Cake Stand Centerpieces on Bridal Buzz – some really cute ideas. Here’s my favorite:

Miss Cardigan’s Table Number DIY recap – it’s fantastic! She created her own table numbers inspired by this photo:

Kim & Mike’s Real Wedding on Project Wedding – Amazing wedding full of bright colors and wedding DIY inspiration. LOVE it. Here’s a few favs – but go check out the whole gallery. It’s a must see.

I absolutely love these wine glass shades! They transform a standard wine glass into a beautiful cherry blossom candle lamp that can be used as part of your centerpiece.  The shades are very budget friendly (about $1.30 each). Your venue/caterer may have wine glasses you can use or you can rent them for a very low cost from a local wedding rental shop.

Check them out here.

Here’s a great way to add a personal touch to your reception – personalized dance floor decals from Beau-Coup.  Love it! There are 10 different color options so you can customize to suit your own wedding colors and then personalize with your own names, date and initials.  They are removable so they won’t damage the dance floor. It’s a great way to add a punch of unexpected style at a fairly decent price ($95 – $120 depending on the size you want).

*This is an affiliated post. Click here for information on how affiliate posts work.

We’re not saying you should spend a gazillion dollars on a 20-foot-tall floral arrangement, but first impressions are important, so take time to think out the entrance to your reception. Add a couple flower arrangements to the escort card table or have your stationer create a stylish seating chart display. A table topped with your engagement photos, your parents’ wedding albums, and any other from-the-family artifacts would make meaningful additions.

I think it’s so neat and personal to have a table full of family pictures at your wedding reception. I love love love the idea. I think it gives guests a better idea of where you’ve come from and who you’ve become. It can also serve as a tribute to the people who have helped you get there. I would like to develop a collection of pictures of my family members’ wedding pictures. I have my parents wedding picture. We also have one of J’s parents (although they are just standing by a car, it’s not very wedding-ey). But I don’t think we could go any farther than that. And I’m afraid that TWO pictures on a table might seem a tad underwhelming. But who else would we include? Siblings? That’s 3 more pictures. But I have a brother that’s not married and he has a sister that ALMOST married. So that might feel awkward. Do we expand to include friends? If so where do you draw the line? And as a side note, why do I always make things more complicated than they need to be?!?!? Hahaha! What about pictures from our childhoods? Sigh. I just don’t know… Maybe I should scrap it all together. What do you think?????

SOURCE

I mean, it’s kind of left my head swimming to come up with something different. Something different and cheap! Something different and cheap and beautiful! But these hit the jackpot! These are SUCH a simple and elegant centerpiece idea.

Take a flower (I used a fake one), a wine goblet and a pillar candle. Flip the goblet over, put the flower underneath, a candle on top and voila! Lovely! I don’t think we’ll be using this because my mom found a lady to do our centerpieces. More on her soon. But other Budget Brides, take note! Using finds from the Dollar Tree, you could end up with AWESOME $3 centerpieces!!! Maybe a little more if you surrounded it with votives or flower petals. It’s unique, creative, classy and CHEAP! Love it! And no one would guess how much you spent on them. . . These might make it to my Christmas table scape this year!  Maybe with a poinsettia? Hmmm….

They caught my eye and stole my heart!  I didn’t have a plan for them but I knew I had to own them! Ha ha!  They are long enough that if I place them side by side on the head table they will make quite an impact!  I love how big the rhinestones are and that the back portion is mirrored.  I also like that I got them on sale  for (drum roll please) $5.49 each!  As I placed them on a shelf to get a good picture of them for the world to see, a lady came by and picked one up, I screamed “NO, THOSE ARE MINE” like some ridiculous bridezilla.  She slowly backed away.  And wished me well on my wedding… How did she know?

(Notice the lady’s hand in the left corner… just before I smacked it away! haha! Jk. )

Really, the fact that they caught her eye and that she liked them so well (them, not me) served as quite the confirmation that I really truly DID need to own them!  As if there was any doubt.  Now, my friends,  help me figure out exactly what to do with them! Side by side they total 2.5 feet.  Is that long enough to make an impact?  Dare I venture off into unknown suburbs to try to find even MORE of them? Should I put votives / flowers / picture frames in between them?  What would make them the most impactful?

Or should I scrap the head table idea all together and put them somewhere else???

I’ve searched high and low to find black and white damask linens. (Yes, I recognize that my priorities might be slightly scewed, as we have no date nor venue… but I digress.) Other damask brides have gone to great measures and great expense to get their ideal table linens. They fret over the exact right pattern of damask. Whether it is white on black or black on white. They have their pattern SILK SCREENED onto fabric. They enlist MIL’s to sew countless runners. And have them re-sew them if they are slightly off center. They spend $20 per runner. Or buy $15 yard fabric from some fabric wholesaler in China.

I have to say, after reading their stories, I was ready to throw in the towel and go with some other color scheme.

That’s where my beloved Craigslist comes in. I have no idea why I was searching under the “Household” tab, probably searching for SOMETHING wedding related! And I came across a post for a black and white damask bedding set. This woman was selling her King sized comforter, pillows and curtains. Thankfully she sold me her curtains seperatly… as much as I love damask I’m not so sure I want to sleep on it… For $30 I got four LOVELY panels of curtains. They are BEAUTIFUL! I am going to cut each panel into three runners (or have my wonderful, beautiful, talented mother do it!). 12 runners for $30! Not too shabby! Maybe I should rent them out to those ladies that are on their way to the silk screeners…

We found some absolutely delightful designs at Muscari by Easter Yu!

Muscari was started in early 2008 by Easter Yu. It specializes in bold and one-of-a-kind wedding and fashion accessories crafted with feathers, silks, dried botanicals, beads, and other found objects.

Mother of Pearl Shell $25 Perfect for a beach or seaside wedding.

Flower Puff – Great for a garden themed wedding.

Blooming Box $45 Also, really cute for an outdoor/garden wedding

Look for it in the August/September 2008 issue of Modern Bride.

Bird Nest Pillow $27

Birch Ring Cushion $10

Let these lovely alternatives give you inspiration for unique touches to your wedding.