Looking for (cheap) DIY decor for *these* spaces

redheadbride15

I've posted below pictures of my ceremony and reception locations, respectively. I'm looking for a something that I can DIY that will double as decor for the windowsills in the ceremony space -and- centerpieces for round tables that will fill the reception spaces. (I have someone who can transport them between the spaces during the cocktail hour).

Sorry that the pictures aren't great (phone camera shots), but they give you a sense.
The ceremony space is quite rustic and has raised ceilings with two levels of large windows with deep sills and exposed stone walls.
The reception space has lower ceilings and is slightly more formal but simple. It has cream-colored walls with sage green trim.

My wedding colors are green and ivory with orange accents.

Ideas?

chibiyui

Enh. I mean, you could do whatever with those spaces. I'd say either just candles or maybe succulents and herbs?

futuremartin2015

First of all, your locations are beautiful!

Second of all, do you have a specific style for your wedding? Maybe rustic, or chevron? Just a little more information to help with brainstorming!

Maggie0829

When is your wedding?  What about small potted plants?  Gerbs in the spring/summer.  Or mums in the late spring/fall.  And mix in some candles (tall pillars in glass vases and votives).

If you are having a summer wedding you could do whole limes and oranges in various size vases and then intersperse candles.

Lanterns are another great option and would work no matter when your wedding is.  You could always use orange pillar candles to add in your accent color.

If you are having a fall wedding, pumpkins in various sizes are your friend.  You could also do vases filled with wheat.

redheadbride15

Thanks guys! Yeah, I suppose I didn't give you much information to go on, did I? I've just been brainstorming and finally made it up to the venue to take some photos so I could begin to think about decor.

My wedding is in late May. The location is rural New England. The theme is casual/rustic/country (but I don't like anything too cutesy).

I love the look/feel of natural decor, but my budget doesn't support $$$ for flowers for all those windows and tables. I even looked into some potted bulbs but they'd still cost at least $40 per centerpiece. Maybe other potted plants could be cheaper.

I like the idea of candles for the reception space - I'll probably do pillars on the tables and clusters of votives on accent tables and the windows. The ceremony will be in the late afternoon and those enormous windows bring in TONS of natural light, so candlelight would probably be wasted there.

Denise40

How about something like this? You could use fake flowers.

futuremartin2015

Silk flowers are a good alternative to using real flowers, especially if you like the 'natural' decor. I got my bouquet flowers from afloral.com, but I know there's also silkflowerfactory.com and other sites like them! Look for what you want now, and then order them right after Christmas when there's bound to be a bunch of sales going on.

Here are some things I've found!:

one

two

For this one, you could use limes instead of lemons, with orange flowers.

redheadbride15

Thanks for all the gorgeous ideas! I'll look into silk flowers, probably order a few different types as a trial before getting a big order. They're definitely reasonably priced. I just know I'm really picky - there are some silk flowers that look nice, and others that I don't like at all.

I'm also thinking of using some natural branches with colorful little garlands, like this

Or perhaps just ivy in a terracotta pot (orange & green!), like this

I love the lemon slices in the vases! They're so much fun! But I probably won't do that because I think it would need to be done right before the event to look fresh (and I know I'll be super-busy!) Whole fruits in baskets might work well as accent pieces though. And the lemon/lime slices may just come out as a single centerpiece for my own dining room sometime

futuremartin2015

My MOH got married last year and did the lemon in water thing, and I believe she said they're supposed to last at least 24 hours in the water. We cut lemons the day before, and they still looked fresh for her reception. I'm sure limes would hold up the same way.

I would google it though, people may have different ways of preserving the lemons/limes in water, or other liquids! And of course they'll look good on a dining room table. You could also do a trial run to see how long they last in water!

I agree with the whole fruit, it's not too common, but could look really nice. 

redheadbride15

I may give the lime slices a trial run to see how easy they are to put together and how they hold up. I just don't want to spend hours putting together centerpieces on the day before my wedding! Ideally I'd like something I can do a week or more ahead of time.

I think I'm going to subject my fiancee to a rotating circuit of DIY centerpieces on our dining room table over the next few months. What fun!

ambiguousbride

Home depot has terra cotta pots which are an orangey color for 97 cents. Succulents are cheap and go with your color scheme. Adding an ivory ribbon with a thank you tag would pull all the colors together. You can put the same number of potted plants as there will be guests at each table and they can double as favors too.