You should plan a budget for all your wedding decorations. When you work on a budget, you can have the wedding of your dreams without breaking your bank account.
Creating Wedding Decorations on a Budget
Budget conscious couples often search for ways to keep astronomical wedding expenses down. While you certainly want your day to be special, you can do so without spending a ton of money that could be better spent somewhere else.
Centerpieces
One of the simplest ways to cut down on the cost of wedding decorations is to create your own centerpieces. The following centerpieces are beautiful yet inexpensive.
- Floating Candles: All you need to create these centerpieces are bowls in cut glass, crystal, ceramic, or clay. Fill them with clear or colored water, and add floating candles in colors to match the wedding theme. You can purchase candles in a variety of shapes, such as hearts, butterflies, or flowers. Add floating candle filled bowls to the center of every table in the room, but use a larger bowl for the main table. To color the water, simply add some food coloring. Scatter a few more candles or silk rose petals on the table for a finished look.
- Flower Bowls: Using the same idea as the floating candles, fill bowls with water, and add fresh or silk flower blossoms. Large flowers such as roses or Gerber daisies work well with this idea. Place other blossoms along the table to echo the theme. You can also add ivy vines to the table or simply scatter flower petals around the centerpiece.
- Fruity Fun: Fill water filled bowls with slices of real fruit, such as lemons, oranges, grapefruit, and limes. Intersperse floating fruit candles as well, and scatter remaining fruit along the tables, occasionally adding large and small bowls of uncut fruit to balance out the look.
- Flower Pots: Paint simple clay pots or keep them plain, and fill them with real flowers and potting soil. Choose flowers that echo the theme and colors of the wedding and the bridal bouquet.
Other Ideas
Wedding decorations on a budget often come from what you already have around your home, or they are based on simple common sense.
- Look to nature for some great inspiration and free decorations. Spray paint pinecones, leaves, and branches silver and gold for an elegant look. Place these decorations along the center of the table, or use the pinecones for unique place card holders. This is particularly elegant for fall or winter weddings.
- If you have a family member or friend who has a particular decorating talent, don't hesitate to ask for help. Maybe he or she can tie beautiful ribbons or write elegant calligraphy. If so, ask for help with decorations, invitations, and more in lieu of a wedding gift.
- Try your hand at gardening with a goal in mind. In the months leading up to your wedding, plant a few rows of flowers. When the big day arrives, pick the flowers to use as decorations.
- Look for artificial flowers at your local discount store. This is typically cheaper than purchasing fresh ones.
- For smaller weddings, combine the idea of favors and decorations into one item. For example, fill small flower pots with one flower, then give those away as favors. Add small votive candles to the table, then let members of the wedding party choose one to take home after the wedding.
- Tie cheese cloth, tulle, or other inexpensive material into bows on the backs of chairs.
It is possible to create wedding decorations on a budget and still have a beautiful event. Look around your home and rely on your creative side to come up with innovative and unique decorations for your big day!
