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Big impact floral centerpieces using 3 “ingredients”

June 22, 2011 27 Comments

Several weeks ago we went to a wedding… I made the centerpieces:

Tamayo, LA, Los Angeles, Limes, fruit, calla lilies, reception, wedding

…and Grant was the most adorable ring-bearer evah

For the centerpieces, I wanted to keep the costs as low as possible. Like most people, the bride and groom were on a budget.  They wanted big impact with a little price tag.

A great way to do that…?

#1 get a thrifty family member (um, me) to do them for free
#2 create a tall arrangement
#3 use fruit
#4 use 1 kind of flower
#5 use sticks and branches

I use fruit a lot because it’s cheap & easy.  (You know how I love cheap & easy…)
The bride bought these tall vases and brought them to me.

glass vases

Their reception was at Tamayo, an historic Mexican restaurant in Los Angeles that featured some amazing Mexican artwork, so I used limes and calla lilies.

Tamayo restaurant, Los Angeles, LA, wedding reception, party

I filled the vases with a combination of sliced, halved and whole limes then added water.  This did a couple of things:

  1. they added color and texture,
  2. they added height to the arrangement because the flowers and sticks were elevated,
  3. they added weight and prevented the arrangement from being top-heavy
  4. they served as sort of a frog to help keep the stems and sticks in place

Then I added the lilies and the sticks.  I also added ribbon around the middle of the vase to hide where the stems and the limes met.

It was cheap and relatively easy.  They ended up costing less than $18 to make.
Sticks were free in the street (you know how I loves me some sticks), I got 10-stem bunches of the lilies for $6 a bunch, and limes were 4/$1.  So basically the vase was the most expensive part of the arrangement ($9)

Oh… and because I keep it real…? This had an element of Craft Fail in it.  The lilies were so fresh that they did not adequately open in time for the reception.  If I do this again, I will buy the lilies the day before the event, rather than the morning of.

oopsey.  Oh well.  I’ll know for next time!

Filed Under: cheap and easy, Crafts, floral design, Tables & Decor

Comments

  1. Kelli says

    June 22, 2011 at 1:07 PM

    Oooh, first comment.

    VIV!!!! Those are amazing. I love, love the simplicity and the burst of color. You did an amazing job…they were so smart to ask you, budget or no budget.

    Reply
  2. Amber says

    June 22, 2011 at 1:43 PM

    I’m with Kelli, I love the simplicity of these. I was never big on bold or bright colors at weddings, but the more I see of it the more I like it – especially greens and blues. The limes really are a nice touch of color.

    Great job as always!!

    Reply
  3. Jessica says

    June 22, 2011 at 2:14 PM

    they look gorgeous! i wish i would have had you around when i got married because my centerpieces were wayyy more expensive than this and honestly, probably didn’t create as much of an impact.
    i love the look of limes in water. loks awesome. this makes me want to go out and buy some limes and calla lillies : )

    Reply
  4. Good Time Charlie says

    June 22, 2011 at 3:15 PM

    Love the combination of the limes and Calla Lillies. The Limes facing out just seems so cheerful! What a great idea. Thanks for sharing!

    Reply
  5. Connie Weiss says

    June 22, 2011 at 3:37 PM

    Wow! That looks really great! I’m going to line my table with those next time my in laws are in town. Then I won’t be able to see them across the table.

    Reply
  6. Maddie Kertay- The Domestic Anarchist says

    June 22, 2011 at 4:58 PM

    Those are wonderful.. and a small hint.. if you use a bit of warmish water some flowers wil open faster than with cold… mind you some flower hate this so your mileage might vary 🙂

    maddie

    Reply
  7. Shannon says

    June 22, 2011 at 5:24 PM

    Perfect for the venue. I love Calla Lillies, they were my wedding flowers. And you can’t beat the price!

    Reply
  8. Susan says

    June 22, 2011 at 6:59 PM

    Your centerpieces are gorgeous!! I LOVE them!!
    Susan

    Reply
  9. THIS IS ME....ONLINE says

    June 22, 2011 at 7:33 PM

    Gee, Viv. What do you do in your “spare” time? 🙂

    Reply
  10. Janice says

    June 22, 2011 at 8:00 PM

    Beautiful! You got an awesome deal on the callas…I work at a flower shop and payed $3.50 per stem wholesale for callas this week.

    Reply
  11. drollgirl says

    June 22, 2011 at 8:16 PM

    they look BEAUTIFUL!

    and your little man is such a QT!!!!

    Reply
  12. Nina Patricia @ The Adventures of Nina Patricia says

    June 22, 2011 at 9:05 PM

    wow, where were you with this idea when I was getting Married? It’s beautiful

    Reply
  13. Prudently Painted Vintage says

    June 22, 2011 at 11:00 PM

    Oh wow Vivienne this is just amazing! Seriously, these look like expensive center pieces. I bet the bride was super happy!

    Reply
  14. Impulsive Addict says

    June 22, 2011 at 11:30 PM

    G melts my heart. I love him.

    Those arrangements were awesome! YOU ARE SO FREAKIN’ TALENTED!

    Will you please redecorate my entire house with your cuteness!?!? PLEASE? Kthanks.

    Reply
  15. Lynn says

    June 22, 2011 at 11:40 PM

    Very pretty–and uber clever.

    Reply
  16. InMyOwnStyle says

    June 23, 2011 at 12:24 AM

    Hi Viv-

    Thanks for the visit. What great centerpieces – the height is great – and the colors – yumm. They look more like they cost $118 each or more.

    Love the first photo in your post. What a cutie. I bet he had a lot of people wanting to kiss those cheeks.
    My best- Diane

    Reply
  17. Madigan at madiganmade says

    June 23, 2011 at 1:51 AM

    Simple and elegant! I love seeing cut limes in arrangements. So fresh and pretty.

    Reply
  18. malia says

    June 23, 2011 at 4:27 AM

    those are super pretty… you always make things beautiful! malia

    Reply
  19. Bug and Bird says

    June 23, 2011 at 6:21 AM

    these look great. even if the lilies didn’t open up, the shape reflects the edge of the ribbon which contrasts the curves of the limes

    great job!

    Reply
  20. Surrounded-By-Boys says

    June 23, 2011 at 10:42 AM

    even though the lilies didn’t open, the arrangements were still beautiful!

    Reply
  21. The Rambler says

    June 23, 2011 at 10:59 AM

    Wow! Nice job! They look fantastic!!

    Reply
  22. Jo (@ boogaloo) says

    June 25, 2011 at 12:06 AM

    Beautiful!

    Reply
  23. Krystyn says

    June 25, 2011 at 1:18 AM

    Again, so simple and inexpensive, yet beautiful!

    Reply
  24. Lorie says

    June 25, 2011 at 2:22 PM

    The centerpieces are beautiful!! Simple really is best…most of the time! ;D

    Reply
  25. Lorie says

    June 25, 2011 at 2:22 PM

    The centerpieces are beautiful!! Simple really is best…most of the time! ;D

    Reply
  26. Jess@Balancing The Dream says

    July 12, 2011 at 4:59 PM

    beautiful!!!

    Reply
  27. Jay says

    June 18, 2015 at 8:33 PM

    i love your centerpieces!!! What size vases did you use?

    Reply

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