It sounds like a hair style doesn’t it?

I’m actually referring to a growing trend in centerpiece design and it the perfect solution for the client who wants a centerpiece that is both off the table  or elevated and one that is lower to the table or below the line of sight.

The way it works is this. Let’s say you have 20 tables.

Half the centerpieces would be elevated so that the drama which can only be captured by that style of a centerpiece can be established.

The other half of the tables can be fulsome arrangements that are lower to the table so that you are able to sit those guests of yours who you feel might prefer to be able to chat across the table as well as to the guests on either side.

It’s a great option for the couple who would like the best of both worlds.

Diamonds, crystals or any kind of glitter for that matter when used in just the right way and amount can add that little pop that can make any decorative or floral element of a wedding sparkle.

Here are a few places where they can be used:

• bouquets
• centerpieces
• backdrops and head table decor

Here I’ve used them to completely fill the vase for a centerpiece.

Crystals For A Centerpiece | Floret.ca

Pure White and Deep Purple Centerpieces | Floret.ca

It’s something I’ve been hearing more and more.

“No Roses Please…”

The reasons for the sentiment are wide and varied, but it’s becoming an undeniable trend.

While I highly doubt, roses will ever fade as a popular choice for a wedding flower, it’s something I’m certainly hearing more of these days which keeps things always interesting for me as a designer.

It’s great news that the world of flowers affords no shortage of options for those who feel that the roses don’t quite suit their fancy.

At The Miller Lash House recently, the outdoor tented reception featured these modern and “rose free” arrangements as centerpieces.

With the dahlia season still going strong for the next few weeks, I wanted to share some more images from Erin and Kevin’s wedding.

Stunning centerpieces to continue the theme of burnt orange and lime green and the look was completed with a shimmering candlescape at the sweetheart table. 

Orange Dahlia Centerpiece with Lime and Berry Accents | Floret.ca

Sweetheart Candlescape At Vaughan Estates | Floret.ca

When I first met Nancy earlier this year, she explained that she and her fiancé Jeff wanted to options as to how they could incorporate photos of their world travels into their centerpieces in a elegant and modern way.

The final design was composed of a centerpiece that placed lots of emphasis on candlelight (an absolute essential) with square frames to complement the tall orchid immersed vase in the center.

Candlelit Centerpieces At Palais Royale | Floret.ca

There are so many places that inspire ideas for a wedding and the venues of choice for the festivities ranks very close to the top.

Panorama on the 51^st floor of the Manulife Centre in the heart of downtown Toronto was the setting for the wedding reception of Aya and Carlos.

With a perfect view of the city from every vantage point, this floor to ceiling windows room filled with cool black leather lounge furnishings and brushed steel copa tables.

From orchid bouquet in two different shades of pink to lime accented containers filled with white hydrangea, pink gerberas and green berries, this wedding was certainly not your traditional pretty in pink.

Wedding Bouquet of Deep Pink Orchids

Modern Pink Centerpiece Accented With Limes at Panorama 51st

One of the many things I LOVE about weddings today is the opportunity that I have to combine flowers and colours in ways that would have not be even considered just a few short years ago.

Recently, I had the wonderful pleasure of creating Stephanie and Rocco’s wedding flowers.  Their desire was to have reflected in the visuals a tribute their Asian and Italian backgrounds while expressing their modern sensibilities.

Liberty Grand was the elegant backdrop for this deep ruby red colour scheme brought to life with burgundy carnations and tulips combined with roses and gerberas in deep reds clustered together and accenting with ruby crystals for a modern yet striking effect.

As a fellow carnation lover (a confession I made a little while back), it was a thrilling opportunity to show carnations designed in high style and to make obvious that carnations are no longer the flower of old fashioned arrangements.

Crystal Accented Branched Ceremony Arrangements at Liberty Grand

Modern Wedding Centerpiece of Burgundy Carnations, Roses and Gerberas

What has always been popular and will only become more so with all that is going on “out there” is considering and attempting to DIY the whole wedding or at least parts where the cost in the savings seems to outweigh the time and the effort of doing it yourself.

Out of the all the floral items that a bride-to-be might consider doing herself is the Centerpiece.

Its significance revolves around the fact that its multiples, whether it’s an intimate wedding of 5 tables or a large event of 50 tables affects the budget the most significantly.

Depending on a couple’s expectations for the wedding in general, DIY is not always a practical consideration. For instance, large tree-like centerpieces with branching and candles is probably best left to a professional.

However, I think for those who “budget” is the operative word before the word wedding, at least attempting DIY would make sense.

The simple equation is that the savings needs to be greater than the time in effort, thought and legwork. And the reality is that it’ll probably take more time that you think.

Here are a few thoughts to keep in mind when considering any type of DIY:

• Choose a simple idea. Making flower arrangements without experience or taking Martha’s word for it that you can make that rose tiered wedding cake is a stress you won’t want the week of the wedding.
• Buy a sample of everything before purchasing your set quantity. You may find that your first idea may not work out the way you originally thought.
• Practice before you make the real ones. A couple of trial runs so that making them is not one more stress on a long list of items before the wedding day
• Plan for adequate transportation. The logistics are always the last thing to be considered when perhaps they should be the first.

When a client tells me that they will attempt to DIY the centerpieces, I understand the reasons why. I also know they there have also be equally as many instances, when I end up making it for them,  because depending on the situation, it doesn’t end up being the great savings that it appeared to be.

The “WOW” factor of a wedding is that sometimes element that seems illusive.

It appears possible only for the weddings with the unlimited budgets that allow for flower arrangements that attempt to reach the tops of the ceilings in a banquet hall and are so full that they seem unattainable by most planning a wedding.

Yet if you look at all of flowers in these weddings they all contain a crucial ingredient that without it would take away that wonderful element of intimacy and warmth.

It is the simple candle and it comes in many forms.

• Votives
• Floating
• Pillared
• Novetly

They are made in an endless array of colours, sizes and shapes.

When combined thoughtfully into clusters or scattered naturally throughout an open space.  Candlelight makes the simplest spaces come to life with shimmering glow.