Weddingbee Blog

I’ve always envisioned the wedding as a candlelit dinner with really minimal floral decorations, but lately I’ve been wavering from that vision just a bit. I don’t suddenly want huge centerpieces, but I am worried that my candle-only approach is going to be boringtown.

A couple weeks ago we went to the wedding superstore, aka the local IKEA, and bought out their whole stash of candles, candle holders and big picture frames (along with a rug or two and a bed frame) to decorate the reception tables. We are going to end up with 16 rectangular tables pushed together to make eight long feasting tables with 18 people per table. That means we need LOTS of things to go on top of them.

We don’t pack light, but we do pack well!

Maybe it was all the hubbub from the possibility of being on TV or maybe it was the countdown letting me know that we are way under two months from the wedding, but suddenly my vision seemed really plain…and I realized I was in desperate need of a plan! Being the internet savvy lady I am, I searched the internets for non-flowery centerpiece options. I stumbled on a the bountiful-candle-laden-with-flowers-and-petals look that Mrs Lemon had at her wedding!

Mrs Lemon’s Wedding! via Weddingbee

So I searched more, since the full-on flowers were likely going to be pricier than I was thinking, and I stumbled on three options all with the more cost effective rose petals!

Lightly Scattered Among Candles Image via the Knot / Photo by Schultz Photography

Petals as the border on a table runner! Image via Wedding By Color / Photo by Erwin Photography

Lushly scattered as a table runner Image via LA Botanicals

We’ll have really long tables, so traditional table runners are kind of out since they’d need to be 20 feet long, and that’s a lot of fabric to iron… So we’re down to lightly scattered, lushly scattered, or no petals at all. Clearly I don’t have the tablecloths we’re renting hanging around the house, so I did the next logical thing: I mocked up some examples in PowerPoint.

The original plan: Just candles and the table names Flatware via Crate and Barrel / Candles via IKEA / Table set by me

Lushly set with red rose petals Flatware via Crate and Barrel / Candles via IKEA / Petals via Pick a Petal

Lushly set with white rose petals Flatware via Crate and Barrel / Candles via IKEA / Petals via Pick a Petal

I really like the red on red because it gives texture and depth to the tables without overwhelming the bright tablecloths… but then I had a friend tell me that was out of the question because the shades of red might clash. So now I’m also considering white, but is it too contrasty? Does it feel a little too much like a Valentine’s Day dance? Then the other thing to consider is the cost—lush flower petals are half the price of the big centerpieces I’m avoiding so that I can make a donation. So now do I just do the lightly scattered petals to get some depth at an even lower price tag? But then at that point, should we even bother with them at all? Who will notice a few scattered red petals against a red tablecloth?

Ahh! Hive, I need some help. We’re 40 days from the wedding and the Baconator is about to be on wedding burnout.