Centrepiece ideas?

Micky15

Hi everyone, I'm stuck between two centrepiece ideas and I was hoping for some opinions or ideas. I didn't want to go with flowers because it's a lot of money for something that dies. Of course flowers are gorgeous, but we're on a tight budget and I have been focusing on centrepieces that don't involve flowers... Our wedding colours (chosen by my fiance) are cream yellow, navy blue and light pink. I think the table cloths and chair covers will be white (rather boring, but budget friendly) and I was hoping the centrepieces would add some much-needed colour. My ideas were a tall (20 inches or so) slender vase filled with coloured water (blue? pink?) with a floating candle on top. I saw a picture of it on this site and loved the look, the simplicity, etc. My other thought centered around paper swans (origami). Swans represent eternal love and devotion and they're something unique. But what do I do with them? My favours are going to be a small box filled with chocolate fudge from my hometown, so I don't need the centrepieces to double as a favour or anything like that. And I can rent vases from the same place as the table cloths so I won't need to find use for them after the wedding. Hopefully you guys have more creative minds than me! (I would definitely not survive as a wedding planner. haha!) Thanks!

mbcdefg

I think the table would look really nice with a favor box at each place setting, and maybe a swan sitting on top of each plate. Can you have colored napkins or chargers? That will add a nice pop of color to the white linens. I think having just one thing in the middle of the table would be fine, if you're having the favor boxes and the swans. I've seen tables loaded down with centerpieces and table runners and colored linens and favors and it just looked like an explosion (plus if you're a guest, it's a pain in the rump to maneuver around all that stuff). My only concern about the vases would be that people might have difficulty seeing around/over them, so I think I'd personally go for something shorter. Maybe a lantern?

najajko

I like the idea of a swan.  If you are using cloth napkins, try folding the napkin into a swan and place it on top of the place setting.  If you like candles for a centerpiece, try colored sand layered in a clear, low bowl or vase with the candles placed in the sand.  then you dont have to find "floating" candles.  tealites or votives will work.Hope this helps!

dsouldiva

I like the swan idea, could you hang them over the tables?I think you would need to display them at height to get the effect you want, or could you make them from waxed paper and float them on different height vases of coloured water? or somehow have them float without getting soggy (possibly an invisible layer of cling film - use ribbon around the top to hide the film on the outside)Or sit them on top of columns, or driftwood branches...Can you tell I love this idea?!

Micky15

Thanks for the advice everyone! I appreciate the help. It's always good to get ideas from others with different perspectives. souldiva - haha! Thanks! I think swans are beautiful and so meaningful. Someone told me once that swans mate for life and they have been known to "die of a broken heart" if its partner is killed. Whether that's true or not, I don't know. But for a wedding, their symbolism is great. hehe! I had thought of somehow floating them on the water, but I wasn't sure what the swans would be made out of. I looked up glass or wooden swans but they're all so big. I'm working on it though. The cling wrap idea is a good one! Either way, it'll be lovely.