Flash Sale on Wedding Peonies at FiftyFlowers.com – Ends July 1st!

Flash sale on peonies from Fiftyflowers.com:
“Our Peony fields are bursting with flowers which allows us to pass on a VIP flash sale to you! Get 100 Peonies for $199.99, but only for a limited time!! Peonies are a picture perfect flower that will WOW you with its beauty and elegance. Choose from our Blush, Hot Pink, Pink Sarah Bernhardt, or a beautiful Mixed pack!”

Hurry, Only Available for Delivery from Now until July 1st, so get them while you can! Go to the peony sale now…

Stylish Long Tablescapes on a Budget #7: Roll Out a Table Runner

Long tables are increasingly popular, but the cost of filling them with decorations is not. You don’t need to fill the entire space along the middle of the table to create a stylish look. All this week I’ll be posting tips to create a stylish long tablescape on a budget.

Roll Out a Long Table Runner

A table runner rolled out along the length of the table unifies the scene and might provide all the table decoration you need. With a table runner, you might even get away with not using tablecloths, especially if you want to design a table with a rustic feel.

You can also combine a table runner with a tablecloth or place additional decorative elements like flowers or candles on top of it. The layers of color, pattern, and texture will create a lush tablescape with deep visual interest.

When selecting a table runner, consider how the fabric will contribute to the feeling you are trying to achieve. Think about not only the color scheme of your wedding, but also the type and texture of the fabric. Velvet is lush and deeply romantic. Cottons lend an informal feel. Linen can be refined and softly romantic, or iron it with starch to give your table a crisp, formal sensibility.

Table runners are a fun reception detail to play with and an easy way to personalize your wedding. Look out for tomorrow’s post: How to make a table runner for your wedding reception…

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Stylish Long Tablescapes on a Budget #6: Alternate Moderately-Priced and Inexpensive Decorations

Long tables are increasingly popular, but the cost of filling them with decorations is not. You don’t need to fill the entire space along the middle of the table to create a stylish look. All this week I’ll be posting tips to create a stylish long tablescape on a budget.

Alternate moderately-priced flowers with inexpensive elements

Source: merrimentdesign.com

The key to making this approach visually interesting is to vary the heights of the different types of elements you use. For example, if you use small flower arrangements, make the other element tall, like candlesticks or bread sticks standing in tall containers. If the flower arrangements are tall or moderately-sized, alternate them with single blossoms or greens in low containers, small votive candles, or other small elements. The difference in height doesn’t need to be dramatic, but it should be notable.
Take a look at these examples of a turquoise and orange table setting, at left, and the light blue table scape below.

Stylish Long Tablescapes on a Budget #5: Cluster the Decorations

Long tables are increasingly popular, but the cost of filling them with decorations is not. You don’t need to fill the entire space along the middle of the table to create a stylish look. All this week I’ll be posting tips to create a stylish long tablescape on a budget.

Cluster Different Types of Elements Together

When you are decorating your table with an array of different kinds of objects, gather the objects together in clusters rather than spreading them out sparsely along the length of the table.

Each element will have more impact when they all play off each other, and you’ll create a more lush look.

Stylish Long Tablescapes on a Budget #4: Candles, Candles, Candles

Long tables are increasingly popular, but the cost of filling them with decorations is not. You don’t need to fill the entire space along the middle of the table to create a stylish look. All this week I’ll be posting tips to create a stylish long tablescape on a budget.

Source: http://www.homedecorarcade.com

Display a Bounty of Borrowed Candlesticks

For an evening reception, borrow lots of candlesticks and fill them all with candles of the same color. Distribute them irregularly along the table.

Stylish Long Tablescapes on a Budget #3: Create a Display of Pre-Set Food

Long tables are increasingly popular, but the cost of filling them with decorations is not. You don’t need to fill the entire space along the middle of the table to create a stylish look. All this week I’ll be posting tips to create a stylish long tablescape on a budget.

Source: Wild Yeast (www.wildyeastblog.com)

Cathy's Rum Cake Caterers, Pheonix (cathys-rum-cake.com)

Source: Borrowed & Bleu (www.borrowedandbleu.com)

Create a Display of Pre-set Food

Source: Family Style Catering, Portland, Oregon (www.familystylecatering.com)

Whether you are serving a sit-down meal or a buffet, you can pre-set some of the food on the table and make an artful display of it. Some of the foods that lend themselves to creative displays are assortments of breads accompanied by ramekins of herbed butter, salad platters with dressings, and chocolates. When you set out some of the food on the table, not only does the food serve double-duty as decor, everyone will spend less time standing on the buffet line.

Consider serving the entire meal family style, a quirky micro-trend in the wedding industry that I think will become more popular over the next few years, especially for small, intimate weddings. As the term family-style suggests, all the food is set out in serving bowls and platters on the table and guests pass the food and serve themselves. Of course, when people are seated at long tables, you will need a number of dishes of each type of food, set out along the length of the table.

Next: Stylish Long Tablescapes on a Budget #4: Candles, Candles, Candles

Stylish Long Tablescapes on a Budget #2: Opt for Color and Pattern

Long tables are increasingly popular, but the cost of filling them with decorations is not. You don’t need to fill the entire space along the middle of the table to create a stylish look. All this week I’ll be posting tips to create a stylish long tablescape on a budget.

Choose color and pattern.

When selecting table linens, stemware, and even chairs, choose color. When a table isn’t piled high with decorations, colors and patterns can fill the visual field and go a long way toward setting your desired mood.

Source: Totally Tabletops, Seattle (http://totallytabletops.blogspot.com/)

Source: celebrationspartyrentals.com, California

Source: everybridesbestfriend.blogspot.com

Next: Stylish Long Tablescapes on a Budget #3: Create a Display of Pre-Set Food

Stylish Long Tablescapes on a Budget #1: Repeat Small Decorative Elements

Long tables are increasingly popular, but the cost of filling them with decorations is not. You don’t need to fill the entire space along the middle of the table to create a stylish look. All this week I’ll be posting tips to create a stylish long tablescape on a budget.

Repeat a small element at regular intervals along the table.

Natural elements work really well for this approach, but you can use any small object that builds on your theme or the feeling you want to create.

Photo: Kacy Photo | Source: the-wedding-information-site.com

Next: Stylish Long Tablescapes on a Budget #2: Opt for Color and Pattern

Tips for Designing Long Wedding Tablescapes

Long tables are very popular for wedding receptions at the moment, and they’re especially appropriate for small weddings. They engender an intimate atmosphere and promote conversation. Premiere Los Angeles florist Amy Child Marella, owner of The Hidden Garden Floral Studio, calls them “Feasting Tables”, and she offers some questions to think about when designing tablescapes for long tables (you might also want to take a look at our 7 Tips for Designing Stylish Long Tablescapes on a Budget):

1. What is the width of the table?
You want to make sure the table is wide enough to incorporate the dinner ware, glassware AND the flowers (or whatever your table centerpiece is) Most long tables come in 32 in widths, 40 inch widths or 48 inch widths. My personal preference is 40 inch wide. This gives the guests ample room for their service ware and the florist ample room for the arrangements without making the table seem too large. Keep it intimate…

2. How full do you want the table scape to be in the center?
This can come down to how many flowers/candles you would like in the center of the table. Should it be a consistent arrangement (as seen in photos below) or do you want a little more “space” between the designs? Are you serving family style so arrangements & food will be incorporated into the center – then your table scape needs to be a little less dense.

3. What is your budget?
Long table scapes can be much more costly than a traditional single piece for a round table. So be aware that there is more product put into filling the center of your 6 foot or 8 foot table. As you can see in our photos below this is a “lush” design of florals, candles and natural elements so our budget per table is rather high.

Take a look at our 7 Tips for Designing Stylish Long Tablescapes on a Budget

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DIY Wedding Flowers Packages

Blown away by the cost of wedding flowers? No time to DIY? You’re not alone. Hence the growing popularity of Wedding Flowers in a Box. All the flowers you need for your ceremony and reception –including bouquets, boutonnieres, centerpieces, and more– come ready-to-go in a box. You pay near-wholesale prices, and the professionally-finished bouquets and arrangements are delivered to your door. Not a bad option for busy brides and grooms. You even get to choose from a selection of flower types and colors. Check out the video from FiftyFlowers:

Wedding Flowers in a Box

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Video Source: FiftyFlowers

Something Borrowed: Gemachs Cut Wedding Costs

A gemach? What’s a gemach?

A gemach (sometimes written “g’mach”) is the Jewish community’s name for a special collection of items that can be borrowed at no cost or for a small fee for a short period of time. The term is an abbreviation of the words “gemilus chasadim”, acts of kindness.

Gemachs are usually started by one or a few people who see a need and get organized. A gemach might be in a private home, synagogue, or community center. You can find gemachs that focus on practically any type of items, like toys, wheelchairs, or clothing patterns. I just got an email announcing a GPS gemach. But the most popular kind of gemach by far is the kind that offers items for weddings.

The gemach is an idea that’s centuries old, but gemachs are being rediscovered by couples planning their weddings. Gemachs cut wedding costs – and they also serve the larger goal of cutting consumption.

Whether or not you borrow anything from a gemach for your celebration, consider donating items from your wedding to a gemach near you.

The kind of things you can often borrow from a gemach or that gemach organizers are looking for are:

• Wedding dress
• Veil
• Clothes for the bridal party and mother of the bride
• Folding tables
• Folding chairs
• Table linens
• Centerpieces
• Benchers (Prayerbooks with “Grace After Meals”)

Most gemachs won’t be found online. To find one in your area, contact a few local synagogues or a Jewish community center.

Ode to a Gemach
Something old,
Something new,
Something borrowed,
Colors subject to availability.

Beyond Green Weddings: Green and Just Weddings

Jews United for Justice (JUFJ) in Washington, DC held its annual award dinner last week, which makes this a good time to give a shout out for JUFJ’s event planning guide, Green & Just Celebrations. The guide goes beyond the basic buy-local green wedding tips. JUFJ helps you dig deep, so that your once-in-a-lifetime wedding purchases can be as green and just as you can make them. Among the topics covered are buying rings and negotiating the venue contract.

Most of the vendors in the buying guide are local to the Washington, DC area, but some are national organizations that you can find online. And the ideas work where ever in the world you raise your huppah.

By the way, at the award dinner, JUFJ honored four Washington, DC and Maryland area activists:

• David Cohen, co-founder of the Advocacy Institute.
• Carla Furstenberg Cohen, civil rights activist and founder of the independent Washington, DC bookstore Politics and Prose. Carla passed away a couple of weeks before the award ceremony.
• Gustavo Torres, founder of CASA de Maryland.
• Elissa Froman, legislative associate for the National Council of Jewish Women. As a student at The George Washington University founded the GW Jewish Progressive Political Association.

See our list of unique Jewish wedding vendors in the Washington, DC / Silver Spring area.

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Free Printable Templates for Tzedakah (Charity) Favor Cards

DIY a Better World: Wedding Table Tzedakah Centerpieces

The idea for this simple DIY centerpiece was inspired by Neilah, who is becoming a Bat Mitzvah this coming Shabbat. Essentially, instead of spending money on traditional centerpieces, you donate money to your favorite charity and announce it with cards placed on the tables. It’s not a traditional centerpiece – it’s a different kind of beautiful.

Although we developed this idea for a Bat Mitzvah celebration, it would be great for a wedding or other celebration where the hosts want to share their joy by making the world around them a bit better.

For her Bat Mitzvah theme, Neilah chose “Tzedakah Around the World” (tzedakah, of course, means charity). From this choice alone, you can tell that Neilah is pretty cool. Her mom asked me to design the decorations for the kiddush and party. Inspired by Neilah, I suggested that her parents use a portion of the funds they had set aside for the decorations and donate it to charity. They chose three charities that are close to their hearts; a mix of local and international causes.

We made tent cards explaining the donations to place on the tables. We used good quality 8.5″ x 11″ paper, folded in half. The cards list the family’s chosen charities with descriptions, and we added images of Neilah and flowers to make them pretty and personal.

The top of the cards read:

“In keeping with Neilah’s Bat Mitzvah theme of “Tzedakah Around the World”, instead of purchasing centerpieces, we have made donations in honor of our guests to three charities.”

Three placards for each eight-person table — positioned close to the place settings rather than in the middle of the table — should enable everyone to see them and appreciate Neilah’s idea and her family’s donations. (Having fewer than one card for every two people at the table not only saves resources, it also should encourage conversation.)

Congratulations, Neilah, and thank you for bringing your generous, independent spirit to the world. Siman Tov u’Mazel Tov: Your Bat Mitzvah is a good sign and good fortune for all of us!

You might also like:
Free Printable Templates for Tzedakah (Charity) Favor Cards