Centerpieces on a budget
BY TRESA ERICKSON

You've been working on your wedding for months now and it is finally getting down to the wire. Your budget is tight, so live floral arrangements are simply out of the question. Lucky for you, there are hundreds of ideas for inexpensive reception table centerpieces.
Here are some ideas:
• Balloons
• Baskets of artificial flowers
• Birdcages
• Bowls of fruit
• Board games and puzzles (for
children's tables)
• Candles with artificial
greenery
• Cards received prior to the
wedding
• Champagne buckets
• Dishes of personalized chocolates
or other candies
• Fish bowls

• Glass bowls with floating
candles
• Hurricane globes with sand
and seashells
• Old books and maps
• Pens and journals for guests
to write their good wishes
• Picture frames with various
photos of the couple
• Placemats featuring artwork
from the couple
• Potted plants
• Scrapbooks of the couple's
childhoods
• Straw hats
• Wooden hearts and love
poems

To save even more money, you might want to consider having centerpieces that will serve a double purpose. For example, the personalized chocolates could serve as wedding favors, while strawberries dipped in chocolate could work as a pre- or post-dinner treat.