Joelle and I were contemplating one day on how to make
a unique southwestern wedding centerpiece from scratch.
This wasn't for our wedding - it was for a British woman
who asked Joelle to help her to plan her wedding in the
southwestern US, and since Joelle and I got married in "Red
Rock" country in Utah, and also since I (David) grew
up in the four corners region, and I also have quite a bit
of wedding/banquet planning experience, we decided to help
her.
One of the first hurdles that she asked about was to help
her to figure out something pretty and "southwestern"
to put on the tables as centerpieces. If you have ever visited
the southwestern part of the United States, you probably
noticed "Kokopelli" - the humpbacked flute player
- in every gift shop or t-shirt shop. Kokopelli has also
been a part of many wedding centerpieces and decorations.
It is a cute idea, but one that Joelle and I think has become
too common. we wanted something a little more elegant, and
something unique. The southwestern US is known for sandstone,
and red rocks. It is also known for having a rich history
in copper mining. I remember from my days as a banquet manager
in Colorado that many props on the "southwestern themed"
buffet lines used slabs of sandstone for food displays,
and copper sheeting as dividers and also as ways to elevate
the sandstone. If you cut sheets of copper, you can bend
them into a circle and set the sandstone on top of them.
If there are candles in the vicinity, they will reflect
beautifully off of the copper.
From this, the idea was born. We would try to find the
materials to make our own centerpieces using sandstone and
copper sheeting. I had never done this before, and we had
an afternoon to burn, so the scavenger hunt was on!
First, we went to a local landscape center in town. Most
towns have garden/landscape centers, and most of them have
yards full of different types of rocks that you can buy
to pretty up your house. We were betting that they would
have slabs of sandstone, and they did! Most of the slabs
were quite large, almost as large as a table top. However,
they had a pile of broken-off pieces that they weren't even
planning to sell. The guy basically said that we could help
ourselves. The pieces were the perfect size - about the
size of a dinner plate, maybe a bit smaller. We loaded up
my truck with about 10 pieces, and took off to Home Depot
to try to find some sort of copper sheeting. I found a site
here
that has the general idea for copper sheeting.
We got to Home Depot, and we really had trouble finding
it. We asked a few of their employees, but nobody knew exactly
what we were looking for. I explained that it is simply
"pliable sheets of copper." Finally, one employee
took me to (if I remember right) the plumbing section and
there were basically rolls of this copper sheeting that
were thin enough that you could cut with scissors. Perfect!
I do have to apologize, I didn't write the brand down or
what it was exactly called, but if you use the words "pliable
copper sheets" hopefully they'll know what you are
talking about. Perhaps you could print the photo above so
they have a visual reference.
The last stop was to get some Tea Lights (candles). These
can be found almost anywhere - most grocery stores have
them. Easy find - we got them on the way home as we were
picking up dinner! Now it was time to create our wedding
centerpiece...or masterpiece!
We took a "base" piece of sandstone and then
placed a piece of copper sheeting on it that we had rolled
into a circle. We simply stapled the ends of the sheeting
together so they would stay - however, you may not have
to do this if the sheets are durable enough. We then set
the top piece of sandstone on the copper. This piece was
a little smaller and lighter. We could start to see our
"work of art" taking shape. We then placed several
Tea Lights around the base, and one on top and lit them.
It was truly beautiful, but even moreso once we placed plates
and glassware around it. The whole table seemed to sparkle!
We happened to have a bag of dried flowers (mostly petals)
in the house, and Joelle placed a few dried rose petals
around the centerpiece. This final touch added some wonderful
color and elegance to the whole table. What a great wedding
centerpiece, and we had enough material to make several
of them, and our cost was amazingly inexpensive. Even if
we had bought the sandstone, I think that all said we would
have spent less than $30 for everything.
This idea might not be a great idea for a large wedding,
since the materials involved are a tad heavy, but if you
have 10 tables or less, it may be worth a shot!
The Materials Needed To Create
This Southwestern Wedding Centerpiece:
1) Sandstone - Usually found at most landscaping stores
2) "Copper Sheeting" - We found ours at Home Depot
3) Tea
Lights - Found at most supermarkets, bridal shops, or
crafts stores
4) Dried Flower Petals to spread around the centerpiece
The final product - our wedding centerpiece!
Floating
Tea Candles - Create Elegant, Simple and Cheap Centerpieces!
A great idea for a simple,
yet elegant centerpiece idea that you can make yourself
is with Floating
Tea Candles." Find a nice "floater
bowl" " that can hold water - it needs to
be at least fairly wide and preferably not terribly tall
(you don't want lit candles falling over and water getting
everywhere).. Place 3 Tea Candles in the water in the bowl
and Voila! You have a beautiful wedding centerpiece!
Pine
Cones - Nature's Wedding Centerpiece
We attended my cousin's
wedding this past Christmas in Sundance Utah. It was a beautiful
wedding with lovely decorations. My cousin Alan and his
wife-to-be Iris had taken pinecones and lightly sprayed
them with gold paint (or gold glitter) and tied a little
wedding announcement to each pinecone. It was such a nice
and simple way to highlight their day.
Pinecones can be used
as centerpieces as well. I was at a wedding where each table
had a centerpiece of 3 pinecones tied together with silver
"dusting" on them to give a "wintry"
effect. If you live in an area with pine trees, this can
be a very inexpensive way to decorate the tables at your
wedding!
Western
Themed Centerpiece Ideas
If you have a goodwill
or second hand store in your town, chances are they'll have
a nice selection of used cowboy boots. I have seen weddings
where they have taken used cowboy boots and filled them
with Sunflowers or wildflowers for a unique western effect.
I have even heard of the bride and groom spraypainting the
boots white for the "white western wedding" effect.
You can also take cowboy hats and turn them upside down
to hold flowers. Blue or red bandanas also are a nice highlight
to tie around a vase, for example. Cactus plants are always
a great idea for a western-themed wedding centerpiece.
Wedding Centerpieces
For Any Occasion!
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