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8 do it yourself wedding centerpieces

I love weddings. I love to see the dresses and the flower arrangements and the cake. I have been to enough weddings to know how expensive they can be, and to enough low cost weddings (mine included) to know that you can save money on virtually every aspect of your happy day.

Reception centerpieces can become expensive, so here are a few creative ideas to help save on your special day.



  1. Mason jars are perfect for many uses besides canning. A cool and super cheap idea is to find mason jars in various sizes and wrap the outside with pastel tissue paper, securing with pretty ribbon. Put fresh cut flowers in water, fill the jar halfway with rocks so the flowers stay in place, and you now have an elegant, stunning centerpiece.
  2. Who doesn't like the beach? Bring it to your wedding table by filling various sized glass vases with beach sand and seashells. If you feel adventurous, buy some food coloring and make the sand different colors.

    Go to a home improvement or toy store and purchase play sand to fill tin or plastic sand buckets. Fill each bucket halfway with sand, put a pillar candle in the center surrounded with seashells and a toy shovel. You can also alternate and fill the buckets with floral arrangements in case your kiddies get too adventurous with your sand centerpieces.
  3. I love floating candles. Find some Pyrex or other heat resistant bowls and fill with water. Place floating candles in each bowl and throw in a few gardenia blossoms. Add a few drops of food coloring to each bowl and you now have a gorgeous centerpiece.
  4. Is your cake plate gathering dust like mine? Use it to display candles of various heights. Surround the candles with dried fruit and nuts and some twigs and leaves. This is super cheap, easy and elegant, and you can find all the greenery laying around your yard and your seldom used plate gets a new use.
  5. Wicker baskets are cheap and easy to find. Fill a small lined basket with wildflowers in various colors to match your wedding decor. Attach love poem scrolls to the outside of the basket with pretty ribbon and a dab of hot glue.
  6. Purchase inexpensive picture frames at the thrift store and place baby photos of the bride and groom at each table, surrounded by a tall vase with a single red rose. Every guest gets to see what the happy couple looked like with out hair.
  7. Fill hand painted ceramic flower pots that you designed yourself with potpourri and scatter some around the outer edges of the pot. Then nestle a votive or pillar candle into the potpourri.
  8. Thrift stores, dollar stores, and garage sales are my favorite places to shop. You just can't beat the bargains you find there and they are always the first place I look when I need something for my very own projects. You too will find all the items you need to make your wedding a day to remember if you decide to shop at these bargain places.

Tags: centerpiece, DIY Life, DiyLife, do it yourself, DoItYourself, floating candle, FloatingCandle, food color, FoodColor, mason jar, MasonJar, pillar candle, PillarCandle, sand, seashells, wedding, wedding centerpiece, WeddingCenterpiece

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