Winter Wedding Centerpiece

Video Transcription 

Welcome to the Flower School .com video library. Today, we're going to look at a winter wedding centerpiece. The times are so different. So many of us are staying home, smaller groups, smaller, intimate weddings, but flowers more important than ever before. 

The flowers, I went shopping online at the Florabundance.com website. It's so easy. You can sort it by color, you can sort it by season, by variety. They've got great pictures. It makes it so easy to shop in the middle of the night in your pajamas with a glass of wine, or in the daytime when you're at work, but it's so, so easy and so many different things. And even in the winter, you can get most anything. They work hard to source flowers worldwide. I was able to get beautiful ranunculus, both reds and peach, hellebores double, they're amazing. They even had peonies in the winter time and they're gorgeous. Foliage of course, accent materials, and then roses mostly from Alexandra Farms. So many different varieties, both garden roses and spray roses will be grand in this centerpiece. The base, just a wonderful dish and that rose gold hue. For sustainable long lasting going into floral netting as a mechanic, tucked in tightly, it doesn't even need to be taped. It wedges right into place. 

To begin a base of foliage, and as always, I like to use a wide variety and thanks to Florabundance, I can. The Italian ruscus, giving it a cut, breaking it down then feeding it in so it's nice and secure. Using the opposite piece, don't want to waste it. Maybe a wonderful, large fatsia leaf, tucking that in, angling it. Some nice draping silver dollar eucalyptus, that gray hue great accent for winter, repeating. And a little bit at the Israeli ruscus, just giving it a cut, make it come a little bit up through the center then filling in, making sure to leave plenty of room for all the flowers. 

The palette of course has to include red. I love red. You notice our tulips. So, I started with some roses from Gardenrosesdirect.com, grown at Alexandra Farms, the Wanted and also the Piano, so wonderful. Then, going into the winter whites with the Princess Maya, but red and white together can be a little bit harsh, even if it is more to the blush. So bringing in some neutrals, again from Alexandra Farms, the Golden Mustard. Then some spray roses from Florabundance, Wabara, and when you combine the neutrals with that blush and the red gives you a great palette. So starting with the roses to bring in, and start creating the form, feeding it in, radiating to a central binding point, so no changes there. It's just what you learned in flower school, just bringing it in and grouping some things, bringing it up a little taller, then coming in with the other colors. As long as you always radiate from that central point, you can mix and match to your heart's content. 

With the form established and the basic mechanics concealed, it's time to add interest, contrast, and the focal emphasis. This is where the peonies could be grand fun, giving them a cut, making sure they're in the front and center, draw attention to them. Placing them in, finding the perfect little spot then feeding it, bringing one around to the opposite side. The hellebores, they have that wonderful horizontal movement, so letting them extend the design out the side a little bit, and again, adding excitement materials that maybe people aren't used to seeing. The double hellebores, aren't those amazing? They're just gorgeous coming out the opposite side, leaving them extended, so they really show off. Then coming up through the center where it's a little more delicate, some of the ranunculus, giving a cut, and they can be a tad bit taller so that they really shine, finding the perfect spot for them. Combining colors, tucking it in, and then turning at it and looking at it from all sides, adding in a few more of the hellebores, a few more ranunculus, until it's nice and full and beautiful. 

All of these materials, everything used in this recipe, sourced from Florabundance.com and Gardenrosesdirect.com, two sites that make it so easy to shop and then have it delivered directly to your door. Doesn't get any easier than that. I started with one Italian ruscus and one fatsia leaf. Just ones, that's all I needed. Then two of the silver dollar eucalyptus and two of the Israeli ruscus. Then we went on to the roses, the Wanted, that deep red, four. The Piano, also red, but a little brighter, two. Then the Princess Maya, six. Golden Mustard, three. Wabara, six. Then lastly, I tucked in six stems of the hellebores, four stems each of the red and the peach ranunculus. Then two of the peonies, one front, one back, for total perfection for a winter wedding centerpiece. 

The winter wedding centerpiece on trend, in-season with so many different things because it's sourced worldwide by Florabundance.com. You'll find more creative inspiration at our website Flower School .com. If you have questions, you can reach us through there or pick up the telephone and call 503-223-8089. 

Now it's your turn. What are you going to create this winter? What fabulous flowers are you going to source? Be sure to take a picture, post it on social media and hashtag Floral Design Institute. That way we all can see what you create as you do something you love.