If you are considering do it yourself wedding centerpieces, you need to be motivated and have enough time to see them through. There seem like a zillion things that need organising for your big day, so think really long and hard about whether you want to burden yourself with this extra job. It will make your wedding more personalised and will no doubt end up saving you a bit of money but make sure you will look back on it as a fun part of the preparations.

If you are up for the challenge, when deciding on ideas for wedding centerpieces, try and pick something that does not need to be put together on the eve or the morning of the wedding as you will have enough to do then. Find something that you can prepare early in the days or weeks before the actual day. And find someone to help you, like your Mum or your bridesmaids as believe me after the first 5-10 tables you will be wondering why you thought this was such a good idea in the first place!

Elegant centerpieces with flowers

Unless you are a florist or have arranged a lot of flowers in the past, starting cold by practising at your wedding may not be the best idea. There are however many resources online (such as Wedding Flowers & Reception Ideas) that will show you how to create amazing displays but it is advisable to have a go well in advance to see whether or not you are up to the hard work involved. Silk flower arrangements will definitely be the sensible route to go down if you are after a floral centerpiece as you will not have the time to deal with fresh flowers on the day.

Photo by geishaboy500.

Simple wedding centerpieces

If you are going to make your own wedding centerpieces, simplicity is key. How about taking a brown paper bag, placing an attractive plant inside and tying the neck together with a bright bow? Or why not use a fish bowl? Fill it with colored water and floating candles or be spectacular by using real goldfish.

Fruit makes another unusual but colourful centerpiece. Try arranging tropical fruits such as star fruits and pomegranates for a bright summer design. Or my favourite option is to stack chunky layers of sliced oranges, lemons and limes in water in three different sized square shaped glass vases. It is easy to do for the DIY bride and quite inexpensive.

Photo by *Zara.

Metallic DIY wedding centerpieces

The ease of finding the materials needed for this idea will depend on the time of year and whether or not you live in the countryside. You need to find branches, pine cones and leaves and spray them with metallic silver or gold paint. When they are dry you can arrange them either in vases or bowls according to the shape of the items you collected. Include some tea lights in the display to bring out the shimmer in the paint and offset using a dark tablecloth.

Photo by S. Diddy.

Unusual do it yourself centerpieces

Using nature to provide inspiration and the materials for your centerpieces can save you time and money in your wedding endeavours. Plain or colored ostrich feathers could be arranged in vases to look like flambouyant palm trees or peacock feathers could be combined with ribbons and tea lights to make an effective centerpiece. The beach is another natural resource to use by filling glass vases with sand and attractive rocks or shells.  If you combine these with candles, you achieve a calming organic feel.

Photo by Kristin_a.

The best advice to heed if you are planning on do it yourself wedding centerpieces is to practice with your idea at least a few weeks before the big day. Before you buy 50 vases or tins of gold spray paint, mock up one display and make sure you like it. Then buy everything you need well in advance and have some fun with family and friends putting together your unique centerpieces together.