Dress me up!

Hi!

I'm a table! Just your regular 8 by 3 foot wood table with wood benches. Normally cute little kiddies put their tushies on my benches and joke and giggle while they eat on me. But sometimes... sometimes I get to go wild! Ladies who can't stop smiling dress me up in new cloths and crown me with beautifully fragrant flowers. I wonder what I'll wear for the next happy sappy lady!

Sincerely,

Miss Bear Cub's wedding table


Hive, I need you help. I've got some big design shoes to fill, and some important tables I can't disappoint. I'm stuck on how to dress up the tables for our reception!

There are 18 tables with 32 benches. They're rectangular - 8 by 3 foot - and wooden. The benches look pretty awesome on their own; they look natural and rustic (not painted white on top). I'm worried, however, that the table itself needs a little sumthin-sumthin.


I know I signed myself up for a summer camp wedding, but I just can't get over how... practical these tables look. Don't they look like the perfect thing to use in an arts & crafts room?? The benches are beautiful - they look like they were split from a tree! But the roughly painted white top to the tables is just killing me. I'm almost set on how I want the tables to look, but I'm torn between getting linens or not.

Have you heard of Sunday Suppers blog? Their tablescapes (along with their dinners!) are absolutely delicious:

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This is the type of reception decor that inspires me - that of a homey dinner party. No airs to put on, just good fantastic food, and great friends.

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Burlap table runners are a must, too. I love how it gives the setting more texture and an organic feel. (Plus it would be pretty sweet to take a walk in a field of lavender after our wedding. What a fairytale to stroll in a field of lavender as magical as that one!)

Unfortunately, the tables I have to work with aren't as presentable as the beautifully rustic ones above. That dang unfinished white surface just mungs everything up. Granted, I haven't seen these tables in person. For all I know, they could be fabulous. In the picture, though, they don't look so fab. And I'd rather plan for the worst, expecting the best.

So another option is to buy or rent tablecloths:

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That opens a whole new can of worms. Should I get white or ivory? Knee- or floor-length? Buy or rent? Should I wait until I know how many people are coming until I decide how many tables I'll outfit? Maybe I won't even need to buy/rent 18 tablecloths!

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Also, maybe I'm crazy and I won't even need tablecloths! Maybe the tables will look FINE with just burlap tablerunners. They look so beautiful sans cloth in the other tablescapes!

As for the centerpieces, I think we'll keep it simple, but I'll go into that more later. But there will be mason jars full of flowers/veggies. That last tablescape has convinced me!

So, hive, what do you think is the best way to dress up these tables in a rustic, homey way? Keep in mind I'm planning all of this from out of the country, so it's really quite hard to coordinate most things. If you have a source for cheap burlap table runners or table linens, I'm dying to hear it!