Non-Traditional Centerpiece Ideas

We've been talking a lot about centerpieces. I showed you our engagement party centerpieces, I wrote up a glittered wine bottle tutorial and another on a twine-wrapped wine bottle, so it's perfect timing for our good friend Erica from Little Things Favors to write a full post about non-traditional centerpiece ideas. Her ideas are fantastic and definitely ones you should bookmark.

Take it away Erica ...

Planning a wedding to stay on budget can be a difficult task. With so many aspects to pay for, brides are often left wondering exactly what they can cut to balance their checkbook. While certain areas you’ll probably not want to skimp on, such your dress, food or entertainment – there are some areas that can be made more cost effective for a bride on a budget!

I remember working with a client last year who was planning a relatively large NYC wedding in Manhattan. She told me her floral costs (which included $500 per centerpiece) were $15k! I was nearly floored by this expense because I know for so many brides - $15k or less is their total budget! For an item that dies nearly the next day, I wondered what most people would consider a reasonable cost for wedding floral arrangements?

I’ve attended quite a number of weddings throughout my lifetime but unfortunately, I don’t remember any of the centerpieces.  Except the last wedding I went to in July, where I actually won the centerpiece. However, it was so large (the thing was taller than my boyfriend and he’s over 6’) that there was no way to transport it home – so it stayed in the catering hall. With so many weddings and not one memorable centerpiece – I’m left to wonder, are centerpieces even worth it?

Sure they are. Without them your tables would look naked. They add ambiance to the event. They bring additional color, dimension, and decoration to the room. But with some centerpieces being so outrageously overpriced, what is a bride on a budget to do?

Whether you’re a crafty do-it-yourself gal or one that’s all thumbs, there are plenty of non-traditional centerpiece ideas that won’t break your bank or cost $15k in expenses. Here are some of my favorite non-traditional centerpiece ideas:

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Photo Credit: Michelle King Photography

Wheatgrass centerpieces are easy to make and adorable for spring and summer events. These wooden boxes or glass vases can be found in local craft stores (which send out coupons!). Add a little potting soil, some wheatgrass seed (and/or flowers) and voila!  A pretty tablescape for a fraction of the cost. You can add picks with your table numbers or candles inside of them for an added touch.

Wheatgrass not your thing? If you’re having a fall wedding you could also use wheat tied in bundles with twine like this for an inexpensive but natural touch:

Photo Credit: Aisle Dash

Photo Credit: Weddingbee boards

Photo Credits: here and here

If you’re not into flowers or have a black thumb like me (yep, I've killed every plant I was ever given) you can create pretty candle centerpieces for under $25 a table. These lanterns on Amazon can really work with your budget. 

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For the music lover, why not do a little vintage shopping at your favorite antique or second hand shops for great steals on old vinyl records. For just a few dollars per piece, some ribbon, candles, and faux gemstones can create some unique retro vintage pieces. There are numerous tutorials on how to make these groovy record bowls online. If you’re a classical musician or music lover, why not get some pretty vases and roll sheet music up in them?

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Perhaps add a bit of nostalgia to your wedding by using classic romance books stacked at each table?

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I just love how this bride used the books to mark her table numbers. If you are sitting eight people to a table, why not create a stack of eight books – one for each guest to take home?  You could even address one book to each guest with a thank you note if you have a specific book just for them. 

If those unique centerpieces aren’t your thing, with some simple mason jars, a few floating candles, some floral beads and twine, you can create pretty centerpieces at a fraction of the cost of any floral arrangement. How pretty would these be on a tablescape?  For those brides that shy away from DIY crafting projects these are quick and easy to do without costing a fortune.

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Continuing with the mason jar theme, we move into rustic weddings. These are perfect crafts to make – Fall is the season to harvest those branches! Again candles, birdseed and mason jars round out this pretty ensemble.

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And of course with winter weddings, berries, fake snow, tinsel, ornaments filled in mason jars make wonderful winter inspired centerpieces. If you’re looking to save on these items purchase your winter décor just after this year’s holiday season – for your wedding next year!

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BRIDAL BABBLE: Which of these non-traditional centerpiece ideas is your favorite?

Erica Tevis is the owner of Little Things Favors an online wedding favor and accessory supplier since 2003.  She started her own company when she was planning her wedding and couldn’t find all the “little things” she needed to make her wedding complete. Now, Erica writes extensively for her website and has been featured in the publications Planet Wedding and How To Plan Your Wedding and Enjoy It among numerous industry blogs and media outlets. 

Cow On A Shelf: Part II

Because people are asking, yes ... the cow made it into -- and was discovered in -- the dishwasher.

And if you're wondering why we are talking about cows, clearly you missed this post.

BRIDAL BABBLE: Where should I hide him next?

DIY: Twine-Wrapped Wine Bottle Centerpieces Tutorial

When you're planning a budget-conscious wedding, you're going to have to do some things yourself. Instead of going out and purchasing invitations, you can print your own. Watch some flower arranging tutorials on YouTube and learn how to make your own bouquets instead of paying someone to do them. Make your own centerpieces.

The trouble with making things is that it oftentimes looks like you made them. Which is fine and dandy for, say, a baby's birthday party. But for a wedding? You need something you can make yourself that doesn't look like you made it yourself.

Spoiler alert. In this post, we are making these twine-wrapped wine bottle centerpieces:

Twine-Wrapped Wine Bottle Centerpieces

What You'll Need:

• Wine bottles and/or beer bottles (I used two wine bottles and a beer bottle)
• Waxed twine

What You'll Do:

To start, you're going to need empty wine bottles and an empty beer bottle and some waxed twine. We had all this in our apartment already, so my materials cost was $0. I didn't pay a single penny to make this display, which is perfect for my budget. (Side note: Everyone has been asking me where to get the twine. It seems like most people are having trouble finding this in craft stores. You can pick up waxed twine in a variety of colors at Amazon. That link brings you to all the waxed twine on Amazon. I would not suggest regular twine or a combination of twine and double sided tape).

To start, tie the twine tight around the top of the wine bottle. All the bottles I used had a lip, so I used that as my original guideline. It's okay that it doesn't go to the top because you're not going to have it go all the way to the bottom. That symmetry will work in your favor. 

Tuck the excess waxed twine down and begin wrapping the twine around it. Don't cut it. There's a good chance you'll cut it too short and the wine bottle will eventually start to unravel ... which is not what you want on your wedding day. It'll be a little bumpy where the excess twine is but the annoyance of that is negligible.

You want to be really careful when you're doing this. Loop one at a time. Make sure the loop is pushed all the way against the twine before it. Don't leave any hollow spots and be very careful that the twine is flat. You don't want it to lay on top of another or get twisted.

That's where the difference between looking like you bought it and looking like you made it lies.

If you bought it, it will be pretty perfect. If you made it, you might have gotten lazy, left holidays (as we called them in elementary school art class) and didn't fret if the twine was bumpy or overlapped. If that's the case, if you really don't care, don't make them.

After you've been doing this a little while, you're gonna wanna come up with some way to speed up the process. One loop at a time is a really slow method.

If you're like me, you're going to try to loop a few at a time.

And then you're going to push them up with your finger and move along.

Except that doesn't work. You're not able to pull as tightly as you need to when you do multiple loops at a time. And you'll start to feel that it is loose and not as tight to the wine bottle as you need it to be.

I tried some damage control and tried to twist the twine to make it tighter ... and instead, the entire project basically exploded in my hands. I had to unravel it all and basically start over.

Not the time saver I was looking for.

Stick to the one loop at a time method.

And wrap.

And keep wrapping.

And keep wrapping.

Now is a good time to mention that I didn't bother pulling the labels off the bottles. The twine is so tight that there is no space between the loops to see the label. And, it's thick enough that there's no way for the label to show through it. So don't bother scraping the labels off (which is an arduous task. I should know. I had to remove all the labels to make these glittered wine bottles).

At the bottom of the wine bottle, its gets slightly narrow. And that's where you need to stop. The wine bottle will tell you when you hit this point. I know, that sounds crazy, but it's true. You'll feel that the twine is just slipping off. The change of shape is doing that. Don't fight it. Give in. Let the bottle win.

Cut the twine about three inches out, and tie it in a knot. Trim the twine a little, but not too much. You'll have the chance of unraveling from this end.

You don't need glue or anything. Just tuck the excess twine under the last full loop and you're done. Seriously. No glue needed for any part of the project. The wax is sticky enough that it acts as an adhesive so the waxed twine sticks to the wine bottle.

Ta-da.

Now, continue making these until you have enough for all your tables.

I made three in the example above. Two are wine bottles of different shapes and the third is a beer bottle. That's exactly what we had lying around the house. We had two wine bottles and one beer bottle. No more, no less.

We did have a small glass jar for pesto, but that didn't exactly fit.

BRIDAL BABBLE: If you try these, or have another DIY creation, email A Bride On A Budget at abrideabudget(at)gmail.com. We'd love to check it out.

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Cow On A Shelf

A little insight into my life:

I work at home, blogging full time. Pete works full time outside the home. Still, I don't do extra (or really any) housework during the day because one) I'm working and two) I'm messy.

We have a cow stress ball that we have been hiding around the house for months, sorta like the Elf on a Shelf, in a way.

He hides it, I find it, I hide it, he finds it.

I just found him in the fridge, sitting on the milk.

So right now, I'm running the dishwasher while Pete is at work so I can hide the cow in there when it's done and he'll find it when he empties the dishwasher this evening.

Oh the silly games we play.

BRIDAL BABBLE: Do you and your significant other play any games?

PS: We played Uno last night so we actually do play games other than hide and seek with a cow.

Expired -- Giveaway: $25 eFavorMart.com Gift Card -- 3 Winners, Ends 12/14

This giveaway is sponsored by eFavorMart.com. All thoughts are my own. All photos are the property of eFavorMart.

When I was looking for favor ideas for our engagement party, I spent a lot of time looking at Pinterest for ideas. When I finally figured out what I wanted, it was a lot easier to look at sites that are dedicated to selling favors. I was there on a mission, so it sure helped me navigate through sites with thousands of favors.

Now that the party is over, I have a different take on websites that sell favors, like Beau Coup and Bachelorette.com. I was approached by eFavorMart.com so I had to check the site out. Instead of going to the site with a set idea, I checked it out completely open mindedly.

There is so much on the site, from balloons to cameras, I didn't know where to start.

My love of baking started me at the heart-shaped measuring spoons. I don't know why, but I love these so much. If Pete decides to open a restaurant before we get married then I will have these as my favors. If not, I really just need to stop looking at them because they do not match my beach theme. But I love them and it's hard not to be drawn to them all the time.

I was checking around the site and stumbled on these mirrored plates. They come in a four pack and just make your centerpieces look more cohesive and less disjointed. I mean, imagine that without a mirrored plate beneath. It looks like three random objects placed on a table. Add the mirror and it looks like a really classy centerpiece.

It's the little things that really make a big difference.

Speaking of little things, I love love love the idea of personalized matches as a favor. I saw them on Pinterest before and I didn't get it. And then it hit me. A perfect match. And that's when I decided I was in love with the idea. I really love things that make you think.  Now, I know there are laws saying you can't smoke indoors, but there aren't any laws about giving out matches.

So all those things, I've seen them before. But this, this I haven't seen: 

How un-freaking-believable are those chair place card holders? I really dislike names written on a folded piece of paper. They're kinda overdone and cliche. But these, oh my gosh, they stand out and are fantastic and are just a little extra at your wedding. I love them.

Honestly, there's a lot of stuff to love on the site. Check out eFavorMart.com and let me know via a comment what your favorite favor is. Three lucky winners will receive a $25 gift certificate to eFavorMart (the gift certificate will work towards the flat rate shipping fee of $6.95 and you can combine it with percentage-off codes).

The giveaway starts now and will run until 11:59pm EST on December 14. Please use the Rafflecopter below to enter. Winners will be notified via the email address left in the Rafflecopter.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Good luck.

BRIDAL BABBLE: What is your favorite favor?

Love Letter Displayed -- 22 Years Later

I should be working. That's what people generally do in the middle of an afternoon on a Tuesday. But instead, I am reading one of the sweetest and most romantic stories.

Yahoo posted a story about Cathy and Trevor Webb, Pensacola newlyweds who displayed a letter written from Trevor to Cathy in sixth grade. The letter reads:

Dear Cathy,

I still like you and I still want you to go with me. I know Brad likes you. Please decide who you're going to go with. Think hard and let me know your decision. I'll be standing at the end of this hall and the beginning of the other hall. Meet me there as soon as school's out and you can tell me.

Sincerely, Trevor.

The note has, in all caps, DON'T LET ANYONE SEE THIS at the top. Well, the couple displayed it at their wedding 22 years later for all to see.

If you're wondering, Cathy did pick Trevor all those years ago -- then broke up with him after two weeks. They did get back together, obviously, and the rest is their fairy tale happily ever after.

BRIDAL BABBLE: How did your love story begin?

Invite Mickey And Minnie To Your Wedding

My mom and I went to Disney this summer ...

and I wasn't engaged, so I didn't think to invite Mickey and Minnie to the wedding I wasn't planning yet.

But I just found out that you actually can invite Mickey and Minnie to your wedding. They won't come, but they will send you a Just Married pin and an autographed photo.

Just address the invitation to:

Mickey & Minnie

The Walt Disney Company

500 South Buena Vista Street

Burbank, California 92512

Update: I actually received a postcard back from Mickey & Minnie. Check it out here.

BRIDAL BABBLE: Are you planning to invite Mickey and Minnie to your wedding?