Looking for alternative wedding centerpieces that are budget-friendly without looking “budget”? These are the tried-and-true centerpieces that will keep you on budget, look awesome, and be perfect for your non traditional wedding.
So you are planning your wedding and if you’re anything like me, you’re already cringing at how quickly those dollar signs are adding up. I know how overwhelming the list of all the things you have to rent or buy can be, but there are ways to save!
We are going to take you through some awesome alternatives to the traditional floral centerpieces and give you some killer ideas that will still give you whatever vibe you’re going for. Everything from DIY and non-floral wedding centerpiece ideas to something more simple and straight-forward.
This post is going to go through the best wedding centerpieces you can buy (or make) that will keep you on budget and have your tables looking amazing.
Alternative Wedding Centerpieces
VHS Tapes
You can find VHS tapes everywhere for super cheap: ebay, garage sales, record stores. The nostalgia alone provides the ‘wow’ factor here, which means you really don’t need much else going on!
Ditch the actual tape and just use the covers. You can prop them up using these card holders. I would stay away from the VHS tapes that open like a book as those will be more difficult to prop up. Although, if you’re up for a challenge and a DIY Queen, you could probably do something pretty cool with those too.
If you find a good deal on a whole bunch of VHS tapes, you could really go crazy and have your tables by genre, using a stack of various VHS tapes as the centerpiece. For example: the “Scream Queen” table could be a stack of: Scream, Psycho, Halloween.
I personally wouldn’t even bother altering the VHS covers at all. For sustainability’s sake, you could always donate them back to a local thrift store after your wedding.
Once you decide how your tables will be marked (by movie or by genre), you can then play around with the table assignments for your guests. Ideas include:
- Movie ticket stub for the matching VHS tape. You can print these yourself via a template.
- An object related to that movie (especially good if you’re going the genre route: a knife for the horror table, a teacup for the Disney table, etc.) These could do double-duty as the take-home gifts too.
- An iconic quote/line from the movie
Have fun! This one is perfect for a conversation-starter at each table and is ripe for wedding reception games (trivia, “name that…”, etc!)
Booze
This is the route I chose, and is especially good if you aren’t having a formal cocktail hour before your ceremony. This is probably the most simple wedding centerpieces, but it’s an effective non-floral wedding centerpiece idea that can easily be more dressed up with flowers and fairy lights if you so choose.
You have a couple of options for this one:
- Grab these buckets and some washi tape, fill with ice and pop some beers in there.
- Grab a handle of your alcohol of choice (or, a more budget-friendly option, grab some decanters off ebay and fill accordingly). Arrange shot glasses and tea lights around the bottle. The shot glasses can also be the take-home gift for your guests.
Before you buy anything for this option, please check with your venue first to make sure this is ok with them. They may ask you to purchase the beer/alcohol from them and some venues may not want alcohol hanging out outside the bar.
Potted Plants
For a floral centerpiece or tablescape on a budget, try potted plants! This is another one that can do double-duty as the take-home gift for guests. You can easily find these in various sizes at Lowe’s, Home Depot, Trader Joe’s, and your local gardening store.
There are a variety of options you can choose from that will look great:
- Succulents
- Cacti
- Flowers
Use plant stakes to hang a small garland, table numbers, or guest names!
You can also purchase the flowers and pots separately and just grab a small bag of potting soil for a cheaper and/or more customizable approach.
This is also a great option if you are doing a family-style dinner and need the centerpiece to come apart to make way for the plates of food. Having each flower/plant in individual pots makes it easy to have them initially displayed together and then pulled apart when the food comes.
Records
Another non-floral wedding centerpiece idea that is in the same vein as the VHS tapes is using records.
Records are having a resurgence, so be warned: your favorite album or artist might not be as budget-friendly as you might think. However, you can find $1 records in lots of places (your local record shop, thrift stores, garage sales), so even if you can’t find your fave artist, you could still utilize records for tables by genre or as a simple decorative element.
Utilize plate stands to prop these up. If you’re using them as a decorative piece only, ditch the cover and contract a sign painter or calligraphy artist to write the table numbers directly on the record.
Balloons
Balloons make for great non traditional centerpieces. They’re not just for kids birthdays anymore! Your local Party City will have a wide variety of numbered balloons in a variety of (usually metallic) colors, typically used for New Year’s Eve or birthday parties.
Use these number balloons as your table numbers! It’s a cute, fun way to mark the tables without needing anything else. You can tie the balloons to really anything your heart desires or hide a balloon weight in a vase of flowers. And for the head table, use the emoji ring for a playful touch.
There’s also the balloon-on-a-stick option for something a little smaller and more simple.
Water
Another choice for easy DIY non floral centerpieces is using water. Pick up some flameless floating tealights and some shallow bowls and you have a very simple and beautiful centerpiece.
If you wanted to add a little more pizzaz, you could get some flowers to add in. Also don’t be afraid to check out your local pet store for some aquarium things. You could get inspired and find all sorts of things to add.
The great thing here is all the elements will transport easily and water is free!
Decanters
If you are looking for a way to incorporate flowers into your tables, but need to stay on the cheaper end of the spectrum, look for ways to make a single-stem or small flower arrangement stand out.
You could get a variety of different vintage decanters online or through garage sales or you could opt for something like this online.
Another great option is to save your wine bottles and use those (how very Italian restaurant of you!) as vases.
Whatever you choose, a single flower will a little bit of greenery will look great. You can find some interesting flower options here— many of which would make a great single-stem bouquet. Feathers and dried grasses also make great non-flower options.
Last Thoughts
Some other advice I have to make wedding centerpieces on a budget:
- Check out the holiday sale section of major retailers
- Check out Facebook groups, Reddit, and even Craigslist to see if other Brides might be looking to unload some stuff from their wedding
- Don’t be afraid of your local dollar store
- Books can be another great option for a cheap wedding centerpiece without flowers. Ask your local library when they’re having their book sale to get books for super cheap. Or checkout thriftbooks.
- Fake flowers can be bedazzled with rhinestones to be way more fun. Pair with sequin tablecloths.
So those are my top tips for alternative wedding centerpieces that won’t break the bank but will still look great.