Last Minute Wedding Centerpieces

It's June and that means weddings...  A LOT of weddings.

I was in charge of decorations and catering recently for a family member's wedding.  In the beginning we had originally planned on 100 people attending so we made a handful of centerpieces for each table. We placed white lilies tucked in white square boxes with a black ribbon tied around the middle.  Inside we tucked small red flowers and attached one red butterfly.  They were beautiful!

On the night of the rehearsal the bride calculated a final tally for the guest list.  Our total headcount almost doubled and that required a lot more tables.  A LOT! 

I live in a small community and the nearest craft store or Wal-mart is almost an hour away.  We were in a bind and the only stores open were the local Dollar General and Bomgaars.  While the wedding party practiced at the Church, I dashed to the Dollar General to see what I could find to make more centerpieces.

I did have a few leftover ribbons and flowers, but nothing substantial.  What was a girl to do?  Luckily, God was smiling down on me and I was able to scrounge up about 10 more centerpieces.

Here is a list of what I found:

• $1.00 wine goblets
• $1.50 bags of red and black potpourri
• $1.00 small white pillar candles

Here is what I did:

• I overturned the wine glass and hot glued the pillar candle to the base.  This added height and made the candles more secure. 
• Next, I tied a black ribbon around the candle about 3/4 of the way up.  This allowed the new centerpieces to be cohesive with the existing ones we already had made.
• Finally, we added interesting pieces from the potpurri bag around the goblet.  A few candles had roses placed inside the goblet. 

The candles added ambiance and additional soft lighting for the reception.  Everyone commented on their elegance and didn't believe us that we found everything at the Dollar General!  These easy and reusable centerpieces could easily be adapted to fit other themes and colors.

For more frugal wedding ideas, be sure to check out Cents and Sensibilities:  A Frugal Companion For Planning A Wedding.