Several weeks ago we went to a wedding… I made the centerpieces:
…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.
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.
I filled the vases with a combination of sliced, halved and whole limes then added water. This did a couple of things:
- they added color and texture,
- they added height to the arrangement because the flowers and sticks were elevated,
- they added weight and prevented the arrangement from being top-heavy
- 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!
Kelli says
June 22, 2011 at 1:07 PMOooh, 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.
Amber says
June 22, 2011 at 1:43 PMI’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!!
Jessica says
June 22, 2011 at 2:14 PMthey 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 : )
Good Time Charlie says
June 22, 2011 at 3:15 PMLove the combination of the limes and Calla Lillies. The Limes facing out just seems so cheerful! What a great idea. Thanks for sharing!
Connie Weiss says
June 22, 2011 at 3:37 PMWow! 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.
Maddie Kertay- The Domestic Anarchist says
June 22, 2011 at 4:58 PMThose 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
Shannon says
June 22, 2011 at 5:24 PMPerfect for the venue. I love Calla Lillies, they were my wedding flowers. And you can’t beat the price!
Susan says
June 22, 2011 at 6:59 PMYour centerpieces are gorgeous!! I LOVE them!!
Susan
THIS IS ME....ONLINE says
June 22, 2011 at 7:33 PMGee, Viv. What do you do in your “spare” time? 🙂
Janice says
June 22, 2011 at 8:00 PMBeautiful! 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.
drollgirl says
June 22, 2011 at 8:16 PMthey look BEAUTIFUL!
and your little man is such a QT!!!!
Nina Patricia @ The Adventures of Nina Patricia says
June 22, 2011 at 9:05 PMwow, where were you with this idea when I was getting Married? It’s beautiful
Prudently Painted Vintage says
June 22, 2011 at 11:00 PMOh wow Vivienne this is just amazing! Seriously, these look like expensive center pieces. I bet the bride was super happy!
Impulsive Addict says
June 22, 2011 at 11:30 PMG 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.
Lynn says
June 22, 2011 at 11:40 PMVery pretty–and uber clever.
InMyOwnStyle says
June 23, 2011 at 12:24 AMHi 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
Madigan at madiganmade says
June 23, 2011 at 1:51 AMSimple and elegant! I love seeing cut limes in arrangements. So fresh and pretty.
malia says
June 23, 2011 at 4:27 AMthose are super pretty… you always make things beautiful! malia
Bug and Bird says
June 23, 2011 at 6:21 AMthese 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!
Surrounded-By-Boys says
June 23, 2011 at 10:42 AMeven though the lilies didn’t open, the arrangements were still beautiful!
The Rambler says
June 23, 2011 at 10:59 AMWow! Nice job! They look fantastic!!
Jo (@ boogaloo) says
June 25, 2011 at 12:06 AMBeautiful!
Krystyn says
June 25, 2011 at 1:18 AMAgain, so simple and inexpensive, yet beautiful!
Lorie says
June 25, 2011 at 2:22 PMThe centerpieces are beautiful!! Simple really is best…most of the time! ;D
Lorie says
June 25, 2011 at 2:22 PMThe centerpieces are beautiful!! Simple really is best…most of the time! ;D
Jess@Balancing The Dream says
July 12, 2011 at 4:59 PMbeautiful!!!
Jay says
June 18, 2015 at 8:33 PMi love your centerpieces!!! What size vases did you use?