34 Affordable Centerpieces for Any Wedding Style (2024)

• Kiara Hanco*ck is a wedding designer, floral designer, day-of coordinator, and the founder of K. Hanco*ck Events based in Seattle, WA.
• Augusta Cole is a wedding planner and the founder of Augusta Cole Weddings & Events based in Charleston, SC.

Use Colorful Taper Candles

The presence of colorful taper candles will bring fun and vibrancy to your wedding design. This modern wedding chose a variety of colors to create a unique look for the reception.

Pick Potted Plants

“One of my favorite ways to decorate is potted plants,” says Cole. “Blooming florals, citrus trees, potted ferns in pretty containers, you truly can keep these and pop them in your garden, pot them at home—you can even donate them to the church or synagogue you were married in for them to plant on the property!” Your selection could include your personal favorites, or perhaps even something that’s prolific within the area. “It’s the gift that keeps on giving.”

Mix It Up

“I love mixing things up at a reception to create visual interest and add texture. It is also a strategy you can use to help bring your floral costs down,” says Hanco*ck. “Instead of having centerpieces at every table, you can have 2-3 designated designs for your reception. For example, some tables can have floral centerpieces, others can have loose greenery on them, while the rest can have sets of bud vases with singles of your favorite blooms and votives.” This vintage-inspired garden wedding in the Bronx incorporated towering vases on some tables and smaller compote arrangements at others, dispersing the florals in a number of ways.

Entertain Beyond the Day

Consider the focal point and pick and choose exactly what you’d want to live longer than the wedding day and become a part of your entertaining arsenal. A great way to do that is with centerpiece vessels. “The more intimate the wedding, the easier it is to do this,” shares Cole. “If you’re doing a table for 50, or even a party for 100, there could be some value in investing in entertaining pieces that you’ll use again at home.” When the party’s over, share the wealth! “Give some of the pieces to your parents or in-laws. You get something really special, and then the investment lives on.”

Let the Family Heirlooms Shine

If sustainability is on your mind, Cole encourages a dialogue with your creative partners early on in the process. One way this could come to life is by using pre-existing family heirlooms as part of the design of the centerpieces. This opens up a layer of affordability by making do with what you already have, and the sentimental value can’t be beat! Showcasing a family collection of silver or other vases adds a touching element and your guests will love the story.

Single-Stem Standouts

Perfect for the minimalist couple, a scattering of vases with single stems can cut down on the cost of flowers significantly. In this instance, choosing more exotic or unique florals that make a big impact just on their own can elevate a reception focused on the details. Each vase essentially becomes a piece of art, like this table at this couple’s destination wedding in Portugal.

Accessorize With Fruit

A design element we hope never goes away, Cole shares that fruit as an added element of color and elegance can make a large impact even for a smaller budget. “Fruit immediately elevates! Cut citrus or bowls of cherries add color, seasonality, personality, without a lot the requirement of a lot of arranging or prepping.”

Use Pampas Grass

Pampas grass is a super popular pick for bohemian weddings and it doesn't come at too high of a cost. Since they take up more space, you can easily fill up tables with this fluffy dried grass.

Find Statement-Making Solo Blooms

A design that highlights a handful of statement-making single blooms within one tablescape will make things more affordable based on the sheer quantity alone. This fall wedding incorporated large dahlias and roses, a true showing of “less is more.” In doing so, it becomes more about the flower having its moment to express itself more than multiple different flowers would do in one singular arrangement.

Pick Out Perfect Pottery

Cole suggests the design idea of beautiful white pottery or ceramics from a local artisan. It’s an element of design that will last long past the big day. “Wherever we can, we’d love to incorporate a ‘second life’ scenario for plants, floral, etc.” That can be an upfront conversation rather than reacting. There are more and more companies coming up with ways to support that—having the actual plan in place that will make that more achievable.

Embrace Pattern Play

Is it possible that the most affordable centerpiece is… possibly no centerpiece? This couple’s lakefront Illinois wedding was heavy on the pattern and light on the centerpieces. The mixture of texture and color that a combination of floral printed napkins and tablecloths bring to the table might eliminate the need for a centerpiece completely, but be full of life and vibrant design. “If you go more heavily patterned on the tablecloth, you could go more simple on the floral,” Cole says. Regardless, “every guest should sit down amongst a similar level of design layering and intrigue.”

Use Candles Only

The dream-like quality of a design featuring only candles of varying shapes and sizes, like this stunning wedding reception in Mallorca, is a design that Cole can absolutely advocate for and embrace fully, no matter the wedding style! “That’s always a great solution; you can even rent racks of votives very inexpensively. If you time the reception right, you can begin just as the light is fading for a major wow factor.”

Put Favors Front and Center

While some couples have more of a penchant for favors than others, incorporating gifts for your guests as part of the focal point of the design is a unique and surprising way to elevate a centerpiece. This summer wedding on the Greek island of Crete featured bottles and jars of local olive oil and salt for guests to use.

Go for Greenery

“Have fun with greenery! It’s gorgeous and you can do that en masse,” says Cole. Greenery on rustic farm tables for a chic barn wedding is undoubtedly lush and full of life while remaining elegant in design and execution. Ask your florist what ‘filler’ greenery can be strung together as a garland, and have tables overflowing with it.

Keep It Loose

Want greenery but prefer a more simplistic look and feel? Scattered pieces of greenery, whether mixed or just one kind, can bring cohesiveness to a tablescape centerpiece. Let the greenery serve as the element that holds the other individual pieces together, perhaps candlesticks or votives, or even other pops of green incorporated throughout the ceremony design.

Lay Down Vines

This Atlanta wedding was inspired by The Secret Garden, incorporating drapey foliage for an elegant, Old World European vision at Swan House. Layered amongst candles and a gorgeous silk runner, smilax stole the show. The waxy, dark green vines take on a life of their own, weaving effortlessly throughout long farm tables as a centerpiece that gives you more bang for your buck. A little smilax goes a long way—a perfect option for when it comes to affordability!

Show Off a Bud Vase Collection

“English floral design is very en vogue right now. Traditional English weddings incorporate florals a little more sparingly, with clusterings of bud vases and the like,” says Cole. With fewer flowers needed, this simple look can translate well for a minimal wedding, true English garden design, and for weddings large and small.

Don’t Forget to Look Up

This classic wedding in Minnesota was light on the table decor and overflowing when it came to elevated—literally—design! Take the design up, if the reception space is conducive to it, and have hanging greenery as the focal point ‘centerpiece.’ It’s unexpected and will cover more ground than keeping track of multiple centerpieces.

Combine Food and Decor

If you are making food the star of the show at your wedding reception, put it on display on your table. At this desert wedding, a family-style gourmet meal and a few unique pieces like pottery and small florals made for a stunning arrangement.

Ground With a Runner

Simplicity in its purest form, if you’re planning for long tables for your guests, a runner can be understated and elegant. Gorgeous silk runners come in a variety of hues and linen or burlap styles can create a neutral base. You can accent with candles or keep it ultra-simple and just opt for the runner as the star of the show.

Display Bowls of Fruit

Even if you utilize this trend as decor only and not for consumption, bowls of fruit as the main centerpiece, accented by votives like this rooftop wedding in San Francisco, can cut down on costs tremendously. “It’s so beautiful and natural; to add fruit to the mix, bowls of lemons or limes, tropical fruit mixed with maidenhair ferns—it’s not DIY, it’s good taste,” says Cole.

Bring the Farm to Table

We know fruit can have its moment in the wedding design, but what about vegetables? Absolutely! A plethora of cabbages or artichokes graced the tables of this wedding in Spain, and for the better. This would be perfect for a rustic, wedding or an intimate wedding in the country highlighting the bounty of harvest and the abundance of your life ahead as a married couple.

Group Small Glass Vases

Choose a statement flower that will really catch the eyes of your guests. Instead of turning them into a large arrangement, keep it simple and arrange a handful of small, inexpensive glass vases—perhaps from your florist or even as rentals—together as a centerpiece. This can be done on round or long tables alike, and keeps things crisp and clean, while still being bold and chic.

Curate Statement Vases

Wow your guests with pieces that make a big statement! Vases in a variety of motifs or designs can serve to carry the load. This wedding in San Francisco boasted large, ornate blue and white ginger jars at the ends of each series of long tables; the remaining centerpiece items were much smaller floral arrangements.

Embrace Baby’s Breath

Baby’s breath certainly has the ability to be the hero of the centerpiece—and keep you way under budget. The inexpensive flower looks best in bunches. A runner made exclusively of baby’s breath eliminates the additional cost of flowers that baby’s breath would historically serve as an accessory for and creates an ethereal, floating garden sense of design. When it comes to this flower, more is more.

Create Palm Leaf Towers

We’ve covered tropical palm leaves as table runners, but the eye-catching fronds are an incredible element of design in vases too! Their height and vibrancy mean you can probably get away with needing less than you think, which saves you money, and also brings the focus solely to the center of the table, where the design is best experienced.

Have Fun With Table Numbers

Table numbers can pull double duty on keeping things organized and easy to find, and can also be a unique alternative to a traditional centerpiece. Let each piece make a statement as the focal point and work backward from there. Even if your table markers aren’t numerical but rather a nod to something special to you as a couple, it’s possible to keep it festive and affordable.

Seasonal Florals

“Seasonality is key when it comes to saving money on your centerpieces. If you use flowers that are in season for your wedding date, you can save big,” says Hanco*ck. “The main reason for that is because you can find them locally. If you're hiring a florist, ask them what flowers will be in season for your big day.”

By choosing what’s in bloom in season, you get to show off the best of the season, and perhaps use the money you’ve saved by shopping seasonally to get more in quantity and quality. “Reach out to or visit your local flower farms and neighborhood wholesalers to understand what they will have available for your wedding,” encourages Hanco*ck.

Arrange Ikebana Florals

The Japanese art of floral arrangement is known as Ikebana. This style is simple, minimalistic, and absolutely exquisite. The florals for this Charleston wedding are artfully arranged in this style and serve as a tasteful elevation of wedding centerpiece design. Your florist will know which blooms will be best utilized for this style of design, where less is definitely more.

To Rent or to Own

Have a serious conversation with your planner or florist to consider what actually makes sense for your design when it comes to renting or purchasing design pieces to own. “It’s all about quantity. Rental can be more affordable in high quantities. There’s a threshold where investing in your own pieces quickly becomes something that’s more palatable in concerns to your budget and design,” says Cole. “If you do have the luxury of having a large wedding, and you do need to rent the majority of pieces, do something special at the head table only!”