Non-Floral Wedding Centerpieces and Decorations

My husband and I were looking for a non-traditional, yet unforgettable centerpiece idea for the tables at our July wedding. We were also looking for ways that we could keep our costs down and therefore we immediately eliminated the idea of using real flowers. The first idea listed is what we used.
Pencil Bouquet Centerpieces
1. We wanted something that would reflect us as a couple. My husband is an accountant and I am a teacher and we thought it would be fun to incorporate pencils into our centerpiece. So, we ordered pencils in our wedding colors (green, pink and ivory) from Oriental Trading. We had them inscribe the pencils with our names and the date of our wedding.
2. Next we searched for the perfect holder for the pencil bouquet. We found small bud vases at Michael's for low cost and purchased them. Bud vases have an interesting shape and are great because they do not take up a lot of room on the table.
3. While at our local craft store, we purchased some light pink ribbon to tie the pencils together. We also purchased gems of green, clear and pink colors.
4. We took 5 pencils and put the bouquet together by tying the pencils together at the bottom with the ribbon. We varied the colors of the pencils using the 3 colors we had to make each bouquet look a little different. We did 2 vases for each table.
5. We filled the vases about 1/3 full of colored gems and then we dropped the bouquet into the vase and spread the pencils apart out the top, like you would do flowers. This created an opening in the middle of the bouquet which we filled with an artificial rose or lily. Anything could be placed in the middle, you could put the holder for the number for the table in the middle and your centerpiece would become functional as well as beautiful.
6. We ordered 1 in candle votive holders from Oriental Trading to add a special touch of elegance and romance to the centerpieces. The votive came with stickers that had our names and wedding date on them. You just peel the sticker off the sheet and attach it to the holder.
7. We bought ivory colored votive from Walmart and put them in the holders. These candles were then placed in the middle of the vases.
8. Finally, we used the green, pink and clear glass gems from Michaels and spread them out amongst the candles and the vases.
This centerpiece is a creative way to show off classic elements of your wedding day. And it will leave your guests talking. Plus it gave each of our guests an added favor to take home and they could pick a pencil from the vase or take a candle.

Fairy Princess Wands
The church where we were married would not allow flowers to be thrown in the church. Since we were having 2 flower girls in our wedding party we came up with something for them to do to mark the entering of the bride. Both of these girls are such princesses that they loved the idea of waving magic princess wands as they came down the aisle before the bride.
1. At Home Depot we purchased a 6 foot dowel. Also get small fishing hooks. These will be what you use to attach fabric to be twirled.
2. Cut the dowel into 3 foot pieces, 1 for each girl to carry.
3. Go to your local craft store and purchase 2-3 inch fabric ribbon in the colors of your choice. We used a green and pink colored fabric as those were our colors. You will also want to purchase fabric glue to adhere the fabric to the dowel.
4. Cut about 2 feet of fabric and lay aside.
5.. Smear the entire surface of the dowel with fabric glue. Be careful to not put too much on as you do not want it to leak through the fabric. Wrap the fabric around the pole from bottom to top. Let dry. We put heavy books on top of the dowel in places to keep the fabric secure to the dowel.
6. Take the fishing hook and secure it to the top of the dowel. Be careful to not cut yourself on the hook. Try to dull the hook before using that the flower girls do not hurt themselves, nothing worse that blood on pretty dresses.
7. Take the 2 feet of fabric and cut it again so that you have 2 even pieces, each 12 inches in length. Attach 1 12 inch length to each fishing hook.
8. Let the girls practice twirling the magic fairy princess wand when you have your rehearsal dinner. If the girls are anything like my nieces were they will fall in love with this fairy princess wand.

These are just 2 ideas for non-floral wedding centerpieces and decorations. I hope that help you or give you some inspiration in your wedding planning!