Non-floral wedding centerpieces
Reception Advice
By
on February 16, 2007
193 Responses
My best friend is an offbeat bride and she's planning an awesome personality-filled offbeat wedding for October.There's a problem though — centerpieces.
We're trying to find something that's DIY, doesn't cost much, and doesn't involve flowers. Yikes.
Any suggestions? —Miranda
Centerpieces are tough. They can end up being a TON of work or more involved and expensive than you expected. That said, cute and funky ideas to adorn your table centers are a click away, if you've got the patience to do exhaustive internet searching. Fortunately, we have gathered some downright fab ideas for you, so rest those little phalanges and browse away!
Any suggestions?! Even though we skipped centerpieces all-together at our wedding, I inhaled dozens of ideas online during the planning process. Here are a few of my favorites:
Stones and Rocks
Easy, natural, cheap. You can go super sparse for a zen setting with just beautiful stones and candles. This is a beautiful ensemble I found over at Wedding Bee, chic and simple!
When combined with other natural elements, as shown here at Kate and Eli's wedding, rocks can make for a nice organic feel to a table.
Photo by Brian Tao
Oonagh and Dylan went centerpiece mad with different styles on different tables! This one is charmingly sweet and simple with their names hand-written on them.
Sticks and Branches
Again: easy, natural, cheap. Bonus points if you make 2D bird-shapes out of felt or add little fake birds (woodland forest theme?)! This particular skull-themed concept is brought to you by Tribe member Shellbelle.
Critters abound in Kimi and Paul's table number centerpieces. These branch-like twiney-vineys definitely have an organic vibe with those faux flowers.
Leaves
Dude, I'm totally sticking with my hippie theme here, aren't I? But check out this simple concept: vase, fall leaves, candles. Tada!
If you're looking for a bit more interest with the leaves, consider pulling them from local trees, framing them on some nice card stock and adhering a label naming what type of tree it dropped from. Guests could also take them home as a souvenir! Great for a fall wedding.
Photo by Brian Tao
Here's another centerpiece from Oonagh and Dylan. This time they combined sticks with paper flowers and cut-out leaves for some origami-esque chic.
Photo by Judy Jakusz
Leaves can be ultra-elegant, like in this simple, harvest-themed table decor. Melissa and Chris lined them alongside wee pumpkins and apples.
Lanterns
Photo by Amber Zagorski
Works best with an Asian theme, natch, but with a little creativity could be applied to almost any theme. Check out these battery-powered options of the paper variety.
Another interesting option would be to do metal and glass lanterns, like the one above from Jen and Mike's Harry Potter-themed wedding. They would be stunning for a nighttime wedding where a little romance is involved. For a homespun country-style wedding vintage lanterns would really set the mood.
Photo by Tao Nguyen
I love this two-sided lantern idea from Gloria and Pete's wedding. It somehow looks totally zen with a little bit of nautical thrown in.
Books
Photo by Jacob Bauch
Dude, I am in love with this concept from Michele and Matt's wedding. This idea is an obvious fit for academic/literary types, but could be extra funny with cheap romance novels and pulp fiction, which you can get for pennies at any second-hand store. Stack 'em and wrap 'em in ribbons — suddenly trashy fiction becomes an entertaining conversation piece. Stick a wedding-branded bookmark in 'em and they're kitchy favors! Like Muglies, only readable.
Photo by Type A Images
This is cheating since I'm pretty sure this is solely a cupcake stand. But does it have to be? I love the creative book stacking and wonky angles. This could become a pretty amazing centerpiece if you had the books for it.
Photo by Becca Scheiblauer
Ribbon-tied books, candies, and candles make for a sweet and stylish centerpiece. Makes me thirsty too. I wonder why.
Medical Glassware
I've never actually seen this done, but the idea of Erlenmeyer flasks or Volumetric flasks is SUPER way cool. Add some colored water and candles on a clean white table cloth and you've got a geeky, colorful, UNIQUE centerpiece!
Some other filling options could include M&Ms or other colored candy, semi-transparent beads, marbles, or dry ice!
Photo by Megan Finley Photography
James & Melissa used glass beads in a medical beaker (with flowers, don't tell anyone) in their scientist-themed centerpiece. You can barely tell it's medical glassware until you look closely. Sneaky and cute!
Records?!
I'm convinced after seeing this shot that more could be done with old vinyl records at weddings. Kate used them as place settings, but it doesn't take too much creativity to imagine how they might be used as the awesome base of a DIY centerpiece. And again: cheap!
Or you could do like Shrie did, and melt them into bowls (see pic) for your centerpieces.
Here are some other non-floral centerpiece inspiration posts and DIY tutorials to peruse:
- Non-floral centerpieces part 2
- Non-floral centerpieces — the interactive edition
- DIY Tri-fold table card centerpieces
- DIY "Did you know" trivia centerpieces
- DIY treasure chest centerpieces
- Marshamallow Peep centerpiece
- Paper lantern inspiration from Luna Bazaar
- Parasols, fans, lanterns, and more inspiration from Jadetime
I'm guessing some of my readers have some amazing ideas — anyone?
About Ariel Meadow Stallings
Author of Offbeat Bride: Creative Alternatives for Independent Brides, Ariel acts as the publisher of all the Offbeat Empire websites. She lives, loves, and dorks out hard in Seattle, WA.
Emily said
so totally not as impressive/original as these, but we have a million old mismatched vases (actually left over from a death in the family). so we're sticking them on tables with short pillar candles in them and tying ribbon around the vases. bootleg, but we think successful.
Rachael said
I've been to a wedding with peaches in vases in the middle of tables, and I'm thinking about doing the same with apples for mine.
Rayann said
Apples sound fun! I want to do vases with lemons & limes…I that it can add some funky fresh scent too =)
Ariel said
Nice, Rachel! Yeah, it seems like all manners of fruit can make great centerpieces — bowls of cherries can be really striking.
Priscilla said
Great ideas! I made decoupage wine bottles for centerpieces for my wedding– just put them on some pretty fabric with candles. I spray-painted the wine bottles and gued on romantic pictures and sometimes quotes. I also used them as favors for important people in the wedding party. They looked really nice.
Melissa said
Can you post a picture of this? I am trying to convince my fiance to do this and I think he is having a hard time picturing it. What kind of candles did you use? (Tea lights, votives, etc.)
Meredith said
Priscilla, I love this idea. I've been wanting to do something fun and creative. Our wedding is in Costa Rica, so I think it would be a great way to incorporate phrases that Costa Ricans say on the wine bottle. Do you have pics you can post?
becky said
what a fantastic idea! i would love to do something like that for my wedding as well!
jamie said
do you have a picture of this?
Christine said
I agree! Fruit and veggies. Very stiking if each table is a single variety with contrasting votive candles tucked in amongst the produce.
Laura said
This would require a lot of photo frames, but I love the idea of a large candle as the centrepiece with 3 or 4 photo frames with different photos of the couple grouped around the candle so that no matter where you're sitting at the table you can see at least one or two pictures. Bonus – this will get your guests to mingle a bit as they check out the different photos at different tables!
cindysue said
love this idea! Thanks!
K said
We did this for a fundraiser a few years ago: make a triangle out of three wooden picture frames. You can tape or use hinges. Print pictures on vellum, and put a candle in the middle of the triangle. The light shines through the vellum, illuminating the pictures. Beautiful! You can get even cheaper and use cardboard picture mats in place of the frames.
Moe said
I'm planning to do something like this…but using wedding photos of all my guests. Making the prints in sepia tone unifies the look and then placing them in various frames found at yard sales and thrift shops.
Maya said
Ahh the non-floral centerpiece: How do I love thee? Here are a few:
-Simple wood/terra cotta containers (can be stained or painted to match palette) filled with wheatgrass or baby tears moss – you can 'nest' candles here or any number of fun creative things.
-Edibles: Coffee beans, and in fact dried beans (lentils are a lovely bright green, for example) of any sort look fab in a clear vase with a candle in the middle and are v. cheap.
You can also go sweet like some of my couples have and do candy (I don't suggest chocolate, it melts and looks a mess in the least bit of heat) such as jelly beans (all kinds of colors) sour balls, peppermints (wintery) or any of the millions of other sorts. You can do lollies/suckers sticking out as non-floral 'flowers" or get really creative with it.
-Interesting found china, wood or silver (eBay, thrift stores, borrow for deals) such as footed bowls look great with floating candles in them. Make sure they are waterproof first!
On the book bit: Bookends or architechtural finials are often really neat and interesting to look at – they can be painted, textured, etc and put flat-side down with candles, maybe some moss and make a great talking peice.
Cheers! Maya
Nani said
My idea for my own wedding, since Henry and I met on flickr, was to print out tiny versions of pictures we took early in our courtship, then pick up a bunch of those photo holders that have clips attached to tall, skinny springs and put those around the room (we're not having a formal sit-down dinner thing).
katie d. said
i am currently conducting a scientific experiment with old jars, potting soil, and seeds. the idea is to figure out what does well and how long it takes and do it for our center pcs. but there is a lot of room for catastrophe, so it might not be worth it if you have a weak heart, or don't have a back up plan for the jars…
Miles Johnson said
We created very simple and inexpensive centerpieces for a budget wedding. Granny Smith apples in a low bowl, a few cybidium orchids on top, and some glycerized birch leaves. The apples were the small, bagged apples you get at the supermarket for $3.99. The most expensive item was the bowl. They looked great and were relatively inexpensive. They could be made by almost anyone with a little time.
J said
I am having a fall wedding as well and will be decorating the buffet tables with long willow withes and scattering leaves.
Do you really need centrepieces? I find they get in the way of people talking across the table. Keeping it low with braches etc creates impact without impasse! And, tree bits are free!
Jezebel said
I've done it! I've found the perfect centerpiece for our Pagan Handfasting.
Start with 4 kinds of 2.5" herb starts. I choose Thyme, curry plant, purple sage, and rosemary. Buy 6" pots from Ikea and plant your herb starts a few weeks before the big day to give them a chance to settle into their new home.
I can stay within my $200 budget for the centerpieces and my friends and family will have something useful to take home instead of a bunch of flowers that will die.
Some girlfriends actually applauded when I told them my idea so this is going to be perfect!
Donna G said
We are using live plants. After the wedding and changing our clothes, the families are planting them at a Habitat for Humanity build site and a senior citizen home's garden. We'll use dyed burlap sacks for pot covers which will become part of the weed barrier around the newly sunk plants.
Katty said
We are getting married this fall in a back yard bbq style wedding. we are placing wooden bird houses on the picnic tables. We picked these up at an unfinished wood store and are now working on decorating them with paint, ribbon, and rhinestones. They look cute and will be useful following the celebration! Yeah for inginuity! Boo for my poor spelling skills!
Cat said
for a gothic or halloween wedding you can get inexpensive cardboard coffins. We will be stacking 3 varied sized coffins on top of eachother, tying with ribbon and placing a few small tealight holder on each level.
On top of those we'll have bat shaped table number cards with photos of the two of us at the age corrosponding with the table number.
trish said
another cute centerpiece i am doing is wineglasses (not expensive kind) and put a small candle in them, or if you are a candle maker you can place a wick and wax directly in them. Tie some ribbon around the glass and hot glue a small silk rose and leaves. place it on on of those small mirror bases at the dollar store and throw some silk rose petals around it. VERY CUTE!
Leann said
Going with the wine glass idea….I have seen people using mixed matched sets of wine glasses and fipping them over. Using the bottom for a candle holder and on the inside cup part, putting flowers or leaves or..whatever!
Donna Johnson said
What did you hot glue the rose and leaves to? Sounds nice.. do you have a picture?
April said
We are doing low 10" bowls with three 3" floating candles in them. Those will sit on black napkins with votives and rose petals around them. Best part is that I found the bowls at a party supply store (to rent) for 1.50 each.
Jennifer said
I did a mardi gras theme for my wedding in Sept. We even rented a Bourbon St. sign, fake jester who was the hit of the party. girls wore dark plum, centerpieces were lightpole candle holders with a street name/landmark of new orleans, played jazz during appetizers, each guest got a mask, beads inside a hurricane glass. Bridesmaids walked in with boas on. Cake was jester like in purple. I explained Mardi gras framed on each table. People had a BALL. And who cares if it wasn't mardi gras season. My gown even had an amethyst overlay!
Phyllis said
For my daughter's June wedding we're using glass cake stands with antique wedding cake toppers collected over the years. We're also using crocheted doilies under the toppers and the florist is providing greenery and floral rings around the base of the cake stands.
Lara said
For my wedding we are going to fill fish bowls with red colored water and lemons. We may or may not float white candles in the bowls.
Shelene said
I'm planning a murder mystery wedding (assuming we don't change plans again!) & I'm playing with the idea of having each table represent a different location (signified with some kind of sign-age): the conservatory; kitchen; garden; etc… and decorate each accordingly. That will give each table a little individuality & might even be a conversation sparker seeing as people will want to check out what the other tables are!
andrea said
I see that lots of people have mentioned fruit, I was also going to use fruit with (mismatched) glass bowls of mine and borrowed from friends, full of character and edible!
Dawn said
These are all excellent ideas!! We are getting married in March! What would you suggest for a theme! I was thinking winter, is that weird for a march wedding??
Dawn said
We were also thinking of doing pastel blue and purple with a white accent! What would you suggest for centerpieces??
brandy said
Our wedding is totally "island style/beachy" theme. It is being catered by a place called rasta tacos, it's a full on red yellow and green taco cart. It was our inspiration for our theme. Anyways, for centerpieces I found galvanized beer buckets, $14 for 5 at corona.com, they will be filled with ice and different kinds of beer (red stripe, corona, pacifico) with ribbon to match our colors tied around the necks of the bottles. For favors, we are placing a bottle opener in each place setting for them to open their beers with!
vicki said
did u putthe fish in the day of your wedding? just wondering,dont want them to go belly up,what kind of flowers float that i could use,any advice??