Are you not the biggest fan of floral arrangements for your wedding tables? Are you looking for more sustainable options? Are you trying to find creative ways of lowering your budget? As Chicago based wedding planners, we have designed many non-traditional weddings, and have guided many clients towards creative tablescapes. Please know, your tables can be just as beautiful, personal, and decorated without flowers. There really are no limits to what you can use to decorate your tables! If it falls into your design or theme, then use them! That being said, here are a few creative floral alternatives we recommend, and have used with past weddings:

Candles

A simple alternative to flowers are candles. There are many variations with candles. You can have mismatched colorful ones, white ones, tall candles, short candles, candelabras, candles in water, etc. They can be an easy way to add light, height, romance, or color. Note some venues might not allow candles, and many venues will not allow free standing candles due to a potential fire hazard, and wax, so make sure to ask the venue before committing to this idea. You can either “rent” them through a design company, or purchase many for affordable prices.

Gems/Crystals

Gems and crystals can also be wonderful table decor. Are you a more spiritual type and enjoy crystals to bring balance? Are you just super into sparkly things? Crystals/gems add a perfect iridescent shine and texture to any table. They can also be used as escort card alternatives, or guest favors. You can hire a calligrapher to write out your guests’ names on a crystal! You can find some options at a local gem store, use some from your personal collection, or maybe inquire if your design team has some rentals.

Pompoms

Pompoms are perfect for any colorful wedding. Not only do they add a fun texture to your tablescape, but they are super affordable should you desire to outsource these! You can have your decor just be a bouquet of pompoms to be cautious of floral waste, or you can mix them into a floral arrangement to add a whimsical element to your decor. We have also had couples use pompoms as an alternative way to decorate their cakes! They truly are a crafty alternative to wedding florals!

Fruit/Food

A playful way to decorate your tables are with fruit/food. They add so much texture and color that they are sure to be a showstopper. You can easily purchase them at a grocery store, or coordinate with your caterer. Fruit add a fun layer for certain themes. For example, if you are hosting a tropical themed wedding, then laying out tropical fruits as centerpieces add a subtle but affective way of enhancing your decor. You can even use fruit with harder exteriors like citrus fruits to be used as escort cards—you can book a calligrapher to write guests names on them! We also had a couple with a renaissance theme, so we laid out grapes, bread, etc. like a renaissance painting. If you want as well, you can use the food on the table as a subtle way of starting the first course (like a charcuterie board, or guests can collect the bread from the center for bread and butter). At the end of the night, the food can be given to guests to take home (or keep them for yourself and make an amazing fruit salad.)

Toys/Figures

If you and your partner are in love with a brand of toy, action figure, or game, you can easily incorporate them into your tablescapes. Maybe you both really love Funko Pops so you decorate your tables with custom Funkos. Maybe you both really love Dungeons and Dragons, so you decorate the tables with minis and dice. Maybe your wedding is Star Wars themed, so you add Star Wars memorabilia across the tables. If you have multiple interests, you can have different themes for each table—it can also be a unique way of assigning table numbers, and sharing your interests to your guests. If you’re feeling extra playful, you can have little toy’s tied with strings as a combined guest favor and escort card!

Photos/Travel Moments

If you and your partner travel a lot, or take lots of pictures, you can decorate the tables with photos, or personal touches reminiscing your travels. These can be a unique alternative to table numbers, or just a heartfelt way to share you and your partner’s story. You can incorporate them into simple floral bouquets if you still want a little bit of a floral statement, or have photos and maps line the table like a table runner, or have them as escort cards. This alternative is perfect if you are hosting a more rustic wedding, an outdoorsy wedding, or a more intimate family styled wedding. If you want to be extra non-traditional, you can turn it a bit into an interactive experience: have matching images and tells guests to find and mingle with their matching guest, or have a “travel passport” vibe and have guests interact with things around the venue.

Plants as Favors

Yes, we know these are still plants/flowers, BUT you are killing two birds with one stone with this one. This is an option if you still want some sort of plant statement, but might be a bit more cautious with waste. Having plant favors allow you to still decorate your tables, but then each plant gets a new home when guests collect them at the end of the night. Succulents are a great plant as a favor as they are a more simple type of plant for your less “green thumb” friends/family. You can maybe have a cactus, or an aloe plant.

Paper Flowers

If you still want some sort of resemblance to flowers, but want to lower your budget and be considerate of floral waste, why not have an alternative flower—flowers made of paper! Not only will guests be impressed by the folding, but guests can take home a lasting gift as well. We had a past couple order paper flowers folded into lotus flowers. Paired with floating candles, the centerpiece transformed the table into a lotus oasis. If guests wanted, they were then able to take one or two home. You could also have them act as escort cards if you wanted to personalize them for each guest!

Teacups

Having an Alice in Wonderland themed wedding? Then use teacups! Teacups can be a fun, whimsical, and simple way to elevate your tablescape. Stack a few teacups to make a heightened centerpiece, or have a few teapots around the table. You can even have them be part of the guest experience! If you are having your wedding during the day, then you can have real tea ready for serving! Or if you still want it to be a bit boozy, you can have a batched cocktail in the teapots that guests can serve themselves. If you want, you can even make them part of a guest favor. You can thrift a bunch of teacups for your guests, and then guests can take them home after using them!

Books

Not only are books are a creative way to add levels to your table, but if you and your partner love reading, love plays, a certain author, or decide on a theme where novels would be appropriate, then use them as decor! You can easily thrift some for a low price, rent from a company, or use your own personal collection. We had a couple use books as table decor because their theme was “School Drop Out.” We also had a couple use Shakespearean plays as an alternative to table numbers. You can also add anything with your stack of books, to change the mood, vibe, texture, etc.

Ceiling Installations (Or Other Decor)

Lots of couples purchase flowers as some sort of backdrop for the ceremony. If flowers aren’t really your thing, feel free to make something else the “eye catching piece.” You can focus the attention to another part of the venue, like the ceiling! For example, we had some clients order custom parasols for a ceiling statement piece during the ceremony, and it remained a wonderful statement piece for the dance floor! We’ve also had some other clients focus on some colorful streamers over their tables for the reception, and for their karaoke party.

Find a Venue With Plant Life

A simple way to incorporate some plant life or greenery is through the venue. Maybe you love plants, but just don’t have the biggest budget for it. Some venues already have some plant life included as decor with their venue. When searching for your venue, you can create a checklist and search for venues with natural greenery. Finding a venue with some plant life already is an easy way to have it be part of your decor, and save on purchasing.

Flowers with Moss/Chicken Wire

Another super cool and unique table decorator: 3D printed objects! Guests will be amazed at the pieces, and it can be a super effective option that can add pretty much anything to your table. We had some clients use them as an alternative to table numbers. Each table was one of the Chinese Zodiac animals, so guests could find their table by the 3D printed animals sprinkled along the table. You can design almost anything with a 3D printer, and can easily add some nerdy touches, some elegant moments, or playful notes. You could even use them as guest favors or escort cards, as guests will mostly likely want to keep a little 3D wedding keepsake!

DO YOU HAVE A BOLD VISION FOR YOUR WEDDING?

Fierce Productions is a Chicago based event planning company specializing in curating unique, bold, non-traditional weddings and events. Our talented team of professionals can handle all of your event needs including planning and coordination, design and styling, vendor and talent management, fundraising, marketing support and beyond - get in touch to learn more!

Floral Alternatives for Wedding Tablescapes