Wedding Decorations We Adore

We're pretty sure "cloud nine" was coined for a moment like this. Imagine saying "I do" under a fluttering canopy of honeycomb garlands.

Large hurricane vases containing floating candles are placed like beacons on either side of a path strewn with rose petals in shades of pink and yellow. If you're picking from your own garden, pluck them early in the morning, when roses are their freshest.

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

Nature provides such wonderful motifs for weddings. A fern frond can be a lovely symbol for an invitation, the shades of a favorite bloom can inform the color palette, and almost any natural detail -- berries, flowers, even the swirling pattern of wood grain -- can decorate a cake. There are always fresh flowers at weddings, of course, but blossoms are surprising (and timeless) when they're made of paper or fabric. And they are perfectly paired with little birds, longstanding symbols of love.

For big-impact table decor on the cheap, consider carnations, which come in so many colors. Long used as inexpensive filler, the familiar flowers have a chic style all their own when clustered in modern, minimalist vases, which offset their ruffled softness. Plus they're readily available throughout the year. Arrange them by hue (we like this spectrum of fiery orange to pale yellow) for an array of color that really makes the gradient.

Wedding favors allow guests to take a little piece of the celebration home. Though often presented at place settings or displayed on a table by the door, favors can be offered in another way that is both impressive and economical: grouped together as centerpieces. Even if you spend a bit more on the favors themselves, you will most likely save money overall by forgoing traditional floral arrangements.

Boxes topped with flowers make a beautiful centerpiece; a table number is embroidered onto ribbon encircling the largest box. Inside, the stems sit in water bottles stabilized by crumpled paper. Favor boxes, which contain nonpareils, double as place cards.

Let guests' well-wishes take flight on paper doves. These birds are traditional symbols of love, happiness, and harmony. Anchor bare branches (these are manzanita) in a large, sturdy vessel filled with stones or gravel. Use wire to secure nests, available from craft stores, to branches. Set dove cards -- available precut -- in a dish. Place pencils alongside your tree with a sign asking guests to inscribe a card and to place it in a nest.

These pretty bags look festive enough to hang around as decorations before they're handed out as favors.

Embrace your wedding's theme or color palette from the beginning with adorable decorative program pockets. Here, loose pages rest inside the pocket of an oversize blue tag with a rubber-stamped damask-style pattern.

To create these stunning centerpieces, we placed several stems of crafted blossoms in tall white cylindrical vases, making sure to vary the height of each for visual interest. Download our petal template to make the perfect crepe-paper magnolias.

This bold time line serves as a three-dimensional reminder of when you first met each of your guests. Play it during cocktail hour.

As dusk falls, the ceremony is lit by hanging lanterns, which softly illuminate the bride and groom.

A table arrangement of grains celebrates the bounty of fall. In addition to wheat, which symbolizes a fruitful life, this textured display includes other dried grasses (available at crafts stores), so it can be made weeks ahead. The final flourish? A luxurious satin bow.

Paper chandeliers of tissue orbs stapled to narrow ribbon and hung from the ceiling will elicit oohs and aahs from your guests and maybe even a few delighted squeals -- the perfect, happy soundtrack for your big day.

This monogrammed banner is a cute decoration that also serves to notify your guests of the wedding's location. Silk flowers spell out intertwining initials on a silk faille banner, symbolizing the couple's union.

Personalize the entrance to the ceremony in an instant with wooden initials -- the warm color scheme welcomes guests.

Ripe fruits symbolize abundance and fertility -- and make delicious favors. Tomatoes look beautiful and enticing in this rustic Italian display.

Perfume your ceremony or reception site with a garland of sweetly scented lilies, most abundant in spring.

For a twist on the fancy chandelier, hang these fluffy pom-poms instead. Each one is made up of several separately made rosettes; just combine two or three, sew or tie together at the center with white pipe cleaner, and fluff into pom-poms. Suspended almost invisibly from the ceiling by monofilament, these soft orbs recall clouds sailing across a blue sky; they also echo in color and shape the white peonies in the centerpieces.

Doilies and silk ribbons combine to make graceful garlands to be draped over pews at the wedding ceremony or festooned along reception tables. From top: Lacy circles are laid flat and threaded directly onto ribbon, then slid close to overlap. Accordion folds add a cheerful cadence to paper trim. Folded pairs of heart-shaped doilies create a three-dimensional effect. Round doilies are gathered into frilly puffs, then wired to a ribbon. A scalloped edge comes from folding circular doilies in half, then pressing them close as they're strung together.

Have wine bottles do double-duty as table numbers. Cover-weight paper printed with large, graphic numerals can be adhered over existing labels with double-sided tape for a clean, contemporary look. It's a clever touch that will have guests drinking to your good fortune -- and your good taste. Cotton-linen table runner with black-and-white floral pattern from Anthropologie.

Vases of varying sizes, shapes, and materials can be unified with mere paper bags to serve as fresh, bright centerpieces at a casual wedding. Slip the plain white lunch bags over the containers and cinch the tops loosely with ribbons tied in bows.

Why save the traditional "Just Married" sign for your car-aided exit? Hang it up at your reception and you'll get more time to enjoy its message. Better yet, spell out your sentiments letter-by-letter using our alphabet template.

This modern nod to luminarias -- paper bags with votives inside -- updates the look with chic stripes printed onto vellum and wrapped around straight-sided square glass vases.

If the effusive ranunculus and garden roses are the stars of this centerpiece, the peach calla lilies, ruffly bottlebrush grevillea, dinner-plate dahlias, spindly spider lilies, and vintage velvet swirls are their lovely supporting players.

Wheat represents bounty and wealth; the horseshoe shape is good luck. Let this decoration work its powers at your ceremony or reception site.

Bold accents pop against white table linens, chairs, and plates. The inspiration for this table setting -- a beautiful sheet of wrapping paper -- is showcased at the center; we wrapped its edges with cotton ribbon (secured with double-sided tape) to give it a finished look.

Create your own photo booth with an oversize canvas backdrop. Download this design and take it to a copy center that can print the large file (we went to FedEx Office). Then hang it up at your reception and have your photographer or friends capture candid moments that you can add to your guest book.

A wreath display for any season: Using our template, trace leaf shapes onto sturdy colored paper, and cut out. Trim edges with decorative paper edgers. Glue 22-gauge cloth-wrapped floral wire to the back of each leaf, and insert into a 14-inch-diameter boxwood wreath, in alphabetical order. A 14-inch wreath will hold about 60 cards. Use multiple wreaths or a larger one for more guests. Hang with ribbon.

We used paper and ribbon in coordinating colors to decorate this vase, which is filled with sweetpeas. For the bow, we chose matching ribbon in two widths: 100 millimeters (about 4 inches) and 25 millimeters (about 1 inch). Wrap a 5-inch-tall glass-cylinder vase with colored paper in the same shade as the ribbons, and secure with double-stick tape. Make the bow by folding the ends of a long piece of the wide ribbon in to meet in the middle. Cinch in the middle, and secure by wrapping the narrow ribbon around it so the ends meet at the back, gluing them in place. Attach the bow to the vase with double-stick tape.

When printed on translucent vellum in soothing colors, lace appears even dreamier and more ethereal than it already is. To make square luminarias beautiful enough to be centerpieces, we simply magnified the lace pattern. Placed in a row, with no extra flourishes, the presentation positively glows with sophistication.