Bridal Club Magazine

Budget Wedding Flowers – Making Your Own Centrepieces

Don't underestimate those boring flowers you see at your local supermarket or weekend markets. With a bit of advice and imagination you can turn one of these blah bunches into an eye-catching arrangement fit for your wedding reception tables.

Roses

One of the most traditional and popular choices, these come presented in cellophane with Baby's Breath and green foliage. This unoriginal presentation turns an elegant flower into something ho-hum. Their lack of presentation leaves a super-elegant flower looking very average. You can easily change this by ditching the Baby's Breath, cutting down the stems and arranging with the green leaves in an inexpensive but simple vase.

Carnations

One of the least expensive flowers and often over-looked. Many varieties are scented and make a great centrepiece for your tables. The trick is to stick to one colour of carnation. Make several balls out of an oasis block and then soak in water. Oasis is available from your local florist store. Beautiful decorative orbs are made by cutting the carnation stems down to approximately two inches and inserting them, covering three quarters of the orb. Repeat to create several orbs. You can put individual orbs in goblets or stack several on a plate.

Mixed Flowers

Most common supermarket bouquets contain mixed flowers. These arrangement are usually too busy with all that colour and texture going on - not to mention the varying sizes. Sort out your flowers into one or two varieties/colours per bunch. You can also buy a mass variety of cheaper flowers to mix in to make them look more uniform.

Single Stalk Flowers

A single flower presented on its own can often make a bold and dramatic visual statement. Many supermarkets now single-stem varieties such as orchids, sunflowers and cymbidiums at very competitive prices. Use a tall slim glass or vase filled with about four inches of glass beads or similar decoration and fill with water.

Gerber Daisies/Day Lilies/Gardenias

Flowers of the same kind such as daisies, day lilies or gardenias sometimes look better alone (or scattered) rather than together in a bouquet. Chose colours that complement you bridal party. Less is often better - individually tube each flower with stem tubes (get these from your florist also). You can scatter them along your table centre or put them in shallow water dishes with floating candles.