How to Maximize Your Decor without Blowing your Budget with Bloom Culture Flowers

Reception decor can feel daunting when you are planning your own wedding. Couples see the number of tables needed and start to see $$$. Not only are you paying for the venue, the food, the cake, but then there’s the decor! What the H are we going to put on the tables? 

With Bloom Culture we not only help you DIY your flowers, we help you figure out where those flowers are going to go and how far we can stretch your budget. 

Here’s the number 1 design rule that will keep your wedding decor costs down while still creating a beautiful reception that meets your Pinterest-board vision!

Meet, the Rule of 3s. 

At Bloom Culture we always break down the reception table decor into three categories or three “table styles”, if that makes more sense to you. The idea here is that you don’t need a flower arrangement on EVERY table to create a beautiful look. Let me explain with some examples. 

Table Style 1:
Candle trio with hand placed greenery at the base.

• Votives and Candles go a long way, you can fill in the table with candles (use LED if your venue does not allow flame). 

• You can collect these in the months before your wedding and they add a great atmosphere. Pillar candles, votive candles, floating candles. 

• Hand-placed greenery can go a long way and is very affordable! You don’t always need thick elaborate garlands of eucalyptus!

Table Style 2:
Groupings of bud vases mixed with votive candles 

• Bud vases, where you place a few individual stems of flowers in little bottles, are an affordable way to make an impact. I suggest using various heights in a small grouping, or a couple of bottles every few feet if you’re working with a long table.

• You could also use decor that may come with the venue, some venues have decor that you can use like lanterns or candles. Use every bit of those and we can help you personalize it with flowers or greenery! 

• Photos, or heirlooms like my grandmother's rose glass collection (if you feel comfortable using them as decor). Books that mean something to you or just books in general. I mean if it matters to you as a couple, try to incorporate those types of items into your reception. We had a bride who made sand terrariums with a single cactus or succulent to help supplement her floral decor and it was beautiful! She also used her beautiful pottery collection to add detail, she is one smart cookie. 

Table Style 3:
Floral centerpiece in vase

• This is going to be your most costly option but will make a great impact when scattered across an entire room of tables. 

• Cohesive design, pull it all together, color and decor. 

• The flowers that are in the centerpiece are elements from each of the other tables bringing the look together. 

BONUS: Head Table Decor

Head Table: Reuse your Bridal Party Flowers here

Put your bridal and bridesmaid bouquets here! It’s gorgeous so use your bouquets as statement pieces on your head table! Put the bridal bouquet in the centre, and then your bridesmaid bouquets spaced out on either side. All you need is vases with water in them pre-placed on the table and then you can drop the bouquets in as soon as you’re done with having photos taken! You’ve already spent the money and made them. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve gone back to pick things up from a wedding and the bouquets are just dying on a table. Make them a part of your decor! Win Win.

Use this trick to stretch your decor budget for maximum impact

By just implementing this one design strategy, you can take your wedding decor design to professional levels of pretty! We hope you find these insights helpful in designing your dream day!

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At Bloom Culture we’ll help you make it ALL look pretty, not just the flowers. We specialize in working with DIY brides to remove all of the guess-work; we do the hard part so you can do the fun part. We will help you set a floral budget, determine the best flower varieties to use, and write “flower recipes” that tell you exactly what ingredients you’ll need for every bouquet, centerpiece, boutonniere and more, AND give you video tutorials of how to do it. With all of the prep done, we’ll then set you up to have the flowers delivered direct to your door! (insert slow clap here)