Cheap Wedding Centerpiece Ideas

It is easy to incorporate holidays and seasons into cheap wedding centerpiece ideas. If you are having a Halloween wedding, use small pumpkins, either real or plastic along with tea lights lit around them. Easy and cheap!

Thanksgiving was yesterday and my cornucopia or my pilgrims along with some tea light candles or some votive candles in the center of the table.

Christmas centerpieces can be small bowls of ornaments with tea lights surrounding the bowl. Or you can have a pretty candle bowl surrounded by mini Christmas ornaments.

A New Year wedding can be sparkly with colored tinsel sprinkled on the table around a pillar candle on a metallic plate or on a flat round mirror.

Red or pink heart stones inside of a bowl of water with floating red candles or a jar of red candies along with lit tea lights make gorgeous Valentine's day cheap wedding centerpiece ideas. Chocolates would work well, too. Add a few silk or velvet roses for that extra "wow" factor and you are set!

Use a bowl of green marbles with tea lights for St. Patrick's Day.

Easter can be so many things.

You can use pink Easter baskets, which is what I did. You can use bunnies, chicks, or go with the Christian aspect of Easter and put small crosses on each table draped with a purple cloth. Add a few flower petals sprinkled around the cross and it looks lovely. What a great reminder that Jesus died for our sins and that he rose again as our King of kings and Lord of lords.

Use lots of red, white, and blue in the form of mini flags, a big bow on the outside of a basket of flowers or a bowl with a candle inside.

A spring wedding is a great time for mini baskets filled with pretty real or silk flowers. For summertime weddings, fill a bowl with sand and stick some mini shells in there with a votive in the middle. Tie a pretty colored ribbon on the outside of the bowl. For fall, use lots of silk leaves in bright yellows, oranges, and reds with a votive or a pillar candle in the middle. Winter weddings can have a lit pillar with snowflake confetti sprinkled all over the table.

These are just a few of my cheap wedding centerpiece ideas for you to try.

Cheap wedding centerpieces can be created with just a little imagination and creativity. Incorporate your wedding colors into your centerpieces with flowers, ribbons, candles, marbles, and confetti.

I once made a very pretty centerpiece using a large Mason jar with a handle. I tied a bow on the handle with a length of ribbon. I filled the jar with some pretty shreddings that you can buy in any craft store for gift bags and then added some silk flowers. Sprinkle confetti around the Mason jar on the table. Easy!

A flat round mirror makes the perfect base for a centerpiece. Add a pillar candle in the middle, surrounding by three tea lights, all lit. The mirror reflects the light, making it seem brighter. Sprinkle some confetti on the mirror and more on the table around the mirror.

Get three Mason jars, with or without handles. Tie pretty ribbon or a raffia ribbon around the top of the jar. Place the three jars in the center of the table. Fill each jar with a different type of candy for a pretty and edible centerpiece. This is the centerpiece that your guests will love. While you are having wedding photos taken, they can nibble on the centerpieces and stave off hunger. Try a jar of M&Ms, some hardballs or butter scotches in another jar, and some candy-coated mini pretzels in the third. There are many types of candy you can use for your cheap wedding centerpieces.

If your wedding is close to a holiday, place appropriate holiday decorations in the center of the table, in a jar, a bowl, or a basket.

A beach wedding centerpiece can be made with clear glass fishbowls filled with colored sand. Add a variety of mini shells and sprinkle a few on the table as well. Add a few tea lights on the table and this makes a very pretty centerpiece.

I get a lot of e-mails asking what brides can use for a do it yourself wedding centerpiece. There are so many items that can serve this purpose.

Ask yourself, what are my favorite things? What does my fiance really enjoy? Hunting, fishing, cooking, sewing, painting? Reading, drawing, dolls, toy cars, Star Wars, Barbie, GI Joe? Incorporate pieces from one or both of your interests along with some candles and/or flowers for a unique decoration to put at the center of each table at your wedding reception.

Usually while guests arrive at the reception, the bridal party is taking photos and there is nothing for the guests to do. So this page is about useful centerpieces that will give the guest something to do (eat) while they wait for the arrival of the bride and groom.

On the same note, I once waited with about 200 other guests outside in the heat for 90 minutes until the bride and groom showed up for the reception. A beautiful reception awaited inside of a very fancy hall but no one was allowed inside until the happy couple arrived. I am sorry, but this was rude. We were guests, but we were kept standing out in the hot summer El Paso heat when we should have been allowed into the air conditioned room for drinks.

If you are going to be a while, make sure that you treat your guests appropriately. Allow them into the hall for drinks and hors d'oeuvres. Do not make them stand outside in the heat with nothing to do, nothing to drink, and no bathrooms to use.

Once the guests enter the reception area, they should pick up their place card assignments and a drink and proceed to their tables. There, the guests can nibble at the do it yourself wedding centerpiece.

Get a three-tiered cupcake server and fill the tiers with cut up vegetables such as carrots, celery, grape tomatoes, mushrooms, peppers, cucumbers, broccoli, and cauliflower and place in the center of each table. Place small bowls of ranch dip, sour cream and onion dip, and cheese dip on each table. Put small spoons in each dip and provide guests with small plates for the vegetables at their place settings. Put up small signs encouraging the guests to nibble while they wait for the festivities to begin.

Instead of veggies, place fruit chunks on toothpicks on the cupcake server. Bowls of chocolate sauce, butterscotch sauce, and Cool Whip with spoons can be placed on the table for dipping.

You can also put out a variety of cheeses and crackers for guests to munch on.

Nibbling will give guests who don't know each other something something in common, which can promote conversation for guests who don't know anyone at their table.

Cookies, mini muffins, and chocolates can also be placed on the cupcake server.

A variety of chewy candies and chocolates or an assortment of flavored popcorn can also be put on 3-tiered trays for your guests to enjoy while waiting for you to arrive. A tasty do it yourself wedding centerpiece should make your guests glad they took the time to come to your wedding. It should make them feel like you are glad they came.

If you are searching for the perfect Christmas center pieces for weddings, you can create some beautiful ones instead of the traditional vase of red flowers with greenery often associated with Christmas.

The easiest idea is to put a beautiful potted red or white poinsettia plant in the center of each table. The pot should be covered with foil or pretty paper in reds, greens, golds, silvers, or various white and cream shades, depending on your wedding's color scheme.

For a larger table, group the same colored plants together in threes.

Candles make lovely Christmas center pieces for weddings. Floating candles with sparkly rocks or marbles at the bottom of the bowl look elegant. Fill the bottom of a clear glass bowl with red, green, silver, or gold marbles or other stones specifically made for this purpose. Add water and float the candles. Light them and you are set with the perfect dinnertime table.

A set of different sized pillars or a group of tapers in crystal holders will look festive. They can be dressed up with a wreath made from fresh or fake greenery. Bows or glass ornaments can be added to the greenery for sparkle. Group candles in odd numbers such as three or five. Do not use groups of even numbered candles as they look better if the group is not perfectly balanced.

A circular three-tiered serving tray filled with a variety of delicious cookies or pastries can kill two birds with one stone. It makes a beautiful Christmas center piece for weddings. If you add some pretty plastic bags with ties, it also becomes a holder for delicious favors for your guests.

Decorate mini Christmas trees. Use tiny personalized ornaments with the names of the bride and groom and the wedding date. Put up a small sign that tells guests to take an ornament home with them at the end of the evening.

Decorate mini trees with wrapped candies. Using a glue gun, glue a small loop of thin ribbon or twine onto each piece of candy to hang it on the tree. Put some pretty tiny paper bags on each table with a sign telling guests to fill a bag with candies at the end of the evening. Talk about visions of sugarplums dancing in their heads.....

Since Christmas celebrates the birth of Jesus Christ, place a different nativity set in the center of each table. This will show guests that you are celebrating the real reason for the season. It also shows that you are giving first place to Christ in your marriage.What a witness for non-Christian family members and friends this can be!

This page has a few more do it yourself wedding reception centerpiece ideas that will save you money. They are fairly easy to put together. Hey, if I can do it, you can do it! Believe me, I am not all that crafty. But television shows about crafting have really helped me with ideas and techniques.

Small galvanized milk pails or paint cans filled with fresh flowers, pussy willows, or silk flowers look attractive. If you have an artistic friend, see if he/she would be willing to paint some pretty flowers on the cans in your wedding colors to dress them up.

Tie a ribbon, some twine, or raffia around the pail or can in a pretty bow. Sprinkle glitter, metallic confetti, or rose petals on the tablecloth.

Another old-time idea is the use of mason jars. Fill the mason jars with colored marbles, river rocks, or colored gemstones. Place a few silk flowers in the jars. Tying a ribbon or raffia bow around the jar or on the handle will look pretty. Place a few votive candles in holders on either side of the jars.

I welcome your wedding reception centerpiece ideas.

Here is an interesting idea I saw at a wedding last year. Buy high heels in your wedding colors and place a pair on each table. Paint them and decorate them to fit with your wedding decor. If you want lots of sparkle, cover them with a layer of decoupage and cover with clear or metallic glitter.

Fill them with short-stemmed silk flowers and greenery. Sprinkle rose petals and glitter or wedding confetti around them. Add a few votive candles in holders and you have a unique centerpiece.

Just make sure the shoes are brand new and dirt cheap. No one wants to eat while smelling used shoes! Go to Payless clearance sales and buy cheap heels in whatever sizes are left. The good thing is they do not have to fit.

You can glue ribbons, gems, and lace on them and glue the flowers in the shoes ahead of time.

Remember, that great wedding reception centerpiece ideas come when you use your imagination and think outside of the box. Or in this case, outside of the expensive vase with flowers!

There are so many wedding reception table decorations you can create easily and cheaply. Start with a pretty colored glass pitcher. Add some pretty silk flowers. Tie a piece of ribbon or raffia around the top of the vase going through the handle. This looks pretty on its own or add some shells or colored stones on the table around the pitcher. Add some votive candles in glass holders in the same color as the pitcher. When lit, the whole display will look beautiful.

Below is one of the beautiful candle centerpieces used at my son's wedding reception in May of 2009.

Try a basket or bowl of fruit such as lemons with oranges, green apples with yellow pears, or yellow tomatoes with red tomatoes. Purple plums with red apples or limes will also look striking. Then place votive candles in glass holders in groups of two or three on all four sides. I have seen fruit stacked in rectangular vases at a few weddings as well. Garnish with a few sprigs of mint for a delightful fragrance.

For evening, candles play an important part in wedding reception table decorations. Use a candelabra with lovely tapers in metallic colors, white, or ivory. Drape some silk greenery or ivy around the candelabra. In lieu of a candelabra, some metal or crystal taper holders will make any table look dressed up.

You can try grouping three different sizes of pillar candles together with a flowered wreath around them. Place two groups on a table.

One large round pillar candle on its own holder surrounded by votive candles in individual holders is another great idea.

Use bowls made for floating candles. Place colored marbles, stones, or shells in the bowl and fill with water. Place floating candles in the bowl and light them. Floating candles come in a variety of shapes and colors. You can find flowers, fruits, butterflies, hearts, letters, and the list goes on.

Florists will tell you that you have to have flowers. Flowers are beautiful and I love them, but let's face it. They can get very pricey, especially if you have a lot of tables at your wedding reception. It is okay to use non-floral centerpieces. I have attended a lot of receptions with no flowers at all and they were just fine. Above you can see a unique centerpiece with votives, pecans, and some seashells. This was one of the centerpieces displayed at my son's wedding in May of 2009. I thought it was very pretty.

You can combine the objects that you choose with some flowers, either real or silk. Both work out just fine.

If you enjoy stuff from way back when, visit some antique stores to find a collection of kerosene lamps. They do not have to match but they should all be pretty. Clean them up and you have some great conversation starters. Place lit votive candles in holders around the lamp.

Another idea....Stack three old attractive-looking books in the center of the table. Place a pair of old spectacles on top and sprinkle silk rose petals around the glasses and on the table around the books. This is great if the couple loves to read.

Centerpieces for a wedding reception can be as simple as a bonsai tree in a pretty pot. How about using tiny plants displayed in a terrarium? Again, if your reception is in the evening, light some votives in holders and place them around the pot or the terrarium.

Small houseplants such as African violets can be displayed in small pots covered with colored foil to match your wedding colors.

For a southwestern flair, use mini potted cactus plants with decorative rocks in the pots. Choose terra cotta pots painted with a southwestern motif. There are many types of mini cactus plants. Use one or two different varieties of cactus on each table.

If your family members have silver or porcelain tea sets, consider using them as centerpieces. The teapot should be in the center with the creamer on one side and the sugar bowl on the other.

Place short stemmed flowers, either real or silk in all three pieces. Personally, I think small flowers like violets, violas, or tiny daisies look beautiful in the tea set pieces.

For added effect, sprinkle the tablecloth with silk rose petals or wedding confetti around the tea set pieces.

Here is an easy and beautiful wedding reception centerpiece for you to make for each table, a floating flower centerpiece. Make each one exactly the same or a little different for variety. I have seen it done both ways and it always looks great.

First, find clear round, square, or rectangle floating candle bowls. These do not have to be very high, six inches or less. Choose pretty stones, marbles in various shapes and colors, or river rocks. The bowls, rocks, and marbles can all be found in craft stores, dollar stores, or even Wal-Mart. I have found them in Garden Ridge, Dollar Tree, Wal-Mart, and Big Lots.

You can choose real leaves and flowers or silk leaves and flowers. If you use real ones, put these together a few days prior to the wedding. If you use silk, put them together months or weeks ahead, cover them so they don't get dusty, and then go on to other wedding things.

Choose a long, tall leaf such as a long tea leaf and place it inside your bowl, on the bottom and wrap it around the edge of the rocks or marbles. This gives the bowl a little color. You can use a stem with some leaves on it and bend that around inside of the bowl instead of one long leaf as well, just as long as you think it looks pretty.

If you are going to use your centerpiece right away, add some water now. If not, right before you will use it, remove the flowers and candles, pour the water in, and then put the flowers and candles back in the bowl.

Next, use a Gerber daisy, a carnation, a rose, or the flower head of your choice. Clip the stem off and float the flower in the water. If you have a large enough bowl, float two or three flowers in it. Now place in your floating candle. The centerpiece should look beautiful. Right before the reception starts, light the floating candles. You will be amazed at how this simple wedding reception centerpiece will transform your table.