Easy Centerpiece Ideas

At my wedding reception I had various sizes of vases filled with white candles interspersed  with small floral bouqets and loved not only how it turned out but how it kept the florist prices down by needing a small amount of flowers.  This is what it looked like:

My friend Liz's brother got married last weekend so she and her mother borrowed some of the vases I used and they came up with the idea of using the different sized vases with candles but added the addition of dried beans and wild rice to them.  Very cute fall-y idea.  Here's what theirs looked like:

Last night we had dinner company and I was flower-less and in need of a quick and easy centerpiece solution.  I borrowed Liz's idea for my own - quick, inepensive and a cute look.  I used black beans because I had them on hand but I think a mix of different things would have been adorable.