks and contrasting white lilies. Or think about using Shoji-style lanterns placed on plates in a coordinating color. Put colorful Chinese takeout boxes as favors (perhaps filled with candy) in front of each place setting for an additional pop of color.

Non-Floral Ideas

Let the time of year of your wedding be your guide and use the fruits of the season. If you’re getting married during the summer, turn Meyer lemons into a colorful centerpiece. Fill glass bowls with the fruit and its sumptuous leaves and place them in the center of the table, use yellow and green linens that complement the centerpiece and you’ve got a clean, colorful summer look. For fall, consider the same idea with cranberries or pomegranates. Getting married at the beach? Fill hurricane containers with sand about one-fourth of the way and place a candle in the sand. Finish the look by placing seashells and sand dollars on the table around the hurricanes.

Candles

Candles add a lot of ambiance for a nominal price; grouping of different styles of candles (such as round, square, tall, short) all in the same color can add simple elegance to the table. Place them on holders in a matching color or glass holders. Check with your venue in case it has candle restrictions, though.

Look of Diamonds

Glass beads are another easy, cheap table idea. Buy them in packets of 800 or more for a small price. The beads can be strewn about to create a shimmery look. Place a circular mirror in the middle of the table so the beads reflect in the light and it looks as though your tables are swimming in diamonds.

References

• The Wedding Book; Mindy Weiss; 2007