| Unique Centerpiece Ideas? [message #138252] |
Thu, 24 June 2004 14:54  |
 keliving
Messages: 59
Registered: June 2004
Location: Chapel Hill, NC |
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Anyone have any inexpensive, probably non-flower, creative centerpiece ideas they want to share?
I heard of one couple labeling and decorating each table for a different place they'd been together--e.g., the Key West table, the NYC table. I think they even coordinated the favors to the table theme.
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| Re: Unique Centerpiece Ideas? [message #139378] |
Sat, 26 June 2004 22:35  |
Marken
Messages: 5352
Registered: June 2003
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I've seen zen rock gardens used. We used books from our collection and scattered fall leaves. Each table had a different theme. They were super cheap and tons of guests still comment on them almost 2 years later.
[Updated on: Sat, 26 June 2004 22:36]
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| Re: Unique Centerpiece Ideas? [message #150739] |
Mon, 19 July 2004 10:19 |
Anjani
Messages: 2876
Registered: June 2003
Location: Portland, OR |
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I have a degree in English and Topher has a degree in philosophy, so we "named" our tables after our favorite writers/philosophers. I found wonderful quotes that involved marriage, love or friendship from each of the writers/philosophers, and framed it (with 5x7 frames I bought off ebay). People said they really enjoyed going from table to table to read what the other quotes said; it encouraged mingling!
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| Re: Unique Centerpiece Ideas? [message #151443] |
Tue, 20 July 2004 12:34 |
Mimi
Messages: 2419
Registered: June 2003
Location: Landlocked :-( |
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| sarahfitz wrote on Mon, 19 July 2004 22:15 |
...made a candle stick keeping with our industrial theme. We're going to try a few different sizes to get the diameter of the pipe opening just right for the diameter of the candles...the tricky part it seems.
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I want to say there is something that you can put in candlestick holders if they don't hold the candle snugly. Sadly I can't think of what this item might be.
Sometimes your sanity gets in the way of my masterplan.
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| Re: Unique Centerpiece Ideas? [message #151445] |
Tue, 20 July 2004 12:37 |
rainfeather13
Messages: 1036
Registered: February 2004
Location: Nashville, TN |
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there's little blobs of soft, sticky way that you can stick in the bottom of a candleholder to hold a candlestick up if it isn't snug...i got some once at michael's (i think) sorry, this isn't the most helpful post, since i don't know what the things are called, or actually where to get them...but they exist
"If I should ever be in a vegetative state and kept alive on life support, please, for the love of God, don't ever show me in that condition on national television."
-- Kenny's Will
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| Re: Unique Centerpiece Ideas? [message #151733] |
Tue, 20 July 2004 21:43 |
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smatchell
Messages: 1587
Registered: June 2004
Location: PacNW |
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It's called "Stick-Um" and its a little container of REALLY sticky soft wax. It works GREAT and is available at Michael's.
smatchell
smatchell
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| Re: Unique Centerpiece Ideas? [message #164563] |
Mon, 16 August 2004 12:52 |
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Bowls of cherries as centerpieces! People loved 'em (both the idea and actually eating them). We thought of it a week before the wedding...
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| Re: Unique Centerpiece Ideas? [message #177041] |
Thu, 09 September 2004 11:39 |
allygirl
Messages: 402
Registered: January 2004
Location: buffalo |
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we used some of our books - Mr. A and I are both writers and named the tables after the author. Each table had a stack of hardback books and i wrapped them in a thick piece of ribbon that matched the bridesmaids dresses and then wrapped that in a thin piece of rafia and tied it on top. (does that make any sense?). Instead of a table number we used quotes so i went to bed bath and beyond and bought 10 frames (about 10 bucks each) and typed up a quote from the author of the table. For instance their was a JD Salinger table and it said:
Salinger Table
It's just like a girl to go ahead and do that
they wind up saying something amazing
and you go falling head over heels in love with them
(okay that isn't the exact quote but it was something like that from cathcher). So the picture frame with the quote was placed on top of the books so it was higher and easy to read and on either side I had two little candles and i tied rafia around the clear candle holders to match the kind on the books.
i have pictures but i dont' know how to put them up here so if you are interested, i can email them to you or something.
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| Re: Unique Centerpiece Ideas? [message #177289] |
Thu, 09 September 2004 16:07 |
Mickey
Messages: 1294
Registered: August 2004
Location: NYC |
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I actually saw this in a Martha Stewart magazine (not even a wedding mag!) and we're getting married on the beach, so I thought it was cool. My mom, my aunt and I are going to make them. They're large conch shells with flower arrangements in them...
I can't seem to figure out how to post the pics... but they're cool and pretty inexpensive.
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| Re: Unique Centerpiece Ideas? [message #177293] |
Thu, 09 September 2004 16:11 |
Anjani
Messages: 2876
Registered: June 2003
Location: Portland, OR |
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wow, that sounds charming.
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| Re: Unique Centerpiece Ideas? [message #177333] |
Thu, 09 September 2004 17:09 |
yoake
Messages: 120
Registered: June 2004
Location: Ontario, Canada |
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My mom and I raided our house for old smallish planters, tea cups and saucers, vases, bowls, serving dishes, and the like, and we're going to just make up different things for the different tables. I think we're going to have to borrow sutff from people. My only worry with this is that people (for some ridiculous reason) think it's okay to walk away from weddings with a centrepiece souvenir. GAH! I would say something in my speech, but it's not very polite to accuse your guests of being potential thieves...
"Thank you for coming everyone, we're so happy you could share this day with us...and hey, keep your kleptomaniac hands off the centrepieces!"
I can see that going over really well... 
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| Re: Unique Centerpiece Ideas? [message #177339] |
Thu, 09 September 2004 17:15 |
Anjani
Messages: 2876
Registered: June 2003
Location: Portland, OR |
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I would suggest if you don't want to reference it in your speech (though I just came up with an idea below that might work really well in that regard) that you maybe put a nicely worded note on the table or make sure that your friends get the word out, because you're absolutely right, people will walk off with things, thinking they're supposed to. I still remember how my cousin and his wife had to make a TON of phone calls the day after their wedding to get back the hurricane lamp/vases that their florist had LOANED them. People were supposed to take the flowers in the little vase, but not the bigger vase that the little vase was in. I'm not surprised that people were confused, but I really felt bad for my cousin!
Maybe in your speech, you can thank all the people who loaned your their beautiful cups/plates/saucers/whatever to make the place look so pretty and personal, and assure them laughingly, "don't worry, as much as we'd like to keep them, we'll get them all back to you." That way, you're not directly telling people not to steal, but the point gets across!
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| Re: Unique Centerpiece Ideas? [message #194164] |
Wed, 13 October 2004 16:28 |
TDuck
Messages: 1131
Registered: October 2004
Location: New York City |
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I used beautiful silver (stainless steel?) candleabras from Bed, Bath and Beyond ($20.00/each) and 15" ivory candles, rose petals and small votives with rose petals glued around the outside. People were snatching up the votives left and right and we played a game to see who would win the candlabras.
We also named our tables after characters from the renaissance like Joan of Ark and Leonardo Da Vinci. We rented some antique silver picture frames and created these hilarious bios for each.
[Updated on: Tue, 19 October 2004 10:09]
My own approach would be to instruct them to cram it with walnuts, but that's another story.
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| Re: Unique Centerpiece Ideas? [message #195009] |
Thu, 14 October 2004 17:47 |
jenthezero
Messages: 1003
Registered: April 2004
Location: Wheat Ridge, CO |
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Since we're getting married in the mountains, and our reception site has long tables, I'd like to get some long planters and plant mini evergreen trees in them. Then I'd like to add some rocks, and maybe paint a few of them green so they look 'mossy'.
And at the head table...*dinosaurs!* I'm going to get little toy dinosaurs and stick them in our centerpiece.
Whatever works...
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| Re: Unique Centerpiece Ideas? [message #195744] |
Fri, 15 October 2004 16:46 |
Breck
Messages: 935
Registered: June 2003
Location: Breckenridge, Colorado |
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I really wanted every table to look different, so I collected different watering cans in the months before the wedding, and I actually collect watering cans IRL, so it fit. Then I put daisies in them. I had candles surrounding the centerpieces in tiny silver buckets, and candle holders made of branches (a friend made those as a wedding gift) and voila. When we were done decorating, we decided there was a little too much empty space, so a friend went out and bought baking sprinkles (the little candy kind in the shape of hearts, flowers, squares, etc.) and we drizzled those around the centerpieces to match the watering can on that table.
There is a photo on ofoto here. Total cost, probably about $15 per table.
Then, for the table #, I bought a flower punch from a craft store, punched it out, and taped it to one of the branch candle thingies.
There are no absolutes...
I don't read Anonymous posts. Log-In pretty please! 
My blog.
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| Re: Unique Centerpiece Ideas? [message #196031] |
Sat, 16 October 2004 12:48 |
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this isn't totally original but I thought I'd share it since it's cheap and is something you can add to your tables as part of the whole centerpiece package...
anyhow, I'm going to buy these frames and easels at IKEA which are only 1.99 and .99 respectively, then I'm going to paint some of them bright orange, some bright pink (to match with my colors) and put two of them on each table. Each frame will have baby and childhood pics of my fiance and me. Just like the poster above mentioned about having different things on different tables to invite mingling, this can work the same way.
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| Re: Unique Centerpiece Ideas? [message #242174] |
Wed, 29 December 2004 13:19 |
Hurricane
Messages: 1486
Registered: November 2003
Location: The Metroplex |
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Had I known about this website when I was planning, I would have loved to use some of this stuff. Well... maybe not since I had to habve candles, which don't "go" well with paper flowers, but they are way cool nonetheless:
http://www.florabundaus.com/
livejournal ~ flickr ~ wedding
"Back off man, I'm a scientist." -- Dr. Peter Venkman
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| Re: Unique Centerpiece Ideas? [message #242178] |
Wed, 29 December 2004 13:25 |
--
Messages: 731
Registered: October 2004
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I bought a giant peonie on Florabunda after seeing a spread on the elegant bride website of a long table with a whole slew of them. We decided not to go with them, b/c our tables are circular, but I think it would look great on a long rectangular table--- just a word of caution (aside from avoiding candles): the shipping charges are very large. So if you buy, figure the shipping into the cost and see if it's still worth it.
(Also FYI flowers are made in china, for those that are trying to track the source of their purchases.)
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| Re: Unique Centerpiece Ideas? [message #243563] |
Fri, 31 December 2004 22:33 |
dknylic
Messages: 1278
Registered: November 2003
Location: nyc |
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And here's a bit of weirdness re: Florabunda... I ordered samples b/c I thought the giant peonies would be perfect for my tables, and mixed in with the flowers was the most humongous, gigundus, disgusting cockroach I've ever seen. Must've come all the way from China, or Florida, or somewhere. I mean, we've got some big bugs here in NY but I've never seen anything like this. I screamed like a maniac when it popped out of the box. (shudder)
thoughts on food, writing, and everything else: words to eat by
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| Re: Unique Centerpiece Ideas? [message #243875] |
Sun, 02 January 2005 09:37 |
Sheelanagig
Messages: 468
Registered: February 2004
Location: Southern California |
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Now *that's* a unique centerpiece idea:
Maybe one could do theme tables: scorpions, Madagascar Hissing cockroachs, dung beetles, earwigs, tarantulas...
Maturity is a bitter disappointment for which no remedy exists, unless laughter can be said to remedy anything.
Kurt Vonnegut Jr., Cat's Cradle
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! I do have a few things around my house or my parent's house that I could use but the rest would be thrift store/clearance buys. What do you think? I'm starting not to trust my judgement anymore as I'm really having to examine my wedding expectations based on our budget (but that's another thread which I will definately start once I can straighten it out in my head enough to make some sense! 
).
