Budget a was a big concern when planning our wedding, so we immediately crossed flowers off of the list for centerpiece ideas. While they can be lovely, bouquets can also be expensive. Plus, I wanted something "sparkly" and a bouquet of flowers in a vase just wasn't going to cut it.
We/I spent a long time discussing/researching the different possibilities. We eventually found a set of plain glass cylindrical vases which we could buy in bulk, and that came in assorted sizes. We also ordered enough floating votive candles to float in each one, and estimated how many tiny acrylic gems to buy to sit at the bottom of the vases.
Originally, the idea was to buy flowers in bulk, and submerge them in the vases. The trouble came when I started researching types of flowers, and learned of the risks of certain flowers fading, wilting, or breaking apart. Unfortunately, the flowers that were most suited for this type of display were either expensive or unappealing to me.
To my surprise, I was unable to find many suggestions to use as alternatives to flowers. I did not want a tall clear vase with nothing inside of it, but I also didn't want to risk my centerpieces becoming a faded, jumbled mess. Gel instead of water was an option for suspending gems, but a bit of a hassle for a set up a full 24 hours before the wedding (and possibly an even greater hassle to disassemble).
Then, it hit me! I didn't necessarily need anything inside of the vase, I just wanted something to fill the large visual space. Instead of having floating crystals, gems, or other objects they could be wrapped around the outside!
So I calculated the amount of crystal garland I would need, and I started my search. Note: if you are looking for cheap craft items while DIY-ing a wedding, always check the shipping charges. Every "cheap" craft site I found added an astronomical charge for shipping and handling.
Ultimately, after debating the important factors such as price, and assembly, and risk of looking tacky or gaudy, I came up with the idea to forgo the crystals, and use ribbon instead. We ordered way too much
navy blue, satin ribbon (one of our wedding colors), and tied bows around the middle of each vase. The extra ribbon turned out to be great for creating the table numbers, and for averting a floral disaster 20 minutes before the ceremony (story to be told on a later date)!
We tied the ribbons around the vases well in advance of the wedding, and stored the vases in the boxes they were delivered in. We also filled the smallest vase of each set with enough gems for all 3 vases per table, for easy set up. The only change I would have made would have been to use a dab of glue or even tape to attach the bow to the vase, because they may fall. In every photo of the sweetheart table, the ribbon is at the bottom of the vase. I would also move the "WedPics" cards out of the photo...
