Choosing Flowers for your Dinner Party Table Centerpiece – Three Key Secrets

Are you planning a dinner party? Do you need to choose the
right flowers for your floral table centerpiece?
Choosing the right flowers can be frustrating and expensive
– or it can be simple and economical. Knowing three key
secrets makes it simple for you to choose the right flowers.
Then you can create a simple but beautiful floral
centerpiece.
The key is to have a plan and stick with it.
Have you tried to create a table centerpiece for your dinner
party without a plan? Then you know how easy it is to get
off track. Read on to see what happened to Sally because she
didn’t have a plan:
Sally wanted a beautiful table centerpiece. A little behind
schedule, she rushed to her local flower store to buy her
flowers. The selection was wide, the flowers looked so
lavish and the colors just sang. She thought it would be a
snap to choose her selection, hurry home and create a
stunning, perfect little masterpiece for her dinner table.
But fifteen minutes later she was still wavering between the
beautifully scented hyacinths, some striking pink lilies and
the tall, expensive orchids. In the end she left the store
with the tall expensive orchids.
Sally got home with flowers that cost her about four times
what she had planned to spend. She got home late because it
took her so long to decide. And she realized that the
orchids she bought just weren’t right for her centerpiece,
they were far too tall.
So she ended up with no flowers for her centerpiece and had
to rush back to the store.
OK, I confess, I was that Sally – and more than once too.
But now I’ve learned three key secrets for choosing flowers
for my table centerpieces. Now I can add beauty to my dinner
parties and subtract frustration and stress from my day.
Here are the three key secrets.
1)Less choice means less stress. Eliminate impractical
choices. That means you shouldn”t choose tall flowers or
flowers that are scented for your table centerpiece.
Your flower arrangement should not be more than about 5
inches high. Otherwise your guests have to peer through the
floral bushes to see each other across the table.
So you can eliminate tall flowers unless you can cut them
down. Now you won’t be swayed by a beautiful but impractical
purchase. Sally’s tall orchids were stunning, but they
didn’t cut it for a sit-down dinner table arrangement.
Scented flowers are appealing, but not at the dinner table.
Don’t put highly scented flowers on the dinner table because
their aroma can fight with the food aromas. Some guests may
even be allergic to the strong scent as well. The scented
hyacinths Sally was eyeing would not be good choices for the
dinner table.
Now you can eliminate a large range of flowers before you
even get to the store.
Remember, less choice means less stress.
2)White works with everything. White tablecloths work with
every color of flower.
White taper candles work with every color of flower.
White or crystal candlesticks work with any color of flower.
And white flowers go with everything.
How easy could that be?
3)If you do want some color in your flowers, you already know
that any color will go because of your white tablecloth and
your white candles.
If you want color, select your color choices BEFORE you go
shopping. Don”t come home with a color that is lovely but
doesn”t work with your scheme. Making a color plan will
really help you avoid stress at the flower shop.
Decide on one or two colors in your mind BEFORE you go to
the flower store. If your first color choice isn’t available
when you get there, go to your second choice.
If you see some flowers you absolutely have to have, but
they aren’t one of your choices, don’t change your whole
plan for the dining room table centerpiece. Just buy those
must-have flowers to decorate your living room. Then go back
to the plan and select one of your color choices for the
dining room table.
So don’t be like Sally. Put the three key flower-choosing
secrets to work for you:
1)Remember that you shouldn’t choose tall or scented flowers
for the dinner table.
2)Remember that white goes with
everything.
3)And if you want color in your flowers, choose
one or two colors before you go to the store, then stick
with your choices, no matter how tempting the other colors
are.
Now you have maximized your chances of choosing the right
flowers, and minimized your stress while you shop.
P.S. Did you know that with just three basic centerpiece
arrangements, you can cover almost every dinner party you
give over a year? See how on the Table Centerpiece page at
the dinner party planning site.