Decorating with flowers only

Margo0321

I don’t have a wedding planner so all the details are on me.  My venue comes with standard decor - white tablecloth, with white overlays, white napkins, and votive candles on top of a mirror for centerpieces.  They provide table numbers in silver frames.  All the chairs are chiavari.  The space is beautiful in and of itself - it is a ballroom with tall ceilings.  Most people who get married there are fairly wealthy, but since we are getting married on a holiday weekend, we get a significant discount, otherwise we couldn’t afford it.  In any case, from photos I’ve seen, people change the tablecloths, add chargers, napkins, overlays, chair sashes, uplights- a million details - and it looks amazing.  It makes me feel like I need to do the same thing.  At the same time, it is stressing me out!  My question is - has anyone else chosen to not worry about that stuff, and leave it to the florist to decorate the tables?  I know it is plain to have all white linens, but do people even notice that kind of thing?

beethery

It sounds perfectly fine to me!

slothiegal

Think about weddings you've been to--can you even pictures the tablecloths?

Don't stress too much and get caught up thinking you need to do all those details/spend all that money--it sounds like the place is lovely as is and will be just fine with flowers  

photokitty

I've been to wedding with white tablecloths and a simple mirror and 3 votives. No flower centerpieces or otherwise. Still had a fabulous time. Did not miss the decor or judge the B&G. Don't stress about it. Spend your money of stuff people will remember - the food and drinks. GL!

climbingsingle

Honestly, I think it will be fine. I barely remember the decor at most of the weddings I've attended. 

southernbelle0915

I've been to a bunch of weddings this summer and I cannot tell you what the decor was at any of them (except one because it was totally over the top). 

Decor doesn't matter. What DOES matter is if you have good food, good drink, good music. Those 3 are the makings of a good time, which is what people will remember.

P.S. I like everything you stated except the mirror. Very 90s. Nix that. 

[Deleted User]

The EMPTY room will look very white and stark, but as soon as your guests arrive in the clothing of various colors, it won't be white anymore.

Oh, and ditto on the mirrors.

Maggie0829

You don't need all that extra stuff to have a beautiful wedding.

If you are going to do flowers consider using some bright, jewel toned colors to add a punch of color.

As for the white linens, I personally like crisp white linen.  I think that they are timeless and a great blank canvas to work off of when it comes to flowers.

Margo0321

Thank you for the feedback - it has freed me in so many ways.  Last weekend I spent hours upon hours agonizing over table linens - trying to match the shade perfectly to this cloudy color I picked out was a nightmare.  The sad part is after all the hours I spent, I never found matching linens and was tired, hungry, and cranky!  LOL.  I feel comfortable not trying to emulate all the overdone decor that dominates the Pinterest boards anymore - pretty, don’t get me wrong - but costly and stressful.  

ohannabelle

I love white on white on white. Flowers will be more than enough. And lucky you- Chiavari chairs!

Jen4948

Your decorations sound lovely.

Nymeru

We had white linens and napkins and used only candles, leaves, and flowers for decorations and it was beautiful.  Simple and not overdone at all.

indianaalum

That's all I did. I had the standard white tablecloths that came with the venue (though, they gave me a choice of colors for napkins).

I had a nice cute lantern and had it surrounded by flowers. It was even cheaper and I felt it was beautiful

emmyg65

White linens are my preference anyway. Classic and elegant! We just added some candles and bright flowers. I'm glad you realized that decorations are really not that important. A Practical Wedding has a wonderful slogan: "People will remember how your wedding felt, not how it looked."

lilacck28

Ditto PP. I PREFER white linens! 

RebeccaB88

Inexpensive brightly colored flowers will be beautiful. If you HAVE to have a bit more color, consider colorful napkins. But really, the flowers will be just fine on their own.

huskypuppy14

Your description of your venue, sounds pretty much exactly like mine. I didn't pay extra for the colored table cloths, or uplifting, or any of that nonsense. No one cares. They care about good food and drink and company. 

Don't do the sashes on the chairs, those are awful. Chiavari chairs are great and beautiful on their own.

allisoneliz

Our wedding was outdoors and DIY so it's a bit different (we didn't need much decor because it was just so naturally beautiful), but our caterer provided white linens and we had plain white chairs. I bought flowers at the grocery store and borrowed vases. Each table got a centerpiece of flowers + a few tealights and I think it was more than enough. I would have liked to have some type of base to put them on - like a mirror as you mentioned.

Your venue sounds like it's already lovely. I really don't think you can go wrong with plain white linens + flowers. Sometimes I find all the extras to be over-the-top. 

(I know mason jars get a lot of hate around here but I wanted to be able to switch out the regular tealights with citronella ones when the flies started coming out. Plus, I think the tiny ones are cute. :-))

ETA: Photo credit: Anne Downton Creative

wrigleyville

I actually feel overwhelmed when there are chair covers, linens in two different colors, flowers, centerpieces, favors, etc. It's too much for my brain to process when I walk into the room.

I really love the look of simple chairs, white linens, a candle or two, and flowers. I think it looks elegant and classy. I wouldn't stress.

theartistformerlyknownas

Even white on white can be gorgeous:

melbenso

We just kept the white linens on the tables. Our venue also provided a basic centerpiece similar to what you have described - taper candle in a hurricane glass holder instead of votives though - we just added a simple ring of flowers around it. Ours were silk flowers because the venue prohibited real flowers if they would come in contact with the linens.

We did get chair covers, but our venue's chairs were black cloth padded chairs. Not something you have to worry about with nice chairs like you have.

I was really pleased with the way it turned out:
Edit: spelling

wrigleyville

Seriously. It just looks so clean and beautiful, and you can go either vintage or modern, depending on the flowers and chairs. White linens and such are so versatile.