Wedding Reception Table Decorations

Flowers make traditional and beautiful wedding reception table decorations but other things can be used (see below).

When selecting the materials for your wedding table centerpiece consider the type of theme that you have chosen as well as the food that will be served, the china that is to be used, the color scheme, type of table linen used and the size of the arrangements that you need.

For example the table of a Christmas wedding could be attractively decorated in Christmas colors of red and green with sprigs of holly and berries. The table of a beach wedding where seafood might be served could be decorated with shells and plants that echo the sea and beach.

How to choose your wedding table flowers

Image by richpompetti

Select at least two different shapes of flowers or leaves for your wedding table flowers to provide a natural variety or contrast.

Spiky flowers such as stocks, irises and freesias go well with more rounded roses, dahlias, carnations or daffodils.

Tapering foliage harmonises well with bushy branches.

You could use more unusual items which will be noticed more easily and this could possibly be a conversation stater amongst you guests: the use of rosehips are more unusual than roses, hosta flowers are not seen as often in arrangements as their leaves.

Try to avoid using any overpowering scents these could be too strong for meal times.

The colors that you select should tone in with the room decor, the china and linens used.

You don't have to pick out the obvious, main color in patterned china. Instead, select a secondary color or a minor color and choose your wedding reception flowers accordingly.

Your wedding flower arrangements should have more than one color as one color can look flat and uninteresting. It is important to have a main color accent rather than having it equalled by a secondary color.

Wedding Table Centrepiece Ideas

Don’t feel that you always have to use flowers as your wedding reception table decorations. There are plenty of alternatives when you can’t get any flowers or if you feel like being different.

Here are some picture ideas of wedding reception table decorations:

image by tristanf

image by magw21

image by posixeleni

image by donnai

image by kacyphoto

image by kacyphoto

image by samku

image by RobW

Other Ideas for Wedding Reception Table Decorations

• 1.  Glass baubles such as the ones used for Christmas decorations look wonderful in a large bowl, or scattered across the table. Use colors that suit your wedding theme.
  

• 2.  Pebbles, rocks, pieces of driftwood or even pieces of coal can be very effective. Group pebbles together on trays and in a bowl. Use wood or coal to create a Japanese style arrangement.
  

• 3.  Feathers and feathered creatures such as replica birds, and butterflies are perfect to fill the empty spaces on the table cloth.
  

• 4.  A vase of silk flowers can be as attractive as the real thing. You can also use silk flowers to add color to each individual setting by winding them around napkins, twining them around the stems of the wine glasses, or placed in individual small vases.
  

• 5.  For a “high tech” table setting use shiny objects such as chrome tools, nuts, bolts and screws. Scatter randomly across the table or have them tumble out of glass containers or use them as knife rests. This display would look stunning on glass, Perspex, chrome or metal tables.
  

• 6.  Add sparkle to your wedding table by using plain or colored marbles in glass or china bowls with burning candles nearby.
  

• 7.  Origami can provide interesting and unusual shapes to decorate the table top. Use a small bare branch to hang origami shapes from its twigs with black cotton. This branch can be laid down in the centre of the table or propped in a small dish filled with stones to represent a small tree.
  

• 8.  Create miniature gardens, by using stones, twigs, flowers and mosses. Use different textures, colors and shape to reflect the variety of a real garden. A long rectangular garden could be made to run along the center of the table or make smaller gardens in round or oval shape trays.
  

• 9.  Use grass of different textures and colors to decorate the tables. Simply lay them across the middle of the table or at each place setting. They also look great in vases or bowls or in a series of slim vases which have been grouped together, or standing in a row.
  

• 10.  Use a twiggy branch to make a miniature tree. Hang interesting and appropriate objects from the branches. Things that you can hang are covered chocolates, Easter eggs (if your wedding is close to Easter), small wedding favors, feathered creatures. Make sure that the twig is secured firmly into a steady base.

Try a combination of these different effects for your wedding reception table decorations, placing some in the middle of the table and others at the place settings.