I’ve been looking for cute and inexpensive ideas for lighting our reception (besides the recycled paper lamps I want to make). I thought that candles could add a great romantic look, so the search began, and this was what I could find:
Good old paper bags! This one is the least expensive option. Wow! It looks so cute!
{ Image Source Top (Link) – Bottom (Link) }
Cinnamon! Ohh I love cinnamon. I actually always keep a piece in my wallet; it smells sooo nice!! And “Canela” (the Spanish translation) was the first baby name I picked when I was a little girl, so I would love to do this!
{ Image Source Left (Link and DIY tutorial) – Right (link) }
Make your own wax votives? I’m down for that! But will I have enough time to do this? Um – I don’t think so! But maybe you’d like to give it a try 
.
{ Image Source Left (Link and DIY tutorial) – Right (Link) }
What about using rocks? Or just painting fake stone textures? This isn’t one of my favorites, but it was definitely worth the share.
{ Image Source Left (Link) – Right (Link) }
What about pine cones or corn husks to wrap around glass votives? Neat, huh? (Side note: Can you believe that I just NOW learned who Martha is 
? Yup! I found her work only when I started planning our wedding. I remember asking my FMIL who she was because I heard about her a lot. LOL)
{ Image Source Left (Link) – Right (Link and DIY Instructions) }
But then I thought, ‘Hey! Maybe we won’t be allowed to light anything there? It might be a fire danger zone! So, I went back to the paper lantern ideas again .
This tutorial has been seen on lots of blogs and it’s so simple! I love it.
This one comes with REALLY easy instructions found here. How cute would it be to stencil over some of my recycled paper? It looks pretty in my head… LOL.
Okay, so this has NOTHING to do with lights, but I ran into them while looking for luminary ideas.
{ Image Source (Link) }
Last week I started working on a nest made from fresh branches, so now I’m more familiar with the materials, and I already have the idea in my mind to make my own “cute balls”. This is something I’m doing for SURE, once I’m in California. So, as soon as I make them, I’ll post a DIY tutorial to share. Stay tuned!
These are all my random lighting ideas. Want to share yours? If you are having an outdoor reception, how are you planning on bringing light to your party?
We are having an indoor reception with lots of white votives. We’re going for a soft romantic look.
I am in love with the cinamon candles you have!
I love the paper bag idea… so simple, but so pretty! If they won’t let you use candles, I’ve hear that batter powered LED votives (the flickering kind that mimics a flame) look pretty authentic too.
I love the vine balls. I had a few of them for decor. They hung from a ribbon. I hadn’t thought of them for centerpieces but it’s a great idea.
The cinnamon sticks would be so delicious!
My centerpieces were the same as the calla-lilly grapevine centerpieces, I even used the same inspiration photo!
Great ideas here! I do treasure the idea of paper bags. There’s something so pretty about them. When I was a kid, we used to line sidewalks with them and cut designs in them for different holidays (of course, pumpkins for halloween were the easiest)! The recycled paper lanterns are great as well. Now I’m starting to think … this could be bad.
I had an outdoor, daytime wedding, so I didn’t worry about any of this. You’ve got some great ideas, though — I love that second photo.
I like the look of the lines of paper bags…but what a fire hazard! =S
Love the cinnamon candles and the “cute balls”!
love the paper bags and the 2nd pic! actually, they’re all great inspiration pictures!:-)
ive always wondered… doesnt the paper bag have a risk of lighting on fire if its tipped or blown over and the candle flame catches?
Oh, I LOVE the cinnamon-wrapped candles! Gorgeous, warm and cozy.
I really like the cinnamon and the corn husk candle holders! I bet the cinnamon would smell sooo good! I’ve heard of placing candles in a jar filled with coffee beans so the fragrance fills the air. I LOVE the smell of coffee, so that would be perfect!
@Jenniphyr: I know! That’s why I don’t think we’ll go with that!
@jadedragon: I’ve never worked with them, but that’s exactly the reason I’m not going to either, even tho idea luckily the LED idea is the perfect solution for that
@Miss Mouse: uhhh coffee smell!! – that’s just awesome!!
We are doing the paper bags too! We are printing a word from a line of a poem on each bag then lining them up down the aisle. The great thing with paper bags is we can do a test run and it won’t break the bank!
@jadedragon: They usually have sand or something in the bottom so it’s hard to blow them over.
Drooling!
Just FYI you can somewhere, somehow get fire retardent paper bags for just this purpose (the Cancer relays around here use them).
We’re having an a late-afternoon outdoor ceremony and plan on having some form of torches light the way to the reception. They probably won’t be super elegant, but they’ll fit in with our cottage/resort venue and require the least amount of set-up time!
So many great ideas! My sister actually made candleholders like the ones with cinnamon around them for her centerpiece at the holidays last year. They smelled great and were easy to make.
Mrs. Poodle, Santiago, Chile/San Bernardino, CA Age and Occupation: 27, Industrial & Web Designer Fiance's Age and Occupation: 24, Firefighter & Mountain Patrol Engagement Date: February 25, 2009 Wedding Date: January 2010 Venue: Mr. P's Grandparents’ Ranch About Me: I’m a Chilean girl who's crazy about nature and swimming. I enjoy carving, drawing, reading and sewing; I drool over computers, fabric, pretty paper, purple and patterns. To me, chocolate should be one of the seven wonders, right next to lemon pie. I never thought an exchange work experience program was going to change my life forever, but while working in California, I met Mr. Poodle, and ever since my days are better and brighter. We are two goofy souls that, after finding each other, couldn’t help but want to be together forever. It has being a long and sometimes hard road, since we have to deal with such a long distance between us, but we are now facing the last stage of our Fiancé Visa, and soon we will be together. You know the best part? We will be married! So I’ll be blogging from Chile until just a few months before our “green and purple” wedding.
Latest Gallery Pics