What you choose to adorn your tables will depend on your style, the colors, the time of year, the time of day, the atmosphere you want, and what you like in general.  Of course, if you hate roses, you’re not going to put roses on the table.  Make it fit your own taste and style.

Decide if you will use candles, flowers, both, or neither as part of your wedding decorations.  These have become sort of the base of table centerpieces.  A common centerpiece is a candle surrounded by flowers.  By no means do you need to do it this way.  You can have lots of candles or just one vase of flowers.  Think about your style and what you’re going for.  If you like the minimalist look, avoid too many things.  If you like ‘over the top’ have a huge, tall bouquet in the center of each table.

Keep price in mind.  If you aren’t concerned about cost at all, then don’t worry about it.  Otherwise, make sure you keep in the back of your mind the fact that everything you do will cost money.  If you love flowers but could take or leave candles, cut the candles so you can afford the flowers you want.  If flowers aren’t that important to you, get silk flowers that are considerably less expensive.  These days, you can get silk flowers that look exactly real.

Make sure the centerpieces and look you are going for will match the venue as well.  Some rooms look very rustic and might not look good with a modern feel, and vise versa.  Keep this in mind when you choose the venue as well.

Most of all, choose something that you like and don’t stress out too much about it.  The tables mean nothing compared to the relationship you have with your future spouse and the years to come.

Size matters! A wedding cake topper shouldn’t overwhelm. When it comes to the centerpiece of your reception, the wedding cake, be sure to find a happy medium in the size of the cake topper. Having a too large topper could not only overwhelm the cake but could quite possibly cause it to lean or even worse, tip and fall apart! The last thing a bride and groom who are about to cut the cake want it to find is that they’re wearing the top two layers because they just fell off!

Keep your wedding cake topper cohesive with the cake and the rest of the wedding’s theme. If the ceremony and reception are formal affairs, adding a comical bride and groom figurine just might be a little underwhelming. A beautiful crystal monogram wedding cake topper or a stunning display of sugar or fresh flowers may be more appropriate in that situation. However, if you’re the kind of couple that finds the humor in every situation, by all means, funny wedding cake toppers come in some hilarious, sexy or custom designed figurines that may be just the thing your cake needs.

Unique wedding cake toppers can be ordered online, purchased in party supply stores, bridal registry sections of fine department stores and in some big box stores as well. Of course, the very best selection is on the Internet where just about anything you can imagine can be found at the click of a button. Even custom made wedding cake toppers that are created by artisans in your likeness. Imagine, instead of that plastic generic blonde bride, your beautiful long curly hair and your future grooms red hair can be represented on figurines that were made just for you. If you’re planning on a custom wedding cake topper, expect to raise the wedding budget a bit as well because they don’t come cheap! Also, be sure to allow plenty of time for manufacturing and delivery and be sure also to let your baker know exactly what the size and shape and weight of the cake topper will be.

There are many things that you can do with rose wedding centerpieces. Perhaps you want people to be able to see over the centerpieces during your first dance as husband and wife. If this is the case, than long stem roses might be preferable to primroses or other shorter roses that would obscure a person’s vision. If you want to be creative about how you display your centerpiece, you could mix long stem roses with shorter ones to create a nice overlay look. You could have red long stem roses with shorter white roses and a medium length pink rose for right in the middle to make a beautiful combination that nobody is going to forget. Remember, wedding centerpieces are one of the most expensive items for the wedding, and also the most noticeable item at the wedding as well. Everyone will be sitting with one of these displays, so you don’t want something tacky that will turn them off.

If you are looking for cheap wedding centerpieces, consider buying silk flowers instead of real blooms. Not only will this save on the cost of the flowers, but if you have people attending your wedding that have allergies, they will be so grateful that you thought of them in your planning. Not to mention, people love to bring the centerpieces home as a gift from the wedding. By using silk flowers, they can have a lasting reminder of your special day.

The Origami Crane

They are known as a symbol of dedication. A bride who wishes to show her commitment to the union does so by folding one thousand cranes. It is said that whomever folds a thousand cranes is granted a single wish. Cranes are known as symbols of prosperity and happiness. And the crane is also a symbol of peace.

1. Start with a perfectly square sheet of paper. Paper made specifically for origami can be found at most craft stores. It is usually colored only on one side. I used a sheet that was colored on both sides.
2. Begin by folding one edge to meet to other, with the colored side outward.
3. Open up the paper and lay it flat. Now repeat step 2 in the other direction, and open up it up again.
4. Fold it diagonally with the white side out (pink here). Line it up corner to corner.
   
5. Open up the paper, repeat step 4 in the other direction, and open up the paper again.
6. Lay the paper with the white side up. (pink here) Bring in the side corners, while bringing the top corner down.
7. With the open side pointing towards the left in this picture, fold one corner of the square so that the edge is lined up with the center line.
8. Repeat step 7 with the other flap.
9. Flip the paper over and repeat step 7 for the other two flaps.
   
10. Fold the top flap down and crease hard. Now fold it the same way in the opposite direction.
11. Open up one side, and lay it flat.
12. Lift the top flap on the open end (the lower end in this picture) and fold it upwards, bringing in the sides and lay flat
13. Flip the paper over and repeat steps 11 & 12 for the other side.
    
14. With the open end towards the left in the picture, fold in one flap in so that the edge lines up with the center line.
15. Repeat step 14 for the other flap
16. Flip the paper over and repeat steps 14 & 15 for the flaps on the other side.
17. Fold over one side and lay flat.
    
18. Fold up the top flap on the open end, so that the tip of the lower flap reaches the tip of upper flap.
19. Fold two of the flaps over and repeat step 18 for the other lower flap.
20. Fold one flap over and lay flat.
21. Fold the top flap down.
22. Flip the paper over and repeat step 21 for the other side.
    
23. Invert fold one of the upper tips to form the head.
24. Pull back the other tip to form the tail.
25. Gently pull the wings apart to form the body.
26. And now it is complete!