Dinner Table Decor

LANTERNS
I was never obsessed with centerpieces, but I knew from the beginning that I didn't want floral centerpieces due to the cost and the social economical effects. So, I cruised the knot and weddingbee for non floral inspiration and then kept my eye out in the local stores. That's how I came across these lanterns from the Christmas Tree shop, I was just browsing one day they really caught my eye and at $5.99 each I felt the need to move quickly and didn't even get a second opinion before I went ahead and bought them. Sure, I had to visit 4 locations to get enough but hey, that's a small price to pay for a bargain like this. I bought the lanterns in April, and I got the idea for the wooden pedestal from the knot's NetterB and set my dad to the task of finding a perfect tree for the job. The tea light holders and votive holders were another Christmas Tree bargin at 30 cents apiece on clearance. I also got the candles there on clearance. Cheap, cheap, cheap! Of course, now I have a boatload of lanterns to try and sell. :)


TABLE RUNNERS
The rental company we used only offered white table linens which we were not crazy about, but we couldn't afford to get linen rentals from another company. I had thought, I could buy material and make runners myself but due to the cost of the material and the fact that I ended up having someone sew them for me, the runners turned out to be the most expensive and disappointing wedding decision I made. When it was all said and done, the runners cost more than $500 and although I loved the colors and patterns and what they added to the tables, they didn't cover as much of the table as I had hoped and were so much more expensive then I had estimated. I'm hoping to sell these and recoup at least some of the money.


SWEETHEART TABLE
We didn't have a traditional head table for multiple reasons, the most obvious one being that we only had one attendant each. We toyed with the idea of sitting with our parents because we didn't want to be the center of attention (I know how weird that sounds) but a few days before the wedding we decided that having a table for just the two of us would give us an opportunity to be "alone" during an otherwise very busy day. It was a good decision for us. We had the same lantern set us as other tables and then added a few personal things to the table. The sign was a shower gift from my best friends mother and the bird statues are garden pieces I picked up at Marshall's on clearance. The other thing we displayed on the table was a heart shaped log jesse had given me as a gift many years ago. He was cutting down scrub brush one day and noticed one tree had a distinct heart shape so he carved our initials into the tree and brought it home as a gift. It's lived on our bureau ever since and it was a surprise to Jesse to see it sitting there on our table. It was such a great moment for me to see Jesse recognize it on the table.