Mason Jar Centerpiece Ideas (Updated W/more Info)

This might not be your cup of tea, but...

What if you gave each of your close friends a mason jar and asked them to create a centerpiece for you? I'd give them as few parameters as possible - something that reminds them of you, something that they'd want you to have in your marriage, something pretty, anything. They wouldn't match, but I think it might be a cool way to incorporate your friends in to your wedding. The added benefit is that you'd only have the cost of the mason jars, but it's not too much of a financial imposition on any of your friends because they're just making one.

If you really are having a small wedding, you could ask everyone invited to make one, and then everyone has something to talk about at their tables. It's a good conversation starter.

Congrats!

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I have used mason jars many times for different events. Sometimes we tie a ribbon around the top.. sometimes we used raffia.

Inside the jar you can do a tea light or you could do a bunch of wild type flowers.. On really large tables you could do 5 pushed together 2 with flowers and 3 with tea lights.

Also Mason jars come in different sizes, so consider if you want them all uniform or if you want them on different heights an widths.

We also hung 125 of them with wire from and old Tree and lit every one of them with tea lights.. it was magical.. (fyi, I hired 5 teens and gave them a ton on long lighters to get these lit, before the bride and groom came outside onto the landing).
Here is a link.. we actually made ours a little more tailored and used copper wire.. http://www.likeacupoftea.com/mason-jar-lanterns/

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I used mason jars at my "barn dance" reception and they were lovely! I had ribbon tied around them (pink with white polka dots to match my colors) and put white daisies (my b.m.'s and I both carried pink daisies) in them. I actually gave them away at the end of the night to anyone who wanted them.

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I was thinking a small bunch of sunflowers tied with raffia would look pretty and sort of rustic in mason jars, but not sure if you have a color theme?

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Depends on your theme...
Sand with shells and a candle
Greenery with a battery light/candle
River rock with a candle
Glass marbles with a floral arrangement

Country theme:
hmmm....
I have seen neat berry things that could be in the bottom with a candle
Fill with feed corn and candle.

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Maybe fill them with rocks and flowers? That would be pretty...

I have read so many of your posts about your wedding L. that I think it is coming together really nicely and I am excited for you!

~My wedding was a small, family only affair that was absolutely perfect and soo much fun to pull together!

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For a country theme you could pile black eyed peas in the bottom to hold a pillar candle.
For a simple elegance candle light theme you could fill half way with water (maybe colored) and float a tea light in it or a pretty lilly.
For a beach side theme you could fill with sand and sea shells and arrange have dried flowers and cat o nine tails coming out of the sand.
For a English country thing you could have pretty pretty tiny little purple, yellow pink flowers and vines spilling out of it.

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Hard to help with so little info... What kind of wedding?? Inside/ outside?? Casual?? BBQ or sit down?? Flowers already in use?? Colors?? Any theme??

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I didn't read the other response so I hope I'm not repeating anything for you but my first thought was candles. I used to work for Keystone Candle (keystonecandle (dot) com) and we would fill jars for people at a cheaper cost because you would be providing the jars you only pay for the cost of the wax. In fact, I filled baby food jars for candles at my baby shower.

I didn't think flowers first. . .because I'm not into flowers and they can be pricey.

You could also fill them halfway with water (and you can dye the water, too) and then drop in little 10 hr votives. . .

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Mason jars are a very casual touch, I love the shabby sheek, which means nothing has to be or look new or does it have to match, why not gather up all the vases you can and do wild flower mixes in them? Mason jars wont hold much more then a small bunch.

Google 'mason jar centerpieces' click on Images...there are lots of nice ideas. Great accent candle holders ideas aswell.

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If you want something cute and country try finding the Mason Quilted Jelly Jars. I believe the taller bigger ones are like 12oz. So you wouldn't have something as big and bulky as quart jars. The outside of the jars would have that quilted pattern on it and They would be taller then the small ones and make a better looking vase.

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My sister-in-law just tied a pretty ribbon around the mouth of each jar, filled them halfway with water, and used about 6 daisies in each jar. They were adorable.

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I was at a small town wedding (outside, potluck-style) and they used clear cups on the tables with water and pieces of tissue paper in the wedding colors as centerpieces. It was rather pretty. You could also float a small candle, use sand or gravel with a tea light (and the high sides would keep them lit outside), put personal things that are little but meaningful to you and the groom in them, leave out small pieces of pretty or theme-colored construction paper with pens/pencils and ask your guests to write you notes or advice and leave them in the jar...just a few ideas. Sounds pretty, though. :)

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LOVE the idea of having your guests bring them, it really brings them into the wedding and helps create the intimate feeling.
Use the same style of flowers you are carrying. Put your boquet in a larger jar at your table.
Submersable lights are good in clear marbles or some cracked ice type of thing.
Good luck

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Oh my, sorry for the crazy long post, but my friend is having a wedding extremely similar to yours. She is using mason jars with lemons in them to line the walkway. I sent her a huge list of links for decor ideas... her decor is yellow and brown, so that is primarily what you will see, but lots of ideas:

DESERT TABLES:

The most impact of a home reception, is the desert table. If it's possible, I would rent those cute little white or brown chairs and have them sitting around so people can snack and visit. Then, deck the dessert table out, the wedding cake, or cupcake set-up should be in the center if possible, and build up around that:
tons of yellow ones you can run through very quickly:
http://www.google.com/images?um=1&hl=en&biw=1045&...=

here is an adorable yellow and brown one:
http://www.photokitchenfood.com/blog/2010/10/6/dessert-ta...

balloons are really big at weddings right now, the perfectly round ones seem to be a little more chic:
http://pics.classifieds.weddingbee.com/196126.white-ballo...

but I absolutely love this one, scroll down a bit, it's at the end of the first post and has a garland that says 'love' as the focal point:
http://tomkatstudio.blogspot.com/2010/11/inspiration-fren...

or click here for the larger image:
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_ScLMQmTnG8k/TOKvBai20zI/AAAAAAA...

you can easily make a little wall like that. just get a few yards of a pertty fabric, maybe a yellow damask and staple gun it or tape it to two large foam boards and set them up side bby side. Or, place the fabric over the mirror party of a large mirror with a neat frame or framed photo.

this desert table is cute and simple:
http://4.bp.blogspot.com/_Adp_4ASrjXY/SyqzHjBRZKI/AAAAAAA...

another cute desert table:
http://tinyurl.com/4cyd68s

this desert table is awesome, they use fabric swatches in embroidery hoops as the backdrop, and a simple garland on the front of the table: You can make a garland like that just out of paper and string
http://www.craftlovely.com/2010/04/joo-jacobs-wedding/

this table is too adorable not to share:
http://tinyurl.com/4ba2q2h

I've seen dessert tables layered up with books, little haystacks, fabric wrapped boxes to help give height.

LEMONS:

While looking around online, I saw some pretty lemon centerpieces. The ones in the straight jars were cute, but didn't seem enough to be like table centerpieces.
The ones that were piled in more of a v-necked shaped vase or bowl seemed to have more impact:

This lemon idea is cute, I love the little garland made out of colorful tape and string:

http://www.projectwedding.com/wedding-ideas/diy-decor-lem...

This whole wedding is gorgeous and based on lemons... love it! The walkway is lined with lemons and I love how they are wrapped in pretty ribbon and a card for the gift favors.
That would make a cute and cheap wedding favor, a wrapped in a pretty brown grosgrain lemon with a little card and a recipe for lemonade, or lemon muffins or something.

** http://www.amysallthingswedding.com/2010/06/when-life-giv...

They could be lined up on a table, or put strategically in low wicker bowls or galvanized tins, or in the v-necked glass vases.

Succulents and lemons go very well together. (Succulents being the cactus like plants) and would be cute with her whole little theme, she's wearing cowboy boots, right?
I love how they have the yellow and brown candies seperated out in the tall glass bell jar vases on the desert table:
The men's boutineers are cute in that they use the yellow button mums (I think they are called) and wrapped in twine

http://paratinovia.com/the-blog-a-modern-lemon-lime-wedding

Lots of pretty ideas here... especially the last photo montage, click on it to get a larger image:
http://www.newenglandfineliving.com/yellowthemeparty.html

another pretty brown and yellow wedding:
http://www.primadonnabride.co.za/2009/12/chocolate-and-su...

okay now, I love this one..., since it's indoors, the key is to mask that it's in someones house, The poms on the ceiling do that very well.
for cheap, you can make you own poms (tons of tutorials online or you can buy them)
http://prettychicky.com/1254/wedding-showcase/a-yellow-br...
this seller, partypoms, sells them, she can do several different colors of yellow, and brown too, and can even make you a custom order:
yellow:
http://www.etsy.com/listing/56446963/daisy-3-poms?ga_sear...#
browns:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/PartyPoms/search?search_query=br...

another neat ceiling idea, is from this wedding I featured on my blog a while back. Super easy. All you need are long fabric strips in yellow, browns, cream:
also I love their use of moss. Would look very pretty with lemons tied in ribbons on the tables and maybe little white and yellow flowers:
http://littlelovables.blogspot.com/search?q=wedding+canopy

love this yellow wedding, also uses the idea of ornamenting the ceiling, but with garlands.
http://www.oncewed.com/17295/real-weddings-blog/real-wedd...

I have a lot of neat garland ideas on my blog here, it's a very easy and cheap theme to use:
http://littlelovables.blogspot.com/2009/09/cover-me-in-tr...

this shoot is all just brown, love it, again it has the moss:
http://ruffledblog.com/chocolate-valentines-wedding-ideas/

this is a very simple, handmade home wedding... great ideas here:
http://ruffledblog.com/diy-southern-wedding/

this little party is neat, it uses lots of those ceiling lights:

http://mrsblandings.blogspot.com/2009/06/delish.html

my favorite wedding sites to check out are theknot, oncewed, diybride and ruffled

http://ruffledblog.com
http://www.oncewed.com/
http://www.theknot.com/
http://www.diybride.com (down right now, should be up soon)

1 mom found this helpful

I almost did use mason jars.
My first wedding had an asian theme and I knew the center pieces would have fish in them. No idea why just what I saw in my head. So my idea was to get mason jars, put some rock in the bottom, put a beta fish in it and put one of those water plants on top. I also liked it because people could take it home with them.
My mom didn't like the jar idea so we got fish bowls instead, and replaced the water plant idea with bamboo.
There is so much you can do with mason jars, from candles, to candies, flowers, sand and shells, potpourri, and so on. What exactly is the feel/theme of your wedding?
Edited....I would probably do candles or floating candles with a cute ribbon wrapped around the jar. =)
People also use mason jars for recipes...like they will put all the dry ingrediants of soup, chocolate chip cookies, etc in them. I had a friend that gave the cookie recipe jars out with a note attached "Made with Love, So Bake With Love." I thought it was cute.

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