Wedding Branches for centerpieces??

[Carats]

So I''m thinking I may want to go for the branches centerpiece look but I wanted to know what others thought/their experiences were since I don''t know much about this. I know there are manzanita and willow branches - are there other types? The reason I ask is because I''ve seen a bunch of pics and they all look so different.

I''ve mainly started to think about this as an option in the hopes of cutting cost. Having large elaborate centerpieces with tons of flowers is just so expensive. Branches can be very large and elaborate, esp if you have lights hanging from them, or some orchids or flowers added on without being as expensive (i''m assuming).

Anyone want to share pics? Or have any advice about this?

 

[emeraldlover1]

Where do you live again? Reason I ask is Manzanita is usually cheaper on the West coast and very expensive on the East Coast. We had 5 manzanita center pieces out of 16 on our tables and they were the most expensive. They need to be cemented into their containers as well as they are very expensive to ship because they require such large boxes. Not to mention that we had flowers lights and crystals hanging from them.

I loved the look, which is why we did them, however it was in no way a cost effective option.

 

[blueroses]

We''re doing manzanitas in 13 of our centerpieces, and big manzanita "trees" (they''re all dried out, still with leaves) flanking the stage with mini lights...but we''re in Southern California, and they''re incredibly, unfairly cheap here. They are SO BIG I can''t imagine finding boxes big enough to ship them! My station wagon was totally stuffed when I went to go get them from this woman''s back yard and now they''re filling up 1/2 a storage space, but.....they are so pretty.

Was totally inspired by EM1''s reception.

We are doing hanging crystals on them, and probably not much else. At the end of the day, it''s really an aesthetic choice more than a cost-effective one, I imagine. We''ll see how it nets out. I got branches for all the centerpieces (well...not all, we''re doing flowers on the other tables) but the 13 tables, plus the two tress for $170. It''s just a benefit of being local. But there are birch tress, willows, all kinds of other native branches you can get elsewhere that are SO pretty!!

 

[choro72]

If you can wait until next week, I can post pictures. Is this going to be DIY?

Mine was in CA. The florist had different sizes of branches to choose from. The suitable size was $15 each, and a giant one was $64. My sister bought a giant one and had the florist cut it up in sections. They made a funny face, but they did it for us as long as we understood that we can''t return them (doh). From this large one we were able to get 12 branches out of it, and she had to purchase an additional small one.
She bought vases, moss and rocks to set up the branches. She bought fishing wires, hundreds of crystals in different colors, and fake flowers for decorations. My mom spent an entire week stringing fishing wires through the crystals with her poor eyesight. She plucked the fake flower buds from the flower stems and stuck them at the end of the branches. They quickly realized that they can''t bring the components on the day to set up, because it takes too much time. So they pre decorated them and drove them to the venue that morning.

I could NEVER have done this on my own. I have zero artistic sense. It was all my sister and mom because they did not trust anyone else to make them look good. You will need help from people who have taste. My mom and sister spent an entire afternoon at the florist choosing the right size, shape and color of the vases + rocks + moss.

Branches make awesome centerpieces if done right. Otherwise, there is a big risk of looking too cheap and bland. My mom and sister needed tons of crystals and flowers to give them life. They also take up a lot of space in the cars, so I needed FIL, SIL, and cousin to help drive them to the venue.
Totally our centerpieces cost about $160, $180 at the most. The labor, time and creative thought put into it was priceless.

 

[Carats]

I''m on the east coast actually! I know a girl who had "branches" at her wedding with hanging candles, etc but I have no idea what type of branches they were. I''m sure she didn''t pay exorbitant amounts to have manzanitas shipped either. What could they be?

Anyone care to share their pics?

 

[emeraldlover1]

I have so many pictures however the file sizes are just so large. Anyway...here is one. I priced these out when we were considering DIY from here: http://www.nettletonhollow.com/ The cost of supplies and effort was actually more than what our florist was going to charge us. So, check around. I will still say though that getting Manzanita on the East Coast is not easy. It doesn''t grow here like it does in Cali. So...while it could be a relativley inexpensive project out there, it isn''t the case here. It just depends on what you want to spend. Our centerpieces were between four and five feet so you can compare the cost plus shipping. Our florist hadn''t used Manzanita before so we neggotiated with them and they agreed to purchase, pot the branches, and then rent them to us so that they could use again. That being said, each rental was about $75 or so and then we spent a good $100 on flowers, crystals, hanging votives, and candles.

 

[PumpkinPie]

very pretty example emeraldlover1 - beautiful!

 

[Deelight]

I spoke to a florist yesterday about the same thing and she suggested cherry blossoms - which is great cause they are one of my faves with orchids down below - I am still waiting for a formal quote but she said around $70-$75

That might be another option.

Em1 your centerpieces looked amazing

 

[Carats]

Love your centerpiece! Very nice

I wanted to do cherry blossoms but I heard they werent available during the summer...

I wish I knew what type the ones I saw were, they weren''t manzanita but thick/sturdy enough to hang things from them. They were large and sprawling out of the vase...

 

[choro72]

I reread my post and noticed how snobbish I sounded. I didn''t mean to imply that our centerpieces were the best, or that they were an exception to what usually is a disaster. What I mean is, even though it may be cheaper, it''s quite labor intensive. Especially if you string crystals yourselves. We were very lucky to have helping hands.

 

[Deelight]

Date: 3/27/2010 9:34:23 PM
Author: Carats
Love your centerpiece! Very nice


I wanted to do cherry blossoms but I heard they werent available during the summer...


I wish I knew what type the ones I saw were, they weren't manzanita but thick/sturdy enough to hang things from them. They were large and sprawling out of the vase...

I am having a winter wedding in Australia - so it is not that cold

You could always go a mixture of branch - tall centerpieces and low candle in vases that I think would still look beautiful but help cut the costs further

- Was the branch tourterd willow?

Something like this?