May 29, 2014 | Post by: Meghan 50 Comments

Another Large Event Under My Belt…

_DSC0210_edited-1

Mike’s Chicago Fire Department Academy Banquet was last weekend. When the discussion around centerpieces came up, Mike told his team he had someone that could do them for the event. That “someone” was ME! 

So, I dusted off my flower creating hands and enlisted the help of my mom (once again). After I was told that I would be doing all of the centerpieces, I asked Mike how many I would need to create. His response was “45”. My response was “You volunteered me to make 45 centerpieces?!?!?!?!?!?!”. Things have been pretty busy around here lately, so when I heard this number, it immediately brought me back to my wedding and the stress that came along with it! I took a deep breath and started planning.

I was told the colors were red, gold and black. I wanted to make sure I incorporated these colors, so I began my search for inspiration. I knew I wanted to keep the arrangements simple for my own sanity, and the sanity of my Mom! I went with tall vases filled with Hydrangeas and gold glittery sticks. I placed the vase on a red charger surrounded by votives with gold decorative circles decals.

When I finally landed on my design, I began to search for the best price for flowers. For my wedding I purchase my flowers from Jewel, which were reasonable until…….I found LW Direct!  Okay, first off, Larry is amazing! He was super quick to get back to me and his prices were exceptional! His location was even more perfect because it was located across the street from my office! Score!

For my vases, I was originally going to purchase all of them through www.saveoncrafts.com. When I saw how much the shipping was going to be for these bad boys, I decided to rethink my purchase. About $300 of my budget was going to go towards shipping! Ummm…I don’t think so! So, I ended up stumbling upon a flower design studio (in my office building!). I know, talk about luck! I was able to rent the vases for WAY cheaper than if I had purchased them. Oh, and Ryan at StemLine Creative was the sweetest! He gave me tips for my flowers and centerpieces, which was so nice!

I used gold branches in my vases and placed the vases on red chargers for extra detail. These red charges and gold glitter branches are similar to the ones I used.  I thought it was a pretty good value for what I got.  Thank God for my mom! She stored the large boxes of branches and charges for me. My tiny little apartment would have been taken over by these boxes! I bought my tealights and votives from Ikea.

When all was said and done, my 45 centerpieces ended up costing $24 and some change a piece. Not bad if I do say so myself!

To assemble my vases, I had my mom cut my branches down about 10 inches.  I cut my flowers so they were just barely above my vase. Each vase had 4 Hydrangeas and 3 branches. My mom took a patterned punch, punched adhesive vinyl, and stuck the decals on to the clear votives. Then, I placed the charger down, added the vase in the center, and placed 5 candles around the vase on the charger. That was it. SUPER simple!

_DSC0067_edited-1_DSC0072_edited-1_DSC0084_edited-1 copy_DSC0217_edited-1 _DSC0254_edited-1

50 Comments to Another Large Event Under My Belt…

  1. bridechic
    June 17, 2014 5:32 pm

    Really love the originality of these floral displays–great work!

  2. Cynthia Garibay
    March 31, 2015 4:53 pm

    what size is the vase you used?

  3. linda
    May 28, 2015 5:30 pm

    I am doing the same thing for my daughters wedding..4000 for flowers for 4 hrs. noooooo

  4. Evelyn
    June 22, 2015 4:11 pm

    This is gorgeous! How many of the branches (bundles) did you get? I see that they are 3 for $18, so I was curious how you got enough for 45 centerpieces spending only $24. Also, did you cut them down at all? Thank you!!

    • Meghan
      June 22, 2015 8:04 pm

      Hi Evelyn!

      I did cut them down a bit. It all depends on how tall your vase is and how tall you want your branches. FYI…if you decided to cut your branches down, make sure you do it outside. The glitter can get SUPER messy! :)

  5. Evelyn
    June 22, 2015 4:14 pm

    I misread, sorry! You said $24 a piece. My apologies!!

  6. Cinthya
    June 24, 2015 9:15 pm

    Hi Meghan! Thank you for posting this :). I’ll try to make these centerpieces for my wedding. What was the width of these vases? 4″?

    Thanks!

  7. Alicia
    July 4, 2015 12:13 pm

    What was the diameter of each vase? Want to me these for my wedding!

    • Meghan
      July 5, 2015 7:38 pm

      Oh, man! I do not remember the diameter of the vases, I just know they were 10 inch cylinder vases. Sorry. :( I hope This helps!

  8. Ebony
    July 16, 2015 8:05 pm

    Hi, I really like these and would like 10 of these for centerpieces for my reception what is the costs for the flowers

  9. Jamie
    September 2, 2015 11:20 am

    Are these silk flowers? Would love to make these for my reception!

  10. Miriam
    September 15, 2015 9:49 pm

    DiD you do these on the day of the event or the day before. I am doing DIY for 50 hydrangea centrepieces and wanted to know how you when about managing them, storing and set up.

    Thanks

  11. Tiffany
    September 27, 2015 10:07 pm

    Hi Meghan, What is the name of the place you rented the vases from? I’m in the same boat and if I could find a place to rent them that might be best.

  12. Falicia Collins
    November 7, 2015 7:03 am

    HHello ladies. I’m planning to make these for my own wedding and I was aable to order 9 iinch vases by the dozen from Dollar Tree. Cheap alternate. I had them shipped to the store for free

  13. Raquel
    November 9, 2015 11:49 pm

    Hi Meghan! I am from the Chicago area. Where did you rent the vases from? Such a great idea and huge money saver!

  14. Angela Gonzales
    February 10, 2016 10:26 pm

    Hi how much do you charge for 20 center pieces? For a wedding and are you local like fontana,California ?

    Thanks Angela

    • Meghan
      February 15, 2016 10:51 am

      Hi Angela, I am actually based in Chicago and do not do this as a full-time gig. I was just trying to save some money by doing the centerpieces myself. :) If you have any questions about the products I used, or how I arranged the flowers, please let me know!

    • Franschell Williams
      April 7, 2017 8:10 am

      Hi Angela if you haven’t found anyone I’m a wedding planner here in Eastvale, CA. I rent wedding accessories, linens and setup and decorating services.

  15. Laura
    February 19, 2016 3:59 am

    Hello,
    Please could you tell me what these flowers are?
    Thank you

  16. Carissa
    March 19, 2016 8:39 am

    I am making these for my sons 1st holy communion in May, I read that you made these centerpieces the night before which I was planning on doing but I was wondering how you stored them. Did you keep them in the house or did you keep them refrigerated? I live in south Florida
    Thanks!

  17. Erica
    May 12, 2016 9:03 am

    Did you use anything to hold the flowers or sticks together? I love this design for my wedding.

    • Meghan
      May 17, 2016 11:39 am

      Hi Erica! I did not use anything to hold them together. Since the opening of the case was not that the wide, the sticks and flowers stayed in place.

  18. Nelly
    July 27, 2016 3:43 pm

    Meghan how many breaks did you put in each vases

  19. DW
    July 31, 2016 11:53 pm

    Which color of white hydrangea’s did you order from LW Direct they have several whites, but they do not show any pictures.

    • Meghan
      August 4, 2016 12:04 pm

      When I ordered them, I just asked for white. I was not offered any other options as far as the shade of white. I would maybe give them a call to see which color to go with. :)

  20. Dawn
    August 15, 2016 5:45 pm

    Hi. My wedding is in Trinidad will the flowers hold up?

  21. Tshwanna
    February 25, 2017 3:32 pm

    OMGosh!! Wedding in less than two weeks!! I am DIYing!!! I have 25 centerpieces to do! I actually purchased my vases from Dollar Tree and added two candle holders to make them slightly taller!! I knew I wanted hydrangeas as my flowers and was able to find them at a phenomenal price (less than $2 per stem at gallonei.com) This centerpiece is PERFECT for my vision!! So glad I came across this post!!

    • Meghan
      February 28, 2017 12:36 pm

      Yay! I’m glad you are getting the centerpieces you want and that you were able to use mine as a guide. :) Congrats and best of luck on your big day!
      Meghan

    • Connie Roberts
      May 12, 2017 6:41 pm

      Hi, Tshwanna!
      How did your arrangements come out? Do you have any pictures? I’m hoping to do these for my daughters wedding.

  22. Nicole
    March 7, 2017 5:48 am

    Would these be to much for. 50th party. She wants it’s elegant

  23. Suzan
    March 17, 2017 7:14 pm

    Beautiful work- but how did you transport them?

    • Meghan
      March 20, 2017 1:54 pm

      I assembled the flowers at the hotel and stored them in a conference room so I didn’t have to worry about transportation. You could add your flowers to your vases with enough water to keep the stems wet and when you get to your venue, add more water and then add the branches. Hope this helps!

  24. Brittney R
    July 17, 2017 5:39 pm

    What size are the hydrangeas? Regular sized or jumbo sized ?

  25. Christina
    July 19, 2017 1:19 pm

    Hey! Thanks for the post. I’m getting married in January and looking into making these for my reception! What size branches did you order from Amazon? 3′-4′?

    Also, these branches by the same supplier are MUCH cheaper off Etsy!!

  26. Patrice Powell
    October 27, 2018 11:25 am

    Wonderful job!
    Love the colors and the simplicity of it all.pp

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

  • Follow on Bloglovin
  • Categories

  • Archives

  • Press

  • Recent Pins

    ...
    photo holders with painted stones...
    Paper Quilt Art: A Unique DIY Project...
    ...
    Make your own geometric decor and crafts! Geometric designs are on trend and you can join in with these easy DIY tutorial ideas....
    ...
    ...
    Frame...
    ...
    Valentine’s Day projects that I love – Recycled Crafts...
    Suncatcher bookmark making kits are a unique, educational and creative gift for young readers. They will create a simple and colorful personalized bookmark to mark their pages. The best stocking stuffer or birthday gift for kids....
    ...
    ...
    ...
    ...