One of the most important things to consider when planning for your wedding is the place where your guests will spend most of their time – and we are not talking about the bar. We are referring to the dining table or tables.
Most of us are familiar with setting the table for dinner, but when it comes to a wedding it is a whole different ball game. You are talking about a lot of tables and a lot of guests, and planning for this requires a different approach. In fact, it has now reached the point where they have found a new word for it – tablescaping – rather like landscaping but for tables.
This is the art of dressing your tables using everything – tablecloths, napkins, place mats, plates, glasses, cutlery, candles, flowers or other decorations – to achieve a table with that “wow” factor.
Your tables may be round, square, or they may be laid in long lines and hold perhaps 30 guests each. Whatever the layout, you need to give considerable thought to planning the tables, and it is a good idea to ensure that they fit in with the overall theme of your day. So, if you are going for a rustic theme, you can take a more relaxed approach than if you are going to be very formal.
One of the best places to start is with your wedding table centrepieces, and you need to discuss this with your florist. You could have a look on Pinterest and see what the latest trends are, and then meet up with the florist and find out what flowers are in season, and how they align with your overall colour scheme for your big day. Bear in mind that if you want to keep within your budget, you should choose flowers that are in season at the time of your wedding, because if you choose flowers that are not, they are going to be more expensive as they have to be imported.
You Don’t Have To Use Flowers
But you don’t necessarily have to use flowers. You can use dried grasses, ferns, and even feathers, that can be combined to create a romantic and natural feel. You could also choose to use candles instead of flowers or dried arrangements, and you can buy candles in swirl and twist designs in a range of different colours. Whatever you do with centrepieces, if you have round tables you can create high displays, but on long tables it is best to keep them below eye level.
When it comes to tablecloths you can either choose coloured or white. Many people opt for white because it leaves you free to play with colour, whereas if you choose coloured it is going to limit what you can do with the other items. If you do go for white, you could choose tablecloths with scalloped or frilled edges for that extra bit of glamour. As for the napkins, matching them to the tablecloth is the safest way as it adds cohesion.
Plates today are moving away from plain white to coloured patterns and floral designs which enables you to be more creative. Glasses, too, can add interest to your tables since you can mix and match them across water, wine glasses, flutes, and open champagne glasses, and rather than being plain they can have decorations and even colours. Alternatively, you could opt for moulded or cut glass.
As for placemats, again you have a lot of options. If you have white tablecloths, you can play around with colours and patterns of placemats, and you can also get woven rustic styles that are handmade using seagrass.