The key to successful wedding ceremony décor is simplicity. Clean, elegant flower arrangements, a few strategically placed candles or some potted plants to add a little greenery are all you need to create a romantic and memorable ceremony. Less is more, which means you have money to spend elsewhere, are being environmentally friendly whilst saving money and still impressing your guests.

If you want inexpensive wedding decorations, it helps to have a theme as this will guide you to a few elements that will make a big impact on the overall impression of the ceremony.

There are a variety of wedding decorations that look beautiful and are inexpensive. Here are some of our ideas:

Flowers

In-season flowers are inexpensive. Buy flowers from local growers to save on shipping charges or consider growing your own. Other floral ideas include gathering native wild-flowers. If you are marrying in a church around Easter or Christmas, you may find that there are enough flowers in the church without you needing to add more.

Line the aisle with your favourite potted plants. These can be moved to the reception and then used as favours.

Reception tables can be sprinkled with silk flower petals that match your colour palette. Also consider moving flower arrangements from the ceremony altar to the reception entrance and use bridesmaid bouquets as table decorations.

Candles

Candles add romantic lighting to your event and are inexpensive. Floral centrepieces surrounded by tea lights or votive candles add extra glitter and placing the candles on mirrored bases provides elegant reflections. You may wish to replace all flowers with a candle centrepiece since candles are so much cheaper and are also easier to prepare and place.

Lighting

If you have permission, change the light bulb fixtures to match your wedding colours. This is one of the most inexpensive, simple way to add colour to your reception. Other ideas to consider are to borrow white fairy lights from friends and family to line pillars or drape under tables.

Food

Decorate your reception with the menu itself by adding colourful fruit wedding centrepieces or rich artisan breads to each table. Small bowls of candy or mints are other inexpensive decoration ideas.

Cake

Let your cake be a decoration, with the cake table in a prominent location. Place your bridesmaids bouquets in vases around the cake and let your guests admire your elegant wedding cake throughout the reception. Other ideas include using the same decorations on other tables or adding candles in a display behind the cake.

Slide shows

Use a simple projector to turn a blank wall at your reception into a pictorial representation of your life together. The first time you met, the first date and all the important times you have shared up to your wedding day, wedding phrases and anything else you can think of that defines the two of you as a couple. This can be silently repeated throughout the evening.

For outdoor weddings, hang your favourite couple photographs on nearby trees. Include wedding photos from your parents and grandparents too.

Nature

Dry autumn leaves and spring flowers can be found in nature. Pressed flower petals can be sprinkles on the tables. Wild-flowers in jars or glasses look pretty in the spring and summer and evergreen garlands around doorways and arches and magic to a winter wedding. If you are near a beach, collect shells with your bridal party to create unusual sprinkles on tables. You wanted inexpensive… this is all free.

Balloons

Not the balloons that you have at a child’s party, but large, round opaque balloons create an elegant feel to any wedding table.

Favours

Your wedding table decorations can be your wedding favours. Floral centrepieces made of groups of plants in small terracotta pots or groups of votive candles can be personalised in the centre of each table. Ideas that will make your favours inexpensive.

Fabric

Add swags of fabric behind the head table for a soft, luxurious backdrop, or layer coloured linens on tables for unique accents instead of plain white linens. Decorating with tulle and other inexpensive fabrics makes it easy to create a tent ceiling to cover plain architecture, or to make bows to put on the pews or rows of chairs.

Venues

If your venue is already beautiful on its own, you will only need a few simple, inexpensive decorations. You may just want a simple arrangement at the altar and if your venue is a garden overlooking a scenic landscape you may want to rent an arch as a focal point on your day.

Ask your venue if they have any decorations in storage that you may be able to use for free or a small fee. Decoration rental companies can provide elegant items for a fraction of purchase costs.