Planning

A good way to go about planning to design or make your own wedding centerpieces is to start checking out bridal magazines or surfing the web.  You can even visit the florists and look in their catalogues.  Think about your theme, the location for your reception, your color palette and the mood you’d like to create.  Remember to keep the color of the linens in mind as well.

Here are a few simple wedding centerpiece ideas:

• Candles – you can use a grouping of candles of different heights and even colors in glass vases.  You can also float votives on water in the same type of vase.
• Flowers – you can incorporate real or fabric flowers at the base of most containers or you can float something like orchids in water with a votive candle on top.
• Feathers – if you choose feathers in vases or urns, they can have a very dramatic effect – imagine peacock feathers…
• Rocks – there are a number of ways to incorporate rocks into centerpieces.  You can have them in the bottom of vases or in sand with votives on top.  You can purchase rocks in a variety of colors at most craft stores.
• Sand – sand can also be purchased in many colors and you can make layers of different colors in clear vases and add any number of things to the top, be it flowers, rocks, candles, etc.
• Colored Water – you can dye the water that you use in vases with food coloring.
• Figurines – you can use figurines of doves or bride and groom or anything that might be near and dear to your heart.
• Scattered Glass Stones – a simple adornment that would be very inexpensive would be to simply scatter clear or colored glass stones on the top of the linens.

So, as you can see, you’re only limited by your imagination.  Artistic freedom rules when it comes to how to make centerpieces for weddings just as literary freedom rules for writing your vows.

photo by JaimeGirl

Time for snowflakes, lovely red poinsettias against crispy white, pine cones, adorable mistletoes, roaring fires, romantic bells… what a great season for getting married! It is so easy to get your imagination going and find absolutely great winter themed wedding centerpieces!

The flowers in season for this occasion are poinsettias, camellias, snowdrops, hyacinth, lisianthus, lilacs, nerines and irises.

Decide on the color and theme for your winter wedding. Red will give you a lively and festive mood, while icy blue will provide that magical wonderland theme. And white, well, what can I say, white is always so elegant and simple! White flowers just work every time!

Flowers and candles also mix really well when creating your winter wedding centerpieces. Just make sure the candles are unscented, as we don’t want them to overtake the lovely scent of the flowers. Add ribbons to the candles and tie them together in pairs.

Sometimes you also want to think about artificial flowers. They go really well in the winter as it is not the usual blossoming time of year. Use lovely frosted glass vases to hold your candles; you can choose to have a variety of colors.

What about confetti shaped as hearts, or stars, all around your wedding centerpieces? They sure add a festive feel to the occasion!

Natural elements are a great addition to your winter theme. Mistletoe, holly, berries and pine cones they all convey that traditional winter feel. Use them in your arrangements; don’t stick just to the traditional flower centerpiece. Berries, pomegranates, ivy, eucalyptus, evergreen…. And the one element you do not get in any other season: snow.

Use fake snow to decorate your centerpieces. The white in the background will help other colors spark to life.  Arrange with pine cones and ever green tree. Add candles to the theme. Sprinkle confetti, flower petals or loose individual pine cones. Bells add a brilliant touch to your wedding centerpieces. Tie them together with rich colored ribbons; red or green are perfect for the occasion.

You can go all cozy with a Christmas theme. Have different sized Christmas trees on the tables to make them individual. Have bigger Christmas trees placed in the reception area. That sure will give you that lovely and warm winter feel!

If you have money to spare, another great idea is to have ice sculptures tailor made for your wedding. Have one big one made for the main table, and then ask the sculptor to create smaller ones that would be placed on the individual tables. They sure will impress your guests!

There are literally hundreds of ideas for you to choose from. As with the spring theme, you really want to concentrate on those lovely, deep reds, browns, oranges, magentas, etc the fall has to offer. Set the tone of your theme in warm colors; think metals: gold, bronze, copper, ochre…

My favorite color is yellow; which is great for a fall theme. It is such a vibrant and rich color, but also when combined with gold and bronze it deepens the mood creating elegant centerpieces.  Yellow is also a very trendy color, suitable for young couples and also marriages that have reached their gold anniversaries and wish to renew their vows.

Yellow can also be used to create all kinds of desired moods; it can be romantic, warm, lively, modern and at the same time old fashioned. It is such a sweet color that could really fit any style of a  fall themed wedding.

But, of course, we have to think outside the box and consider different, exciting and unique ideas as we don’t want our friends and family to forget this very special day. Why not have your wedding centerpieces arranged with flowers and pumpkins? What about nuts, leaves and twigs? The pumpkin shells could serve as the flower vases and the rest could be arranged around the centerpiece in lovely little baskets. For an overall magical effect and as a final touch, surround the arrangment with personalised wedding chocolates.

If you don’t want to use flowers for your wedding centerpieces, then leaves and branches would dress the table elegantly and give it the tone of the fall theme in a “less subtle” way. Use fiery fall colors, attach the leaves to different sized branches and bring the outdoor feel inside! Why not painting the twigs and branches in lovely deep gold? They will give out a lovely glow when the evening sets.

You could use other elements with a more natural approach to your fall theme. Things like straw, hay and wheat ears are full of symbolism on this very special time of the year. They are lovely earthy elements with rural and rustic appeal that can look really impressive if arranged properly.

Whichever way you decide to go, don’t forget your wedding centerpieces will make all the difference on that special day!