Weddingbee boards

What does the rest of your wedding look like? I've seen some people do beautiful centerpieces with pictures instead of flowers (marthastewart.com). You could also go the DIY route with flowers, which is much cheaper than a florist, but I think that would be too much stress since they need to be done the day before. Do you have any pictures that show a basic idea of what you would like to do?

@godivanut, we are doing almost the same thing, but instead of flowers, we are using aquarium plants! We may also drop a couple of random things in there and have a treasure hunt during the reception!

I love the simplicity of fruit in baskets or vases. Look at these Martha ones. Chic, simple, and affordable.

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This is cute too. An Italian theme...

Others already mentioned candles...

Lacy lumieries are cool! As are branches for a natural feel or shells for a seaside theme...

If you do want flowers, go with carnations. Super cheap and they actually can be very striking.

As you can see, I REALLY like MSW, hahaha. When I get engaged, I think I'll be into the more simple, fruit displays. I've never been a crazy flower girl. Hope this gives you, or anyone else, some ideas!

Ah, I didn't see your height requirement, haha. Sorry, most of the stuff I posted is low height. You could always have candleabras (thrifted from ebay) AND low centerpieces. I bet it would be very pretty.

If doing exclusively tall centerpieces, candelabras can be affordable and match perfectly with your ballroom. I'm doing a mix of high and low like galaticpony said with tall candelabras and alternating carnations (to give the look of peonies without breaking the bank) and roses for low centerpieces. Good luck!