Looking Back: Centerpieces

The most important thing, for me, about centerpieces is that they need to provide a sense of drama. I think of creating a centerpiece like creating a piece of art on a table.  Centerpieces fit into two categories: low & high.

For low centerpieces, I always like using a profusion of flowers. Use flowers that work together in the same color family, all purples or all reds for example, as opposed to too many colors in one arrangement, which can be distracting and less dramatic.

The benefit of a low centerpiece is that it enables guests to see each other across the table and allows an intimate experience. The benefit of a high centerpiece is that it serves as additional room decor and provides high drama.

Here are some tips for creating your own centerpieces: 

• Think beyond flowers. In the picture above, using a tall black rod as a candleholder made the illusion that the candle was floating in the room. If you pair this with a beautiful low centerpiece, it brings a balance to the table. 
• Flowers can have opposing fragrances. Be careful that the flowers you use don’t have a scent that could conflict with the food.  Some examples of strong fragrant flowers are: gardenias, tuber roses, Casablanca lilies, and paper whites (narcissus). But just because you can’t use them at the table doesn’t mean you can’t use them in arrangements around the rest of the room. Certain clients request their favorite fragrances, so it’s always something we need to balance and pay attention to. 
• I suggest using some low and some high centerpieces--it gives the room more of a flow across the space and it can be more cost-effective (lowers centerpieces are less expensive). The correct height of an average low centerpiece is when it’s low enough that you can see the person sitting across from you at the table. For an average high centerpiece, there are no rules (sky’s the limit). 

Do you have any tips or tricks for creating a dramatic centerpieces? Please share in the comments.

Holiday DIY: Pie of Roses

Yesterday we talked about some great ways you can decorate your home last minute. However, if you have some extra time on your hands and want to make something special I have a beautiful DIY for you to try. It’s blissfully simple, but something you’ll have to make the day of or the day before you plan to use it since flowers are so fragile. This makes a great statement piece on your holiday table.

Materials:

• Ceramic pie plate
• Roses
• Ribbon
• Oasis floral foam
  
• Flower shears

Directions:
1) Prepare oasis floral foam to fit snugly into the pie plate. Make sure the top of the foam is flush with the edge of the plate.

2) Cut stems of roses so that you have just enough to stick into the foam. I’m approximating 2 inches, but it could vary depending on the depth of your pie plate. Place roses artfully all around the foam to fill the pie plate.

3) Take your ribbon and form a lattice-work pattern over your flowers. Cut the ribbon into strips and lay them horizontally across the roses, then lay the other ribbon strips vertically across those.

4) Place on your table and wait for the Oohs and Aahs.

Behind The Scenes: The Flora

In almost every interview, speech or talk I give I always get the same question: Can you tell us about your design process? How does an event go from a dream to reality?  Well, here’s one answer to the question: It ain’t easy. Okay, to be more serious, there’s a lot of thought, discussion and many many hours put in with my amazing team—a combo of designers, production people and countless others. So today, instead of talking about the final result of the event, let’s take a peek behind the curtain and see one aspect of what’s going on behind the scenes.

This week, we’ve been hard at work for a wedding taking place on Saturday. We're working with the most delicious bride and the wonderful part about her is that she was very open to surprise and inspiration during the design process, even though she already had a very specific direction she wanted for her wedding. It’s been a great experience working with her.

For a wedding, we have to bring in an army of freelancers. New York city is known for its diversity and that shows through in the talent we hire. Some are actors, writers or musicians, but one thing they have in common is that they are all artists. All you folks in the event industry understand the work needed to get a super production together. We have been working on this wedding all month. However, the flowers are perishable, so there’s a more delicate timeline associated with these beauties.

Usually, the flowers arrive in our studio 10 days before the event. We then have to treat them delicately like a growing child or precious stone. Every day, we clean and water them to ensure the bulbs open slowly. The actual process of creating the arrangements, archway decorations and any other number of sculptural or artistic form you see usually only happens one to two days prior to the event. We keep all the flowers chilled and in water to ensure freshness and beauty on their big day.

DIY Thanksgiving: Decorated Ribbon Vase

It’s amazing how versatile ribbon is. In the last project we used it to transform a simple cardboard box into a fruit bowl, and this week we’ll use it to enhance the beauty of a plain glass vessel.

Materials:

• Glass vase 
• Two types of ribbons in complimentary colors. We recommend one thick in width and one thin. Be sure to choose colors that will match or enhance the color of the flowers you’d like to use. 
• Scissors 
• Tape

Instructions:

1. Before you begin, make sure your glass vase is clean without dust, inside and out. Then, you can proceed by taking one end of the wide ribbon and taping it to the center bottom of one side of the vase.

2. Keeping the ribbon flat against the vase, wrap it around the vase, covering all sides until you get to to the top. Once you get to the top, tape that end of the ribbon on to the back side of the vase so that no one will see it.

3. Repeat steps 1 and 2 using the thin ribbon, except when you get to the top of the vase, tie the ribbon into a bow instead of taping the end to the vase.

4. Pick a complimentary colored bouquet of flowers, fill the vase and you’re finished.

Like I mentioned last time, I’d love to see your version of these DIYs. Feel free to email them to my editor Karell@prestonbailey.com, or if you have your own blog, post them on your blog and leave me the link in the comments. Enjoy!