How To Decorate A Wedding Table on a Budget: 27 Unique Ideas

Let's be honest: When you were planning your dream wedding, you probably worked with a dream (that is, a less than realistic) budget.

Staying within a budget can be one of the most stressful parts of wedding planning. Luckily, you – yes, you – can have it all. The wedding tablescape of your dreams is possible with your funds! Our guide has everything from budget-friendly centerpiece ideas to affordable wedding centerpieces. Here's how to decorate a wedding table on a budget:

Top Tips to Make Your Wedding Table Look Nice on a Budget

At Ling's Moment, you could say we're experts on all forms of creative table decoration ideas for weddings. So, trust us when we say you don't have to spend a fortune to have elegant and on-theme wedding table decor! These are just a few of our favorite ideas for wedding table decoration ideas on a budget:

Prioritize key elements for wedding table settings

Instead of going full-on Victorian-era maximalist, consider allowing a few key stand-out pieces the center stage. For example, place extremely large or tall vases in the center or use bright, dramatically colored table runners. 

By focusing on a few pieces, you can allocate more of your budget to a few showstoppers and save money overall.

If you're planning a destination wedding, renting items or goods saves you the trouble of traveling with or transporting them.

Allocate a specific budget for table decor

The best way to stick to a budget is to have a concrete one. This may seem obvious, but many people go straight to the 'saving money' part and skip the 'this is what I can afford' part altogether.

Not to worry, there is an easy way to choose a budget for your floral decor. Spend some time with our budget reception guide, complete with a wedding flower budget calculator at the end.

Align your tables with your wedding theme

When in doubt, refer back to your wedding theme. In fact, feel free to let it guide all of your decor choices, from the venue to the floral arrangements!

Here are a few wedding theme ideas to inspire you to create beautiful table decor without breaking the bank:

Classic or timeless

A classic wedding is exactly what it sounds like: The tried and true wedding formula of white florals paired with lush greenery, neutral color palettes, monogrammed linens, and a big white wedding cake. You get the picture.

Timeless table decor can include long, graceful candelabras, dark green vines, simple jars filled with pampas grass, and ample amounts of flowers, preferably classically romantic blooms like roses or peonies. Use gold accents to take the look up a notch.

Modern

If you're hopping on the modern wedding trend, you're in good company, as this is one of the fastest-growing wedding themes.

Modern wedding design is all about finding the middle ground between functionality and innovation. Table decor for a modern wedding includes monochromic color schemes, clean lines, acrylic and glass, votive candles, stationary with simple fonts, a mixture of textures, and a 'less is more' approach to aesthetics.

BEACH OR TROPICAL THEME

If your wedding is beach or island-themed, consider using tropical foliage like palm or monstera leaves, shells, jars of sand, coconut halves, colorful fresh fruits like mango or papaya, and lightweight cotton or linen table runners topped with macrame or wicker placemats.

Rustic, farmhouse, countryside or vineyard

If your wedding falls into the rustic or farmhouse category, and you're searching for budget-friendly centerpiece ideas, you're in luck! One of the primary traits of this decor style is simplicity, so your table decor doesn't need to be over-the-top extravagant. 

Rustic weddings are all about natural and uncomplicated details. Consider adding organic elements like wood, burlap, hemp, dried grass, mason jars, or tealight candles sprinkled with herbs for your rustically romantic table decor.

Vintage

When it comes to vintage, there are so many budget-friendly centerpiece ideas that light up your wedding theme and not your wallet. 

One of those ideas that literally lights up is string lights, which you can wrap around your centerpiece or drape along your wedding table. 

Consider filling antique boxes or crates with faux flowers or using vintage-inspired photo frames to show off some of the couple's happiest moments. Music lovers can use thrifted vinyl records as unique table numbers or signs.

Photo by @maggieportzlinephoto

Choose lifelike faux florals and greenery

One major advantage of using artificial florals and greenery is they tend to be more cost-efficient. Here are a few ways to use faux florals and greenery in your budget-friendly decor:

Affordable and elegant centerpieces

If you don't have the time or bandwidth to DIY on top of the 10 million other things that go into planning your wedding, you're far from alone.

Luckily, Ling's Designer Wedding Table Centerpieces are an elegant yet affordable solution to this issue. Whatever your color palette or theme, we have a Color Collection that fits like a diamond ring!

Overflowing greenery garlands

Ling's faux greenery garlands never wilt or fade and are easy to work into your centerpiece or tabletop. Dressing up any garland with faux flowers or ribbon is easy, but many can stand alone.

For instance, the popular Willow Leaf Garland is elegant and whispy, like the willow tree itself, and can be embellished without overpowering smaller tables. Couples also love Ling's Eucalyptus and Willow Leaf Garland in Beige & White for an instant rustic, whimsical, or fairytale look.

Designer Flower Boxes

Take your wedding table decor to the next level (but leave your budget where it feels safe) with Ling's Designer Flower Boxes.

Each box is a handpicked collection of flowers, greenery, and decor elements that contains everything you need to create beautiful DIY floral arrangements.

The best part? You can choose the most suitable color collection for your theme and budget.   For example, let's say you fall madly in love with Ling's Dark Teal & Burnt Orange Flower Boxes after DIYing your affordable wedding centerpieces. The centerpieces were a breeze, but you don't fancy making the boutonniere,no problem! Check out the full Dark Teal & Burnt Orange Color Collection with premade boutonnieres, corsages, bouquets, and everything you need for your big day.

DIY as much as possible

When looking for affordable do-it-yourself table decorations for a wedding, few things can beat just plain old doing-it-yourself.  

When looking for affordable ways to decorate your wedding table, few things can beat the original budget saver: do-it-yourself.

Here are a few budget-friendly DIY centerpiece ideas:

Simple DIY Floral Vase Centerpieces

Floral centerpieces are one of the best ways to infuse dimension, color, and texture in your wedding table decor when you're on a budget. 

Not only do vases make affordable wedding centerpieces, but you can customize, reuse, and upcycle them in many ways. Even the fanciest vase arrangements that look tricky to achieve are no match for Ling's easy DIY Floral Vase Arrangement tutorial.

Note: While the tutorial uses our Dark Teal & Burnt Orange Collection, you can substitute for your preferred colors.

Dramatic DIY Centerpiece with a Tall Vase

Add some drama to your table- no, not that drama, the good kind. The kind that catches guests' eyes as soon as they walk in. Using Ling's DIY tutorial, you can create a stunning yet inexpensive Centerpiece with a Tall Vase.

DIY ELEGANT CENTERPIECE WITH MARTINI GLASS

How cute are these elegant centerpieces in a martini glass? Easy to dress up or down, perfect for customizing, unique, inexpensive- the list of reasons to love glasses as affordable wedding centerpieces goes on. In Ling's DIY Centerpiece with Martini Glass Tutorial, we show you how to do this easy project in only 5 steps!  

Include creative place cards and signage

Have you ever thought of using signage like place cards, nameplates, or seating charts as part of your tablescape? 

When considering how to decorate your wedding tables on a budget, anything you can invest money in that will serve more than one purpose is worth a look. 

So let your wedding signage go beyond informative; let it complement your table flowers, centerpieces, and other décor elements.

Repurpose and upcycle

One tried and true way to save money on your wedding table decor and save the planet is to repurpose and upcycle items you already own or have access to. 

Consider these easy ways to repurpose your items for your wedding table decor:

BRIDESMAID BOUQUETS AS CENTERPIECES

Consider reusing your bridesmaid bouquets as affordable wedding centerpieces. Upcycling your bridesmaid blooms is simple. If you go this route, consider faux flowers since they're more durable, and you don't need to worry about watering them, which makes bouquets to centerpieces even easier.

One easy way to transform your bridesmaid blooms into on-theme centerpieces is to slide them into and fluff them up with a few larger flowers, filler blooms, and greenery. Another quick and budget-friendly way to upcycle your bridesmaid bouquets is to arrange bouquets and accessories in a simple wooden crate or tray.

Tip: Upcycling anything from the ceremony to the reception requires careful preplanning. Make sure you have a system in place to make the transition smooth.

FLOWER BOXES AS SIGNS OR CENTERPIECES 

If you're using our Designer Flower Boxes, you can actually reuse them as wedding signage, so don't throw them out! Check out the tutorial for upcycling Ling's Designer Flower Boxes into adorable wedding signs you can put right in the center of your table.

Bottles, tins and jars

What do glass bottles (yes, even wine bottles!), mason jars, and tins all have in common? They make for affordable do-it-yourself table decorations for a wedding! Whether you paint them, combine them, fill them with flowers or colored sand, or leave them rustically bare, the possibilities are endless.

The table itself

If your wedding is rustic or country-themed, an old farmhouse table fits right in, but even if you're going for a more modern look, consider borrowing a table you or a friend or family member already own. Dress up the affair with your wedding colors and other budget-friendly centerpiece ideas mentioned here.

Get creative with seating

Ask yourself, 'Other than renting or borrowing chairs, what other seating options are available?'

If your wedding is outdoors, can you go picnic style with comfortable patio pillows? For a rustic shindig, can you use hay bales as seating? For a beach or tropical theme, can you upcycle logs or driftwood?

Tip: When toying with the idea of unconventional seating, don't assume unique means affordable. Be sure to compare the prices of different methods.

Unique also does not mean accessible. Take time to plan for guests with special accessibility issues, such as the elderly, young children, or anyone who may need traditional seating.

Add seasonal touches

Seasonal touches make excellent embellishments for budget-friendly wedding table decor. Incorporating nature's mood into your design is simple- embrace all the things you like about the season!

Here's a nature to seasonal accessories that will take your tablescape to the next level:

SPRING

Spring is the time of year to welcome new beginnings, freshness, joy, and of course, love! 

With flowers blooming throughout nature, temperatures warming up, and the world buzzing with excitement for the new year, spring is a beautiful time to get married. Elements that look lovely on a spring tablescape include pastel colors, spring florals like ranunculus, greenery like eucalyptus, and light, sheer fabrics.

Summer

Who doesn't dream of getting married under the vibrant summer sun?

For a summer ceremony, budget-friendly centerpiece ideas can be anything that uses bold, bright colors, seasonal blooms like sunflowers or roses, greenery like ferms or succulents, or accents of gold reminiscent of the sun, add a summery feel to your wedding table decor.

FALL

There's a reason fall continues to be one of the most popular times of the year to get married. The feeling of coziness in the air, rich, warm hues, pumpkin spice, and colorful leaves- there is something so magical about fall!

Items that call to mind feelings of fall include leaves, gourds, squash, maple branches, acorns, and plaid linens. Fall is the harvest season, so pomegranates, cranberries, apples, and other assorted fruits, veggies, and herbs can create a beautiful, full tablescape without running up the bill.

Winter

Are you wondering what to add to your budget-friendly table decor for a winter wedding?

Think faux snow sprinkled across a table runner or frosted onto a few evergreen branches. Lush red berries, flickering tea candles, pinecones, walnuts, basil sprigs, and tiny wreaths are all wonderful reminders of winter. In Ling's Christmas Red and Sparkle Floral Centerpiece, mini pine cones are dusted with faux snow.

Holidays

If you and your sweetheart feel festive, add some holiday cheer to your wedding decor!

For winter weddings, think jingle bells, red velvet bows, shades of shimmering champagne, and ceramic ornaments for the ultimate wedding meets Christmas decor. Or skip the hard part and go straight to Ling's Champagne Christmas Collection.

For a fall wedding, the spooktacular Black & Pumpkin Collection brings Halloween to life with beautiful foam/silk flowers, greeneries, pompons, black spiral eucalyptus, and pine cones.

Make it personal

Personalizing your design elements is a great way to decorate a wedding table on a budget. By using items you already own, you're saving money and adding items that are individual and important to you at the same time.

Here are a few budget-friendly centerpiece ideas that use items you already have:

FAMILY PHOTOS

What better way to represent the joining of two people than by displaying the loving families they came from? Family photos are naturally budget-friendly centerpiece ideas!

In today's modern world, you don't even have to use the original photograph. You have the luxury to print out your favorite photos and place them in frames that fit your wedding theme. While this does add to the budget, it also preserves priceless original family photos.

Photo by @maggieportraits

Repurposed home decor

Repurposed home or event decor makes for very affordable do-it-yourself table decorations for a wedding. Consider using some of your holiday decorations for a winter wedding or that seemingly ancient silverware set from your grandparent's house any time of the year.

WEDDING FAVORS

Save space, time, and money by using your wedding favors as wedding decor.  Simply present each gift as part of the table centerpiece at the guests' place setting. Don't forget to label the wedding favors with their recipients' names.

You can also go practical- think elegant crystal votive holders, monogrammed wine glasses, and other functional decoratives that guests can reuse at home. Ensure some signage or instruction is around to let loved ones know they can take these items with them.

There's Room for You At Our Table

How did you decorate your wedding tables on a budget? Tag us @lingsmoment on IG to show off your masterpiece. We can't wait to see how you've used these affordable wedding centerpiece ideas!