When you walk into a wedding reception you want the tables to set the mood but if you are working on a budget you may think you cannot afford a fancy centerpiece and fall back on a plain candle or fake flowers. For a little more money or, in some cases, less money, you can make your own wedding centerpieces with a little time and effort.
Before you begin to make your own wedding centerpieces keep in mind that they should be low enough for people to talk over and see the people on the other side of the table. Centerpieces should also relate in some way to the theme of the wedding, whether by color or style.
Real Flowers
Real flowers look so much better than silk or plastic and you get the added benefit of their aroma. Many people may think that they cannot afford the cost of putting real flowers on every table but if you do it yourself you can! Instead of buying all of your flowers from a florist grow your own. Many weddings are planned up to a year in advance giving you plenty of time to gradually buy vases and grow plants and flowers.
Not all of the plants have to flower. A beautiful fern or vine can be just as beautiful. Also, the vase can set the theme of the wedding. A garden wedding can be beautiful with low glass vases filled with flowers and a country wedding can use small tin buckets to hold flowers. All of these supplies can be bought at Wal-mart or the Dollar Store.
One of the most stunning wedding centerpieces is to fill a glass vase with dried peas and place a candle in the middle. Not only is this quite elegant but you can pick up glass vases as you go along and dried peas are a very cheap accessory. You will be amazed at the affect when the candles are lit and the lights are turned down.
Candles
Candles look wonderful as a wedding centerpiece but they can get expensive. There are a few ways to use candles. You can float candles in water which gives a great sparkly affect. You can also use a cheaper candle and decorate it with twigs or flowers yourself instead of buying an expensive candle that is already decorated.
Cupcakes
This is a really neat idea that combines the wedding cake and the wedding centerpiece together. Often the wedding cake does not get eaten and is a waste, instead of having a large wedding cake give the bride and groom a smaller cake and give the guests cupcakes. The cupcakes can be put on a cupcake stand and set in the middle of each table. A strip of garland can be wrapped around the stand to give it some pizzazz. This is also less expensive because you are not putting the money out on a large cake and you can make the cupcakes yourself.
Setting the cupcakes on a clear plastic plate (plastic tends to sparkle in low light giving the look of glass) or a regular plate and decorating with flower petals or putting them in a circle with a candle in the middle are other ideas for using cupcakes as a wedding centerpiece.
