To be fair, I knew it was coming some time in the next few months. Ben and I had visited venues over the holidays, crafted our guest list, and knew an approximate range of how many people we could expect to show up. I did not know, however, that post-holiday sales could be so magical for someone planning a non-winter wedding. White string lights at 90% off, sure, but when I found these babies on Bed Bath and Beyond's website....
... I knew we had to make some premature decisions for the sake of a bargain. With my guest attendance range in mind, I did a quick mental calculation: I knew that 22 was a safe maximum number of tables, and at around $5 each with free shipping over $100, I could achieve a pretty striking-but-cost-effective centerpiece plan. [At this point I explained the urgency of the situation to Ben and he agreed that the branches looked cool and I was partially insane, but that it was a good idea to go ahead and buy them.] So, dreaming of twinkling branches under the Abbey's giant ceilings, I did. And then the engagement became an official thing the next day. The things I'll do for a bargain.
A few weeks later, I purchased batteries while they were 50% off at CVS, which brought the total-per-centerpiece to $6.41, and refocused on finding a branch receptacle. I actually had two aunts offer to help me with finding vases, as one had just held a vow renewal and the other works at Libbey Glass and gets a great discount. Because the branches are so tall and needed a good deal of support, I selected a few trial vases from Libbey and had them shipped to me. Ben and I (yes, he did share his opinion on this matter - what a great involved fiance!) decided that a simple 10" cylinder vase would be just right and my aunt generously offered to get them for us! However, the branches also needed a filler for extra support so that they wouldn't tip over the vase. After buying a few little bags of those shiny stones at Michael's (I used a coupon on a $1.50 item, duh) and deciding they didn't have the look I wanted, I searched Pinterest for a more natural-looking alternative and came across green split peas. I bought 1.5 lbs of these at Sprouts from the bulk bins for a whopping total of $1.60 and crossed my fingers.
Et voila!
I love the peas and based on preliminary research, I think I can get the 38ish lbs I need at a much better price in bulk online. But let's just assume I spend $1.60/vase, which brings my total cost-per-centerpiece to $8.00! Seriously. That's pretty darn good compared to even the most simple of centerpieces from a florist.
The great thing about not having a strict dual-color plan for my wedding is that the gold branches - which are a bit more sparkly than I was expecting - still work in my "navy and natural" color palette. They're natural and the green peas are natural and I think with the venue-provided votive candles and navy blue napkins, our tables will look high-impact... but with a low-impact dent on our budget.
One final note: if I told you our budget and what chunk of it the catering consumes, you would probably ask why in the world we're having centerpieces at all. Well, the answer is that it's a relatively small temporary investment that I plan to recoup quickly. I will have these posted on Craigslist before the wedding day even happens; as in, I'm going to try to sell these before we depart for our mini-honeymoon. Based on my extensive knowledge of the Craigslist wedding marketplace (heck yes I looked for a wedding dress there), proper spelling/punctuation, a few pictures, and a fair price should get these off of my hands relatively quickly. They would look wonderful at a winter wedding, too! Anyone know someone who may want to buy them? ;-)
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