PROJECTS DIY Rehearsal Dinner Decorations

Looking for super affordable DIY rehearsal dinner decorations? This is such an easy centerpiece you can put together in minutes.

When my son, Zack, was little he loved dinosaurs more than anything else in the world.

He had light-up T-Rexs on his shirt and Brontosauruses on his tiny tennis shoes.

Pterodactyls.

Allosauruses.

Stegosauruses.

Spinosauruses.

He loved them all—each and every one.

Just between us? I never thought he’d love anything more than dinosaurs.

And then?

One day the sweetest, kindest, funniest, most beautiful girl in the world showed up….

….and all those dinosaurs had to take a back seat.

Yesterday they started their new lives together.

I’m sharing all about the wedding this week, but before the wedding comes the rehearsal dinner.

And DIY rehearsal dinner decorations that looked like this.

Here are the centerpieces that I made (on a super budget) but before I show you how I created these?

Let’s discuss a few other ideas I had.

Here are 7 creative one-of-a-kind ideas you can use for rehearsal dinner decorations on a budget:

• Interactive stations: Create interactive stations that guests can enjoy throughout the rehearsal dinner. For example, you could set up a DIY floral crown station or a custom coffee bar where guests can create their own unique coffee drinks. Encourage them to “name their concoctions” and add a sticker with a marker where they can right the name.
• Think vertically: Use unique hanging installations, such as paper lanterns, geometric shapes, or hanging florals, to add dimension and visual interest to the rehearsal dinner venue. These can be suspended from the ceiling or strung across the room.
• Art installations: Commission a local artist (or a friend of the family with a creative side) to create a custom art installation that ties in with the wedding theme. This could be a large-scale painting, a sculpture, or a mixed-media piece that serves as a conversation starter for guests.
• Project art: Use a projector to transform the walls, ceiling, and floors of the rehearsal dinner venue into an immersive experience (this is super budget-friendly). You could project images, animations, or even video footage of the couple onto different surfaces.
• Personalized backdrops: Create custom backdrops that reflect the couple’s personalities and interests. For example, you add a wall of vintage records for a music-loving couple or a backdrop made of books for a couple who shares a passion for literature. These backdrops can be used for photo ops, as well as decorative elements in the venue. We thought about using one of these as a seating chart with baseball because Zack loves baseball so much.
• Place cards: Get creative with your place cards and use them as a way to add some personality to the table settings. For example, you could use small succulents or potted herbs as place card holders. We used picture frames at each table.
• Lighting: Hang string lights from the ceiling or around the perimeter of the rehearsal dinner venue to create an atmosphere on a budget. You can also wrap them around trees or bushes outside for a more magical touch.

You don’t have to spend a lot of money on centerpieces either.

I made these DIY centerpieces myself with these vintage sugar molds.

Our rehearsal dinner took place in a post office that was turned into a restaurant in the Texas Hill country. Rustic and easy and fun and family was the theme of the party. We had appetizers and drinks on the outdoor patio and then we hosted a dinner inside for 70 people (and that was just family and the wedding party).

The restaurant was so beautiful that I really didn’t need to decorate much with the exception of centerpieces.  Originally I was going to order them from a local florist, but have you priced centerpieces at the florist recently?

YIKES.

And I had 11 tables.

So I put my rehearsal dinner decorating ideas cap on and came up with these centerpieces for under $20.

DIY Rehearsal Dinner Decorations

vintage sugar mold

set of three mini dessert glasses from Dollar Tree

hydrangea

eucalyptus

1. Choose the flowers

One of the best resources for flowers is Trader Joe’s.

Quick tip: if you want the best selection go early in the morning. They stock them first thing every day.

We drove to Trader Joe’s the morning of the rehearsal dinner and bought buckets of hydrangea and eucalyptus. You can use any kind of greenery for this centerpiece, but I like the silver dollar eucalyptus the best.

If you don’t have enough time or you want your centerpieces to last longer, these white faux hydrangeas have over 6,000 reviews and they look super realistic.

You can see them here.

These faux eucalyptus stems would work perfectly for this centerpiece idea, too.

2. Collect sugar molds

I had a couple of these sugar molds at my house (remember I used them to organize my make-up brushes) and I found tons more downtown at a local vintage shop.

You can find them so many different places including Amazon.

I found these affordable vintage sugar molds here.

3. Collect glasses for vases for sugar molds

Now that I found the vintage sugar molds, I needed a solution for the vases.

They sell metal inserts, but I was worried that they would leak and if you just add water to the sugar mold, the water seeps into the sugar mold.

So I shopped around and found the BEST SOLUTION.

This set of three mini dessert glasses was only $1.25. They used to be $1.00, but in case you hadn’t shopped there lately, everything is now $1.25. They fit perfectly inside the sugar molds.

Fill with water and add to the sugar mold.

Now all that’s left is to add the flowers.

4. Add the flowers

I cut each of the hydrangea bundles into smaller flowers.

Then I removed all the hydrangea leaves and the flower stems were cut about 4 inches long.

I put the hydrangea flowers into the vases and tucked the silver dollar eucalyptus in and among the flowers.

Then just fluff until you get the exact look you like.

That’s it.

Your centerpieces are ready for primetime.

The best part is you have the vases and sugar molds for future parties now. Here are a couple of other rehearsal dinner decorations on the same theme:

• you can purchase faux flowers instead like these faux hydrangeas and these faux eucalyptus stems
• you can add these candle inserts to the sugar molds instead that come in tons of different scents here
• you could add different color hydrangea (like pink or blue) instead of white
• you could save even more money using flowers or greenery from your yard

I can’t WAIT to tell you all about the wedding and the sweetest story.

Stay tuned later this week for pictures and all the details.

And now?

Sigh.

I’m taking a nap.

It’s been kind of a busy weekend.

disclosure: affiliate links are used in this post

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