18 Creative Ways to Set Your Reception Tables

By Lyndsey Matthews
December 07, 2015
Corbin Gurkin

Get inspired by these unique wedding table settings.

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Corbin Gurkin
Get Our Best Ideas for Wedding Décor and Details

Most weddings feature vows, toasts, a cake, and flowers, but long after the wedding is over, it's the clever, personal details that your guests actually remember. One way to make your wedding stand out from the rest is to add a unique touch to your dinner table. Be it through unexpected centerpieces, detailed menus, or cool and creative dishware, an innovative tablescape may be just what your wedding needs to bring your personality-infused theme to a whole new level. Not sure where to start? Try new colors, shapes, and textures, which can all transform your reception table décor. Here, get inspired by these real wedding table settings, designed for a diverse range of styles, tastes, and needs. Because while falling back on classic decoration is never a bad idea, swapping out tradition for more modern, one-of-a-kind designs can be a really good idea.

Mod Table Setting

For this groom and groom's blue and orange wedding, it came as no surprise that the settings were right on theme. Blue, orange, and marbled candles served as centerpieces, while hand-cut, hexagon-shaped menus sat atop stark white plates. The couple's date and monogram were infused into the design, and light blue runners tied each table's look together. 

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Classic Table Setting

Charlotte Jenks Lewis
We Love These Classic Wedding Centerpieces

Event planner Claudia Hanlin of The Wedding Library set the table at this New York City wedding with neutral linens, gold votives, and traditional china. Centerpieces featured roses, peonies, scabiosa, sweet peas, and privets.

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Tropical Table Setting

Mi Belle Photography
Get the Best of Beach Weddings

The wooden tables at this destination wedding in Mexico were dotted with bright accents: pink and coral blooms, blue stemware, and lots of takeaways for guests. The place setting favors included tiles hand-painted with guests' names, shot glasses for tequila, and personalized bracelets that circled colorful tropical-print napkins.

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Monochromatic Table Setting

Elizabeth Messina Photography

To create a cohesive feeling, this bride set her table with monochromatic centerpieces, linens, and glassware. She added a subtle bit of texture with striped napkins from Restoration Hardware. 

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Unique Table Setting

Max & Friends

This Palm Springs bride wanted her tables to look like they were set with rad finds from the flea market—nothing too formal or matchy. Agates, geodes, and a mix of candles were set out along with simple arrangements of fritillaria, cacti, and ranunculus, while brass bracelets doubled as napkin rings. 

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Colorful Table Setting

Catherine Mead

Parisian-style lobster, wild sea bass, and shellfish were served on white plates with gold details at this destination wedding in Morocco. Red and purple centerpieces and linens added a burst of color while vintage candelabras and small votives added a romantic touch.

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Pastel Table Setting

Belathée Photography
Get Chic Ideas for Adding Sparkle to Your Wedding Day

Pastel dinnerware, rose-gold flatware, and menus weighted down with glittery pyrite rocks set the scene for dinner at this Palm Springs wedding, while vintage vases with peach, orange, and white poppies added a bright pop of color.

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Copper Table Setting

Leo Patrone
Go Inside Our Favorite Fall Weddings

Tables at this fall wedding in Washington D.C. were set with copper chargers and flatware, and DIY vellum menu bags that held bread.

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Playful Table Setting

Gideon Photo

To make menu and place cards more interesting, consider using an atypical shape instead of a square or rectangle. This bike-loving couple included cutouts that topped their yellow-and-white plates, which the pair collected by visiting every nearby Target store. Matching napkins, mixed glassware, modern gold flatware, and woven chargers that had been painted white rounded out the setup.

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Casual Table Setting

Gary Ashley for Les Loups
See More from the Best of Rustic Weddings

Determined to make her wedding tent homey, this bride paired vintage indigo-dyed table runners from Thailand with napkins from IKEA, which were rolled up and finished off with a silver olive branch tucked into each. The copper flatware came from New England Country Rentals. 

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Minimalistic Table Setting

Erin Kunkel

Each place setting at this Big Sur wedding was a mix of humble and refined elements: paper-bag place cards and kitchen-towel napkins flanked by flatware and menus punched up with drawings by the bride's sister. Clusters of late-season heirloom tomatoes, persimmons, and figs replaced traditional floral centerpieces.

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Rustic Table Setting

Long garlands of olive branches, laced with blush-colored roses, and pomegranates decorated wooden farm tables at this Kentucky wedding. As a finishing touch, an olive branch rested atop each napkin.

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Striped Table Setting

Rachel Thurston
Get More Preppy Wedding Ideas

If you are using patterns in your linens, opt for simple plates and white flowers that won't distract like this couple did at their California wedding.

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Summertime Table Setting

Tables at this rustic barn wedding in California were decorated with paper sacks of ripe red cherries, amber glass vessels, and simple floral arrangements. For an extra bit of Americana, the bride used ticking stripes as napkin holders.

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Floral Table Setting

Elisabeth Millay
Get Inspired by These Great Wedding Centerpieces

At this destination wedding in Mexico a bright rose rested atop each menu, which was tucked into the folded napkin that sat on an ornate charger. The color continued in the centerpieces of phalaenopsis orchids, roses, dahlias, and ranunculus.

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Fall Table Setting

Aaron Delesie
Get Our Favorite Ideas for Decorating Your Wedding with Calligraphy

Tables at this October wedding in Marfa, Texas were set with garden roses, amber amaranthus, basil, and café au lait dahlias; each plate held a personalized menu calligraphed in plum ink.

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Pretty Pink Table Setting

Katie Stoops Photography
See Our Favorite Outdoor and Garden Weddings

Table settings at this outdoor wedding in Palm Springs, California, kept to the pink color scheme with light and dark pink rose centerpieces from Hope Flower Farm and gold trimmed dishware and gold silverware. Wooden cutting boards from Wayfair, personalized with each guest's name, served as chargers, place cards, and favors.

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Blue Table Setting

Jodi & Kurt Photography
These Unique Ideas are Perfect for Your "Something Blue"

Guests at this wedding sat down to a pretty blue tablescape with personalized strips of linen wrapped around patterned napkins from La Tavola Linen, and topped with a blue eryngium stem.

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By Lyndsey Matthews