Reception decorations are often the third thing that comes to mind after the dress and the flowers.   Decorating your reception location can be a fun experience.   You can  hire a decorator or rental company  to do the work or you can  do the work yourself.   If you plan on having a lot of flowers, make sure you coordinate with your florist.    One of the main things that people think about is the centerpieces. Centerpieces are generally decorations that are placed in the center of a table, and wherever else you want (on food tables, by doorways, on windowsills, etc.). There are so many different types of centerpieces you can do, as well as many components to use. Here are some great ideas:

Buy round fish bowls and fill them halfway with river rocks, marbles, beads, etc. Then top it off with a large pillar candle or a floral arrangement.

Buy various baskets (or other containers such as teapots) from garage sales or discount stores, fill them with flower petals, love notes, pictures, or your favors.

Make topiaries with small terracotta pots, two Styrofoam balls, a wooden rod, and some silk flowers and ivy. You can even paint the pots to coordinate with your theme.

Buy some frames and make a collage of pictures of you two together (or love notes to each other). You can put two or three on a table so guests can see them from any angle.

Buy some shallow bowls (or use plates from your cupboards). Fill them with fruits and/or flowers that coordinate with your wedding colors.

Buy some small vases or glass bowls. You can then buy a lot of flowers and fill the vases to capacity. It will look like a lot of flowers, but is less expensive because of the size.

Instead of having sheet cakes in addition to your wedding cake, have individual round cakes on each table. These can be decorated with flowers or left plain and simple.

Hopefully, you will have gotten some ideas from these- they are all interchangeable and can be made with different items than listed. If you choose to buy centerpieces, you will get out of the work, but it will definitely be more expensive. Many florists can work with you to make your centerpieces, or some craft stores will be able to make centerpieces as long as you buy all the components from their store.

Just have fun, and go with whatever idea you want- there are no bad ideas when it comes to centerpieces, especially if it truly shows off yours and your fiance’s styles and tastes.