wedding reception ideas

What is it about the word “cake” that just makes people happy? Is it because it is associated with all special occasions? Maybe, it is because many of us remember our mothers making a cake, and waiting in wonderful anticipation for her to hand us the beaters to lick. When I was a little girl, cake was a serious treat. Because we didn’t have much money, fun non-essential food was an extravagant pleasure. So, even now as an adult I say, “let me eat cake”.

Recently, my daughter-in-law’s friend ask me to help her with the flowers for her wedding. She also wanted to know if I could add flowers to her wedding cake. Her wedding cake was made by her future mother-in-law, and the cake was being brought from Virginia in a large cooler, no pressure whatsoever.

But, I wanted to share this wedding cake with you because it really was easy and fun to do! Well, it was easy after I got over the anxiety of placing the first flower in the cake! You may not need to decorate a wedding cake, but you could add flowers to any cake for any occasion. They are not to be eaten of course, they are just for decoration. But, it really is amazing what a transformation adding real flowers can have on a cake!

How to decorate a cake with flowers from Jenniferdecorates.com

When deciding on what flowers to buy for your cake, buy flowers in small, medium, and large sizes. When you begin to decorate your cake you want to start with your largest flowers first. The wedding cake I decorated had three tiers, and I wanted the flowers to cascade down the cake. You trim the flowers with about an 1 1/2″ of stem left to push into the cake.

All of the large purple flowers were placed first, starting at the top of the cake and moving down to the bottom.

The next step was to add the middle size flowers. Their color was a lighter purple, and they really highlighted the darker purple flowers. The last step, and my favorite, was adding the smaller flowers. I call these the “filler”s. They fill in the gaps between the flowers and create a soft and airy look.

Adding flowers to a cake from Jenniferdecorates.com

Decorating a cake with flowers really isn’t very hard at all. Whether you are making a birthday cake for a special friend, or having guests over for dinner. Have fun with it! You will really impress everyone!

The sweet bride loved her cake, and her mother-in-law was happy too!

And, if you need me to come over and test your cake, I’m in!

Having a party over at:

I am so excited to show you my rehearsal dinner decorations I made for my oldest son’s wedding. And, YES, I did them on a tight budget!

Our rehearsal dinner was in a local restaurant in town. The separate dining room had a fireplace, so I knew that would be the focal point.

If you are having your rehearsal dinner in a restaurant, be sure to find out the decorating restrictions, and the time you will be allowed to decorate.

Flower Garland Cost?
$60

This garland, not including the candle holders and candles cost $60. I purchased everything on sale.

Of course, you may not have a fireplace where you’re going to have the rehearsal dinner, but you could make a garland to lay down the middle of the bride and groom’s table like in the photo below from Nancy, of Oak and The Owl.

So, how did I make my wedding garland for only $60?

I used BOTH artificial flowers, FREE hydrangeas, and miniature roses from Kroger for $9.99. If you are getting married in early spring or summer, find someone who has a yard full of hydrangeas! Or you could pick some wild flowers.

Where to Start

Purchase an inexpensive artificial garland. Next, hot glue, or use floral wire to attach your artificial flowers. Go ahead and add your lights, be sure to wire them in place.

Because I had a very small window to decorate the restaurant, I pre-made everything I could beforehand. The only thing I added to the garland later, were the real hydrangeas and roses.

Now, make your bow, and add your sheer ribbon to the garland.

I wired my ribbon to the garland in a few places.

After I wired the bow to the garland, I hot glued pink artificial roses in the center. One of the smaller ribbons had sparkly swirls. When dining in the evening, adding sparkle to your rehearsal dinner decorations really shows up in the candlelight.

See how there is some flower vines hanging down from the bow? This is really easy to do.

You can use pipe cleaners or floral wire to attach the vines to the back of your bow.

To keep your flowers fresh for several hours you need to purchase floral water picks. They are inexpensive and easy to use. I found mine at the craft store for a pack of 12 for $1.99.

Pop the rubber lid off, fill with water, place lid back on, and slide your flower into the floral water pick. Easy!

So, once you arrive at the restaurant the only thing you need to do is add your real flowers to the garland.

Inexpensive and Beautiful Door Decoration

Make a burlap bow to hang on a door. Then place real baby’s breath and greenery at the top of the bow. So beautiful, so inexpensive!

Table Decorations for Rehearsal Dinner

Again, I kept it simple and inexpensive. We had four large tables that would seat 10 guests. I made two small arrangements for each table, then placed two small candle votives on each side of the arrangement.

Again, I used my FREE hydrangeas around the outside of the square glass vase, and the little roses in the middle. You can also add baby’s breath, and other greenery to your arrangements.

I found the square glass vases at the pottery store for $2.50. That made each arrangement cost under $5.

I added some rose petal decorations around the candles and vases. This is an actual photo from the rehearsal dinner.

One More Rehearsal Dinner Decorations Idea:

I used PicMonkey to add the date to the photo, then sent it to Wal-greens and had them enlarge the photo. I thought it turned out great!

Here is a photo from our special evening. I hope these rehearsal dinner decorations help you create a special evening for you and your family.

Return from Rehearsal Dinner Decorations to Wedding Decorations on a Budget

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Flower Garland Cost? $60