Fresh flowers and greenery are at the center of most table decorations! Here is a step-by-step tutorial on how to create a luxurious and romantic floral centerpiece!
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I have always loved flowers! Truth be told, I did at one time thought about owning a floral shop. Looking at beautiful blooms and arranging them in different ways puts a smile on my face! But since I never really took any classes on flower arranging, I think it was best to leave it to the pros.
Luckily, we have a floral and interior designer, Wendy Mercer of Gatherings by Mercer, show us how to make a gorgeous, grand floral centerpiece! I met Wendy at a bridal event, and I am so impressed by her floral designs! If you look at her IG, you’ll see why! Her style is elegant and classy, and her creations leave you in awe! Add to that, she is absolutely friendly and easy to work with!
Wendy is based out of Fredericksburg, VA, and she is available to travel and work with you on any event. Be sure to follow her for tips and tricks and floral and design inspo!
What You’ll need
We created a luxurious, effortless chic floral centerpiece by taking loose greenery and adding to it a few luxury blooms! The flowers for the basket arrangement were a mix of wholesale and Wegmans, but these flower choices are normally available at Wegmans and even at Trader Joe’s.
If purchasing your flowers from a flower shop or local farmer’s market, ask them about seasonal varieties or substitutes if any of the below are not available.
Plant Container
[ ] Rectangle or oval basket (mine was 22 inches long, 6 inches wide, & 6 inches tall)
[ ] Waterproof Floral tape or chicken wire
[ ] Floral cutter
Greenery
[ ] Seeded eucalyptus (2 bunches)
[ ] Variegated pyto sporum (2 bunches)
[ ] Jasmine vine (1 bunch)
Filler flowers
[ ] Ginestra (white) (1-2 bunches)
Flowers
[ ] Garden roses (6 stems)
[ ] Standard roses (12 stems)
[ ] Tulips (Peony tulips) (1 bunch)
[ ] Ranunculus (1 bunch)
[ ] Carnations (1 bunch)
[ ] Sweet pea (1 bunch)
Branches
[ ] Curly willow
Instructions
When creating a floral centerpiece, Wendy gives us a tip to keep in mind – remember your ABC’s:
- A is for air – movements that go way up high. Have a variety of heights to create interest
- B is for blender flower – have at least 2 colors represented
- C is color blocking – put the color in groupings
Plant container
Decide what look you want in your centerpiece. In this design, we chose a simple rectangular wicker box and wanted it to have a long, low-to-table arrangement with the appearance of the greenery wild and spilling over.
Once you decide on the look, take clear, waterproof tape to create a grid to support the plants. You may use chicken wire as an alternative.
Greenery
Greenery helps to lock the blooms in and adds stability and framework to the arrangement.
Take eucalyptus and loosely drape at the edge, touching the surface. We added them to the four corners and in the middle. Take Lamb’s Ears and add to the side edge in the front (cluster them in a bunch of 2 or 3), then take another cluster and take it to the opposite side in the back.
Filler Flowers
For the florals, imagine there is a line in the middle (lengthwise). Wendy advises copying what you do from one side to the other. For the rectangular container, she suggested creating height on one side then sloping down to the other. The varying height adds dimension and flow.
We added Ginestra to fill in more of the negative space. If you don’t have Ginestra, Waxflower is a good substitute.
Statement Flowers
Now it’s time for the stars of the centerpiece: statement flowers like roses and tulips! These flowers make an eye-catching addition to your arrangement. For bigger, fuller roses, Wendy suggests to reflex them, which means you take the outer petals and slightly bend them backward. The older the flower, the softer the petals and the easier to reflex.
Pro tip: If you have a newer rose, put it in warm water and put a bag over it for a couple of hours (like a steam bath) to have it open up more.
Add roses and have them face out (facing the viewers). Be sure to remove the leaves for a cleaner look.
Cluster the colors together so it looks organic, similar to when they grow in nature. In the arrangement, we have the roses in sherbet orange on one side, light pink in the middle, and pink on the other side. For that wild and romantic look, cut and arrange them in varying heights.
Inspect the layers and continue to fill in with the various flowers such as the tulips, ranunculus, carnations, and sweet pea.
Pro tip: You can make a carnation look like a different flower just by pulling out the middle petals! It looks like a completely different flower!
Occasionally take a step back to look at places you need to fill in. Since we’re going for an organic, romantic look with this arrangement, Wendy said to take your hand and run it along the top of your arrangement. If you have varying heights and pockets of air, you know “you’re in the zone.”
Also, take time to give it that 3D look. Push some back, pull some forward. Angle them more or less. Tweak your centerpiece to give it some interest.
Branches
If you remember, we decided to have one side of the arrangement taller than the rest in the beginning. We added a curly willow on that side of the arrangement. To add the final touch, we wrapped Jasmine vine around the willow for that natural look.
Final Look
You can see how easy it is to create this floral centerpiece! You can’t really go wrong! Make it your own. Chose any container shape or size, pick flowers you love, and remember the ABCs! Put them all together, and you’re done!
To keep your arrangement last longer, Wendy suggests changing the water often! Also, flowers drink from everywhere (not just the roots), so spray the flowers and leaves with water or keep them in the bathroom as they drink up all that moisture in the air!
Special Thanks
Thank you, Wendy, for your time and teaching us all how to create this romantic floral centerpiece! Don’t forget to follow her for more inspo or hire her for your next event!
More Tutorials Coming!
We have a few more tutorials coming, like creating a simple but gorgeous flower bouquet (great for Mother’s Day coming up), another easy table centerpiece, and making a floral headpiece!
Let me know if you have additional requests on floral arranging! Happy to create another piece for you!