Wedding Reception Flower Arrangements To Make

Buying wedding reception flower arrangements from a florist can be extremely expensive. They can cost hundreds of dollars a piece according to articles in different wedding magazines. To me, this kind of expense is crazy, unless you have a lot of money in your wedding budget to spend on flowers.

So, if you are like me, you can either do without flowers at your reception or you can make your own. Back then, I did not know how easy it is to make floral arrangements or I would have done so. I got married the day before Easter so I decorated with Easter baskets, Easter grass, jelly beans, and pastel colored M&Ms.

You can keep it very simple and put small bouquets of flowers in small glass vases, one on each table. Put a few votives on either side of the vase and you have a pretty yet elegant centerpiece.

Here is an idea for you to try if you want to decorate with flowers at your wedding reception. It is a bit more complicated than simple vases of flowers, but you can do it.

Buy two or three varieties of long-stemmed flowers in similar colors, tall non-see-through vases, several yards of white tulle, and ribbon. You can get all of this at Wal-Mart for cheap.

Choose silk flowers with long stems. Some will have to be shorter than others in the display. If not, you will need to trim them so you will need strong scissors or small floral wire cutters as well.

You can buy nice looking silk flowers at Walmart, Hobby Lobby, or Michael's. I am sure there are other good craft stores but these are the stores in my city where I have purchased good quality silk flowers. Garden Ridge also has nice silk flowers.

Purchase a tall vase that you cannot see through. It can be dark glass or metal. Place the tallest stems in the back of the vase. Place another variety of flowers with the stems about two inches shorter in front of the first row. You will want to make three or four rows of flowers, each row one to two inches shorter.

Clip the stems of the third row of flowers to get them shorter and place in the vase. If you have a fourth row of flowers, clip them one to one and a half inches shorter than the third row.

If you are happy with the way the flowers look in the vase, drape them and the vase with a length of tulle. Tie a length of ribbon around the vase to secure the tulle. Pull the tulle out over the ribbon. The tulle gives your wedding reception flower arrangements a soft, romantic look. It also hides the fact that the flowers are silk and conceals display imperfections.

The larger displays will look best if they are placed in corners of the room and on gift and cake tables in the back of the cake or gifts.

Smaller versions of this arrangement can be placed as centerpieces on the bride and groom's table and on the tables of all of your guests. They are not expensive to make.

Gather a few girlfriends or relatives and make an evening of it. Get everybody to make some of the arrangements, months or weeks before the wedding. Do not wait until the last moment. Have fun with it. Tell the girls you are having a flower crafting party. You will all have a good time and you will be able to check one more thing off your to do list.

Store the arrangements in closed trash bags until the wedding to keep the dust off of them. Put them up on a shelf so they do not get accidentally thrown away.

Get creative. Don't be afraid to experiment with silk flowers. Try to create arrangements that you see in wedding magazines. It takes practice but if you start out months ahead of time, you can put an arrangement together that will be perfect for your wedding day!

Wedding reception floral arrangements can be easily and inexpensively made by you. Yes, you and some friends can do this.

Here is a good idea for you to try. Purchase some large clear thin bowls used for floating candle displays.

Line the bowls with silk rose petals. Put a block of floral foam in the bowl on top of the rose petals and stick silk rose stems into it. Make sure the floral foam does not show. The heads of the roses should rest just above the glass bowl without the stems showing so the stems will need to be trimmed. The roses should be right next to each other. Scatter a few rose petals on the table around the bowl for decoration.

Experiment with the flowers until you are happy with the way they look. Start making your wedding reception floral arrangements months before your wedding so you have plenty of time.

The rose bowls can be displayed as is or a pillar candle can be placed on either side of the bowl. The large ones should be placed on the cake table, the gift table, and the bride and groom's table. If there is a place card table or a favor table, a rose bowl can be placed there as well.

Smaller versions of this rose bowl can be placed as centerpieces on each dining table.

Another idea for using bowls is to line the bowl with vines of leaves or pussy willow stems (silk, of course) in a circular pattern and then place the floral foam inside and stick floral stems of your choice into the bowl. Trim the stems so the flower heads rest just above the glass bowl rim.

In place of glass bowls, pretty baskets can be used as well. Line the basket with raffia or a piece of pretty fabric that hangs partially out of the basket in your wedding colors. Place floral foam in the basket, trim stems to the appropriate length, and stick them in the foam. Flower heads should rest just above the basket top.