Green Wedding Decorations and Favors

For a sophisticated favor, stack cookies in a plastic box lined with your monogram on all sides. To line the box, scan calligraphed initials and print onto card stock -- back with glassine using double-sided tape. Score and fold to fit in box.

Give guests sprightly bouquets of their own: Choose arrangements of 'Ping Pong' mums, chamomile, and lady's mantle (or other blooms to fit your color scheme). The flowers are held in small plastic floral tubes filled with water. Cones of decorative green paper hide the tubes.

Simple sacks make perfect favor packages when given a handle and personalized with a stamp.

Scented geraniums, herbs, and other foliage nestle in terra-cotta pots at the reception; the bride and her family hand-painted the pots and grew the plants, and then invited their guests to take home their favorite as a favor.

A personalized banner creates a stately ceremony or reception decoration when it's hung from greenery set on a mantel or tall table.

Here's a quick and inexpensive way to add style to your reception space: Use gift-wrap runners. Trim paper to any width; it should hang 18 inches over table ends. Cover tops of favor boxes with the same paper. Wrap ribbon around box, and secure ends beneath place cards. Attach cards and ribbon to box lid with double-sided tape.

To set up a writing station, hang these decorative medallions above the table to help it stand out. Then have guests write notes on the loose paper. Once a sheet's been filled, they can simply slide it into the plastic sleeves of an album. Voila! An instant scrapbook-cum-guestbook that later can be filled with other wedding ephemera.

Turn kids' metal beach buckets into custom centerpieces by painting them in the wedding colors. First, sand and prime each bucket, then coat with water-based enamel; let dry overnight. For stripes, tape off a pattern, paint exposed areas in a contrasting color, and remove the tape while the paint is still wet. For a table number, tape on a stencil (available at art-supply stores), use a pencil to outline the number, then remove the stencil, and paint. Use pails as planters for small trees with hydrangea petals scattered over the soil.