Centerpieces That Strike: Setting Your Wedding's Look & Ambiance

One of a bride's hardest tasks is to take the endless daydreams and visions floating inside her head and transform them into real details that create the perfect ambiance and an enchanting mood for her guests.  Often times brides think of flowers as an afterthought - a mere addition to their event - when in fact they play a very important roll in creating a cohesive look and ambiance for their wedding.  

Today we want to share some of our favorite centerpieces from recent Crossed Keys weddings and some tips on how to make sure your wedding centerpieces add to the perfect look for your wedding and steer you away from the typical roses in a low vase and toward something that stands out and makes a statement.  

The options are absolutely limitless and the first and most important step is to make sure you find a floral designer that will work with you to create a style and look that helps transform your bridal dreams into reality.  Once you have decided on the larger themes, designs and/or concepts for your wedding, you can start getting into the specifics!  

Photo by Brae Howard Photography

One of the best ways to step away from the ordinary is to use unique flowers that add texture to your arrangement.  Textured flowers such as succulents, lambs ear, echinacea pods, astrantia, brunia, dusty miller and even twigs or leaves add an interesting movement to your arrangements that will certainly make your guests take notice!  

Photo by Pat Furey Photography

Another important factor to keep in mind is the size of the table.  Make sure you talk to your floral designer about striking a balance in making sure the table looks bountiful  but not overcrowded.  You don't want your guests to feel cramped or uncomfortable at the table.  

Photo by Brae Howard Photography 

Photo by Bia Sampaio Photographs

Consider using unique vessels for your centerpieces.  Remember that you don't just need one large centerpiece and some candles.  Consider using several different shaped, colored, and sized vessels to hold arrangements of varying heights across the length of the table.  Considering using milk glasses, mercury glass or the increasingly popular mason jars.  

Photo by Francesco Mastalia Photography

Many brides feel obliged to make the tablescape the same on every table at the event.  Buck against the norm!  Alternate tall and low arrangements on tables to create a dramatic extra dimension when you are looking around the event.  

Photo by Dave Noonan of C10 Studios

Consider the height of the arrangement.  While you want your centerpieces to catch your guest's eye and stun them with beauty - you don't want them to be face to face with flowers for the duration of their evening.  Make sure if you use high centerpieces they are thin enough vessels that vision is not obstructed and if they are low centerpieces, a general rule of thumb would be that they should not be higher then your hand if you were to put your elbow on the table.  

Photo by Francesco Mastalia Photography

While this may seem like common sense, make sure your centerpieces fit into your color theme and the feel of your event.  You want to make sure that each aspect of your event fits into an overall, cohesive look.  

Photo by Event Designs by Katherine

Finally, don't be afraid to use your flowers in unique and creative ways.  Avoid feeling pressured to use a vessel and create your typical arrangement.  Get crazy and make a runner down the length of the table with flowers or across chairs.  Your guests will certainly take note of your creativity! 

The bottom line is to get creative, have fun, and make sure your flowers say something about your wedding as a whole.  They are the first thing your guests will notice and there is tons you can do to make sure they are still talking about them for years down the road! 

Until next time...