Candles or No Candles...

This has been my life for the past week and I'm sure will be for the next 3:

Should we have candles at that event? Should we do fresh or silk? Can we afford to do this? Will we have time to put 46 of these centerpieces together? How many of these do we have in stock? Could we find anymore just like it? Should we go with ivory or brown tablecloths?

HELP...My brain is hurting.

I am planning centerpieces for Homecoming and let me tell you - the combination of tight budget, few hands to help me, and people going to every event all weekend long have made the whole "come up with decorations for each event" a nightmare.

I have 2 receptions, 3 dinners, 1 lunch, 1 registration area, and 12 reunions for a total of over 300 centerpieces (all different sizes from buffet table arrangements to tabletop centerpieces).

How many different ways can you make a pumpkin look pretty?

It's not all that bad - all the reunions can look basically the same (some are outside and some are inside, so that's a challenge), but all the other events need to be different enough to where somebody doesn't feel like they're having deja vu. It's already bad enough that they're at their Homecoming and seeing people that they think they should recognize without looking at a centerpiece and wondering if they really have seen it before. Sometime. Somewhere.

So far on the menu: harvest fruits and vegetables, rocks, organza, mosaic urns, cylinder vases, iron trays, clay pots, hurricanes, spanish moss, ribbon, raffia, and lots and lots of candles.

Oh it's going to be fun.