Our wedding centerpieces are beautiful, but we just don’t have a need for 21 glass bowls, glass beads, or the floating candles that we have in them. I was thinking of putting a card underneath one chair at every table and towards the end of the reception, whoever has the card under their chair gets to take the centerpiece home with them.
Tags: Anyone, Away, Centerpieces, Ever, given, Reception, their, Wedding
i would sell them on ebay and get some of the money back. people are always looking there to purchase them for their own wedding.
Yes, we did – but we had enough family that they took them home.
Your plan for giving them away is exactly right. Just have the MC announce it towards the end of the dinner program.
My aunt did that. It was kind of awkward. Some chairs were unattended, some people didn’t want them. It was a small mess to be honest. Rather than that, why don’t you just have your bridesmaids, while they are mingling, try to find homes for them? Spread the word quitely that if someone would like to take them home, they may. Or take them all home and try to give them away to your family after if they don’t all leave.
Good luck!
Give them away to aunts or close friends. They might enjoy the centerpieces. We couldn’t give ours away, they belonged to the reception hall.
I’ve never been to a wedding where they weren’t given away. Usually the dj or MC has a game that they play with the guests to determine the winner. otherwise, a card under the seat of the winner is nice too. good luck!
that is a great idea and it would be a neat gift. My brother did this at his wedding, I still have mine. I think it is a great idea and everything doesn’t go in the trash and your guests will have memories that last a life time.
I agree with the last post, just spread the word- some people will be drooling over them while others could care less. I’ve had a few requests for mine, so after asking the bridal party & family, I’ll just let people know they’re available for take-home.
I see this a lot. Just let the people who want them take them, don’t make a big deal about it. Some people won’t want them and some will love them. Also, make sure there is a place for them to empty the water since you have floating candles!
Good luck!
I’m planning on giving a few of mine away.
i’m planning on giving some of mine away – to my grandmas, and to some of my aunts, and anyone who helped throughout the day – with the decorating and stuff…with a thank-you note.
sometimes family and friends want them and take them. yes, i think your idea is just fine.
at swanky charity events it is always done that way. you must have known that.
I think it’s a great idea! We had large mums for our centerpieces and we put a sticker on the bottom of each favor box and whoever got the sticker got to take home the mum, there wasn’t one left, and everyone really got excited about it. My sister kept her centerpieces from her wedding and they took up space sitting in boxes in the basement and then she tried to sell them at a garage sale and it wasn’t worth the hassel, she said she wished she had given hers away. Also, I just think it’s an added special gesture for your guests!
I think there are some factors to consider and I really like the answer from Nicole that’s seen it done.
Are most of your guests local?
What are your centerpieces?
I’m about to travel 8 hrs for my cousin’s wedding. My sister was going to be married 5 hours away and I don’t want to carry a water filled vase in a car for hours. It’s going to spill all over everything and flowers do not travel in cars well. They look horrible when you get there.
Some people have fish as the centerpieces. I don’t want fish. No one in my family wants a fish. So no one at our table would be thrilled to have won it or take it home.
However if your people are local and you are talking about a 30 min car ride home, many would love to take the flowers home. You are right they are going to die soon anyway. I still have like 10 of my vases and each member of my family and bridal party took one home. My mom and MIL greatly enjoyed the flowers around the house the next 2 days while the family was still in town. They had people coming over and the flowers just really looked great.
My church btw had a list of some of the former brides and some items they were selling. You could easily ask the church who may be getting married in the near future and ask if any of them would be interested in buying some glass beads. Or sell them on Ebay/Craig’s List. Just don’t do what many brides do and assume that b/c you only used them once they are still worth 90% of their original value. If you want to sell it, at least go 50%.
yea that sounds like a nice idea or you can give them a firned or someone you know who might be getting married… or even donating them to a reception hall…. or like you said giving them away to your guest would be really nice as well..we are giving all of our flowers to a local hospital and 2 to a nursing home…
good luck and congrats!
Yes we gave ours away. At the end of the night. I like your idea.
We gave ours away. They were just simple tulip bunches, but the vases were going back to the florist so we just had some extra plastic for people to wrap their flowers up to take home. My mom just worked the room and encouraged people to take them if they wanted them as they left.
As other people have pointed out, the problem with the raffle is some winners might not want them.
Another option would be to donate them to the location you’re having your wedding if its a church. Churches always have need for decorations for banquets and receptions so they’d probably be glad to have them.
Would the average person necessarily want one of them sitting on their coffee table at home?
We gave our center pieces to the wedding party and family. They apppreciate them a little more.
That’s a good idea. We are planning on giving our centerpieces to people that volunteered and helped set things up and decorate.
I’ve never been to a wedding where the cp’s weren’t given away. The dj usually announces something and has a little game, but it’s been understood in every wedding I’ve been to. In my case, someone from each table took them home and whatever was left my mom and my aunts took and took all the flowers and laid them on my grandmother’s grave the next day.
it’s common to give the centerpieces to the person at each table whose birthday is closest to your wedding date. either have the DJ announce it after dinner at the reception, or put a card at the center of each table to let the guests know to take the centerpieces home.
Like one of the last posters I have also never been to a wedding that they weren’t given away at the end of the night. Every time we’ve had a game to get the centerpiece and whoever wins it usually just lets the person who wants it the most have it. Games are usually sticker under the chair, youngest, oldest, or the right/left game where you say a story with the words right and left and the person passes a napkin to the right or the left depending on the story the last person holding it wins!
Actually as you talk to people throughout the night just let them know to snag a centerpiece if they want one.
That’s what we did for my sister’s wedding. We had all those bowls with goldfish in them. Not everyone will take one home but this way if someone wants em they can take em.
Good Luck
giving away the centerpieces at the end is a fun way to get everyone involved. What you do is randomly pick a person from each table and right there name on the bottom of the centerpiece then at some point during the reception announce to everyone that the person who’s name is under the centerpiece has won it or w/e
you have an awesome idea. yeah give them away. that’s one less thing you have to have someone take home. have the MC or DJ announce it.
check this out:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cd9lxxuywbE
Yes I did. We had floating candles in silver and glass holders with silk flowers decorating them. I gave them to my mother, MIL, sisters, new sister-in-laws and matron of honor, and daughter in laws
Your idea also sounds good, unless you have specific people in mind to give them to.