Centerpieces- go big or skip?

At work we had a retirement party and I pawned the decorations off on someone else who is really good at that sort of thing. She got skinny glass vases from the dollar store, filled them with curled ribbon in blue and gold, scattered gold wrapped candy on the tables, and did a few other really simple things. The room looked amazing. If I had done decor from the dollar store, it would probably look tacky as hell.

What I'm gettting at is that cheap doesn't necessarily mean tacky--if you want nice centerpieces you just have to be creative. But at the end of the day people will forget what you had at your wedding unless it was really unusual; what matters is how you feel about it.

I have this exact question for the exact reasons you do. Following.

My vases are from Dollar Tree not even gonna lie. I bought that mirror spray paint so they kinda have the mercury glass look. I am DIY-ing flowers so will be able to play around with arrangements once we get bouquets and boutiners done.

Skip.

I am much, much bigger on "hosting" than aesthetics. I don't care much about aesthetics when I attend an event. My best wedding experience was a wedding that had some farmers market flowers in pots on the tables. It worked for the venue, yes, but it wasn't big at all. They had awesome food and drinks. That's what I remember most.

Sometimes less is more. We had dollar tree red vases with a few red roses in each and some candles on the table and that was enough to make it pop. I don't often remember what the centerpieces were unless they bothered me like being too tall and blocking my view.

Skip or outsource if you genuinely don't care and it's not in your budget. Almost nobody will miss them (though a few folks and pros on here will tell you different).

If you want to fill the space for cheap, maybe hit up a good used bookstore for some vintage-y leather hardbacks to stack up, and get $2 ivy seedlings to arrange around them or put in the pottery (doubling as favors)

Or ask around and see what you can borrow. Turns out several family friends have decor from DIY weddings that they're happy to loan, so I'm getting tons of vases, silk greenery wreaths, LED candles and mirror plates for FREE.

I am not spending much on centerpieces as we are spending plenty on the reception, I have cut cost in areas that make since and the centerpieces will be one. My venue has some that they are letting me use and will make a choice as to maybe add a small inexpensive flare.

I'm in a similar spot as you. I don't have much budget left for little things like centerpieces.

Soooo... We are doing very simple centerpieces. Real ceramic vases I picked up second hand from another person's wedding leftovers & putting some fresh flowers in them.

They are not big, not extravagant but they fit the feel of the day and will add a little pop of color to the table without breaking the bank. (I spent $10 each on the vases & will need less than $50 worth of flowers from trader joe's to fill 'em up ).

P.S : No one will judge your centerpieces if they are full from a nice meal & have a drink in their hand.

It is fine either way. If you look at people's rehash after the wedding, "I can't believe I worried so much about those details-- I didn't even notice!" and, now that I type that, I realize, that means 'skip them.' why wase your money even on cheap ones?

I think you can do simple but pretty centerpieces without spending much. Even if you just throw a lantern and some votives on a table, you know?

We are using mason jars with some simple flowers. The mason jars will sit on 2 old books and we are putting a few votives on each table. I have a bunch of old books (and my venue provides some), and my aunt had the mason jars, so all I had/have to buy for our centerpieces were the votives ($4 for 12 at Walmart, or something like that), and the flowers. Nothing big or extravagant - I am going with the whole 'less is more' idea (but our venue has a high ceiling with old wood beams and large stone fireplaces, so I am letting the location be the decor.)

ETA: spelling

We are actually going with a centerpiece that is made up of wood logs and candles with some babies breathe because it is so cheap. If you can cut up the wood and buy really cheap candles you could barely spend anything and have something nice. But I went to a wedding last summer that had no centerpieces or decorations and it was pretty boring looking.

My advice: think of the last 3 weddings you went to. Can you picture the centerpieces? I can't so I will be doing simple centerpieces.

@Desireecox, do you have a photo or details? We had a huge storm take out 32 trees which my family cut into logs so I have approximately 9000 logs free at my disposal!

Can you choose "less expensive" liquor? I really don't think you need the "top shelf"...liquor is liquor and its generous enough.

How many "shuttles" are you having? Another not-necessary thing, most adults are responsible and will wait out their alcohol before driving. Maybe just have 1 shuttle? Instead of "shuttles" ?

As for centerpieces, I would make something cheap, you don't tables with no centerpieces. Pictures of you and your FH with a few candles would suffice I think...

I honestly dont think people will notice. I vaguely remember one centerpiece from the weddings ive been to and it was because i was in the process of planning a wedding myself

I say skip it. The last wedding I went to had nothing but a tea light and fake rose petals. No one noticed. I am doing mine with Hobby lobby hurricane vases. They were 4 dollars each 50% off. Putting a candle in the middle. sand at the bottom from Dollar Tree. and putting shells/starfish around the vase. The total will probably be about $150.00 at the most for 10 tables.

Edit: Bad math

I'm the opposite of Aurelia.......... but I'm not much of a drinker and food is food to me. So setting the mood with aesthetics is super important. HOWEVER...... you're doing it outside and mother nature creates a canvas that can't be beat. And I wholeheartedly agree with AMW that cheap does not mean tacky. A minimum amount of creativity can go a looooong way! Good luck and I'd love to see pics of what you finally decide. Please post again.

I'm in the same boat with judging Popov's more than decor! JSARGE are you just pulling your flowers out of the bouquets and putting in vases to repurpose? I may be able to do that because the otherwise awesome Sam's Club flowers don't let you add piecemeal to the package and the big package is about 3 items short. So if a local florist can't do flowers cheaper I may have to buy the big red package and the small red package and have some random leftover bouquets and corsages.

IMO centerpieces are one of those last minute things you can put off according to budget. Unlike other vendors you can get a florist a month or two before the wedding if its in the budget and if its not DIY. Most of the centerpieces I've seen over the past 3 years (attending about 7 weddings) are 90 percent hydrangeas which are probably the second cheapest flower you can get. 2 hydrangeas in a short vase (no need to over due it on the vase, should literally cost $1 for a vase, dollar tree) surround with tea candles in glasses of varying heights. Boom. shoulding cost most than $10-$15 per table. You can also use you BM bouquets for centerpieces if you have BMs. Most weddings I've attended have a few (2-4) grand centerpieces for picture purposes and the rest are really simple.

Don't discount places with pre-made arrangements such as fiftyflowers. Or your grocery store, or sams club/bjs etc.