Weddings in the United States are big business. The American wedding industry brings in about $50 billion each year. At least half of all brides report that planning their wedding was harder and more stressful than they expected it to be. One of the details that has to be dealt with is linens for weddings. There are ways to make the tables at your wedding look fancy and elegant without upping the price.

1. Add lanterns into the mix. When you have tables that are well decorated, they will look more elegant. You do not have to buy a bunch of extra fresh flowers to achieve this look. If you alternate between lanterns and flowers, you can make your tables look great for less money. Oftentimes, you can get these from the same florist who is doing your floral centerpieces. The lanterns are usually less expensive to rent than the floral centerpieces are to purchase so adding these to the plan will allow you to save money without sacrificing the look.
2. Splurge on your napkins but not your table clothes. You do have to include tablecloth rentals for weddings in your planning but you do not have to go with the most expensive that the company supplying your linens for weddings has to offer. Between your centerpieces, the plates, silverware, glasses and everything else, most of the tables at your wedding reception will be covered. The things that will get more attention will be your napkins so get great napkins and then you can save some money on the table clothes.
3. Dress up your plates. Using really pretty place cards, an elegant looking menu or thank you card of a simple lavender sprout can give your plates and tables an elegant and classy look. If lavender does not work with the colors of your wedding, there are other simple flowers that can be used in its place. When you pay attention to the details, you can create a more luxurious look for your table settings. As part of the same idea, have one of the glasses be ornate but make the water glasses be simple. If you select an ornate glass for the champagne toast, you can get away with having more simple glasses for the others.
4. Get back to nature with your settings. If you are having an outdoor wedding, which is becoming more and more popular for wedding receptions today, you can bring some of nature into the design for your tables. Strands of ivy or olive leaves work well when placed on your tables. These need no vases and can add a fun feeling to your wedding reception. This is a way to add a lot to your tables without adding to the cost of your linens for weddings.
5. Use your chairs for the reception and the ceremony. If you are having your ceremony at the same location as your wedding, you may be able to use one set of chairs for both parts of the day. You can get chair cover rentals for weddings to transform the look of your wedding ceremony chairs to be used for the reception. When you consider that the typical wedding has about 165 guests, you can see that it may be cheaper to pay to have the chairs moved and converted from the look they have for the ceremony and the look you want for your reception than to rent a second set of chairs.
6. Go with rounds for the tables. You can get more people around each round table than you can get around a square or a rectangle. This means you can get away with having fewer tables at your wedding reception. If you want to add a really fun and whimsical look, you can alternate between different sizes of round tables. When you order your linens for weddings, you can talk to the vendor about what sizes they can offer you. You can get linens that are 134 inches, which is standard, but they also come in sizes of 108 inches and 120 inches.

At the end of the day, it is possible to have great looking wedding tables without blowing your budget.