More and more wedding and party venues are not allowing candles to be used due to safety and liability, and outdoor weddings lend other obstacles such as wind. Micro Dots or Battery Operated strands are a great option for tables, or anywhere else you do not have power. Learn, step-by-step, how to make attractive LED-enhanced flower arrangements and firefly jars to light up your table arrangements!

1. Illuminate Your Wedding
Without Using Candles
How to Make LED Flower Arrangements & Firefly Jars
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2. About the Projects
We have been getting a lot of inquiries
lately from Brides and Wedding
Planners/Coordinators looking for
alternate options for lighting tables
and wedding or reception spaces.
More and more venues are not
allowing candles to be used, and
outdoor weddings lend other
obstacles such as wind. Micro Dots or
Battery Operated strands are a great
option for tables, or anywhere else
you do not have power. Here are a
couple ideas we’ve come up with
using the Micro Dot LEDs.www.holidayleds.com
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3. Supplies
 For Illuminated Flower
Arrangements (Page 4)
 Micro Dot battery-operated LEDs
 Your wedding floral
arrangements
 Firefly Jars (Page 10)
 Micro Dot battery operated LEDs
 Mason jar with wide mouth lid
 Ribbon (color to match theme)
 Burlap, floral wire, cotton balls
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4. How To Make Your Own
Illuminated Flower Arrangement
 We made our own
arrangements, so adding the
lights was easier. If you are
working with a florist, you can
ask them to add the lights, or if
you can be present when the
arrangements are being made
you can add the lights yourself.
 You will want to start with the
twigs/branches that you will be
adding the lights to. Get those
set in the arrangement the way
you want them, and then begin
adding the lights (Pic. 1).
Pic. 1
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5. Tips for Adding the Lights
 Start with the end of the strand—the bulb end, not
the end connected to the battery pack
 Begin putting the lights on, starting at the base of
the arrangement.
 Loop or wrap the lights around the branches,
leaving about 4”-6” between each wrap (Pic. 2).
We were trying to take pictures to demonstrate this
technique, but the wire on these Micro Dot Lights
just disappears on the stems of the branches! Don’t
get me wrong, that is the final look we were going
for, but for showing you what this looks like, it does
not work that well. So, we decided to use some other
materials for our pictures, which will give you a
better visual on how we put the lights on. Pic. 2
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6. Starting the Arrangement
Most of your twigs/branches will
have multiple “branches” coming off
the “main stem.” We were trying to
fill this arrangement with as many
lights as possible, so we wanted to
take advantage of all the branch
space that we could. Starting at the
base of the arrangement, we picked a
branch to start with. Using the
looping/wrapping technique above,
we wrapped up the main stem until
we hit the first smaller branch. Wrap
out this branch until you come to the
end, or where you would like the
lights to stop (Pics. 3 & 4).
Pic. 2
Pic. 3
Pic. 3
Pic. 4
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7. Continuing the Arrangement
 Cross over the branch,
working your way back
toward the main stem,
making sure you are
crossing over the wire you
just put on (you want it to
look like X’s not candy
cane stripes) (Pics. 5 & 6).
 Once you get back to the
main stem, continue up the
main stem until you hit the
next branch, or where you
want the lights to stop
(Pics. 7 & 8).
Pic. 6
Pic. 7 Pic. 8
Pic. 5
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8. Continuing the Arrangement
 You will do exactly as you did on the
first branch—cross over the branch,
and wrap back down to the base of the
arrangement (Pic. 9).
 Starting and stopping at the base of the
arrangement allows you to “jump”
between the main stems, without
seeing the wire/lights between the
branches at the top, which gives you a
very clean and professional look.
 Continue this process around the
arrangement until you have covered all
the branches, or added as many lights
as you would like (Pics. 10 & 11).
Pic. 9
Pic. 10 Pic. 11
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9. Finishing the Arrangement
 The battery pack can be hidden in the
center of the arrangement, and covered
with Spanish Moss, or some other type
of decorative material that goes along
with your theme. Please Note: The
battery pack cannot be submerged in
water. If you are using live flowers, you
will need to suspend the battery pack
above the water/moisture level.
 At this point the arrangement can be
finished with the remaining flowers and
fillers (Pics. 12 & 13).
Pic. 2
Pic. 3
Pic. 12
Pic. 13
 If you do not want to add lights to the flowers
themselves, try adding the lights into the vase,
which will illuminate the bottom of the
arrangement instead of the top. Or try putting the
lights under a sheer in the center of the table, to
illuminate the table itself.
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10. How To Make
Your Own Firefly Jar
You can use any size or type of
jar, but we found the Wide
Mouth Mason Jars worked best.
The Wide Mouth Lid gave you
just enough room to hide the
battery pack, without it hanging
over the edges. Height of the jar
can vary based on where you
are putting the jars, and how
long your Micro Dot lights are.
We used a smaller jar, as we
were going to use these on the
tables instead of candles, and
did not want a taller jar to get in
the way of the other items
already on the tables.
SUPPLIES: Mason jar with wide mouth lid,
Micro Dot battery-operated LEDs, ribbon
(color to match your theme), burlap (and we
also used some floral wire and cotton balls).
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11. Starting the Firefly Jar
 Start by removing the lid,
and begin to loosely wrap
the lights inside of the jar.
Start at the bottom,
moving your way up the
jar, making sure to “fill-in”
as much space a possible
(Pic. 1).
 Make sure you put
batteries in your lights,
and turn them on. This
makes it easier to see
where you have lights and
where you need more.
11
Pic. 1
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12. Preparing the Firefly Jar Lid
 You will need to cut a slit
into the inner flat lid so
you can get the wire
coming out of the battery
pack through, leaving the
battery pack itself on the
outside of the jar (Pic. 2).
 Be careful getting the wire
through this slit; the metal
on the lid is sharp, and can
cut through the wire.
12
Pic. 2
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13. Closing Up the Firefly Jar
 Once you get the wire thru
the slit, replace the inner lid
and outer screw-on ring.
Place the battery pack on top
of the jar, positioning it in the
center, making sure it is not
hanging off the edges (Pic. 3).
 Double-check that all of the
wire with no lights on it is
pulled up thru the lid and
wrapped under the battery
pack so it cannot be seen.
www.holidayleds.com
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Pic. 3

14. Covering the Battery Pack
 We now need to cover the battery
pack, so you cannot see it. We used
burlap to cover our jars, but you can
use another type of fabric or color, to
match your theme. We tried pre-
cutting the pieces, but found it easier
to use a larger section, and then cut off
what we did not need. We used two
layers of burlap, which allowed us to
secure the first piece with floral wire,
making sure everything was tight and
well covered. Once we were happy
with the look, we trimmed off the
excess burlap (Pic. 4).
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 We used about 9 large cotton balls between the lid/battery pack and the first layer of
burlap. This gave us a little more dimension, and helped to hide the corners/edges
of the battery pack.
Pic. 4

15. Finishing Up the Firefly Jar
 You can now cover the top
with your second piece of
burlap. Secure the second
piece with ribbon and/or
other decorations, to match
your theme/colors, and then
trim any excess (Pics. 5 & 6).
 You can use smaller jars on
reception tables to replace
candles, or larger jars to add
height and dimension to
place card tables, gift tables,
head table, bar, or cocktail
spaces.
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Pic. 6
Pic. 5

16. Looking for more ideas, on how to use LEDs to light up your
wedding/reception space? Check these out:
 Use steady or twinkle LEDs behind a sheer or fabric to highlight an area
 Icicle lights work great hanging from the edge of a table (head table,
cake table, gift table)
 String Lights or Commercial Curtain Tap with Lights can accent a wall,
or highlight a particular area (behind head table, bar spaces, accent
pieces)
 Drape LED String Lights from the ceiling—use by themselves or in
conjunction with our LED Light Spheres
 LED Cherry Blossom Trees are great stand-alone accent pieces (put at
entry to reception, set on bars/cake table/gift table)
 Or use them in conjunction with the LED Cherry Blossom Light Strings,
which match the trees
More Wedding LED Light Tips
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17. Completed Illuminated Flower
Arrangement and Firefly Jar
www.holidayleds.com
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18. For more great tips and the
largest selection of LED
holiday lights, visit us at
www.HolidayLEDs.com!
We hope you enjoyed this
step-by-step tutorial!
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