Thursday, September 23, 2010

Wedding Post: Centerpieces

If you ladies remember, the Fiance and I are having a backyard wedding at my wonderful Aunt and Uncle's home. If you don't remember, here's a quick rundown of our wedding facts for you to job your memory. We want a simple, casual, classy wedding and to help set the mood we want our decorations to convey that to our guests. Luckily for us, my family's backyard is gorgeous and we won't be needing too much.


As for centerpieces, I've been debating between floral and nonfloral pieces. I've also thought about having half of the tables be floral and the other half nonfloral. Or just a mix of two centerpieces, low and medium.


Here's my reasons for floral:
1. Hello, it's a wedding and everyone expects flowers.
2. Flowers are pretty.
3. Flowers add color to your venue
4. Flowers can "step it up"
5. Someone else puts the arrangements together and sets them up for you- less that I and my family/friends have to do. Yippee!


Here's my reasons for nonfloral:
1. Can be a much less cost than flowers (depending on what you do)
2. Can also add color
3. Is different and sets us apart from other weddings
4. Allows us to be creative
5. I can make them myself (with the help of my lovely friends and family) and they can be done before the wedding and I don't have to worry about them arriving on time.


Regardless of the floral or nonfloral choice, here's what I want my centerpieces to be:
1. Low to medium heighth so that everyone can see the person across from them and I don't spend $50+ on a centerpiece people put on the floor so they can enjoy their table conversation.
2. I want them to be simple and elegant.
3. I'd like for them to have a nature feel to them with a touch of glam.


Here's the centerpieces I've saved to my favorites that I keep going back to. I've been collecting these pictures for a while now and have no clue as to where I found them, so if they are from your wedding- thanks for the inspiration! You have a great taste! If it's from your photo collection and I've infringed on the rights, please email me at lovelipstickandpearls@ymail.com so I can take the photo down. Another note for the centerpieces is that my family's backyard is very green and I think we may be using colored tablecloths instead of traditional white. So for the centerpieces, we do not need too much color, but wouldn't look bad if they're bright or whatnot.


Nature feeling centerpieces- What I love about these is the neutral pallete with a pop of color. I think that the branches will look really pretty in the back yard and the use of ribbon or flowers will definitely add to the "wedding" feel of the occasion.



Using Fruit for color and decor- since our main color of the wedding is yellow, lemons can definitely be mixed into our decor.



Traditional floral arrangements- like I said, flowers are pretty.


So ladies, what's your take? What arrangement do you like best? Any new ideas? What did you have at your wedding?

18 comments :

Anonymous said...

ok, i have to send you the link to a wedding i saw recently. i was a girl i went to high school with..she was a few years older and it was a GORG backyard wedding..i think I have te link in my bb i'll look now..I think you'll enjoy it...

Anonymous said...

found it

http://floatawaystudiosblog.com/2010/07/laurentony-a-backyard-wedding/

she was a few years older than me at my high school..someone sent me this link and i just loved the simplicity of this..i feel like it has some elements you may be looking for!

BrooklynBlonde said...

OOh i absolutely love these ideas!! I'm also about to start planning a wedding and these are some great arrangements. I love the use of lemons for color and just for an overall "fresh" feeling!

jessica lynn said...

we did 1/2 floral and 1/2 non-floral (a taller vase wrapped with ribbon with floating candles). Check them both out here:http://jessicalynn402.blogspot.com/2009/02/how-i-tied-knot-centerpiece-vases.html

i love the idea of using different centerpieces throughout the reception...just more fun details to look at! :) good luck! cannot wait to see what you decide on!!

Taylor said...

What Month are you getting married in? Have you though of mason jars??? They are amazing low and perfect for the relaxed chic look you are going for! Always remember for floral - go with what is in season - or it is more expensive. Also what is close to you - flowers flown from across the world will be more $ even if they are in season...but I am sure you knew that! :)

Have you thought of grouping for example mini arrangement of different white flowers on the same table ....

**Favorite!
http://greenweddingshoes.com/real-wedding-rachel-brents-outdoor-wedding/

http://greenweddingshoes.com/real-wedding-jamie-jeremys-rustic-diy-wedding/

http://bklynbrideonline.com/1071/real-weddings/real-wedding-inspiration-lauren-chad/

**another way to use jars/bottles
http://www.sittinginatreeevents.com/blog/2010/1/8/diy-white-winter-shower.html

According to Jax said...

Found your blog and I just LOVE it! New follower! :)

Taylor said...

GAAA!!! Look at these ones, I say have fun with varying jars and glasses for your center pieces!!

This is what mine would look like if I had a backyard wedding!!

http://www.lovelybride.com/blog/index.php/2010/09/16/real-wedding-like-mother-like-daughter/

Karli Anderson said...

I love love love the stick centerpieces! I think they could be a cheaper way to go (?) I really like the idea of you doing half floral and half non floral centerpieces. It mixes it up and will allow you to have flowers without spending a bunch!

REBrown said...

We got married in my parents back yard (which happens to be on a dairy farm) and one of our colors was yellow...we ended up using lots of lemons and pretty cheap flowers like daisies for centerpieces.

Here is a link to the blog post our photographer did that has a few photos of our centerpieces:

http://katycookphotography.com/blog/2010/05/20/rachel-and-kyle-wedding-on-the-farm/

Kristen said...

Thank you everyone for your comments and inputs! I've loved hearing from you and all of the links you shared!! You guys are the best!!

PearlsAndGreenTea said...

I love how dramatic branches look in a ballroom because of that contrast but I wonder if it would look just like, well, branches off your trees in a backyard wedding. I think the fruits and floral arrangments would be best!!

www.pearlsandgreentea.blogspot.com

Jessica said...

All those centerpieces are beautiful! I think my favorite idea is the branch centerpiece, and I love the look with tealights hanging from the branches. Soooo gorgeous! Can't wait to hear what you decide. YAY for Grey's tonight :)

Brittany said...

LOVE the lemon and oranges center pieces! So creative! LOVE IT!

Leeann @ Join the Gossip said...

All of these options are beautiful! I like the branches mixed with the traditional flowers. I'm sure whatever you choose will be amazing :)

Congrats on the upcoming wedding!

Leah said...

Wow I want to make one of those flower arrangements! I am so excited for you!
I really love the tall white flowers so pretty! Can't wait to see what you choose!

Luvs!

Anonymous said...

I'm loving the lemon/limes ones! I really like the idea of doing some floral and some non-floral...that's something I've been tossing around myself! I also love the pic with the square candles! I am a HUGE candle fan, so my centerpieces will definitely incorporate candlelight...which I think would be beautiful for your outdoor wedding!

Frances @ It's Sew My Style said...

I think both would look pretty. I actually really love the first one with the lemons. It does a great job of pairing floral with non-floral. Plus, lemons are cheap.

Hannah said...

My best friend is getting married in 2 weeks and she's doing a variety of floral/non-floral centerpieces. She just sent me a pic of the non-floral ones that she's doing which is a mason jar with some split peas and a votive candle in the jar. It looks really pretty!