What to Do With Your Centerpieces After the Reception
You spend a lot of time and money planning the perfect centerpieces for your wedding.
Your guests will enjoy them for the duration of the event, but then what? These are some great ideas for things that you can do with your centerpieces after the reception.
One of the nicest things that you can do is to donate your flowers to a place where they can really brighten someone's day.
These places include hospitals, nursing homes, and senior centers.
Many couples especially like to take their centerpieces to places that have special meaning to their family, such as a retirement home where a grandparent lives or a hospital that once helped an ill family member.
Elderly patients in nursing homes will enjoy hearing about a wedding almost as much as the cheerful flowers themselves; it would be very special if you included a few snapshots of the bride in her pretty gown and bridal jewelry with a brief note about the wedding.
If you are thinking about donating your flowers to a facility, make sure to make advance arrangements.
Some may have limited space, or may not be able to take in certain types of plants.
To make sure that everything goes smoothly, either designate a friend with a large vehicle to deliver the centerpieces, or ask your florist if they will handle it (many will, for a small fee).
Speaking of the florist, if you know that you want to donate your centerpieces after the wedding, be sure that they know this when they are designing the arrangements; you would not want to end up having to purchase fancy vessels that you had planned on only renting! Another very nice idea is to use your centerpieces to honor a loved one who is no longer with you.
Many brides grew up with special grandmothers who have passed on, for example.
If you had a dear Nana, you will surely want to honor her on your wedding day by doing things such as dancing to her wedding song, wearing a piece of her bridal jewelry, or carrying a replica of her bouquet.
You can extend this by taking some of your centerpieces to lay on her final resting place.
Ask the people in charge of the cemetery if they would like the rest of your arrangements to decorate the headstones of those who do not have regular visitors.
Potted plants are affordable and beautiful centerpieces.
They can also be wonderful because they will live on well after your wedding.
The best idea is to choose a plant that will thrive when planted in your region.
What many couples will do is to "raffle" off the centerpieces towards the end of the reception.
Place a number on the bottom of the basket and have a corresponding number on the bottom of one of the coffee cups at the place settings on the table.
The bandleader makes an announcement for each guest to turn over their cup, and whoever has the matching number gets to take home the centerpiece on their table.
Silk flowers are something that some brides choose for their wedding decorations instead of live plants.
These days other non-floral items are also very popular for centerpieces, such as river rocks, painted tree branches, and so on.
If you will be using any of these non-perishable elements for your wedding, rather than discarding them or letting them pile up in your garage after the wedding, sell them off on eBay or Craig's list.
It is a great way to recycle and to recover some of your wedding costs while also helping the next bride to plan her own beautiful wedding.
Your guests will enjoy them for the duration of the event, but then what? These are some great ideas for things that you can do with your centerpieces after the reception.
One of the nicest things that you can do is to donate your flowers to a place where they can really brighten someone's day.
These places include hospitals, nursing homes, and senior centers.
Many couples especially like to take their centerpieces to places that have special meaning to their family, such as a retirement home where a grandparent lives or a hospital that once helped an ill family member.
Elderly patients in nursing homes will enjoy hearing about a wedding almost as much as the cheerful flowers themselves; it would be very special if you included a few snapshots of the bride in her pretty gown and bridal jewelry with a brief note about the wedding.
If you are thinking about donating your flowers to a facility, make sure to make advance arrangements.
Some may have limited space, or may not be able to take in certain types of plants.
To make sure that everything goes smoothly, either designate a friend with a large vehicle to deliver the centerpieces, or ask your florist if they will handle it (many will, for a small fee).
Speaking of the florist, if you know that you want to donate your centerpieces after the wedding, be sure that they know this when they are designing the arrangements; you would not want to end up having to purchase fancy vessels that you had planned on only renting! Another very nice idea is to use your centerpieces to honor a loved one who is no longer with you.
Many brides grew up with special grandmothers who have passed on, for example.
If you had a dear Nana, you will surely want to honor her on your wedding day by doing things such as dancing to her wedding song, wearing a piece of her bridal jewelry, or carrying a replica of her bouquet.
You can extend this by taking some of your centerpieces to lay on her final resting place.
Ask the people in charge of the cemetery if they would like the rest of your arrangements to decorate the headstones of those who do not have regular visitors.
Potted plants are affordable and beautiful centerpieces.
They can also be wonderful because they will live on well after your wedding.
The best idea is to choose a plant that will thrive when planted in your region.
What many couples will do is to "raffle" off the centerpieces towards the end of the reception.
Place a number on the bottom of the basket and have a corresponding number on the bottom of one of the coffee cups at the place settings on the table.
The bandleader makes an announcement for each guest to turn over their cup, and whoever has the matching number gets to take home the centerpiece on their table.
Silk flowers are something that some brides choose for their wedding decorations instead of live plants.
These days other non-floral items are also very popular for centerpieces, such as river rocks, painted tree branches, and so on.
If you will be using any of these non-perishable elements for your wedding, rather than discarding them or letting them pile up in your garage after the wedding, sell them off on eBay or Craig's list.
It is a great way to recycle and to recover some of your wedding costs while also helping the next bride to plan her own beautiful wedding.
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