My Centerpieces!

[sap483]

My florist made a mock up of our centerpieces for us yesterday. I was going in expecting to want to make a ton of changes, and I was just blown away. They were so amazing, so much more than I had expected! They are almost 6 feet tall! So, I don''t want to change a thing on them. Here is a picture of them. About 8 tables will have these arrangement while the other 7 tables or so will have a lower more traditional arrangment with green and white roses, hydrangeas, peonies, etc. Our reception is tented so the tall arrangements will add a lot of drama to the space. As long as we can finalize things with a lighting technician and our venue, we should be able to have pinspotting on each arrangement too. Yay, one less thing to worry about!

 

[CJ2008]

They look awesome! And how nice to get one more thing off your list!

 

[karasue91]

they are fantastic!!! did she make one of the shorter ones too?

 

[lovehersomuch]

how much does something like that go for?

what is that style called with the twigs and branches sticking out?

 

[SarahLovesJS]

Love it! I think it''s beautiful.

 

[Gypsy]

BEAUTIFUL! It''s very similar to what I''m doing. In fact the branches are MUCH nicer in that one than in the pic I sent my florist... so I''m gonna send it to her!!! I LOVE IT!

 

[Gypsy]

Date: 3/30/2008 9:06:21 PM
Author: lovehersomuch
how much does something like that go for?

what is that style called with the twigs and branches sticking out?

They can pretty darned pricey. Those are all orchids in there green and white dendrobum orchids, greens are baregrass and ivy and willow branches in a tall (about 30 inch or more) vase. I''m doing something very similar but with orchids, roses hydrangeas... dalias and mine will be orange green and white, no baregrass or ivy, and I''m getting a great deal on them, and they are costing me-- with the vase rentals and everything around 100 bucks apiece . I''ve seen them priced out (and had them qouted to me from some florists around here) for about 300 or more as well.

You could do something similar with white and green snap dragons (which cost less than orchids) a thinner vase and the same greens ... get a similar look for less than what the orchids would cost you.

But the pricing on them is complicated by transportation. As sap said, they are 6 feet tall. They can''t be transported assembled like that. They have to be assembled right at the venue if you are going to have the branches extend into the vase and actually use the vase to hold the flowers. And that gets pricey.

That''s why most people who do arrangements like that either do one of two things to keep the prices down.
Do high and low arrangements (Like sap)

Or, have the arrangements actually sit on top of the vase (so the vase is the pedestal not the actual thing that holds the flowers) and then fill the vase with something else, or leave it empty. The arangements can them be pre-assembled and stored and transported with ease (as they are about 3 feet high only) and then you place and secure them onto the vase (either empty or filled with something else) at the venue. It''s a faster set up at the venue, less stress, more prep and costs less.

And of course, you can combine the two cost saving measures above to reduce all costs to get a similar look as well.

I am doing all high because of the way my venue is, no low. But I am doing the easier assembly option to keep costs down.

This pic shows what I mean by using the vase as a pedestal and putting the arrangement on top. Although this is a different arrangement type with no branches to take up space and keep costs down or to give you that lovely TALL look.

 

[DiamanteBlu]

Gorgeous!

 

[karasue91]

great post gypsy!!! i was wondering the same thing myself, i''m trying to get ahold of this florist who came recommended but i haven''t heard back yet, and that was going to be my first question (if they could arrange them so they could just sit on top of the eiffel towers). i was hoping it would be cheaper to have them arranged so that they didn''t actually go into the vase, and therefore i could just pick up the vase-topper arrangements and give them to our cousin who is going to be setting stuff up. now i just need to get a price!!!

 

[Hera]

Wow

So beautiful and dramatic!

 

[bee*]

very nice. It''s great to have another thing ticked off that list!

 

[dani13]

Gorgeous, Sap!!! Love it!

 

[Maisie]

Its lovely!! Your tables are going to look amazing!!

 

[sap483]

Thanks everyone! I was so giddy in the car ride home, FI just couldn''t understand how I could be so excited about flowers. So of course the first thing I did the second I got home was post a pic for my PS friends. I knew you''d appreciate it! To answer a few of your questions...

Karasue- No she didn''t do a small arrangement. I wasn''t very worried about the small one as they will be pretty traditional. Just a cube vase filled with a low arrangment in the same colors but with different flowers- roses, hydrangeas, peonies and perhaps tulips. I''m hoping that she can still get her hands on some tulips in July- I love tulips and my FI''s family is Dutch. With the tall arrangment though my florist started mentioning using tropical leaves, etc and I just couldn''t picture it. So I really needed to see it in person.

lovehersomuch- These particular arrangements are costing me $200 each (New England Area) plus I''m paying a 15% set up charge on my total order. Originally she had quoted me more when we talked about what we wanted, and I was honest with her that I needed to stick within a certain budget. So she worked with me. That was why I was shocked when I saw how big it was. I had figured that with the lower price tag the arrangment would be substantially smaller. I think the added greenery and willow branches (that''s what the sticks are called) instead of other flowers and more orchids help reduce the price while still maintaining the height. While I would have loved to have these on every table, as Gypsy mentioned we went the high and low route to save a little money. The lower arrangements are $125 I believe. Gypsy gave you some really great options on what you can do to save money. I have seen some beautiful arrangements where the vase is filled with fruit or with orchids (although orchids are pricey) and the arrangement sits on top. She has lots of great inspiration pics on her website. It''s www.flowersbysemia.com

Gypsy- Believe it or not I thought of you when I saw my centerpieces, how funny is that? I remembered you were considering a similar look and I had posted my inspiration pics for you. I''m glad this picture was helpful! That was a great post- I think most of us are pretty clueless when it comes to floral arrangements. I was fortunate to have an honest and talented florist to give me some great options to work with my budget. Without that though I would have been in trouble. I''m sure the info that you just provided is going to help a lot of us on here!