Here's a cake that we decorated with fall materials - chestnuts, mums, cranberries, roses (whole blooms and petals), boxwood and rosemary.

The Bride gave us "carte blanche" which allowed us flexibility to take advantage of some fresh and local materials. They all fit into her desired colour scheme.

Another reason why this idea works well is that the size of the cake table is not so important to the overall presentation - by having smaller-sized and a wide variety of fall materials, we simply placed the items according to the edge of the table.

No matter what season you are getting married in, brain storm about what fruit and vegetables are in season. Maybe your floral designer can incorporate those materials into your designs?

In September, I love working with grapes, since they are in season. You can buy flats from Costco at a great price (plus they are a consistent quality/shape/size when they come from the same source). Think "tablescape" of black grapes, cherry red roses and lime green orchids - super fantastic combination.

If the seasonal material is a good price, then you can fill the bottoms of vases with it, en masse, and accent the upper portions with fresh flowers.

This is part 8 of 8 - "Wedding Centerpieces" - Measurement Guidelines.
The "Wedding Centerpieces Series" was posted every Friday in August and September.

A consideration to think about when consulting with your floral designer, is the size of your Wedding Centerpieces. Much of the final measurements will depend on your table size. Also, if you are having a buffet meal, you will typically have more room on the table, vs. a fully plated meal will have more items on the table - ie, cups & saucers, bread plates, chargers, stemware etc.

The width or diameter of the centerpiece should be in proportion to your table size. The height should either be taller than 22" OR lower than 10". Anything that sits between 10" and 22" in height will block the view amongst your guests and limit their interaction with each other. As well, their view of the head table or speeches/podium may be restricted.

Welcome to "Wedding Centerpieces" - part 7 of 8 - Alternate Your Wedding Centerpiece Designs for Impact.

I apologize for these photos, but they should give enough of an idea to get my point across...

In larger Wedding Reception venues, you can add a bit more interest, as well as fill more visual space (think Hotel ballroom or other high ceiling room) by alternating your Wedding Centerpiece designs. What this means is that your floral designer can use the same or similar flowers (or at least stick to your desired colour scheme) and design two different centerpeices.

In the example above, this Bride's theme was red and white. In one centerpiece design we used a low dish with all red flowers on a white linen. The second design was an Eiffel tower vase with a few stems of white dendrobien orchids and a row of red rose petals at the base.

The two designs, although quite different from each other, blended the colours the Bride wanted, and created a cohesive visual design which added interest.

Check Back next friday for part 8 of 8 - "Wedding Centerpieces" - Measurement Guidelines.
The "Wedding Centerpieces Series" is posted every Friday in August and September

What's That Smell....? Is the centerpiece a scenterpiece???

Be careful what types of flowers are included in the centerpiece.

Some of your guests may have allergies to highly scented blooms or pollen. Some blooms alter their scent once cut such as "astrantia major" sniff, sniff....YUCK! Casa blanca lilies (gorgeous white and big!) have a highly perfumed scent that can put some sinuses into orbit.

If this may be an issue for you or your guests, make your floral designer aware of the fact that you want to avoid any highly scented or pollen-heavy flower types. Most flowers have some scent associated with them, so it would be unwise to eliminate all blooms with scents, since you would be severely limiting your flower selection, thereby (possibly) increasing your prices due to lack of flexibility.

One more thing...you want your guests to enjoy the food you serve, so no over-powering smells need to compete with the yummy smell of your main course.

Check Back next friday for Part 7 "Wedding Centerpieces" - Height and Width of Your Centerpieces.
The "Wedding Centerpieces Series" will be posted every Friday in August and September

As technology zips along and more and more people design very fabulous elements to use in Wedding decor, it becomes easier to find no-flame options for your centerpieces. Or does it? I remember years ago when those low curved, round lights came to be - you know the ones where you clap and they turn on, or you just punch the top down (sort of like the dice bubble in the game of LIFE, but that's another blog!)...these were the bomb! No plugs necessary, just an advanced form of the flashlight.

Here's some ideas...
1. Battery powered lights - like I described above, but hide them - place in low boxes with a fabric panel on top - this allows you to satisfy any colour scheme you want. Paint comes in all colours! If you choose a fabric that is too light-weight, but is THE perfect colour, then spray some fabric stiffener on it.

Remember that battery powered lights come in other styles - votive, tea light, candelabra and much more!

2. Light boxes - these are usually found at rental companies or decor/designers' warehouses, also for rent. They come in different colours and are opaque or somewhat see-through so the light source is hidden, yet there is a nice, ambient glow.

3. Plain ol' lighting! If possible, place your guest tables under a single spot light with dramatic effect.

4. Use elements such as mirrors, crystals and beads - anything that will reflect light can pump up your glam factor.

5. LED lights - these are some of my favourite to design with. Picture a big pouff of fresh hydrangeas sitting in a nice glass dish. They look wonderful during the beginning of the evening, then "voila" the lights start to show from within the flowers, once it gets dark. The trick is to hide them well, so your guests can't see them. These LEDs come in waterproof, so there is no chance of an electrical shortage issues.

6. Glow sticks or fake ice cubes that light up - get creative with these and place them in paper bags, opaque containers or leaves.

Check back next Friday for What's That Smell ?
The "Wedding Centerpieces Series" will be posted every Friday in August and September.

The Bride for this Wedding wanted her guest tables to incorporate a range of colours in blues through to purples and accents of pinks.

After numerous discussions we decided that she would provide an overlay and runner for each table in blues, and I would design the centerpieces in a range of purples with accents of pink. The ribbon around the vase and fabric that sat on the table pulled all the colours of her palette together nicely.

If you have lots of colours you like, OR if you have a difficult colour to find in flowers (ie, chocolate brown has proven challenging with limited flowers available in that colour!), then consider bringing in fabric or ribbon to accentuate your centerpieces and guest tables.

Check Back next friday for Part 5 "Wedding Centerpieces" - No flame Options for Your Centerpieces
The "Wedding Centerpieces Series" will be posted every Friday in August and September