Welcome to the all-new Centrepiece Shop within the Shops @ WG! Every Thursday, our design and sales team will be bringing you a new centrepiece idea complete with photo inspiration, DIY How-Totutorial, pricing estimates, and access to our fabulous Wedding-Planner wholesale shopping.
Today’s gorgeously elegant centrepiece was first published on MarthaStewart.com and has inspired many-a-bride to recreate a similar romantic look on their own reception tables.
{ the Breakdown }
To create this centrepiece, you will need:
1) a 2″ styrofoam riser (with a 12″ diameter)
2) a 12″ round mirror
3) 3″ wide satin ribbon to match your wedding decor (with a smaller accenting ribbon if you’d like)
4) a ridiculous amounts of straight pins
5) a cylinder vase
6) long-burning votive candles in glass votive holders
7) loose floral stems
{ the DIY details }
Creating this centrepiece riser is the most time-consuming part of the entire project. You will need to use straight pins to attach your satin ribbon to the top and bottom of the styrofoam riser and meticulously make sure that the ribbon is tightly folded over itself so that it doesn’t bulge when you place the riser on the table with the mirror on top. This would be an excellent time to recruit your bridesmaid posse to lend a hand! Once your wide base ribbon is attached, you can accent it with a thinner coloured ribbon, or some textured element that matches your design such as burlap or lace. These can often be attached with double sided tape, or pulled tightly and secured with a couple of straight pins.
You can also use the same accenting ribbon or texture to accentuate the bottom (or middle, or top!) of your cylinder vase. Keep in mind that the bolder the colour, the more it will draw the eye – so you decide where you want your guests looking! In the inspiration photo, the ribbon at the base of the vase anchors the centrepiece and creates more dimension around the candles, leaving the flowers to showcase themselves.
{ the Cost }
This beautiful centrepiece is remarkably affordable to create! You can get the riser, mirror, ribbon, and long-burning (12 hour) votives (in glass) for under $25 per table through the Shops @ WG! Fresh florals are also available.
*Note: Specific pricing is subject to adjustment based on quantities purchased.
{ the Follow-up }
If you’d like to go ahead and purchase your Centrepieces, please get in touch with us and we’ll give you all the details you need.
If you’d like to submit a centrepiece design for us to feature in an upcoming Centrepiece Shop blog, please do so by emailing us – info{at}WeddingGirl{dot}ca – with the subject line, “Centrepiece Shop”.
One bride’s superstition could be another bride’s lucky find!
Superstitious bride + groom accidentally seeing the dress = couture find for a budget bride!
{ Badgley Mischka – Ginger – for sale }
This gorgeous, designer Badgley Mischka dress (Ginger) has never been worn down the aisle.
Retailing for $6200, this dress was purchased from White in Toronto and is being sold for $1000 OBO.
{ its Story }
This high-end couture silk blend wedding gown is a sample dress from the White bridal boutique. A minor repair to the front bust needs to be done, and extra fabric directly from Badgley Mischka is being provided. A couture seamstress has confirmed that the fix is quick and easy. All beading and embroidery on the side of the dress is in immaculate condition and stunning!
The dress offers a beautiful fit and flare shape – size 10 – ivory.
It has lived in a cloth dust bag in a smoke-free home.
If you have any additional questions, please get in touch!
Newlywed Rivka is living Happily Ever After and currently selling 18 sets of her square centerpiece vases.
Dimensions: All vases are 4×4, with heights of 4″, 6″ and 8″.
These particular vases had artificial orchid blooms submerged in them (white + pink).
Additional floating candles, acrylic gems, or crystals can be purchased through the Shops @ WG
For more details / photos, or to purchase these vases, please get in touch!
On a side-decor note… we’re loving Rivka’s idea of placing a regular 12×12 sheet of decorative card stock (available at any craft or scrapbooking store!) under the vases. What a great way to create your own luxe on a budget!
Having a tough time figuring out what sort of centrepiece you’d like to have at your wedding reception? Don’t worry – you’re not alone! Of all the details that most brides stress about, it’s these tricky little numbers that tend to give the most grief. Think back to the last wedding you attended – do you remember the details of the centerpiece? Likely not…. but what you will remember is if it was – well – terrible! Centerpieces don’t necessarily need to BE your decor, they just need to complement your decor. Whatever your budget, there are gorgeous centerpiece options to choose from… and here are some tips and tricks on narrowing down your choices!
Ask yourself…..
How much money do you want to spend on your centerpiece? Categorize your response into one of these classifications: Budget (say, under $30 per table), Moderate ($30-$60 per table), or Deluxe ($60+ per table).
And do you want to do any of the centerpiece details yourself? DIY can drastically reduce the costs of traditional decor designs.
For comparison’s sake, here are a few examples of each:
- Budget -
(The ingredients: lovely little assorted vintage bottles found in the fields + old stockpiles around the bride and groom’s house – filled with water and sand to make them bottom-heavy and less likely to move around on the table. Fresh flowers from the florist to tie in the floral design of the girls’ bouquets, DIY table numbers, and flickering LED candles – tied together with twine). This centerpiece was designed to be both budget- and safety-friendly for a beautiful country+rustic barn wedding.
(The ingredients: This Parisian-inspired wedding boasted a gorgeous, footed hurricane vase wrapped with a simple satin ribbon. The pillar candle inside the vase was stamped with a fleur-de-lys and votive candles with rose petals were scattered on the checkered overlay to carry through an outdoor cafe design).
(The ingredients: Gillian and Kyle’s modern+chic fuschia, black, and white wedding took place at an upscale golf course in the Niagara region. Not wanting to spend much money on centerpiece vases, this DIY duo opted to wrap apple juice tins with heavy black paper, tie it with an accenting fuschia ribbon, and asked the floral designer to create miniature bouquets for each tin. The damask table runners were made by the Mother-Of-The-Bride with fabric purchased from a wholesale lot on Ebay and were sold after the wedding to another eager and damask-loving Bride to be!)
So a note on budget centerpieces – they don’t have to look cheap! On the contrary, all three of these budget designs were meticulously created to complement the wedding decor that abounded throughout the day. Some common elements of a budget centerpiece? limited amounts of flowers, inexpensive vases, and some DIY touches. If you’re looking for centerpiece decor on a budget, be sure to check out the Shops @ WG as well as some of our Garage-Sale Previously Loved items!
- Moderate -
If you’re thinking that you’d like to showcase something more floral-forward on your reception tables, but you’re still not wanting to spend large amount of money on the design, consider working with your florist to create some moderately priced centerpiece options. These can include glass and candles to create dimension on your tables, but can still have limited florals to keep your costs down. Here are some lovely examples of not-too-big and not-too-small centerpieces we’ve seen…
With moderately priced centerpieces, you can either opt for more flowers and a less expensive vase, or more vases + candles, accentuated with a more modest floral arrangement. You don’t have to sacrifice height for budget – you can choose to fill a tall vase with an inexpensive vase filler, top it off with some big-hitting budget blooms (like hydrangeas!), and scatter some petals or candles around the base to give the design some elegant dimension. Ribbon is another cheap and great way to create various visual lines – so consider wrapping your votives and/or vases in colours that match your decor scheme!
- Deluxe -
Deluxe centerpieces tend to be elaborate; stunning creations of oodles of flowers perched atop fancy vases and surrounded by mini-bloom arrangements (our favourite!) and candles. You can choose to spend a bit less money on a simple but tall vase and allot more of the budget to the flowers themselves, or you can opt for a slightly pricier rental (like a candelabra or crystal globe) and have your florist design a more modest arrangement to complement it.
Just because a centerpiece LOOKS to be deluxe doesn’t mean it necessarily has to come with a steep price tag. Utilize contacts that you may have for flowers, DIY designs, and cheap labour (read: your wedding party!). Having friends help out is a great way to skip fees charged by decorators, florists, and coordinators – but if you want your loved ones to celebrate alongside of you on the Day Of rather than be elbow-deep in centerpiece decor, create all the elements yourself and hand over step-by-step instructions to a pro to take care of it for you.
Think outside the centerpiece box….
Whether you’re looking to spend a little or a lot, whether you’re looking for elegantly understated or bold and lavish decor, don’t forget to think outside the centerpiece box. If you’re not a traditional vase+floral arrangement bride, get creative with the use of other elements like tiered candle designs, petals, ribbons, and unique vase fillers. Incorporate elements from your life – vintage books, fancy frames, or personal tokens from your relationship. If you really want to get original, create a common centerpiece theme but make every table different! We love it when brides have an open mind to letting us design a few different centerpiece options for them – tall + medium + short, some over-the-top, others small and quaint. With a good eye for style, you can keep your theme flowing across every table and do it all on a budget!
If you have any questions about centerpiece design, are looking to buy some wholesale decor items, or could use some fabulous decor + floral referrals, feel free to visit our Decor Shops, browse some of our Previously-Loved items, or get in touch!
The other day, we received an email from a randomly lovely Bride-To-Be who contacted us for nothing more than to share the following message:
“I’m actually not writing to procure services but to suggest some. I’m doing my wedding on a tight budget since me and my fiance are paying for it ourselves. One godsend was a woman named Bev Damiano, a wedding decorator. Her prices for things are very low and she doesn’t charge for her services unless it’s something the couple can afford. She has great ideas and communicates through email on the brides schedule (since I do shift work and 12 hours nights) and is really easy to work with. Given the nature of this site, I think people should know woman like Bev are out there and to not be scared to get a little help where the money is worth it and within a brides modest budget. Especially if you are not a party planner type of chick, the idea’s Bev comes up with are helpful and paint a beautiful picture for that special day :)”
So ofcourse, true to wedding-planner-form, we had to do some research and get to know Bev ourselves. As it turns out, she’s the creative talent behind Eventz Decor, located in the Niagara region. Eventz Decor is a full service decorating team that works with Brides to give them the wedding they want and not just the wedding they can afford.
Bev understands that not all brides have unlimited funds to spend on their wedding decor and need some help in designing their event on a budget. Bev creates custom decor packages for every bride and wants each couple to look back at their wedding photos in 25 years without any regrets of the money they did or didn’t spend. “Money comes and money goes, but wedding day memories last a lifetime.” Bev explains. And we agree!
If you’d like to contact Bev to add some sparkle to your own wedding decor plans, you can find her at { events_decor@yahoo.ca } or on Facebook.
Cupcakes are quickly becoming a popular alternative to traditional wedding cakes, and gone are the days of traditional wired tree-stands! Here are some creative new ways to display your lovely little sweet treats…
{ Inspiration Love (and photo credits – in order of appearance) going out to… }
The Wedding Threesome team could not be more excited about the neck-in-neck contest that we have on our hands here. Each of the final four couples has made us fall in love with them a hundred times over with goofy photos, sincere stories, and some crazy-creative ideas!! If you missed any of their wild blog antics, be sure to check out the links here and take a peek! And now that it’s finally upon us….. here are the much-anticipated details for Phase III of the 2012 Wedding Threesome contest.
{ Phase III :: PRODUCE }
In Phases I and II of this year’s W3 v2.0 Contest, our brides and grooms have been asked to Pimp (which they did!), Press (which they did!) and now… Produce!
As explained in our official W3 v.2.0 launch post, PRODUCE will be our last and final stretch of our $10,000 contest giveaway, and this Phase, Boys and Girls, will be putting you to the test!
Now that all of US have had the chance to learn about all of YOU (and your families, friends, and stories) we want to see it live! If we’re going to be a part of your big day on camera and in film, then we’re looking for a sneak peek.
{ the Details }
Each couple participating in Phase III of the W3 contest must produce a video of their wedding day. ALL the following elements must be included in order to be considered complete submissions.
- Who -
This is a list of people that must be cast in your video, introduced to the viewers, and incorporated into the majority of your script.
1) Your Wedding Threesome (Rick, Jay, and Mary)
2) Your Maid of Honour and Best Man
3) You two, starring as … well…. yourselves <3
and 4) a Second Bride (insert ominous music here)
- What -
This is a list of things that must be incorporated into your video (the more creative, the better!)
1) A wedding cake
2) A family pet
3) Your wedding rings (or some creative alternative)
and 4) a skeleton key (replay ominous music)
- Where -
This a list of places that must be captured in your video and be somewhat related to your actual wedding day details.
1) The morning-of
2) The Ceremony
3) The Reception
and 4) your Honeymoon Night (Cue: ominous music)
W3 Productions do not need to be filmed using fancy equipment. Cell phone cameras will do just fine! Your film must include Opening Credits, Closing Credits, and a super-fabulous storyline that will make the world want to see your ACTUAL wedding day as captured, captivated, and coordinated by US! Note: get creative (for example, you don’t have to use your actual spaces). We’re just looking for something creative, unique, and entertaining – and we promise that this will help in how the final winner will be chosen! (hint hint)
Videos must be posted to Vimeo or YouTube no later than Thursday, May 31st at 11:59 p.m. – PLEASE keep in mind that upload times with a video of this length may be much longer than with typical short clips. Late submissions will not be considered for final judging.
A few months ago, we had the pleasure of meeting an up-and-coming Vancouver photographer, Magie. Since the last time we chatted with this fabulous girl, Earthling Photography was born and we’re dying to bring them to Toronto!
{ Magie + her camera }
Magie loves her camera. She has been shooting anything and everything for over a decade, and about a year ago, she decided to officially make the switch from criminal defence law to professional photography.
How does one end up switching over from law to photography, you ask? “There’s nothing more beautiful in life than a couple in love.” Magie explains.
Magie is most proud of her photos for their natural-feel and how they convey a sense of being in the moment.”I don’t create the story. Every couple has their own unique story. It’s just my job to capture it in such a way that it can be re-told, over and over, forever.”
Recently engaged to the love of her life, Bride-To-Be Magie knows the importance of details. “A photographer needs to capture everything near and dear to the Bride and Groom’s hearts”.
“It’s not just about the ceremony, the formal shots, and the speeches. It’s about the way her ring sparkles in the sunlight, the tiny little DIY cake toppers the bride slaved for hours over, a stolen glance between father and daughter from across the room, or a special embrace between bride and groom. Sometimes, the most picture-perfect moments are captured by accident”.
Meticulous scheduling, a keen eye, and a passion for what she does, ensures that no detail goes un-captured by Magie and her team.
{ Earthlings, Laura + Dean }
We stumbled upon this wedding in our chats with Magie and absolutely had to share it with you. Gorgeous DIY rustic elegance and eco-charm, captured in all its creativity and downright loveliness.
{ Earthling + WG }
What happens when you cross a fabulous Vancouver wedding photographer with a fabulous Toronto wedding planner? You get a fabulous Photog / Planning promotion.
Earthling Photography is offering Toronto brides a $1500 inclusive Wedding package (a $2500 value) – which includes unlimited Day Of coverage with two photographers, all hi-res + edited images delivered on a storage disk, and a private online viewing gallery that your guests can order from as well (prints, albums, and canvas designs are available for an additional fee).
If you book Earthling Photography to shoot your wedding, WeddingGirl.ca will match your photography package with a $1500 planning + coordinating package including professional event design, planning, and Day Of Coordination (a $3000.00 value).
Note: Earthling Photography services can also be booked exclusively at the promotional rate.
For more information or to check availability for your wedding date, please feel free to get in touch!
{ To Magie + Ted, with love }
And on a personal note from all of us at WG, we want to take a moment to congratulate these two love-birds on their super romantic engagement in Whistler. Skiing, dinner, rose petals, and candlelight is most definitely a picture-perfect beginning to your fairy tale ending, together. We love you both <3
The announcement date for Phase II of our 2012 Wedding Threesome Contest!
{ the Story }
For the past few weeks, our Wedding Threesome team has had the incredible opportunity to follow the lives of four amazing couples competing to win our $10,000 Wedding Threesome contest. In exchange for a wedding package that includes Cinema, Photography, and Planning / Coordination, Jenn and Max, Loretta and Jackson, Erin and Aaron, and Jaime and Chris have been keeping blogs that we asked them to create so we could learn a bit more about them. As we’ve followed these couples around and learned about their love stories, wedding plans, musical stylings, and extracurricular involvements, we couldn’t help but fall in love with each one of them.
From proposals that gave us goosebumps to “meeting” wedding parties that we knew would make the Wedding Day an absolutely unforgettable experience, Phase II for us really was about learning the behind-the-scenes of two people we’re about to embark on a new wedding journey with!
Our Couples’ blog links were showcased on the main page of the WeddingGirl website for the past couple of weeks and we’ve even gotten feedback from random contest followers pointing out particular posts and entries. People would contact through the site and place random “votes” for videos they watched, photos they saw, or stories they read. This is how fabulous these four couples have proven to be!! (if you’re just reading this now and would like to visit some of these fantastic blogs, you can find all the links here!)
{ the Verdict }
After much deliberation and review, our Threesome Team has decided that we simply can not narrow down to only three couples from Phase II. All four love-teams have worked so hard, continued to surprise us, and we would consider ourselves lucky to be a part of any one of these Happily Ever Afters!
On that note, the verdict is in and it’s official….. Phase III of the 2012 Wedding Threesome contest is going to have four couples – Erin + Aaron, Jaime + Chris, Jennifer + Max, and Loretta + Jackson! We are so unbelievably impressed by all your efforts and regardless of whether you blogged the most or the least, frequently or not, whether you had the most visitors or not as many, we want to invite you to follow us one step closer to your Wedding Day Threesome!
{ One More Thing… }
Before we go ahead and give you guys your official golden ticket into Phase III, we are looking for one final blog post from you. We want to know what it’s been like to keep these blogs for the past few weeks! We know how much time and effort all of you have put into this project but we want to hear from you on what the experience has been like…. and be honest! Was it time consuming and monotonous? Was it exciting and encouraging? Did you learn anything about yourselves? You’ve captured your past, present, and future in a single spot, and shared it with the world – what are your afterthoughts??
{ the Afterthoughts }
Your Afterthoughts blogs must be posted by Sunday, April 22nd at 11:59 p.m. and all the details you need to know for Phase III will be posted for you on Monday, April 23rd! (Hint: It’s very possible that your Afterthoughts might come in handy for Phase III.. but that’s all we can say!)
Last week we excitedly announced our Phase I Wedding Threesome contest winners and gave them instructions for participating in Phase II. We introduced our successful contestants to all of you and this past week, they’ve been taking us on a whirlwind tour of their lives via blog posts. We’ve read and seen who they are, what they do, why they’re in love, and why we should pick them for our $10,000 Wedding Threesome prize of planning + photo + cinema! We’ve loved getting to know them better, and hopefully you do too! (we may or may not be asking for your input on who we should choose in the very near future! *hint hint*)
Here are the details of our Fab Four….
{ Jenn + Max }
You can find Jenn and Max’s Wedding Threesome blog here. So far we’ve 1) seen what will happen to Max if they don’t win this contest. 2) met their super cute pup, Loki, and 3) learned about their complementary nerdiness and Frenchiness. Love it!
{ Erin-Squared }
Erin and Aaron are now affectionately known as Erin-squared. You can find Erin and Erin’s Wedding Threesome blog here and read about their stay-cations, hear about the tune of their marriage proposal, and see a count-down to their Big Day! There’s also the ago-old debate about hip-hop vs. soccer. They may need you to help them settle this one!
And finally, we have a ‘Couple of Nuts’ – Loretta and Jackson’s blog. Loretta and Jackson’s blog boasts some awesome Love-Story Coles Notes, family interviews (“bloggy-style threesome action” – according to Jackson), baby lambs, and even a sneak attack (we had to feature it!)
{ Mandatory Post }
Now that you’ve had a chance to take a peek into the worlds of our Fab Four, make sure to let them know they have a mandatory blog post coming up! All Wedding Threesome contestants must create an “All About Our Wedding Party” blog post, complete with anything and everything they can come up with to make it fun + exciting! We want to learn about who their main peeps are, why they were chosen, and how they’ll help make the wedding day one for the books! All Wedding Party blog posts must be posted by 12:01 a.m. on Wednesday, March 28th, 2012. Any contestants without a Wedding Party post at this time will be out of the running toward becoming Rick + Mary + Jay’s next Wedding Day Threesome.
