How to create your table centerpieces repertoire

With just three table centerpieces, you can cover almost every dinner party you give over a year.

Arrangement # 1 - A simple white table arrangement
Choose white flowers and some simple foliage. Often this takes a lot of discipline at the flower store, because there will be other, beautiful flowers in eye-catching colors. But be firm. You can buy those flowers for the house if you want, but remember your agenda – to create a simple, elegant white table centerpiece arrangement for the dinner table.

In this picture, some white carnations and a couple of ferns provide a simple, inexpensive white arrangement that would go on almost any dinner party table.

A round vase helps because you will automatically create an arrangement that is pleasing from all sides. Fill it two thirds full with water and then start arranging the flowers.

Cut the flowers down enough so they just pop out of the vase. Strip off foliage that would be underwater since it will rot faster in the water. Start around the edges, putting one or two on opposite sides. Criss-cross the stems as you go. This does two things, it helps to stabilize the flowers, and if your vase is clear it makes a pleasing arrangement through the water.

Keep filling in, making the middle flowers slightly higher than the sides so you create a bit of an arc. The experts say it’s always good to aim for a shape to your arrangement. In this case we’re creating the suggestion of an arc or half-circle shape.

Arrange ferns around the sides underneath the flowers, so it looks like the ferns are almost holding the flowers.

Trim ruthlessly. If a flower sticks out, pull it out and cut it again. Check the arrangement on all sides to make sure everyone has a pleasing view and make any adjustments.

Add taper or pillar candles. It’s a good idea to match your candlesticks to the color and material of your vase.

Take a picture of this simple floral table centerpiece and you’re done!

Arrangement # 2 – A table centerpiece with a touch of drama
Choose a color with some oomph to it, no pastels this time. You can pump up the drama very easily if you have napkins the same color as your flowers.

Roses always work. They’re also relatively easy to find in the stores, and often red are the easiest to find. So we’ll use red for this arrangement. But you might choose gorgeous purple or brilliant yellow-gold as well.

This is the simplest of arrangements.

A shrimp cocktail glass makes a perfect vase. Here I simply put roses all around the edge, and then added a few in the middle. There aren't even any added ferns or decorative greens.

Put water in your chosen vase, and then start testing for the right stem length with one or two flowers. Cut them all just one or two at a time. That way if you judge wrong the first time you haven’t cut them all to the wrong length. You also need to remember to reserve a few roses for the middle, and you may need to adjust the length here.

Cut the roses down and strip the foliage where necessary. Position the roses all around the edge of the glass, criss-crossing the stems. Add roses in the middle, look all around the arrangement to make sure it looks good on every side, and make any adjustments.

Add your candles, again keeping the type of candlestick similar to the type of vase. take a picture of this dramatic floral table centerpiece, and you’re done.

Arrangement # 3 – The “emergency” table centerpiece No matter how organized you are, emergencies happen. There will come a day when you just won’t get to the flower store, or you wrecked your arrangement, or it’s the dead of winter so you can’t go out to the garden for a few blossoms.

Here’s where your emergency table centerpiece plan saves the day.

Take a look at these two examples.

Notice there are no flowers at all, but they still make lovely centerpieces.

The first one is more formal.

The second one is charming and whimsical without being overly cute.

Now dream up your own table centerpiece idea or two. Gather a few things you love and group them together. If you are doing an arrangement like the second one, it helps to put all the items on a cloth or a plate so they seem to belong together.

Try to include a candle or two. Nothing says special better than flickering candles on the dinner table. You can pick up packages of votive candles very inexpensively, and the pillar candles last forever.

When you have one or two arrangements that make you happy, take pictures. Then the next time you need a table centerpiece in a hurry, just pull out your picture and copy it.

Simple, stress-free, and inexpensive, these table centerpieces will do the job for you every time you need a quick solution to the no-flowers table centerpiece problem.

Here’s to beautiful table centerpieces!

P.S. Not sure how to tell if the fresh cut flowers you are buying really are fresh?

See this helpful article on buying fresh flowers

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