1. Simple Fruit Centerpiece 2. Faux Garland Centerpiece 3. Glittery Fake Floral Centerpiece 4. Glitter Feather Centerpiece 5. Vellum Candle Centerpiece 6. Pink Pumpkin Centerpiece
Last fall, the APW team decided to put our heads together (and bring in the much smarter head of our favorite wedding designer, Brooklyn’s own Michelle Edgemont) to create a bunch of non-floral centerpieces for weddings. All of the APW staffers had limited funds when we were planning our weddings, and all of us tried madly to problem solve when it came to centerpieces. (In fact, we spent the shoot day saying things like, “Man! I wish we’d done this for our wedding. Or this, it’s so cute and easy.”)
Centerpieces are one of those wedding items that you totally don’t need-need, but your mom is probably going to insist on (or deep down, you just… want). Plus, having a pretty centerpiece is kind of like getting your nails done. You may not have a lot of money to throw at the other things—but that one pretty detail makes it look like you really have your shit together. My solution to not having cash for centerpieces was to DIY flower centerpieces the day before our wedding. And while they turned out looking pretty cute, they are also the one wedding detail I’d probably do differently. The amount of effort and lady power (and ultimately, cost, since we didn’t know what we were doing) that putting together those centerpieces took, is energy I would have rather spent having a drink with friends on my wedding weekend.
So for you, here is our complete collection of non-floral centerpieces for weddings. Each of them can be made in advance—some can be made a week in advance (hey, fruit), and some can be made forever in advance. They are all relatively affordable (the feathers and fruit are the cheapest, the gold explosion is the most expensive). And most importantly, they’re all chic, and can be modified in a zillion different ways to fit your particular style. Here is to bringing non-floral centerpieces into this century (goodbye, cantaloupe cut like flowers), and here is to fewer dead goldfish, sacrificed on the centerpiece alter. I wish you many weekend drinks with friends in your new spare time, and a super stylish wedding reception.
