DIY Wedding Decor!

My wedding is going to take place in the Caribbean to save some money, but I need to have a reception in Canada for the sake of my Grandparents.

Since I've already had one wedding, I will not want to pay for a second. Or the flowers for a second wedding.

Because I am getting married in the fall, I decided that Sunflowers would be my flower. So I am growing my own sunflowers.

At the end of the rows of chairs, and on the backs of the chairs at the tables, I will be hanging miniature bouquets of fresh lavender and mint, which I have grown myself.

A Girl's Night While Creating Your Cheap Wedding Decorations

by Jackie
(Clarksburg, NJ, USA)

A lot of a wedding budget goes to decor such as bouquets, centerpieces and favors. So instead of spending way too much on store bought, I decided I would make my own. I thought about how I could do everything and decided to have my bridesmaids and family over to have a GIRLS NIGHT! We would all sit around with snacks and some drinks and just hang out but with one exception; we would be making centerpieces and favors. I think this is a great bonding experience and everyone can relax and enjoy each others company while making things for the wedding. In the end you leave closer to those people who joined you and with beautiful homemade centerpieces without breaking the bank!!

Hi Jackie

It sounds like you are going to have a fun night, good luck getting everything done.

Suz

Summer And Fall Themed Centerpiece

by Alyssa
(iola, ks, usa)

HIII! A great idea for a summer/fall themed wedding is to use birch tree branches as candle holders.

Works better on types of trees whose bark is thinner, but will work on any.

Simply find a tree you like.....small branches in diameter about 6-10 inches, depending on preference, and height is also by preference.

Hollow out the top of one pice of branch and sit in a tea light candle. Use as table top centerpieces. For a little extra, I suggest tying a piece of ribbon with an embelishment for extra pazzzaz.

Thanks and enjoy.

Dollar Stores For Cheap Wedding Decorations

by Jennifer
(MN)

Dollar stores are great for decorations at the reception, why spend 50 dollars on a few things when you get more for your money at the dollar store.

Great Cheap Wedding Decoration Ideas

by Meghan Johnson
(Columbia, MO USA)

My future mom-in-law and I were talking about how to pull of an elegant wedding without us having to go into debt for the ceremony.

We were coming up with all sorts of ideas such as buying sheets, tapering the ends, and sewing ribbons on the bottoms to match the wedding colors (which ends up being 1/3 of the price of renting!).

I have always wanted to have a candy bar for the guests, so we were talking about making chocolates in molds and dying the white chocolate to match our wedding colors.

I have even gone as far as going to the dollar tree, buying some expensive looking glasses and threading beads that match our wedding colors onto the handles. I happened to see in a wedding magazine where they had these for $80 for the glasses and serving set. I made them for $15.

After Christmas is a great time to look for lights, and decor for your tables. I have only spent $1200 on all the decor for my wedding, and have over $3600 worth of materials. Just think smart!!

Hi Meghan

Thank you for sharing these great cheap wedding decoration ideas, love the savings that you have made!

Good luck with all of your other wedding plans.

Suz

Spring Wedding Centerpieces

by Rebecca
(Oklahoma City, OK USA)

My wedding colors are dark pink, powder blue, and black. I'm having my guests make their own guest book pages with "Advice for the Newlyweds" cards at each place setting. They will also have the opportunity to write their most memorable moment with either the bride or the groom on their guest page. Each table will be decorated with either pink & black or powder blue & black. My cheap wedding idea is my centerpieces. My centerpieces will be small silver bucket pails with decorative ribbon wrapped around the center of the bucket (either pink or blue colored) filled with daisy flower pens to use for the guest's personalized pages, which they can also take home. Balloons in either pink or blue and black will be tied to the handle of the bucket pails. Disposable cameras will be placed on the table for the guests to use. Finally, I'll sprinkle some "diamond" confetti on the tables to add to festivity! It will be very fun and inexpensive.

Hi Rebecca

Sounds like you have your Spring wedding centerpieces sorted, they sound lovely.

Good luck with the rest of your wedding plans!

Suz

Make Your Own Table Center Pieces

by Rachel Land
(Largo, Florida, United States)

The best way I could think of to make your own table pieces is to go to your local arts and craft stores and buy 3 diffrent size clear glass vases(like clyliner shape). Fill them with your wedding color rocks and then put bamboo over the rocks and then buy you wedding color flowers and stick them in each vase. I would then buy some fake diamods or crystals or pearls and drape them from the flowers. You will have different sizes and it would look so pretty. I would also spread some fake diamonds around the center pieces and then go to your local Dollar Tree and buy some small glass candles and buy your own color of your wedding candles and put like 5 or 6 around the base of your center peices. Also buy your wedding color ribbons (they'd have to be big with the wire inside) and tie them on each vase or around all the vases together. I think that would be so beautiful and your guests will think it's orginal idea.

Hi Rachel

Making your own saves loads of money and you get to make exactly what you want as well which is great.

Good luck with your wedding plans

Suz

GoldFish In Your Wedding Centerpieces

by Kayla Pennignton
(Milan, Indiana)

Well, Im getting married August 2010. I recently heard of an idea to use goldfish for centerpieces. I LOVED IT! I mean fish arent my theme but Tangelo is one of my colors and they are that color. Im going to have 2 or 3 12 inch tall vases on a lot of the tables, not all of them tho. There will be 2 fish in each vase swimming around. I will also be putting christmas lights down the middle of the tables to kindve lightin up the placed and somehow I will putting a light on the strand under the vase to light up the fish. Christmas lights are cheap if you get them right after christmas and goldfish are what maybe 25 cents apiece, if that, and you can get them anywhere. Walmart or PetsMart. Its a very cheap way and something neat and different.

Hi Kayla
Love the idea that you are being creative with your centerpieces for your wedding, but wondering if you could use maybe flowers instead of goldfish?
I have heard a lot of nightmare stories about goldfish, who is going to look after them after your wedding? how are you going to transport them to the venue? And noone wants a dead fish floating in the middle of the table!
Just my thoughts, but would hate you to have a nightmare on your wedding day.

Suz

Cheap Wedding Decoration Ideas

by Amy B.
(Virginia)

Posters at the reception, slide show at the rehearsal dinner:

I collected about 80 photos each of the bride and the groom starting as newborns, moving through the years, and ending with photos of them together before marriage. I wanted pictures with them with other people, family members and friends, as much as possible. I used Microsoft Office Publisher to make each a 34x22 poster (You could vary the size) of these photos, moving in age left to right for the bride and right to left in age fo the groom. They "met" in the middle where we displayed a favorite 8X10 photo of them together (An engagement photo would work well here.) Tabletop easels were used to hold the posters that were in poster frames. People at the reception seemed to really enjoy looking at the posters. And now the bride and groom have a great keepsake forever!
I then used some of these photos and some others that we liked that were not on the posters to make a slide show for the rehearsal dinner. The show lasted 10 minutes. That was a good length - Any longer, and I think people would have lost interest. It generated a lot of laughter, and it also gave the families insight into the person "their" person was marrying - I think we all felt much closer as a whole family! I used Windows Movie Maker for this, adding music I had downloaded to Windows Media.
Costs:
Posters - About $100 total for the printing. I used a local company, but many office supply printers do this also
Easels - Bought online, about $30 total
Poster frames - $40 total, bought at an art supply store

The big "expense" was time - Start early (at least 2 months ahead)so you have time to scan those photos and play around with your design.

The cost of this idea was not great, but the value of this project has proven to be priceless!

Ribbon Wedding Centerpieces

by Mary
(Henderson, New York)

My wedding was July 31,2010. I had an extremely small budget for everything...$3000! I wanted the tables to look finished without costing me a bundle so I bought 2 75yard rolls of floral satin and sharpie markers in our wedding colors. I went online to find quotes that I liked. I wrote our names and date and the quote on a length of ribbon, cut it to length and continued writing. I chose 6 quotes and made one of each color for each table. Our tables were long banquet tables so I stood each ribbon on its side end to end down the center. Added small floral arrangements that I did on split styrofoam balls and a few tealite candles.

Ribbon 7.99 each
Markers .99 each package
styrofoam balls dollar store
Silk flowers dollar store
Tealite holders Salvation Army Family store
Tealite candles 2.50

Total for 18 tables was under $75! And I had left overs!

Floating Candles as a Centerpiece

by Josie
(Fayette, Missouri)

To make candles float in water, add some plastic wrap in the water. The candles sit on them, but the wrap is clear giving the impression of floting candles. Add glitter for extra sparkle.

The least expensive wedding decor!

by Bonni
(springfield mo USA)

After months of preparation, I had a perfect, gorgeous, and outrageously expensive looking wedding.

Expensive looking are key words here. I spent time every week for 3 months making my own decorations, centerpieces, arch, etc.

I waited until Hobby Lobby had their wedding supplies 1/2 off, which they do often every year. I had signed up for their newsletter, so I knew a week ahead of time when the sale would be, I recommend you do the same. They carry everything! Cake supplies, decor, flowers, tiaras, centerpieces, guest books, you name it!

I also caught their 1/2 off floral sale and got all my flowers that way, the silks are beautiful and you can keep them and give them as favors since they don't die!

I got my tulle and tablecloth during their fabric sale and did the chairs and tables in tulle and silk flowers.

Everyone made a huge deal of how great it all looked and how much it must have cost me. Take a guess at the real cost? Less than $700 for the whole thing. No joke! I don't have any pics scanned, but I'll try to post some later when I can. The arch we used was $10 on sale and I covered it in loosley wrapped tulle and silk flower garland, used glass vases with glass beads, water, and silk flowers as table decor, wrapped silk flower garland around the edges of the fabric I used as table cloth, pinned tulle and large wide ribbon glued into bows on the pews and chairs, made my own bouquets that we all got to keep because they'll never die, got my garters and guest book and so on at Hobby Lobby too.

The only thing I had done professionally was the cake, it was lovely but not very tasty. I made the grooms cake and it was a hit!

I bought my dress during a big sale at David's, and it was the floor model, never order one from them, and never let them do the cleaning or alterations! Read reviews of them online to find out why. I had the dress professionally cleaned and looked perfect, the floor model is always nicer.

I did my own music using a CD and computer to play it, we got it all free online (not illegal downloads) on websites that had some nice songs up for grabs. Long story short DIY for the nicest, least expensive options that will look exactly the way you want them too!

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Wow Bonni!

We want pictures! Your wedding sounds fantastic.

Suz

Cheap but Fabulous: Moneybox solution

by Anastassia Pronsky
(Toronto, Ontario)

Being a wedding photographer and now officially engaged I finally had to literally put myself in the shoes of those poor brides trying to plan their wedidng and not lose an arm and a leg in the meantime! I decided that I can still have my beautiful wedding just as I envisioned it with a little bit of creativity and supplies from arts&crafts store. Here is my freshly baked moneybox solution.

Cheers and happy planning!

Anastassia

Make Your Own Centerpieces

by Olga
(Chicago, IL)

We're going to make our own centerpieces based on movies that we like. It may seem cheesy, but it's a great conversation starter and it'll let our guests know something about us.

Hi Olga

You can have lots of fun using movies for your centerpieces, you could even include a movie quiz for each table to get the conversation started. Nothing like a bit of competition between the tables to get everyone talking!

Good luck with the rest of your wedding plans

Suz