Decoration help!

Pretty idea! I think that sand would be heavy enough, if you filled the bucket all the way.

I'm not sure the sand will be strong enough to hold the shepherd's hook up straight once you add the weight of the lantern. Uniformity is a big part of the impact here -- you don't want one leaning to the left, and another leaning to the right.

I'd suggest plaster of paris. It's cheap, and it's as simple as measuring, pouring, stirring, and then putting the mixed product into your buckets. It dries quickly, but when it's about to set (Instructions on package), put the shepherd hook in the mix. You won't need more than a few inches per bucket. You should probably add sand (or rocks) on top of the dried plaster of paris to further stabilize the bucket so it doesn't tip. Add your BB flowers on top of the sand/rocks.

The buckets will be nearly impossible to clean, so consider this the life of the bucket. Sell them after your wedding or put them on your deck.

My main suggestion would be to use dirt - so long as it's moist, it should be able to hold it. If you don't think the dirt iwll be heavy enough, maybe have sand at the bottom and then dirt on top of that (the dirt should hold the shepard's hook better than sand would).

Alternately (and this is just the engineer to me...I know it sounds somewhat ridiculous), to help hold the shepard's hook in place, maybe have someone drill a hole the size of the shepard's hook in a piece of wood or plastic....and put that on top of the sand - if the hole is just big enough, it should hold the hook in place (you could even have more than one, to be extra sure it doesn't slip).

Thanks ladies for all the ideas! Prolly shOuld start trying now and get it figured out by trial and error. Thanks again, greatly appreciated!

I think dirt or gravel would work if you you drill a hole in side of bucket and use something like zip ties or wire to secure the shephards hook. You may need to use a bracket which would need 2 more small holes drilled in bucket to hold it in place. Either way you will need to wt down the other side to counterbalance it. If you lived close to me I would send my big brother over there to help! He is the jack of all trades/ master of disaster and could do it for you in no time!

Are you on grass? I would just stick the hooks straight in the ground and put the bucket in front.

Concrete or plaster of paris (concrete mix is cheaper), This is the easiest and cheaper way to do and transport. A bag of concrete mix is around $5.00 enough to hold 10 hooks, you only have to fill the very bottom of the bucket.

@Susan Haha yea that sounds like am easier opt! Lol @j&b no it's cement, that's why I need the bucket. :/ @Iran I'm thinking I'm just gonna have to accept the buckets won't be reusable, and use the foam or cement like you suggested. :/

If you are doing this on grass you can always put the Sheppard hooks in the grass then sit the pail in front of it.

You can also fill the bucket with large stones to hold the Sheppard hooks in place.

@estate unfortunately there isn't grass along side the aisle. It's concrete :/