Table pieces on a budget ideas please

[ZolaBudd]

Hello, I am now officially mother of the groom and my daughter-in-law to be and I are researching what to put on the table and how to dress the table in a country wedding, but chic but economical kind of way. Can anybody help?

Honestly - spend the money on better food or better quality of wine for the table

What's your budget and what's the colour scheme? We hired decor from the florist who did the bouquets (dried and artificial flowers) so if she's not booked her florist yet it's worth looking for someone who offers packages. It was still a lot of money but was in our budget and looked amazing. We could have hired less (no flower arch e.g.) and paid less so there is flexibility. Hiring is probably cheaper than buying (although if you buy you can sell on) but it's also more sustainable.

This totally depends on your DILTB's tastes (and make sure you're not overstepping!) but what about gauze runners and dinner candles? Then you could have e.g. small vases with either flowers or glass vases with stems of pampas depending on her tastes. This is the sort of thing I had for my barn wedding and I was aiming for chic and elegant rather than rustic.

Sorry about the quality of that image, not sure what happened there, but should still show the idea I mean. Pillar candles/floating candles in hurricane vases are also popular (although not my thing). Also check with the venue if you can have real candles or if they need to be LED for fire safety reasons.

@Beachside82 I know what you're saying but most people have different parts of the budget allocated to different things. It's entirely possible they've allocated more to the food, so are doing the decor on a budget. Also if the wedding is say 100 people, a decor budget won't really make a dent in what it costs to cater well for them. I think table decor is important, you don't have to go mad but you don't want your guests to feel like they're at a canteen.

We had pots of lavender on the table - think they were in metal pots, but you could cover pots with hessian to get a rustic feel - and they can be given away or kept and planted in the garden too.

Which month is the wedding? Hedgerow flowers in jars, or berries if autumn

This kind of thing

I genuinely because that a few pretty supermarket flowers in a vase looks 10x nicer than majority of the DIY crap online.

People will convince you to start spray painting bottles and all sorts of things and it all looks tacky to me. Keep it simple and classy and you can't go wrong.

We bought some small frames from Dunelm and had childhood photos of each of us in the middle of the tables, surrounded by tealights and a couple of snowdrops in a small milk bottle type vase - February wedding

We bought a couple of mixed eucalyptus boxes from Triangle Nurseries and tied small bunches along a rope to make long garlands (seating was on long tables), interspersed with tea light lanterns from IKEA.

We had 3 x potted moth orchids in a circular flat bottmed glass dish (from Dunelm) and hid the pots with moss. Much cheaper than floral arrangements and some guests got to take them home

Think seasonally to save money.

If the venue will allow candles then that looks simple and lovely even on it's own but particularly so interspersed with just a few small vases / jam jars of seasonal (cheap) flowers.

Pots of miniature daffs and primroses, 99p each from my local garden centre in March / April. You'd save on wedding favours too as people could take these home. Or forget-me-nots are very pretty.

Probably illegal but you could cut some weeds from verges or hedgerow, eg Queen Anne's Lane is utterly abundant in May / June where I live. Looks so pretty in jam jars.

Someone else suggested lavender; that's a good one for July / Aug wedding

For an autumn wedding what about stems of wheat and barley (with permission from the farmer) perhaps tied with ribbons to match the bridal colours? You could take this further and have a harvest theme - fruit, nuts etc artfully scattered along autumn coloured table runners.

This ^^

Honestly, no-one will remember the decor, but they will remember if they were too cold/hot, the food was awful and the drinks weren't forthcoming.

The guests comfort is paramount.

You're assuming that the OP is planning to serve naff food and drink. As a guest, yes food and drink are important but if the decor and atmosphere are lovely, that also makes a difference.

If she’s on a budget then money is a consideration .

Sp rather spend it where the guests telly care rather than whether they have a little favour on their placemat, which will likely be left by the majority anyway

I’m not thinking “naff” necessarily!

but I am thinking that money could likely go to a better wine for the table kind of thing

But perhaps the reason she's being economical on the table centres is because she's already splashed out on good, plentiful food and wine.

Or perhaps she doesn't want her wedding breakfast in an empty room with bare tables, with a bunch of flowers from Asda and a frock off ASOS because the only thing that matters to some guests is if there's enough free food and wine

My point is - table decs, the money can be better spent! Unless the op has got the best of absolutely everything!

Budgets don't work like that tho for food and drink. She may have £50 to spend on decs. £50 behind the bar is nothing for 100 guests. The next level up for the bar is probably £500 extra. The next level up for catering is probably £400. But she can't have anything to make the room look nice unless you have an open bar and the top catering option.

Chunky white candles always look lovely you could tie some hessian with lace to look pretty

the idea with the childhood photos above is just gorgeous !!

Pinterest will be your friend for ideas. I’m buying lots from SHEIN and scavenging lots too (pine cones etc)

i suppose unless the op provides more detail - we shall never know! 😂

Thanks, food and stuff like that is all dealt with separately. This is just wanting to make the tables look nice without wasting money.

Not quite sure everybody is having a row about food and drink when I haven’t asked for advice on that! 😂

Love this

Because…Mumsnet. It’s how it always goes (especially re weddings).

We had potted lavender plants, like someone upthread. Looked very pretty against plain white tablecloths (caterer’s bog standard ones!).