Are you a teacher who is getting married? A professor? Maybe you just met your beloved in a bookstore? If you love books, or learning, and you’re getting married soon, don’t wrack your brains trying to figure out how to decorate the wedding reception tables. You can quickly make table accents, table numbers, and more, just using books. Whether you borrow them, or already own many books, you can put them to good use at your wedding, and afterwards, they can go right back to the shelf where they were.
There are several different wedding pieces you can make from books. Use all paperbacks, or all hard-backs, but the books should be all different sizes. To make a simple centerpiece, stack books so that you create a tower – as tall or as short as want. Lay a ribbon so that it is horizontal, and long enough to wrap around the stack, with plenty to spare. Stack the books so that they diminish in size. When finished, tie the ribbon around the books, and make a bow over the top book.
Create table numbers by making a smaller stack of books on a wide ribbon. Tie the ribbon over the top book. Then, make a table number with thick paper or cardstock. Tape a florist wire to the back of the paper and position the wire so that it sticks out past the end. Glue another paper over that one, trapping the wire between them. Write a number on the card or paper. Push the wire into the center of the bow so that the number stands straight up.
Make a different type of table number by standing the books up, like you would if you were putting them on a bookshelf. Wrap a bow around the books and tie it at the bindings. The bindings and bow will be the front of the table number arrangement. Making a table number card as stated above, slide the wire into the middle book, between the pages.
Make a stack of books without a ribbon to create another type of table number. Write the number on a rectangular card, keeping the number on the top two-thirds of the card. Bend the card at the one-third mark, and crease it well. Slide the bent third of the card between the cover and the first page, so that the number stands up above the top book. For this table number, the pages – opposite the bindings – will become the front of the arrangement.
If you have some really tiny books you can use any of the above methods to make little seating cards. Instead of writing a table number, write a person’s name, and set a stack in front of each place setting.
Using books is a cheap yet beautiful way to decorate for a wedding. They fit right in with a budget wedding, a casual affair, or even a sophisticated ceremony. You’ll love how easy it is to accent the tables and how interesting the overall look is.
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