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Mrs. Penguin, Northern California Age and Occupation: 27, Weddingbee Editor in Chief Fiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Doctor of Physical Therapy Engagement Date: January 29, 2007 Wedding Date: June 7, 2008 Blogging Since: September 14, 2007 Venue: Winery in the Gold Country About Me: I love the Spice Girls, dogs with underbites, bean burritos, making messes, high fives, avoiding showers, crossword puzzles, blogs, weddings, and blogs about weddings!
About Mrs. Penguin

Centerpiece Trial

May 19th, 2008 @ 4:37 pm by Mrs. Penguin

My supersweet florist Karen of Huckleberry Karen Designs reigned me in this Sunday for a centerpiece trial. Since I was pretty adamant about DIY’ing our centerpieces, she insisted I come in to her studio for a trial, so she could give me pointers on how to set everything up, and to share tips and tricks about how to make the flowers last through the June heat.

I wanted a pretty minimal centerpiece, and my mom wanted orchids. Well, orchids, they aren’t the cheapest flowers around, so Mrs. Lemon stalked down some pretty awesome inspiration for me:

Centerpiece Trial :  wedding diy flowers sacramento Z146007 z146007

Image from Tropical Colours: The Art of Living with Tropical Flowers
Pieces by Floral Designers: Sakul Intakul & Devehastin na Ayudhya
Photography by Luca Invernizzi Tettoni
Featured on: http://gaileguevara.blogspot.com/

So running with the simple look, Karen came up with a simple way to recreate the centerpieces, for under $10 a table (for floral materials).

I’ve got 19 round tables total. Half of the tables will feature tall centerpieces, and half, short centerpieces.

Tall table centerpieces:

Using 24″ tall glass vases I bought from ebay seller HJK Imports, ($66 for 6 vases), Karen showed me how to set up our first centerpieces.

She added rocks, cut a slit in a large leaf about 3/4 of the way up, and added a cymbidium orchid to the front and the back of the leaf, for symmetry.

Centerpiece Trial :  wedding diy flowers sacramento Z146004.jpg

Then she filled the vase up with water.

Centerpiece Trial :  wedding diy flowers sacramento Z14600401.jpg

All done!

Centerpiece Trial :  wedding diy flowers sacramento Z14600402.jpg

I mocked the table up with 3 additional Cymbidiums, and tea lights. Here you can see that the front and the back of the centerpiece look virtually identical, giving our round tables a great 360 degree view. We cut the leaf to see what it would look like fully submerged, but I like the look of the leaf sticking out higher than the vase (above pictures) so we’re going that route.

Centerpiece Trial :  wedding diy flowers sacramento Z146005.jpg

Short Table Centerpieces:

Cutting small strips of a banana leaf, Karen placed a strip in each glass container.

Centerpiece Trial :  wedding diy flowers sacramento Z14600403.jpg

Then, she added a Cymbidium orchid and filled each vase with water, and I added the same setup on the tables with the tealights and the orchids. Easy-peasy!

Centerpiece Trial :  wedding diy flowers sacramento Z14600404.jpg

Centerpiece Trial :  wedding diy flowers sacramento Z14600405.jpg

Afterwards, Karen and I grabbed a leisurly lunch and enjoyed the San Francisco sunshine on the restaurant’s patio. And with only a few weeks left till my wedding, look what I got:

Centerpiece Trial :  wedding diy flowers sacramento Z14600406.jpg

Idiot.

COST BREAKDOWN:

TALL CENTERPIECES, Each:
These cost:
$11 for 24 inch vase from HJK Imports
$8 for 8 tealights and candles
$10 for 5 cymbidium orchids and large leaf
TOTAL: $29

SHORT CENTERPIECES, Each:
$11 for trio of vases from Pfalzgraff (search for a coupon code to get a discounted price)
$8 for 8 tealights and candles
$10 for 6 cymbidium orchids and small banana leaf
TOTAL: $29

The best part? I can lend out/sell the glass pieces later and recoup some of my costs!

Are you planning on DIYing your centerpieces?

Tags: diy, flowers, sacramento |
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40 Responses to “Centerpiece Trial”

1 2 

1.
Bee Icon
Bee
Miss Jasmine (message)  1,170 posts, Bumble bee

I love these!!!! They are so chic and elegant.

 
2.
frenchbulldog
Bee
frenchbulldog (message)  7,730 posts, Bee Keeper

I love these too! and the price, can’t beat it!

 
3.
Miss Toucan
Bee
Miss Toucan (message)  1,327 posts, Bumble bee

These look fab! So simple and elegant! :)

 
4.
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Member
MissBlueBear (message)  405 posts, Helper bee

OMG! I want you to know, my jaw dropped when I saw your sunburn..and all of a sudden, I totally forgot what your post was about in the first place…still in shock….

 
5.
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Guest
sja

Looks great! I bought the same vases from Pfalzgraff a couple of months ago!

 
6.
Miss Tiramisu
Bee
Miss Tiramisu (message)  1,098 posts, Bumble bee

These are so pretty. Sometimes simple can make much more of an impact than over-the-top. I love them!

 
7.
stargazerlily
Member
stargazerlily (message)  942 posts, Busy bee

Hey all! The short candle trio IS available…they were sold out for a while but now theyre back if you want to buy them!
http://www.pfaltzgraff.com/ecomm/Itemdetail.asp?T1=F1987700

they are listed at $15, but be sure to search for a good coupon code, and you can get them at a discount like I did!

 
8.
Bee Icon
Bee
misscoconut (message)  351 posts, Helper bee

Wow, what a cost saver and it looks so simple yet SO SO elegant!!!

btw, you’re so funny.

 
9.
stargazerlily
Member
stargazerlily (message)  942 posts, Busy bee

@MissBlueBear: Sadness, no? I’m so bummed that happened! It must have been 70 degrees out and we chatted FOREVER…I hardly noticed the sun beating down on me (and I’ve decided from now until my honeymoon that I’m going to dress like I’m in Mexico) so I had that darned sundress on instead of a regular shirt :( So LAME!

 
10.
Bee Icon
Bee
Mrs. Cherry Blossom (message)  723 posts, Busy bee

DUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUDE, those ROCK! i HEART SO MUCH! im jealous!

 
11.
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Guest
Cassandra

I love the centerpieces! I am definitely going to try to do something like this. I hate the thought of spending several thousand dollars on flowers.

 
12.
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Guest
CarolineG

Slather your shoulders with anything from Olay’s Regenerist line. It helps fade darkness and will bring your tan line down to normal!

 
13.
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Member
beanchar (message)  549 posts, Busy bee

Gorgeous fleurs, Pengy!

(Noxema is also good for preventing peeling… ;) )

 
14.
tea
Member
tea (message)  7,263 posts, Bee Keeper

i especially love your short centerpieces. very luxe and fabulous. way to go!

though thumbs down on the sunburn. lol. but since i like ‘ya i’ll let you slide by…

 
15.
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Guest
Michelle

Your cleavage is distracting me from anything else in this post.

 
16.
stargazerlily
Member
stargazerlily (message)  942 posts, Busy bee

@Michelle: I figured you were tired of NOT seeing my boobies. So I showed them. Youre welcome.

 
17.
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Guest
carib queen

LOVE THEM!!

 
18.
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Guest
Passionate Eater

I had that same exact thing happen to me (with the sun) and the tan line / sunburn! My tan line is still there, but I’ve been exfoliating w/a loofah and w/sugar scrub–you try that too. Also try aloe too. If you find something that works better (my tan line is still as strong as ever), please share your sage advice Pengy!

 
19.
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Guest
Leesuh1

Very cost savvy!! You’re lucky you won’t have guests like mine who like to take home the centerpieces. argh~

 
20.
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Guest
star_rotor

Wow, really impressive those centerpieces look great, especially for the price

 
1 2 

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Mrs. Penguin
Mrs. Penguin

Mrs. Penguin, Northern California Age and Occupation: 27, Weddingbee Editor in Chief Fiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Doctor of Physical Therapy Engagement Date: January 29, 2007 Wedding Date: June 7, 2008 Blogging Since: September 14, 2007 Venue: Winery in the Gold Country About Me: I love the Spice Girls, dogs with underbites, bean burritos, making messes, high fives, avoiding showers, crossword puzzles, blogs, weddings, and blogs about weddings!

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