Decorations

[kat]

I'm looking for ideas for decorating both church and reception site for a November wedding on a very tight budget. The bridesmaid dresses are eggplant (kind of a purplish maroon) and white.

[Dyonia]

I'm growing topiaries for my August wedding. According to my research, it takes about 3 months after you train the vines on the frame for the topiary to fill out and look good. I found a source for the frames at http://www.wirestore.com/topiary.html

This next link shows you how to make the topiary http://www.rebeccasgarden.com/howto/items/98ivyt01.html

If you've got the time to start the topiaries, its pretty easy going after that. According to my calculations, it should cost me around 10 dollars per topaiary for the tabletop ones (potting soil, pot, plant, frams). I'm making the 8" heart and the ball on stem.

You can add bows to the topairies in your colors. I'm also thinking about inserting small fake roses/rosebuds into them to make them look more festive. Wal-mart has the small rosebuds cheapest of any place I've seen.

I'm probably going to make bigger topiaries for reception site decorations. I think the double and triple ball ones will be about 3- 3.5 feet high. Because those frames are more expensive and I'll need more plants, they'll probably cost about $25 - $30 to make. Its still way less expensive than buying a topiary of that size!

You might want to hit Michaels craft store if you've got one in your area. They have a LOT of books that show you how to make your own decorations. Good luck with your decorations!

[mandg]

I'd searched for ways to cut down my expenses for reception decorations with flowers. My florist (being cost efficient at that) quoted centerpieces at $30+, so I started thinking about making my own centerpieces out of silk flowers. Unfortunately, I
was not going to be able to get in under the $20 I'd hoped for with that idea, or the time involved was too much. So, I started
looking at Pier1Imports. They have some nice floral arrangements sometimes that can be reasonable from $14-19. Sometimes, they even have clearance items that are a great bargain. Another option, and I went this route, was recommended by a friend of mine. He turned me onto this company...www.ltdcommodities.com
I actually ended up finding an awesome 5-pc centerpiece for only $9.95!!!! The only caveat is they only retail business-to-business, so you'll have to find someone to transact on your behalf. Believe me its not hard! The plus side to this
arrangement, aside from the price, is that you don't even pay until after you've recieved the merchandise, so can make sure everything is fine. Be warned however shipping is staggerred and
can take anywhere from 2-4 weeks for all items to be received. So make sure you have plenty of time on your hands.

[mandg]

I'd searched for ways to cut down my expenses for reception decorations with flowers. My florist (being cost efficient at that) quoted centerpieces at $30+, so I started thinking about making my own centerpieces out of silk flowers. Unfortunately, I
was not going to be able to get in under the $20 I'd hoped for with that idea, or the time involved was too much. So, I started
looking at Pier1Imports. They have some nice floral arrangements sometimes that can be reasonable from $14-19. Sometimes, they even have clearance items that are a great bargain. Another option, and I went this route, was recommended by a friend of mine. He turned me onto this company...www.ltdcommodities.com
I actually ended up finding an awesome 5-pc centerpiece for only $9.95!!!! The only caveat is they only retail business-to-business, so you'll have to find someone to transact on your behalf. Believe me its not hard! The plus side to this
arrangement, aside from the price, is that you don't even pay until after you've recieved the merchandise, so can make sure everything is fine. Be warned however shipping is staggerred and
can take anywhere from 2-4 weeks for all items to be received. So make sure you have plenty of time on your hands.

[sboozer]

My colors are the same and I am thinking of using tall green plants (rented) and wrap the bases in dark purple and white tool.