Set the table on a budget in 3 ways

Text & table setting: Catharina Lindeberg-Bernhardsson Photo: Vanessa Bon Scheltdorf – DO IT YOURSELF

3 luxurious wedding table settings

AT AN AFFORDABLE PRICE

When you arrive at a wedding or a party, it’s lovely to be greeted by a beautifully arranged and generous table setting. The table setting, together with the food, creates a complete experience. When I’m out giving talks on table setting, I talk, amongst other things, about the art of creating a stunning table setting without breaking the bank. I source my materials from the woods, on my walks, at the supermarket whilst shopping for dinner, and in shops selling garden supplies. On behalf of Bröllopsguiden, I’ve created three wedding table settings here that you can make yourself.

1. ROMANTIC FAIRYTALE TABLE SETTING

To create a charming and beautiful table setting, I chose a colour scheme of white and lime green. The green savoy cabbage is wonderful to work with – you don’t need any vases or pots; just trim the base slightly so that it stands firmly. Next, make a small hollow in the top of the cabbage with a sharp little knife, and place a piece of floral foam (a green, porous material available from florists and craft shops) inside. Most supermarkets sell inexpensive white roses. Cut the roses about 4 cm below the stem and insert them tightly into the floral foam. To brighten up the roses and finish off the bouquet, I chose lime, with its beautiful colour and wonderful scent. I cut the fruit in half, snap off a piece of a skewer (about 4 cm) and insert it into the back of the lime half, then down between the roses. There you go; a finished ‘savoy cabbage bouquet’ to be placed as a centrepiece across all the tables, as densely as you wish and can manage. Back to the white tablecloth: the base is a standard white tablecloth – of course, it works perfectly well on its own, but I achieved the ‘movie star look’ by buying a piece of fleece (a thin fabric used to cover growing vegetables) from a garden centre (e.g. Weibull) (a thin fabric used to cover growing vegetables).

It’s white and incredibly thin, with each roll measuring about 30 metres. I ‘drape’ the fleece over the tables, and in the folds in the middle I place the savoy cabbages evenly spaced. In between, I’ve also placed a few ‘plain’ savoy cabbages to break up the line a little and tone things down slightly. The head table was edged by further ‘waves’ of savoy cabbage, with a few sprigs of ivy woven into the savoy cabbage, and at the end of the table, a few extra heads of cabbage were placed there. When I ordered the savoy cabbages, I spotted a beautiful fennel. It would really be perfect for holding place cards (you usually have to order in advance if you’re using a lot of savoy cabbage; in late summer and autumn there’s Swedish-grown produce, but the rest of the year it comes from other countries, usually France). As for the napkin, I first folded it in half, then folded two sections from the left and two from the right until they met in the middle; there, I placed the fennel with the place card in the green stem. Finally, I cut the lime in half and scattered a few pieces here and there. Voilà!

You’ll need: savoy cabbage, fennel, floral foam, ivy, cocktail sticks, secateurs, a knife, roses, non-woven fabric, lime. IMAGE

2. A BEAUTIFUL NATURAL TABLE SETTING

We head out into the woods and pick blueberry twigs. In spring and summer, they start out with light green leaves that later turn dark green. Pick, pick – they form a bouquet in your hand. At the supermarket, I buy bouquets of tulips, as well as roses in plastic wrapping. Here we have the white tablecloth again, but we’ll leave it as it is. We turn our picked blueberry bouquets upside down and, in the middle of the stems, push down a small test tube (available from craft or florist’s shops) and wrap steel wire around the whole thing. Fill the test tube with water and insert a tulip about 15 cm deep. If you like, you can tie a bow using a silk ribbon of your choice, either in a single colour or, as shown here, in various colours. The tulips (which can also be plain coloured) are arranged in a row as closely together as you like. The napkins are folded to resemble a ‘candle’.

The tips of the ‘candles’ are bent in different directions like flower petals, forming a small opening into which I insert the water-filled test tube and, finally, the tulip with a sprig of blueberries. The place cards are standard plant labels bought from the garden centre and are available both in solid colours and in a variety of colours. Here, I chose a mix of colours to match the multicoloured tulips and rosettes and to create the feel of a spring-like ‘flower meadow’. You can also do the whole thing in a single colour!

You’ll need: blueberry twigs, tulips, ribbon, steel wire, test tubes, plant labels. IMAGE

3. RUSTIC ROMANTIC TABLE SETTING

Eat the table setting! You can buy potted herbs at a good price all year round. Choose your wedding menu based on the herbs you’ll need! The white tablecloth and napkins once again form the basis of the setting. For the table runner this time, I’ve used the natural material sisal (available to buy or order from most craft and florist shops). Here, I’ve chosen a gold-coloured one to enhance the festive atmosphere. The various herbs are arranged at regular intervals in the sisal. Now all the guests have to do is pluck them from the table decoration to enhance the flavour of the food. What a fun activity at the table! The white cloth napkins are first unfolded to their full size and then rolled diagonally. Here, I’ve echoed the gold in the raffia-style ribbon around the napkin, but gold-coloured ribbons work just as well. To tie the table setting together, a few different sprigs from the herbs are tucked in alongside the place cards, which this time are white plant labels tied with the ribbons. Rosemary sprigs are best as they last the longest.

You’ll need: potted herbs, gold-coloured sisal, gold-coloured raffia ribbon, plant labels. IMAGE

Catharina Lindeberg-Bernhardsson has published two books. *Catharina dukar* was nominated for ‘Cookbook of the Year, All Categories’ by the Grythyttan Culinary Academy in 2005 and won in the ‘Tableware’ category. It is structured in the same way as a cookery book, with an ingredients list for each table setting, so that anyone can set the table with ease. Her new book, *Dukning efter säsong* (published in March 2009), presents 21 imaginatively decorated tables, each with its own distinctive character.

MORE INFORMATION

»

Find party accessories on Bröllopsguiden

»

View all table setting photos posted by members in the Photo Gallery

---

Copyright © Bröllopsguiden