Centerpieces

• Rather than paying a florist an arm and a leg, you can create your own centerpieces for the reception space out of pots of ivy and a few accessories. Since most species of ivy tend to grow long tendrils of leaves, you can trim the branches to a length that will only occupy the area of the table you wish to cover. Make all the pots match by covering them with scarves or tissue paper representing one of your theme colors. To accentuate the piece, you can buy simple green or clear candle holders from a discount store, place tea lights inside and surround the plant with sources of light. "Bride.ca" also suggests making centerpieces out of numerous potted plants. To contrast the larger ivy plant, consider adding smaller potted plants with colorful flowers, such as African violets or Kalanchoe. If you have Pothos ivy plants, you can even create cascading centerpieces by hanging the pots from the ceiling.
  
  

Garland

• You do not have to cut stems of leaves from your ivy plants to create a garland. Leave ivy plants in their pots and extend the stems or stalks to drape over church pews where the ceremony takes place or use them to line the head table at the reception hall. Simply use the pots as anchors and suspend the ivy branches over mini hooks or pins. If you want to create a vertical garland climbing several walls, use Boston ivy, recommends Home and Garden Ideas.
  
  

Topiaries

• If you start a few months in advance, you can easily make a topiary design with potted English ivy, states North Dakota State University. This involves cutting the plant's root ball and re-potting it; then install a topiary frame and gradually train the stems to form the desired shape. You can either buy a topiary frame from a gardening store or make your own out of wire. As it is a wedding, you can create shapes such as hearts, or create a bulbous form and add white lights or red rose blossoms to it on that special day. Create topiaries for the wedding or reception halls; you can even create a small-scale topiary for the head table.
  
  

Seating Arrangement Chart

• Instead of creating a standard seating chart for the reception hall, you can use potted ivy to explain where each guest will sit. Have one potted ivy plant for each table. Insert a labeled rod in the soil of each pot to denote table numbers. Attach the names of each guest sitting at a particular table to the strongest leaves of that particular plant using push pins or sticky tack.