Where to buy and how to decorate wedding table vases

Tall flower arrangements are a regular obsession for those of us — myself included — who are into weddings. Tall generally is always good — with men, with buildings, with flower arrangements.

Tall isn’t always cheap, though, so how do you get some of those classic looks without totally breaking the bank? My mom often worked with brides’ budgets by agreeing to use vases supplied by the bride, if she could find her perfect vase somewhere for cheaper than my mom could find.

Flickr photo by r0bm867

So, if we wanted to replicate this martini glass look — which is classic, tall and doesn’t require a lot of flowers, bringing down your costs — I would recommend buying from Koyal Wholesale, which has 19.5-inch vases for sale for $27 each if you buy more than 18. I would estimate the average wedding at 200 people, so buying more than 18 will probably not be a problem.

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Wedding in a church gym

Katie and Dustin, a couple whose wedding was photographed by my friend Lori, are a couple of smart cookies. They’re budget conscious — and who isn’t these days? — so both their families pitched in to help make their wedding a spectacular event.

By Lori Anderson Photography

Has your church gym/rec room ever looked like this? Yeah, me neither. Let’s take a closer look at all the details.

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Orchid arrangements at Union Station

I’ve never had the pleasure of decorating a wedding at Union Station, but have always wanted to know what a set up at that gorgeous, iconic train station would look like.

It appears this reception happened at one of the rooms adjacent to the main station lobby (and there are quite a few of them).

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Tons of flowers, even kale, at the Huntington Beach Hyatt

This post starts with photos of the church. I’ve decorated this church dozens of times (I actually grow up in this church).

There was no draping; instead, my brother and his design partner custom made these stands of branches and put sprigs of hydrangeas on top and on the bottom. One arrangement was placed at the opening of each row along the aisle.

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Head table layout and decorations

When I was decorating weddings, my primary concern was — how are the head tables set up? That was my main job, of course, and it mattered because the number of head tables and the amount of time I had to decorate impacted how elaborate the decorations would be. Continue reading