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If candles are allowed, I really like the look of candles of different sizes arranged on mirrors as centerpieces. I think it gives the room a really warm glow.
Hmm... i think lighting goes a long way. Maybe paper lanters, candles, mirrors, fruit, bowls or vases filled with water with floating candles, rose petals. In fact i saw a really cute display in a magazine where they "threaded" petals through string ...almost like tinsel. With the candles and what not, it looked really cute. Or you could find bolts of fabric at the fabric store and do some draping.... good luck!
depending on the color of the wedding, you can always buy wholesale glass vases (could be 1 tall or 3 dif. sizes per table) and fill it with water and green apples or lemons (cut slices or whole), or limes.
Candles is a great idea two (3 candles per table, 3 dif. sizes), just make sure your venue allows open flame (if they dont then you'd need to find vases to put them into).
Or you can always make a composition of dif. color glasses in the middle with small candles inside (you can buy all sorts of cheap glasses in salvation army or other places of the sort).
Hope this helps,
D
Is she just looking for centerpieces or does she need to camouflage areas of the hall?
Centerpieces - maybe do mason jars, or "found objects" with one flower/ candle in them. Found objects being things you already have. Ex:mom has some pewter pitchers and bowls - I'm going to put flowers in there for some of the centerpieces. Borrowing stuff from Moms and Grandmas and in laws = free. One of the bees has gone to flea markets/ consignment stores and found items (cups, wine glasses) for centerpieces. They don't have to be vases to work. Mason jars I think are $30 for a case.
For the hall overall I'd try christmas lights (might already have) and paper lanterns (from Ikea). Don't know her color scheme or the halls color scheme so its hard to go to far. Potted plants/ trees if you can borrow from someone.
A lot of this depends on how down and dirty you want to get with decorating yourself.
Tulle!
works magic. you can bunch it up all over the place and its mad cheap. sprinkle petals in the layers....nice romantic affect that will heighten the look of those candles.
i saw a weddingbee reader do single flowers in empty wine bottles, which looked really classy. great if you and your friends/family drink wine. you could also combine with some empty tea/coffee canisters, ala martha stewart to vary the heights. that with some loose petals and votives on a mirror would look great. for long tables, i think lower centerpieces work better, like the canisters, and maybe put in a long table runner then scatter petals on top.
I'm with the girl who said candles!!! Get tons of candles ( The dollar store is your best friend)!!! Some cheap fabric from JoAnn's for some nice pops of color on the tables and call it a day!! Dim the lights in the room and watch everybody ooohhh and ahhhh!
You can use battery operated christmas light strands and paper punches to make stuff like this:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/fubabee/2198002186/
I was a bridesmaid and all the BMs pitched in to paper punch and stick the flowers on the lights. Too bad we didn't get a pic of the decor (that's my apt), but it looks magical. And it's so inexpensive!
Another idea is to use ribbons and PVC pipes to make panels of ribbon walls in your color. It's light, easy to assemble and covers a lot of space!
I've started collecting clear glass vases from second-hand shops (goodwill-type places?) and am planning to buy some cheap flowers like carnations to fill them with. Should work out to about $5 per table. They're all completely different and I'm pretty sure it will look cute and fun, rather than cheap-o.
Getting some frosted votives for candlelight on the tables, to add a bit of warmth to the room, and hopefully that will be about it. The room's fortunately plain rather than ugly, so once we dim the lights the tables will be the focal point.
get your butt to a craft store like yesterday! they have all of the christmas stuff like 80% off. just because its labeled "holiday" doesn't mean you have to use them for holidays. (my colors are blue so i scored on the chunaka stuff) I went crazy, just because I don't know what to do with the stuff NOW doesn't mean I won't find a place for it later. I got tons of ribbon, decorative branch like things, votives, bells, etc. all for like 50 bucks. You might be able to find light green but definitely white.
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ditto on the holiday supplies. I was able to get 15 bags of crinkle cut paper for 75% off...you can't beat that!
Another idea, do you have a Christmas Tree Shop store near you? I was able to get votive candle holders at 3 for $1 and 6 packs of plain silver candles (also from the holiday items) for $1 ea. The checkout lady thought we were crazy when we rolled up to the counter with a shopping cart full of candles and holders, but we got like half of my table decorations for less than $50! Another lady who was checking out at the same time said that she did the same thing when she got married!
Get big coffe cans and fill them with sand or stone and put branches in them. Cover the can with pretty paper or fabrick or even pictures oc the bride and groom. You can add water to the stone and have live branches with leaves or use branches stripped of the leaves and spray painted in the colors. use a little spray glue on to of that and sprinle some glitter or something else sparkley on top fo the paint to give a bit of glamour. Or you can add paper flowers in coordination colors tot he branches with a little Alene's Tack Glue or a hot glue gun.
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I read somewhere to focus on the tables, as the outter walls are not going to be the main item people are looking at. Jazz up your centerpieces and forget the walls - that draping and lighting is a lot of money to have others do it for you.
Have any of you tried to make your own chair covers? What did you do? Is it better to just rent those.
The reception will have about 120 - 130 guests, not counting the bride and groom, 5 bridesmaids and 5 groomsmen.
candles candles candles!! check with the hall to see what their candle count is - the marriott told me i could only have 3 "live" candles per table so we're using batteryoperated candles instead. chair covers?? RENT them - do not spend your time making them for 130 people! most people arent gonna care anyway...
your friend could get a bowl and fill it with water and dye the water using the same stuff for dyeing Easter eggs and float gerbera daises in them, throw some hershey's kisses in the middle around the candles and the floating daisies
if there are alot of tables, try looking online for wholesale glass containers - that way you're not paying full price.
check cragislist or other wedding boards for other brides unloading their decorations for next to nothing!
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According to a press release a friend of mine received, Steven Buckwald, owner of New York City-based Surroundings Flowers & Events, is offering high-end flowers to the public at wholesale prices.
The company will beat quotes from high-end florists by 20 percent. And brides can save an additional 20 percent if they arrive with a proposal in hand.
Buckwald has a 7,000-square-foot building in Harlem which he has turned into a flower warehouse to serve his 30-year-old floral and event business. He has two satellite shops in Manhattan, at 1236 Lexington Avenue between 83rd and 84th streets and in the Apthorp building on Broadway between 78th and 79th streets.
Surroundings Flowers & Events bypasses traditional flower shops and deals directly with the growers and farms around the world.
For information on other wedding-related issues, please check out my blog at www.weddingscoops.blogspot.com.
We hung burgundy, orange and white paper lanterns and it turned out cute. I wish he could've hung more but just didn't have the time or money to do so. I rented all the glass centerpieces for cheaper than what it would have cost to buy. I bought latex burgundy and orange calla lilies to put inside the containers and floated burgundy and orange candles in them. It turned out great. I don't have any shots of the entire reception handy but here are a few of the elements we used.
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i went to dollar tree direct and paid 1.00 per vase. the ones i got are large and shaped like a large hour glass. they're even frosted on the outside. my parents have a lot of woods in their backyard and since it's winter, i got a lot of bare branches and twigs and spay painted them red. i even got a lot of them with red berries.
then i bought some really cheap ribbon off ebay and tied around the vase and filled it with the red branches. i know of two places to rent chair covers from for $1 each. they're even satin.
also, try this link http://www.save-on-crafts.com/vasgemmarsto.html
gems are a really cheap way to decorate you table.
i got my inviations handmade for very cheap. they are super cute and come with envelope and rsvp card. mine were 1.95 each. i got the more expensive design. theres a lot of design to them so i was shocked at the price. she even does all the lettering.
we ordered our save the dates off of vistaprint.com. we made them out of their magnets and put our photo on their and customized our own wording. VERY CHEAP!
heres the link if you want to use a photo-
http://www.vistaprint.com/small-business-magnets/using-your-photos-logos/gallery.aspx?pg=11&rd=2&filter=4294938042:4294938011||1,9:10013||1&page=1&pagesize=24&sort=p_TO!desc&xnav=gn&xnid=2
and here-
http://www.vistaprint.com/xl-photo-magnets/gallery.aspx?pg=47&rd=2
if you want their design without photo, this is the link to different designs-
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I’m a bridesmaid in a July wedding and the bride and I are on a mission to find simple, cheap (emphasis on cheap) decorations that can make her reception hall look classy as all get out without being pretentious and stuffy. It’s a tall order. Any suggestions? Can you recommend any links? Do you have examples from your fabulous wedding?