you know, i bought all my vases from a wholesale supplier. they were $3 for the smaller ones and $5 for the larger ones. my orchids only cost me about $5 for each large bloom (i had 2 per table) and $3 for a stem of the smaller ones (i had 3 stems in the long vase). the lily grass was so cheap, it was under a $1 per leaf. the pieces of white marble in the base we picked up from home depot for dirt cheap. the florist assembled everything and set it up at the venue.
it was very reasonable so i was able to have what i wanted, i.e. 3 centrepieces per table and alternated white candles in white candle holders between each vase. the candles/candle holders i picked up from the wholesaler too- they were long burning tealights- went for 8 hours with no need to relight them!
as for the jars, you can always give them away to your guests- play a game like taping a coin to the bottom of one of the chairs at each table. at the end of the night, have people turn over their chairs to see which one has the coin- the one that does, wins the centrepieces. the vases are really contemporary and the ones i gave out i've seen in my own house and friends/families houses still being used.
as for children, i hired two babysitters from craigslist to take care of the little munchkins at my wedding- there were 7 of them, all under 10. i really didn't want to deal with screaming kids during my speeches, or cake-finger-poking, etc. the sitters were awesome, only too $150 for the full evening, and kept the kids so well entertained that we sort of forgot they were there! hahaha plus all my aunts/uncles had a super time cos they weren't running around after their brats.
is the wedding in karachi or US?
SGC that was such an awesome idea I wish I had done that at my wedding there were so many little kids running around, yelling during speeches, and knocking down my decorations :-(
crying out loud