DIY Project: Centerpieces

If there was one advice that I could give brides, it would be to not pay for anything that you can do/make yourself.  Actually, the first thing I would advise is to hire a Day of Coordinator.  The second thing I would advise is to not pay for anything that you can do/make yourself! Which leads me to the first of my DIY series posts.  Hopefully, I can keep these up now that the wedding is over.

Here are some disclaimers before I begin:

First of all, I'm the type of person who likes to DIY.  It's actually enjoyable for me.  But I realize that alot of these projects aren't going to be as fun for everyone. Secondly, not all DIY projects will save you the most money.  There will always be less expensive options for invitations, seating charts, floral, etc.  But for the type things that I wanted, my projects did save me money in the end.   Lastly, uupfront planning is key.  Picture the projects in your head.  Write down the steps you need to do in order to get to the final product and make a list of tools and supplies that you'll need.  I also practiced and went through several trial and error.  I didn't decide to just do these things one day and then have them all turn out perfectly the first time around.

Still interested?  Keep on reading!

Oh wait, I do have another disclaimer =)  For the purposes of these DIY series, I'm going to be using I alot and not WE (as in my groom and I)...because let's face it, the brides usually drive details of the wedding more than the groom.  I will however give my groom alot of credit for allowing me to take on these projects and cluttering up our house.  He is OCD so this is a big deal for him.

My vision for the reception centerpieces was inspired by another bride.  After seeing her wedding pictures on facebook, I knew that I HAD TO HAVE crystal candelabras and roses for the wedding. Unfortunately, all the quotes I received for crystal candelabra rentals or purchases were just too much.  Floral quotes were even more ridiculous.  I had to figure out a way to get what I want without paying too much. 

And here's how I did it...

Candelabras:  

Luckily, another friend/bride was getting married and agreed to share the cost of purchasing candelabras.  Her wonderful fiance/now husband did some research and found a local florist that wanted to sell her candelabras to make room for new ones.  There was one down side.  The candelabras she was selling were not crystal...they were silver.  Still, I saw the picture and thought, hey I can work with that! Another tidbit about saving money is that sometimes you have to adjust your vision and know when to stop and take what you can get!  They're still gorgeous though!

This cost us $500 for 12 candelabras.  She used only 10 of them and I used 11.  They came in pieces and I assembled them about a month before the wedding with my sisters (who hated life while we were putting them together but I didn't think it was that bad =) The worst part for me was transporting them to the reception but we were able to drop it off during our final payment meeting so I didn't have to worry about them after that.

Floral Centerpieces:
I needed to make 20 small arrangements in julep cups so that I could place them underneath the candelabras (later on realized I was short two more!  Fast thinking coordinator used the bridesmaids bouquest after the ceremony =).  I also needed four larger arrangements in mercury hurricanes to go on the tables without the candelabras. I planned on making all 24 arrangements with a mixture of hydrangeas and roses.  The julep cups were purchased from the florist that made my bouquets and bouts at $5 each and I purchased mercury hurricanes at Michael's over the holiday at $7 each.

Roses - Initially, I blogged about this crazy idea to make 500 coffee filter roses which would have cost me a mere $20 but a crap load of labor hours!  You can read about it here: http://www.aktionspeakswedding.blogspot.com/2011/02/diy-project-flowers.html .
But time and laziness got the best of me and I quit after making 100 of them (Don't worry, I put the 100 in good use and will write a separate post about what I did with them).  After doing research, I decided to go ahead and buy flowers from Costco and make the arrangements myself.  I called the floral lady at Costco and had her set aside 7 bunches of 24 roses for me which I picked up Thursday afternoon before our Saturday wedding.  Although I asked for very light pink roses, the ones she set aside for me were  darker than what I wanted.  I still bought them though (note tidbit about taking what you can get =). I also saw a couple of very light pink ones on the floor and bought two bunches of those.  In total I spent $119 on roses. 

Hydrangeas - I purchased the bulk 30 stem white hydrangeas from Costco.com.  They were shipped to me early Thursday morning . Once they came in, I took them out of the box, dipped the heads in water for a second and shook off the excess, cut a little off the stem and them put them in buckets with water and flower food (oh what you learn from YouTube!)  To be honest they looked pretty sorry when they arrived but by the time I got back home from my pedi later that afternoon, they all perked up and looked amazing!  The 30 stem hydrangeas cost me $94 including shipping.

All the suplies!

One hydrangea and 4-5 roses went into each julep cup arrangements (excuse the bad lighting!).  I had lightbulb moment to "hoard" crate cup holders from starbucks so I can use them to transport the finished arrangements ::pats self on back::

Two hydrangeas and 5-6 roses went into each mercury hurricane arrangement.  I also put flora lites inside the mercury hurricanes (friend gave them to me)

                                                            Size comparison of the two different arrangements

Thursday evening, my sister and I made all the arrangements before and after dinner.  It took us approximately 2-3 hours to finish. I had way more flowers than I needed so I made two additional arrangements.  One was an all rose arrangement which went on the sweetheart table.  The other one I just left at home. 

Friday morning my groom and I took all the arrangements to the florist making our bouqets and bouttonnieres.  They stored them in their cooler and delivered to the venue on Saturday before they delivered the bouquets and bouttonnieres to the hotel. 

In total, I spent:
Candelabra + tapered candles: $300
Mint Julep Cups: $100
Mercury Hurricanes: $28
Votive Holders + Tea lights: $50?
Roses: $119
Hydrangeas: $94
Deliver: $40 (they only asked for $20 but I gave extra )
Total: $741

I had 20 tables to decorate so breakdown is $37/table.  I definitely think I saved for the type of centerpieces I wanted  =)

OK now the pictures of the centerpieces in action! (excuse the crappy I phone pics )

                                             Mercury hurricane arrangements surrounded by stemmed votives

Candelabra with white tapered candles, mint julep cup arrangements, and votives

                                                             Picture of the room