Table Decoration

Table decorations can cause endless problems when planning a wedding. What do you want to have on the table? Do you want fresh flowers? Do you want candles? Are you allowed candles? Will the tables look cluttered? Do you want balloons?

The current trend seems to be white table linen with a coloured table runner to match the colour theme of the wedding with simple decoration. A couple of tea light candles and some “scatter crystals” and maybe a vase with flowers. Some people opt to have goldfish bowls with flowers arranged inside it sitting on a mirror tile – simple yet elegant.



Many people opt for silk flowers to cut down on costs, definitely cost effective and because many silk flowers now look so realistic you really can get away with saving a few pennies and not scrimping on the look. The other good thing about silk arrangements is that if you have guests with allergies they will appreciate your thoughtfulness.



Place settings can add to the decoration on the tables, indeed they can be designed to compliment the decoration to keep the amount of things on the table to a minimum and therefore cutting down on clutter.
Another clever idea is to use favours as place settings, but remember however many people you are having at a table there will be plates, glasses and cutlery for up to 4 courses on the table as well so it’s wise to consider just what you want to put on the table.



Many couples have added to the table décor with some ‘trivia boxes’, which are a great way to break the ice for guests who might not know each other, but they can also be great fun like the jokes you get inside Christmas crackers.

Pass it forward

Giving is the new receiving! The recession has hit us all hard, but charities especially have been badly affected. With many charities holding accounts with Icelandic banks, their money has simply disappeared, swallowed up by a failing sector.

Weddings are costly affairs and doesn’t everyone know it, but couples are now using their special days to raise some money for charities close to their hearts. The most popular ways of doing this are:

Charity Gift List - These days it is very rare for a couple not to have set up a home before they get married: they no longer need the obligatory toaster and duvet sets that were once the gift of choice from their guests. They are now providing their guests with links to websites where they can purchase such items as seeds and tools for those in less fortunate countries or donate to a worthy cause.

Charitable Favours – Instead of a little token gift that may be left in a drawer and forgotten about, some couples are choosing to buy charity ribbons, wrist bands and trinkets from charities to present to their guests. Others are simply donating the money they would have spent on favours to a charity and letting their guests know on the day of the wedding in their speeches or by little cards left on the table with the full details.


Charity Friendly Companies – Many businesses have periods where they offer to donate a percentage of their profits to a charity. By choosing to use these companies where possible you can sit back and enjoy that warm-hearted glow of having done a good deed.

Personally, Cancer Research UK is my charity of choice. Cancer is a battle that we’re not quite winning yet. We can reattach limbs, give people back their memories, use muscles and skin from other parts of our bodies to repair broken parts yet we cannot beat this disease in every case. We’re not finding the disease fast enough for some people and this is something deeply passionate about. I’m sure you have a cause that is close to your heart, why not consider including it in your wedding day making it extra special for you and those that your hard earned money will help?



It’s the little things that matter most to charities, as they say every little helps. Why not donate your bouquet, centrepieces and other left over flowers to a local hospice or hospital to brighten up the day of the residents and patients? Leftover food and cake can be delivered to a hospice rather than being binned. Dresses and other outfits can be donated to local charity stores where they can sell them on and make some pennies for the good cause.



Written by Jac at Little Tiger Creations

Wedding Favours

Wedding favours are a great way to thank your guests for coming to your wedding and helping to celebrating your special day. But what do you give? Do you keep it simple with the same thing for everyone? Do you get favours for male guests and different ones for the female ones? Do you get separate ones for children that are attending the wedding? So many decisions!!

The great thing about children’s favours is that you can use them to identify the guests that are under 18 for the hotel staff. This way they know that if there are certain guests with a specific item in front of them not to offer them wine with their dinner or to allow them bubbly for the toasts. An ingenious idea I though! Rubik’s Cubes, soft toys, activity books and anything they can play with that doesn’t cause any noise are a good idea!



As for the grown ups, well the world is your oyster so to speak. Traditionally many people give sugared almonds. In the “old days” they gave 5 almonds, each representing a different thing: fertility, longevity, wealth, health and happiness. The symbolism of the sweet sugar coating and the bitter almond to represent the bitter/sweet elements to marriage. These would be packaged up in a pretty form of packaging and presented by the happy couple to their guests.



A more modern approach is being taken with regards to favours at the moment, couples opting for personalised or special gifts to present to their guests. A popular choice is seed packs and seed sticks which they can buy from certain wedding websites, and better still they can have these personalised to their wedding theme colours etc and have their names and the wedding date printed on the cover.

Personalised wedding favours are becoming far more popular in recent times, many people opting for that “personal” touch to make it more special. Nowadays you can have just about anything personalised to give as a favour, glasses, candles, sweets etc.


The dilemma comes when deciding how to present these, do you add them to the table decoration and cleverly use them as a place setting? Do you keep them off the tables and in a little basket or box so guests can help themselves? Do the bride and groom take the time to go round their guests during the wedding reception and present each guest individually with a favour? There are so many ways to give these and it’s best to go with what suits you both. Don’t feel pressured into sticking with traditions that are outdated in your opinion, and likewise if you don’t intend to give favours then do not feel obliged to doing so because the mother of the bride/groom tells you that you must, as I always write – It’s your day, so do it your way!!