Milk cans + branches + white lights for wedding reception lighting

Our wedding theme was antiquish and we wanted to have lots of lighting throughout our venue. The ceilings were insanely high so there was no way to string lights above. My solution was to put branches into milk cans and then string lights around them. I scattered the milk cans throughout the venue.

What do you think?

Thankfully family members had old milk cans that we used for free. You should be able to find them on auctions. You might check craigslist as well. My husband and I cut the branches from ditches along the country roadside. My dad called them hedgerows - not sure if that's the correct name. Basically they work better because they're very sturdy and less likely to break like a regular tree. Drive around the country, I'm sure you'll find lots of them in the ditches.

White lights are super cheap especially if you get them 90% off after Christmas. Thankfully my grandma goes nuts for Christmas and had plenty that we could borrow. We also purchased ten boxes at 90% off (making them $1 each), but we didn't even need them.

I will warn you that transporting these branches is a pain! You'll need a truck and a calm day. The last thing you want is wind catching them and blowing them all over. I put them in milk cans and added lights a couple weeks before the wedding. We then transported them standing up in a covered trailer. Another warning - these branches are prickly! Wear gloves!

I can't remember how many milk cans we used - somewhere in the eight to ten range. This cost us nothing! Here are some more pics:

Waiting to be put in their designated places. Not too pretty in the light.

Ignore the guys in the pic and hopefully you'll notice the lighting scattered throughout :)

Here are some other wedding saving posts:

DIY pocket squares for wedding
Wedding dress for less
DIY burlap wrapped koozies for wedding favors
Painted tuna cans as candle holders
Ball jars as candle holders
Learn to do updos for events
Flowers from Sam's Club for wedding
Wedding wrap-up