Weddingbee Blog

Fussing over centerpieces seems like the cool new ulcer-inducing thing for us brides. It helps immensely (i.e., keeps me sane) to remember my inspiration and my vision: feathers, Deco, branches, burgundy. Classic, beautiful things to match a classic, beautiful venue.

Our venue is decidedly indoors, but who says you can’t bring the outdoors in? Art Deco takes a lot of its inspiration from the outdoors: stylized gazelles and forest scenes are big. Behold the Paramount Theatre in Oakland, Ca., an Art Deco masterpiece:

More photos are here (scroll through with the arrows) That is the lobby, and it’s designed to be a stylized forest scene. The thing in the middle is a waterfall, but there’s no water, obviously. The terra-cotta columns are trees, but they’re not real, right? The light (the light!) is simulated sunlight. And, yes, their electric bill comes out to $9,000+ every month.

The ceiling is a dark green canopy, and curled details on the carpet are meant to be fallen leaves and branches. These are hints/shadows of things that complete a unified picture once they’re all together. I want that.

Given my penchant for this old-timey look (I fail at trends) flowering branches and feathers sounded like a great idea for our reception wonderland.

With the help of our florist, Amy Burke, I ran with the idea of manzanita branches, ostrich feathers, duck feathers and tall burgundy calla lilies to provide just the right element of the-outdoors-in.

Here are some design inspirations that caught my eye in a search:

The great thing about inspiration is that you can make it all your own. Though I thought it would freak me out, it’s nice to see that the exact image I have in my mind’s eye isn’t anywhere on Google Images. I can’t wait to see what Amy comes up with.

Will your centerpieces mimic a theme or place you love?