our diy centerpieces

I already posted about the beautiful bridal bouquets we created for the wedding - now I want to tell you how we made our lovely floral centerpieces.  We used FiftyFlowers for this feat too - and in order to keep everything as simple (and cost effective!) as possible, we purchased pre-made centerpieces from them.

(those are the mountains we got married on!)

The types of flowers I wanted for our centerpieces were hypericium berries, thistle, and bupleurum - they all held that "wildflower" look.  We could have purchased these flowers in bulk separately, but they offered dozens of pre-made centerpiece selections at a reasonable price.  We ended up selecting the purple people eater centerpieces - weird name but pretty flowers...and they included all of the blooms I had my heart on.  Purple statice was included in these bouquets so it brought an element of additional color into the room - plus they were $14 per centerpiece (which rocked my budget world.)   Originally, I was thinking about purchasing additional flowers in bulk...namely Star of Bethlehem and Snapdragons...but in the end I realized that we didn't need to put more money into making our pretty flowers look prettier...you know?  They would be fine.  And they were!

The arrangements arrived with the flowers for the bouquets.  We ended up pulling lots of the astors that weren't needed in the bouquets and put them with the centerpieces.  Whereas I just thought we would plop the centerpieces in the various jars, my aunts had great ideas for ensuring an even more beautiful display:  they set up the mason jars to be used for the centerpieces, and went through and arranged the centerpieces to have varying stem heights.  THEN...one of Tommy's aunts had the genius idea to go collect some of the pine branches from the forest outside and incorporated them into the centerpieces (along with some of the hemlock branches my aunt brought with her from Seattle - those elements added the PERFECT TOUCH!

I WAS OVER THE MOON with how they turned out!

I remember the moment went I walked into the lodge when everything was all set up (umm...I didn't help decorate...more on that later...) and I was squealing and flapping my hands (yes, like a ninny) but it was just so PRETTTTTY!  To complete the look, they placed a few pinecones mingled in with the mason jars, votive candles and candlesticks.  I couldn't even believe that my visions had actually become a reality....I walked around every table with a huge smile on my face...they were GORGEOUS and I owe it alllll to my friends and family for working so hard on our decorations while Tommy and I were off taking pictures. 

 
As much I believed our centerpieces to be absolutely DIVINE, I have to emphasize they were just a detail.  I appreciate details, I love the power of beautiful design, and I am someone who thankfully finds joy in the small things in life.  So, for me, the centerpieces were glorious and I appreciated every thistle bloom.  However, I'm sure there were people there who didn't notice them...I'm sure we had guests that couldn't even tell you what color they were.  And that is OK.  I remember while planning the wedding how much thought and energy went into figuring out our centerpieces.  Hours and hours of finding glass jars, cleaning our glass jars, thrifting candlesticks, buying candles with coupons at Joanna's fabric, and determining the perfect flowers...and in the end, it's really just background to many people.   A lil perspective I guess.

*note:  all of these pictures were taken by friends and family!!