Some of the centerpieces that you see in bridal magazines cost over $400 each! Those elegant, architectural centerpieces that stand high above the tables, dripping with exotic flowers and greenery are gorgeous, and floral designers work magic with a wide range of flowers and greens. But that price! Brides and grooms are looking for ways to center their tables in beautiful ways without spending a fortune. That’s where we come in, with this list of the top budget tips to turn your table centers into works of art at a more realistic price.

If you’ll go floral:

•There’s no need to stick with inexpensive flowers! It might seem to make sense that an all-carnation centerpiece will cost less than an all-rose centerpiece, but you don’t have to sacrifice that much. A great floral designer will create centerpieces that include a few top-quality flowers, perfectly arranged with other, more moderately-priced flowers. The final effect saves money, but doesn’t show it.

•Mix up your colors. Using all-white flowers means that you’ll need to use a greater number of blooms to make a visual impact. So work some color into your centerpieces for more drama.

•Check out unique filler plants, those great greens and ferns that add texture to your centerpiece at a low, low price.

•Small, tightly clustered flowers in a low-set centerpiece are elegant and inexpensive, depending on the size you choose.

•A single rose or gardenia floating in water, in a pretty glass vase, is one of the most elegant and inexpensive options possible.

•Fill a vase with all-white or multi-hued flower petals, with a few whole flowers set on top.

•Tall, narrow vases can hold longer-stemmed Gerbera daisies or calla lilies, for just $10-$20 a centerpiece. Surround these with flower petals or votive candles.

•Set your centerpiece vase or bowl on top of a mirrored circle, which reflects the image above – especially if you have votive candles on it as well. The effect makes your centerpiece look bigger.

If you’ll skip the flowers:

•Use something from your season or setting of the wedding in a square or circular vase (bought on the cheap at a craft store): seashells and sand, or pinecones, colorful autumn leaves…

•Center your table with a craft-store-bought three-wick pillar candle, surrounded by votives and rose petals.

•Maximize the light of candles by surrounding them with craft-store crystals or glass stones in any color. They reflect the light, giving the impression of a larger centerpieces.

•For a holiday wedding, fill a glass vase with holiday ornaments, bought on sale at post-holiday events the year before (early planning can save you a fortune).

•Center your tables with framed family photographs, which is often free and facilitates guest mingling.

•Use something you collect. At a recent bridal shower, the mother of the bride centered the tables with her antique teapots. At a wedding, the groom used his model sailboats.

•Check the craft store for unique items. You’ll find wooden lanterns and ceramic pieces for just a few dollars each.

•Take some of the items off the buffet table. Each table can be centered with a beautifully arranged bread basket, with soft butters and tapenades, for an edible centerpiece that costs you nothing extra.

•Ask what the site has on hand that can be used as a centerpiece. Some hotel ballrooms and banquet halls have their own elevated candelabras that can be used for free, or rented, with your store-bought candles.

•Instead of one big wedding cake, get small ones (serving 6) to set in the centers of each table. Do your math, though, to be sure that you’re saving money on the mini ones.

•Ask the site manager to arrange the room’s spotlights over each guest table. Many sites have track lighting systems that will allow the lighting specialist to fix a pinlight to shine on the center of each table. A single bud vase with a flower, lit up by a pinlight, has a dramatic, jazz club-type look to it.

•Center your tables with an item from your theme. At a Tuscan wedding, you might have bottles of wine and grapes. At a Moroccan wedding, perhaps some different hummus dips and crackers or pita chips. At a Halloween-themed wedding, a pumpkin or gourds.

•Use your bouquets as the centerpieces for a few of the main tables, saving you hundreds of dollars on 5-8 tables.

•If the groom will wear a top hat during the wedding, his hat can be the centerpiece for his parents’ table.

•Frame poems or quotes for the centers of each table. Make them up on your home computer, using colored or parchment paper and craft store-bought frames.

•At playful themed weddings, use toys as the centerpieces.

•We advise against live goldfish in bowls as centerpieces, since weather conditions can injure or kill the fish, and what will be done with them after the wedding?

Sharon Naylor is the author of 1000 Best Wedding Bargains as well as over 30 additional wedding books, www.sharonnaylor.net