How To: Fruit Centerpieces

Metallic spray paint makes anything fancy!

Gilded Fruit Centerpiece | A Practical WeddingGilded Fruit Centerpiece | A Practical WeddingGilded Fruit Centerpiece | A Practical WeddingGilded Fruit Centerpiece | A Practical WeddingGilded Fruit Centerpiece | A Practical Wedding

Before we get started, if you’re wondering, “Did a lot of the projects you do for your non-floral wedding centerpieces shoot involve spray paint?” The answer is an unabashed YES. Because you know what? Spray paint looks awesome, and is the ultimate in lazy-girl crafting. It’s basically: shake, spray, let dry, go back and look if it needs a second coat. And the best part is, metallic spray paint is my favorite, and almost never needs a second coat. Thanks universe!

When I suggested to Michelle Edgemont (APW’s own favorite Brooklyn wedding designer) that we come up with fruit centerpieces, she looked dubious. Because if you Google “fruit centerpieces,” things get a little… rough. But we persevered, because fruit is cheap (and can be eaten on the way home), and was made pretty.

For this centerpiece, we used a more fall-feeling arrangement of fruit. Since apples and pears are available year round, you can replicate it any old time. But if you decide you want to vary up the fruit, your test run is as simple as, “Buy a lot of limes, spray paint a few, decide if you like it, make margaritas.” You’re welcome. You should probably do that test run, just in case. (I’m sure I don’t need to say this, but no margarita’s with the spray painted limes, kthanxbye.)

We spray painted a selection of the fruit with metallic paint. Now, Maddie suggested that spray painting real fruit was wasteful, and we should get plastic fruit, and that might feel right to you. I ended up deciding that A) I was too lazy to buy plastic fruit, B) Plastic seemed like a bigger environmental hazard than wasting a handful of apples, C) I waste this many apples every month by forgetting about them in our kitchen bowl, so I’m just not that responsible a fruit buyer anyway. Alas.

The trick, and expense of this centerpiece is selecting the type, and quantity of your fruit holding vessels. We went with this awesome modern cake stand from West Elm. At $34, it may well not be practical if you have lots of tables to fill. (But you should probably buy it for your personal use, because it’s the prettiest cake stand I’ve ever seen, and now gets regular use in our household.) More practical options include these more affordable cake stands, or pretty bowls (either of these sizable silver bowls might work nicely on a big table), or baskets, depending on your taste.

The next thing to consider is how much you’ll need to fill a table. We shot this on a smaller table than you’re liable to be using for your wedding. So for round tables, you might want to consider groupings of three, though this would be lovely on longer tables, using cake stands or bowls, or even longer trays. (Hot tip: spray painted fruits also make awesome plate dressings, if you feel like skipping centerpieces all together for long family style tables.)

Beyond that, this centerpiece is so beautiful, simple and affordable, that no instructions are needed. Just… enjoy.

Credits

Featured Sponsored Content

Please read our comment policy before you comment.

The APW Store is Here

APW Wedding e-shop

go find all our favorites from around the internet, and our free planning tools

Shop Now
APW Wedding e-shop

Planning a wedding?

We have all the planning tools you need right now.

Budget spreadsheets, checklists, and more...

Get Your Free Planning Tools