Centerpiece opinions needed!!

[karasue91]

FMIL and I have been trying out some different ideas for table centerpieces. We have narrowed it down to 2 different bowls to hold the flowers and candle. We definitely want something that incorporates a candle and the rules at the venue are that there can only be ONE candle in the VERY CENTER of the table and the flame must be at least ONE INCH from the top of the container. hahaha this table is ridiculous with the rules.

So, please let me know what you love/hate about each one. I have a few pics of each, sucks we can't post more than one photo per post!!

#1 with roses and spider mums - love how the candle is down into the flowers so it glows from within. Bowl is 10" wide, we have an 8" mirror underneath but I bought 12" mirrors from a seller on ebay so the mirror will come out about 1" on all sides of the bowl. The venue won't be quite as dark as the picture is, but I wanted to get an idea of the glow.

 

[karasue91]

#1 with just spider mums - view in the light

 

[karasue91]

Option #2 with spider mums and no greenery

 

[karasue91]

Option #2 with spider mums and greenery

 

[karasue91]

Option #2 with roses and greenery. The roses would need to open up a bit so they would actually float upright instead of falling over, and then we would need less roses too. Also we were thinking of doing beargrass as the greenery instead of the leaves shown here, these were just the greenery that came with the rose bouquet. I think the beargrass would definitely look better if we decided to go with the spidermums, it all loooks a little cramped in their with the big mums and the big leaves.

That''s it, what do you think? I''m not sure. I like the height of option #2 but I love how #1 glows from within. Our venue is kinda fugly inside, but we can''t afford giant tall centerpieces, so we thought these floating flower/candle centerpieces were super cute without breaking the budget. Both bowls are $10, so both options are the same price.

Thanks for your help!!!

 

[FrekeChild]

I like the first pic and the last pic. I think both of those are lovely. Can you do a half and half combo?

 

[Laurenj915]

I like the 3rd picture. That''s option- 2 spider mums with no greenery. I think it looks very clean and professional.

They are all very pretty though, your tables are going to look great.

 

[swimmer]

Ohhh, beargrass will be lovely. I think fullblown roses will look awesome (or will they also look cramped?), but the mums are great too. What do you really want though?

Ignore me if I''m off base, but it sounds like you want tall, if you want something tall, that is doable, these 14in tall cylinders are 5$ each if you get ten of them With your floating candle, but submerged flowers? or river rocks? Just wanting you to get what you want.

 

[Loves Vintage]

I love number one. The mums look very dramatic. That is such a great idea!!

 

[Fancy605]

#1 is my favorite of those.

 

[Amandine]

Love #1!

 

[Mandarine]

I like #1 best also!! Like #2 as well, very clean look and lovely as well.

M~

 

[CrownJewel]

Hi Karasue! Your centerpieces look gorgeous! I love the pink spider mums.

I like option #1 best...spider mums and roses. If you do it with the roses, I''d try to find a larger bloom. Something a little more "round" rather than "pointy." They don''t have to be fully open, just a little larger. However, the spider mums alone look fantastic too. I just like the idea of having roses in there too, for textural composition.

The other ones are awesome too...I like option #2 with just spider mums and no greenery. I wouldn''t add roses to this shape because the globe and the water become the main element. Adding roses may look like there''s too much going on.

 

[Sabine]

I love #1...but I like the other options too. I may be outvoted here, but the only option I didn''t really care for was the spider mums with no greenery.

 

[Gypsy]

Second bowl is definitely a winner to me. I would keep some greenery in there. Bare grass would be fabulous. Flowers... I''m kinda liking the mums, but not the color of them. How about Dalias?

 

[karasue91]

hahaha well thanks for everyone''s input!!! it looks like it''s split pretty evenly between the first bowl and the second. Maybe we''ll go with Freke''s suggestion and do both, alternating tables....FMIL isn''t too crazy about that idea but I do like the alternating centerpieces look.

swimmer - thanks for the suggestion, but i dont think those will work because I think the flowers would just end up being in people''s faces. FMIL is VERY concerned with flowers being in the way of people talking, she hates when people have to lean over to be able to see the person sitting across from them. I think if we were going to do tall centerpieces, they would need to be eiffel tower vases. But, if we alternated high and low centerpieces maybe we could afford the eiffel tower arrangements since we would only need like 11 of them. We could do one of the bowls I posted here as the low ones....I''ll talk to her about it!

has anyone saved a picture of a reception with high and low centerpieces??

crown - yes, i totally agree that the shape of the roses is wrong, I meant to put that in my post. I just stuck some roses in there to see what they would look like, they really need to open up a bit to not look so awkwardly pointy in there.

gypsy - I like the mums too, and also not a huge fan of the color. we might end up going with just white if we go with the mums since that is pretty much the only shade of pink i''ve seen in the spider mums. Dahlias would be fantastic, and we actually know a grower we are buying a bunch of gladiolas from who also grows dahlias, but they are SUPER finicky, if there is even a touch of frost they turn instantly brown and slimey. So, I''d rather go with a flower I can count on getting, you know what I mean?

Can anyone think of any other flowers that might work in these? I love gerbera daisies but they are a little more casual than what we want I think. I''ve seen spider gerberas though, which are super fun....but might be a little too big.

Side note: Gypsy and Freke, thanks so much for your help with the cake. You were totally right about the raspberry seeds, the first batch she made us had the seeds in there and it was so annoying have those seeds in my teeth. I had her make us a couple samples with her higher-priced seedless fruit mousse instead, and it was wonderful!! She folded it into the italian buttercream and it was fantastic, and so pretty too!! So thanks again!!!!!!

 

[SarahLovesJS]

My favorite is number 1 I think. It feels more symmetrical to me, I don''t know how to explain it.

 

[Gypsy]

Of course I have pics of high low centerpieces, silly. LOL. But at home. Will post tonight or tomorrow night.

 

[CrownJewel]

I should say that I really LOVE the spider mums you picked. I love the color, the flower, everything. It''s unique and fun and the color is fabulous. I just wanted to chime in to save the spider mums!

I think that dahlias would be pretty, but they are not as "spunky" as the spider mums. I think of you as fun, spunky, and feminine, and I honestly think the flower you chose is so awesome.

 

[happy in love]

Maybe you could do some with the roses and greenery (the last pic) and some with the mums and greenery... I like the more closed in bowl best.

 

[bgirl33]

I love the look of option 2, but would like to see the negative space filled with something other than the greenery (makes it look a bit too full, IMO.)

Maybe fill the bottom area with colored glass bits? It would refract the light of the candle and make some nice crystal-like projections.

 

[karasue91]

Here is a picture of the bowl #2. We actually flipped it so that the open side is on top, so there is a big mound in the middle of the bowl, which is why the mums don''t float right on top of the water like you would expect them to. And which is also why there is so much negative space in the bowl. I kind of like how less greenery would allow the flowers to reflect off the mirror underneath and make it all look like it is just floating there.

haha gypsy, that would be awesome, I''m going to take a look around for some too. Do you know how those eiffel tower vases work? Do they use floral foam to make the floral arrangement on top?

Crown, haha you are so sweet!! That is actually exactly why I like the spider mums, I love how they are all spikey and fun, but unfortunately they don''t come in a wide variety of colors. That pink is just a touch on the purple side, when I wanted to go for more of the pink on the roses.

Off to look for some high/low table pictures!! Thanks again, looks like this one is truely a matter of personal preference.

 

[karasue91]

Here is my latest effort. I really like it better with the beargrass, it doesn''t look so smooshed in the bowl as with the big leafy thing I had in there before. And looks a little more finished than just the flowers in there. Calling a florist today to see how much it would be to have them arrange 10 eiffel tower bouquets, but might just go half and half with the shorter bowl (#1) and bubbley bowl (#2).

 

[karasue91]

and a picture of how it would look in dimmer lights, like will be at the reception.

 

[Courtneylub]

Date: 3/25/2008 11:47:52 AM
Author: karasue91
and a picture of how it would look in dimmer lights, like will be at the reception.

This looks great...my favorite out of all the options.

 

[SarahLovesJS]

Date: 3/25/2008 12:05:30 PM
Author: Courtneylub

Date: 3/25/2008 11:47:52 AM

Author: karasue91

and a picture of how it would look in dimmer lights, like will be at the reception.

This looks great...my favorite out of all the options.

Yeah that one is really pretty!!

 

[Gypsy]

Date: 3/25/2008 12:05:30 PM
Author: Courtneylub

Date: 3/25/2008 11:47:52 AM
Author: karasue91
and a picture of how it would look in dimmer lights, like will be at the reception.

This looks great...my favorite out of all the options.

Me too. I like it a lot.

 

[karasue91]

Yay!! Thanks for all your help!!!!

 

[Gypsy]

Karasue, I wasa thinking of you today.

I know that you would prefer a more vivid color for the spiders and it occured to me.

RED FOOD DYE. I THINK Spiders will take color if you put them in water with red food dye for a day or two before you use them without any harm to them.

I think it''s worth a trial at least.

 

[karasue91]

Thanks Gypsy!! FMIL actually just bought some white spider mums yesterday for a dinner party last night, I might see if she minds if I slip some coloring into the water....

I have seen the colored like this before (I think) and I think some of the petals take it up more than others...I''ll post the results