The floating candles I ordered from Illuminations came yesterday, so I decided to put together a mock-up of our centerpieces.
We have approximately 17 tables. The ’sand’ is from the same 40 lbs of concrete mix that I used for the favors. The driftwood is from an eBay auction that I won for $10.50. The 9″ cylinder vases came from Sav-on Crafts and were on sale for $2.49 each. The ball jars I found on the street one day while walking with Mr. Corn in his neighborhood. The candles were $.50 each on sale from Illuminations (thank you Weddingbee for continually keeping me updated on crazy-go-nuts deals!). The water is from my sink 
. The grass is from Nettleton Hollow, $25 for two bunches; and the shells were free from a lamp my mom used to have.
Total cost for 17 centerpieces: $86.33
Total cost each: $5.08
It was never on our radar to have floral centerpieces because we wanted something very New England Coastal… but from what I gather, I think we made out pretty well on the price. And I have every intention of selling the vases on ebay or craigslist when all is said and done, so they may end up costing us even less!
They look absolutely fabulous! LOVE them. 
Wow, that’s amazing, they look awesome!
That is pretty good. Nice
I am normally not a beachy person when it comes to decor, but I LOVE these! I love the variation in height, texture, and color — and it’s not TOO beachy (if that makes sense). And I can’t believe everything came out to only $5.08 per table! Quite impressive.
I actually like the cylinder vase with the grass and shells by itself. I don’t think you need the driftwood or the floating candle at all. The candle jar especially, almost detracts from the simplicity of the cylinder vase. Just my opinion…
i agree with tanya. i feel like a lot of stuff is on the table and i don’t think that’s the idea you want to go for. i do like the grass in the cylinder vase by itself.
Not sure about the flat little round ramikin-like one next to the driftwood, it looks a bit random. But love the rest!
I love the grass & shell combo, but I do agree that the rest may be a bit much. What if you do the floating candle in a shorter container? I think there is a lot of high stuff happening.
Just don’t be a bride who frets when the floating candles get played with (they will) and get extinguished (they will). It’s all part of the guests’ fun.
ditto tanya and angie. The grass-and-shells vase looks fabulous. but the other stuff seems to detract, something about it is off proportionately. i think it would look great to have just the tall vase, maybe w/ some tea lights around that if you want to take up more room on the table.
Very creative. For simplicity’s sake, I might opt to only use the grass/shells vase. I like it quite a bit! Best part is you designed it yourself. Great job.
So nice! If I may make a suggestion, you may want to see what it looks like with the candle jar only 1/2 full. I think it may “step up” the different heights of your centerpiece. (Is this what bloggers mean by ass-vice?)
Hey guys…thanks for the competing centerpiece advice…I think I will try CS’s idea of making the water in the glass lower. My main concern with that is that I don’t want the flame to be too hot for the glass and possibly break it (is that a normal concern? it stems from the directions on the cylinder vases that says to only use a floating candle up near the top.)
I do want to keep the ball jars with the candle, because one of my inspiriations is based on water and glass. Plus, our tables are 10 tops that will only have 8 people so there is enough elbow room for the lobster. If I just have the one cylinder vase it looks a little dinky 
Oh…and that random glass piece at the bottom of the picture is the glass top to the antique ball jar. I most likely will just leave that out because it is….random.
Finally…I hesitate to ask…but what is ass-vice? I have never heard that expression before.
Thanks guys. –Miss Corn
Do you have any of these centerpiece supplies leftover? I’d like to recreate these. I’d be very interested in buying whatever leftovers you have!
Mrs. Corn, Newport, RI
Age and Occupation in '07: 31, HR for public accounting firm
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Consultant for public accounting firm
Engagement Date: October 7, 2006
Wedding Date: September, 2007
Blogging Since: June 1, 2007
Venue: North Lawn of Fort Adams State Park
About Me: I am a lazy scrapbooker who loves the instant gratification of making cards and I am very easily distracted by all things shiny. In honor of my childhood nights spent hibachi BBQing on the beach with my family, we are hosting a traditional New England Clambake for our reception.
Oh, wow. This is really beautiful. No offense to flower centerpieces, but I love how interesting and atmospheric this is… Terrific job!