Let’s talk about Wedding Centerpieces!
For me, Centerpieces have two big jobs to do on your reception tables…
1) They add height to your table! Plates and utensils will be laying flat, and the centerpiece will encourage your eye up higher on the table, adding visual interest to the table!
And 2) I love the magic way that a well thought out centerpiece pulls a whole color scheme together!
Here at the Golden Horseshoe Inn, we have a really fun Wedding Prop Inventory! It’s full of lots of great pieces that help our couples save money and create really interesting, fun centerpieces!
Things to consider when designing your centerpiece:
What can I use to create height?
How can I incorporate my main weddings colors into the centerpiece?
How can I visually “anchor” my centerpiece and make sure it is the proper size for my table?
How do I make my centerpiece interesting from all angles, but not “too busy”?
My favorite tips and techniques:
3 tends to be a “magic number” when it comes to design – 3 vases of varying heights, 3 votive candle holders, 3 pinecones scattered at the base of the centerpiece. A centerpiece in one place where you don’t really need to go for symmetry!
Use some sort of base to “anchor” your centerpiece to the table. Sometimes the “footprint” (amount of space it takes up) of a vase, for example, isn’t large enough in relation to the size of your table. This is a where a base can really help, by covering some of that table space for you. Our most popular bases are 1/2 inch thick wood slices, perfect for rustic weddings, or beveled edge mirrors, perfect for a fancier look!
Give a nod to your wedding season! Winter weddings are the perfect time to do this – evergreen clippings, holly berries, twinkle lights – these are all really charming (and inexpensive!) ways to incorporate a little bit of nature, and a little nod to the season at the same time!
Lets take a look at some examples of centerpieces created mainly from items in our Wedding Prop Inventory
You may not know about my teacup obsession, but I’ve been collecting them for years now, so there’s a nice stash at the GHI just waiting to be chosen as part of your wedding decor! Our Glass Cloche (the upside down bell shaped glass piece) helps “anchor” the items under it. The cloche can be filled with, or cover, just about anything. We’ve done really pretty autumn versions filled with mini pumpkins, and of course a nod to “Beauty and the Beast” with a single rose under the glass! Here’s a few more versions of a centerpiece using the glass cloche:
Tea cups, glass cloche, lace table runner and gold cakestand from our Prop Inventory. Fresh flowers provided by our amazing wedding couple Jane and Ryan.
Wood Slice base, silk leaves, glass cloche, wooden table number from our Prop Inventory. Mini Pumpkins provided by couple.
Who doesn’t love Disney World! Such a sweet Beauty and The Beast themed centerpiece.
Crystal cake stand, tiny vase for rose, silk rose, silk rose petals, mirror base all from our Prop Inventory! (Tale as Old as Time ring pillow provided by couple)
Both these examples feature a silk rose, but using a real red rose is also a wonderful option, and still a real savings vs. and entire floral centerpiece!
Bringing nature indoors is another way to add (inexpensive!) and unexpected interest to your table. Simple branches in a vase are perfect for a fall or winter wedding. And wood slices are a great way to include that magic number 3, as well as add height. Here are some wood slice centerpiece idea’s:
Woodstumps, woodslice base, table number provided by GHI. Glass bottle, silk flowers, mini pumpkin and leaves provided by couple!
This was so pretty, and cheerful and perfect for an Autumn wedding!
We loved what Hollie and Chris did for their autumn wedding…Wood stumps, woodslice base, table number and burlap and lace vase all from our GHI Prop Inventory. Couple provided fresh flowers for the jar, mini silk leaves and faux mini pumpkins.
And we really loved this simple and modern centerpiece made from branches, features below. It’s easier to see in the second photo, but our couple Beth and Minh had beautiful hand crocheted doilies (made by a family member) to anchor their trio of vases. And then fairy lights (little tiny battery operated led lights) were wound around the branches. It was a simple, beautiful, extremely effective centerpiece that checked all the boxes – 3 vases, anchor, height!
Trio of Cylinder vases, Table number, Fairy lights from GHI Prop Inventory. Crochet doilie, brown glass beads, willow branches provided by couple!
Here is a fun holiday version using our trio of Glass Vases…filled with inexpensive Christmas Ornaments and Twinkle Lights from Evelyn and Richard’s New Years Day Wedding.
All Items from the GHI Prop Inventory!
So do you always have to use the magic number of 3? Absolutely not.
If going for a single item, you’ll just want to make sure it is sized appropriately for the size of your tables. Our guest tables at the Golden Horseshoe Inn are 60″, so our couples will want a fairly large single item, and maybe an anchor piece to take up space at the base (such as the mirror below). This is a really simple centerpiece that works beautifully. I’m not a huge fan of silk flowers, but when they are submerged in water, it helps them look more real, and the water adds a little movement and shine to your table! Items from Our Prop Inventory in the photo below include The Flared Vase, Silk Orchid Stem, Purple Glass beads, Mirror Base, White framed table number.
Another of our couples chose the same idea. Just using our Clear Beads instead of our Purple Beads. So pretty!
Sharon and Karen did a wonderful job of personalizing their tables. They collected items from their own property and their many hikes to create this perfect fall arrangement.
A couple other cute details to note – they Named their tables (instead of Numbering them), each table was named after a location that was special to them. And if you squint, you can see the candy apple wedding favors on each plate in the background. The Brown ribbon on the candy apples was personalized with their names and wedding date, and tied into the brown colors in their centerpiece – a perfect job!
All the idea’s above have been super creative and interesting. But there is nothing wrong with going the classic route of a single floral centerpiece. We’ve had several brides create their own silk centerpiece (and then gift them to us afterwards for future couples to use, as both the brides who created the centerpieces below did – so sweet!) such as the two examples below! We’ve also had couples order something similar from the florist done in fresh flowers.
And finally, there are some couples who have a lot of fun making their own centerpieces entirely and don’t need to borrow from our prop inventory. This is the beauty of hosting an Intimate Wedding – you might have a little extra room in your budget to cover the things that are important to you!
Alison and Thom had a fantastic Enchanted Woodland theme for their wedding day. Flowers were the most important thing to our bride and her mom, so they added on these gorgeous swags from our florist, and provided the copper lanterns, and grapevine wreath base. There were also little fairy figurines hidden among the flowers and wreath – lots for guests to discover as they were seated for dinner!
Sara and Wayne wanted a slightly Bohemian feel to their wedding day. They found these gorgeous geometric vases (you can find similar ones at Oriental Trading Co) and filled them with moss and silk orchids and it looked stunning. They also wrapped faux ivy garland around the base of the vase which did a great job of adding more texture and also anchoring the arrangement!
Darlene and Nick also provided their own centerpieces. Darlene and her mom had a great time making these. They purchased a lantern, a flameless candle and silk flowers in their wedding colors which were glued to the top of the lantern. You’ll notice they did not use a base to sit their centerpiece on, but they did use Gold Charger plates (from our prop inventory) under each dinner plate, and this helped add coverage to their table so everything felt proportionate!
You guys, I hope this was a helpful post for you! I know Centerpieces are one of those area’s that can seem overwhelming at first! It’s also an area where costs can mount up pretty quickly. This is something we’ll explore in depth together at our Planning Meeting for your wedding day. Many of our couples bring items they are considering using, so they can see them in the actual space and on the table, which can be really helpful. We’ll also dig through our Prop Inventory together and see what we might already have that will be just perfect for you! I can’t wait to dream up something wonderful with you!
PS – Most of my posts are going to be about streamlining your budget, keeping things simple and easy because that’s our specialty here at the Golden Horseshoe Inn…BUT…everyone has that one element to their wedding that is most important to them…and if Centerpieces are your thing, then you should feel free to go all out! I will never forget Gabby and Eric’s Disney Themed Wedding. It is probably the most complicated wedding decor-wise that we have hosted. Oh, it turned out so beautifully! Each of their 7 guest tables were themed after a different Disney Movie… (Peter Pan, Little Mermaid, Cinderella, B&B, Alice in Wonderland, Pooh Bear, Snow White!) here is their Beauty and the Beast centerpiece below… You can click on the link above to see more from this special day! Happy Planning!!!
xoxo – Heather
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Magazine May / June 2021 Issue
