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.

Flickr photo by bloommoon

The Eiffel Tower glass vase is very popular. Similar to the martini glass, it holds few flowers, but looks really class and stands tall. You can get these for $6 a piece at Save-On-Crafts.com. The clear glass Eiffel Tower is the most popular I’ve ever seen, however, I’ve also seen these in frosted white and frosted black. Another way to easily and cheaply change the look of the clear glass? Add colored water.

Flickr photo by dining delight

This type of vase is unusual. I’ve seen it described as a hurricane vase for candles, I’ve also seen them described as trumpet vases, but in my opinion, trumpet vases are taller and thinner. At any rate, the only equivalent I’ve been able to find is clear glass, from OpusGlassVases.com — at $36 for a pair of vases. So, a more rustic arrangement of branches and buds may work accordingly for such an expensive vase.

Flickr photo by FLOWERSONMARS

This type of glass cylinder vase is all the rage right now. It’s wildly popular partly because of how versatile it can be — you can use it simply as a vase, you can decorate inside, you can put the flowers inside. You can even put all manner of colored rocks, shells, marbles, even spray-painted coffee beans (something I saw on Pinterest and thought looked so cool) inside. At wholesaleflowersandsupplies.com, they go for $6.35 a piece.

So, there you have it. These are just four types of tall table vases used for wedding receptions — there are arguably a whole host of other options. What type of vase are you considering for your wedding reception?