Is the budget for your wedding running out of control? If you want to cut back on some of the spend for your big day but still be original and creative, have a look at the following ideas for cheap wedding centerpieces. Keep in mind the theme and/or color scheme of your wedding and let your imagination run wild.

If the images are clickable, you can check for prices on these wedding centerpiece ideas.

Make the wedding bouquets earn their keep. After the ceremony place them in vases and use them as centerpieces for wedding tables. The chances are nobody will notice and you will have halved your flower budget.

Save some money on floral centerpieces by making them yourself. Keep it simple yet elegant by arranging bright Gerber daisies in clear glass jugs. Be minimalistic combining a few exotic stems stood in glass vases with a base of white stones. Even single flowers at every guest’s place setting along with table confetti would make elegant wedding centerpieces.

Alternatively save yourself a lot of time on the big day by using silk flowers that you can prepare ahead of time. Try your local hobby or craft store to find a large selection you can experiment with before finalizing the arrangement. They will also have cheap vases or ribbon you could use to house the display.

For a simple yet effective display, arrange cheap tea lights in the center of the table and scatter rose petals around them.

An idea to stay away from flowers and keep to a limited budget would be to use fruits stacked in glass vases – either whole dotted with a little greenery or sliced floating in water. Mini sweet bowls containing sweets of the same color as the fruit finishes the display. You could even fill tall glass containers with nuts and a few bright flowers.

For something more informal, shop around for large glass jars or vases to use as inexpensive wedding centerpieces and fill them with jelly babies, M&Ms or other popular sweets. Tart up the container with a silk ribbon.

Photo by roblisameehan.

Glass bowls can be purchased quite cheaply from many places. These can then be filled with rose petals, floating candles or glass stones.

If you are a keen gardener, you could make budget wedding centerpieces from white flower pots filled with ivy and other flowers you have in your garden. Alternatively buy some potted plants from your local garden center or DIY store. Spruce up the pots with spray paints or gold leaf and a ribbon and then plant them in your garden once the wedding is over or encourage guests to take them home.

For an inexpensive candle arrangement, find some square mirrors and place various different sized candles on them. Scatter with glass crystals to finish the deal. Mirrored tiles can be found quite cheaply at home improvement outlets and add a sparkle to the glow of the candles flames. Candles are a great way to enhance the colour scheme of the wedding tables. Use candles in the theme color sitting in low bowls of a contrasting color for an impressive effect.

Have a browse on Ebay for old fashioned kitchen accessories such as tea pots. Fill them with roses in a contrasting color.

Balloon displays are great to add vertical interest to tables and make quite cheap centerpieces. You only need the balloons, a helium tank, some weights and a bit of time to get the arrangements together. Pearlescent balloons are the norm for wedding centerpieces but you can rest easy knowing your theme color will be available. You do not need to stick to the familiar shape either – heart shapes are perfect for weddings. Keep your ribbon lengths different so that the balloons form an attractive display and spice up the weights by using heavy chocolate bars instead of fancy rocks.

For wedding centerpieces on a budget that have that personal touch think about making a photo cube, using pictures of the bride and groom when they were young or the early days of their relationship. You could personalize the cubes even further by including photos of family and friends with the happy couple and place them on the tables where these specific guests are known to be sitting.

Wedding centerpieces do not need as much of the day’s budget allocated to them as you might think. Creativity is the key to a stunning, inexpensive design and you will feel very satisfied when the guests are amazed at your ingenuity.

If you think of traditional wedding centerpieces these days you will no doubt consider floral displays, candle arrangements or perhaps balloon collections. These are extremely popular with brides to be and so here are some great ideas to ensure your wedding reception centerpieces are the talk of your guests.

Floral centerpieces

Floral wedding centerpieces are traditional but need not be run of the mill. Let your imagination run wild and you can create some diverse and stunning displays. The advantages of flowers are that they come in so many colors and styles, you can keep them long stemmed or short and you can even just use the petals. If you are on a budget do not restrict yourself to fresh flowers – consider silk or paper wedding flower centerpieces. These also have the upside of being ready a while before the big day. Whatever color and theme your wedding is following, there will always be flowers to match.

When you have decided on wedding floral centerpieces you need to come up with a design. Will you use them with wire to create fancy shapes such as cones or use a vase? Will the vase be a traditional tall shape or a more modern low cube? You could consider single flowers in tall, thin vases, colorful sprays in small, white watering cans or just use thick string to tie together tight bunches. How about just sprinkling flower petals in shallow bowls of water or around your vase display? Simple, single flower options can be a good choice to keep costs down and can still look stunning when part of an already full table laid with cutlery, crockery and all the other paraphernalia.

Photos by couragextoxlive, cking and Jennifer E Smith.

Plants are also worth considering for a variation on the wedding floral centerpieces theme. Flowering spring bulbs such as daffodils or tulips would be perfect if you are getting married at the right time of year. To improve the look of the pots, why not cover them in tissue paper or paint them, perhaps in metallic colors. Pot plants will be a lot cheaper if you trying to stick to an already overstretched budget.

Candle centerpieces

There is something very romantic about candle wedding centerpieces which is obviously perfect for the celebration of your marriage. They also add a bit of mood lighting to the wedding breakfast. As with floral centerpieces, candles come in all shapes, color and sizes so the arrangements you can create with them are very varied. You can have single candles or work your way up to full candelabras. Tea lights can be used in many different styles of holder offering endless choices for your perusal. The containers you use to hold your candles can give different effects to classic candles – try wine or perfume bottles or single stem vases for something a bit unusual. Consider the color of your candles – pastels offer subtle options or for a more striking wedding centerpiece go for bold colored candles. Do not forget the fire implications if using candles so keep them away from other decorations and keep a spare box of matches on each table in case the flame goes out.

Balloon centerpieces

Wedding table centerpieces made using balloons are a great option for those on a budget. You can get balloons that will look far more classy than those you might find at a childrens party – they are called metallic or pearlised. Choose ones that can be filled with helium gas so they will stay floating over the table and tie them down with pretty ribbons fastened to small weights such as fancy stones. If you aim for three balloons over each table anchored with different lengths of ribbon, the resulting tiered effect will be very attractive.

With the recent explosion in people sharing their photos on the internet, you should not be stuck for inspiration for your wedding centerpieces ideas. Have a look at what other people have used – you are sure to find something to match your style, color and budget.

A wedding out in the countryside leaves long lasting memories of beauty and serenity, even if the planning and buzz are hectic and stressful. Choosing a country house wedding venue for your special day is a wise choice, for many reasons, if you desire an outdoor or countryside wedding.

Many country house venues allow you to perform both religious and civil marriage ceremonies on their grounds. Not only that, but some even have someone on hand who can perform the ceremony for you, meaning that if you’re trying to organize a last minute wedding, you don’t have to stress over finding someone legal to oversee your “I do”s.

Speaking of last minute weddings, country houses are smaller venues, and so they are often available for last minute bookings. There are many of these venues all across the U.S. and Europe, so it’s unlikely that all of them will be booked through every possible date you’ve planned.

Photo by Jody McNary Photography.

Out in the country, you can hold the wedding of your dreams. Your wedding photos will be stunning with the natural backdrops, and afterwards, instead of just traditional activities at your reception, you can start up games of croquet, horseshoes, or badminton out in the grass. Additionally, it will be easier for all of your guests to find parking — or, if the wedding is overseas, to find accommodation.

Country house wedding venues may not have size to their advantage, but that means they do have price on their side. You can slash venue costs dramatically by choosing somewhere smaller to hold the ceremony. And in the beautiful countryside, where the things that don’t matter seem to fade away, do you really need 300 people you never speak to? Chop down your guest list so that you’re only inviting your most beloved family and friends to share the joy with you.

In the process of organizing your wedding, you may find it necessary to think about civil wedding venues. Bearing in mind a few aspects will help you to determine which option is right for you.

In the first instance, it will be necessary to consider whether it is actually possible to hold a wedding at the venue that you desire. If you want the wedding ceremony to take place in a location a little more special or unique than a town hall or county court, you will need to make sure that weddings are allowed there. Licences are required by venues to permit them to carry out weddings so you must ensure they have the relevant authorization in place.

In addition to requiring permission, many civil ceremony wedding venues will be limited to hosting only a specific number of wedding ceremonies per year. Bear this in mind when considering different venues to ensure that the venue will be available on the date of your wedding.

Photo by jurvetson.

The cost of hiring the wedding venue will vary greatly depending on the actual location and whether the ceremony will cause disruption to any existing business that takes place there. You are likely to find that you are able to get a better deal if your wedding date is not within a period traditionally known as a wedding season.

Be aware that there will be certain limits and rules that you will need to abide by in order to use certain locations as a civil wedding venue, so you must ensure that this will not interfere with the wedding. For example, you are unlikely to be able to throw confetti of any kind at a zoo and a marquee will not be able to be erected on a football pitch.