23 DIY Wedding Centerpieces We Love

July 27, 2011
Bryan Gardner

Wedding centerpieces can be as inventive as you like—and simple to tackle on your own.

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Bryan Gardner
Our Best Wedding Centerpieces

If you love yourself a good craft, you're certainly not alone. Here at Martha Stewart Weddings, we're all about that DIY, and also about providing easy instructions for foolproof success. When it comes to your nuptials, there's plenty you can make, build, or create on your own, from décor to food and everything in between. One especially fun idea is DIYing your reception table centerpieces. With so many options out there, you're sure to find a project you love, and something that suits your skill level, time frame, and budget. DIY centerpieces can help you save up for other aspects of your wedding. They can also allow you to take the reins and make something all your own. Ahead, ideas for adding personality and a homemade touch to one of the prettiest parts of your wedding reception décor.

Hardware Candle Centerpiece

This modern metallic centerpiece starts with a slab of stone tile ($7, homedepot.com) used as a runner. On top, insert both candlesticks and tea lights into mix-and-match copper-colored hardware you can get from your local store (3/4-inch brass pipe cap, $7.50; 3/4-inch copper pressure C x C coupling with stop, $9.50 for a bag of 10; and 1 1/2-inch copper tube cap, $6.50, homedepot.com). 

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Peony Centerpieces and Favors

Raymond Hom
Make These Favor Centerpieces

Group a few big, bold peonies together, and you've got a gorgeous tablescape. But that's not all! Invite guests to take a vase home at the end of the evening, and you've got your favors covered, too. Simply arrange them on tables (make sure there are enough to go around) and add our custom clip-art sign.

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Plaster-Dipped Vessels

Linda Pugliese
Make These Plaster-Dipped Vessels

One lush, overflowing centerpiece creates an unforgettable tablescape and lets you keep everything else spare and simple. This arrangement of hellebores, andromeda, garden roses, dahlias, clematis, delphiniums, and porcelain vines is displayed in a custom compote that's actually just a footed bowl dipped in plaster. 

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Geometric Candle Sticks

Bryan Gardner
Make These Geometric Wooden Candleholders

Remember playing with wooden blocks as a kid—or learning to draw with them in art class? Those same educational toys can be transformed into modernist centerpieces with a quick trip to the hardware store and a coat of paint. But here's a lesson you didn't learn in kindergarten: A cone and cylinder, when stacked, make an inexpensive and eye-catching geometric candlestick, as does a cube all on its own. A small cut in a half-sphere or prism can also turn it into a place-card holder or table-number holder. Continue the theme with wooden bead napkin rings and chair garlands.

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Tiered Bowl Centerpiece

Johnny Miller
Make This Tiered Bowl Centerpiece

For a bold and cheery statement piece, fill tiered bowls with dense tufts of goldenrod, fuzzy clusters of mimosa, globelike craspedia balls, olive leaves, kumquats, lemons, and sprigs of fresh lavender.

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Colorful Candleholders

Make This Candle Centerpiece

Create a centerpiece that offers festive color and ambience by simply spray-painting wooden candleholders of varying heights to match candles in the same hues.

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Blooming Branches

Fit for a spring wedding, these branches bloom with handmade paper blossoms and are accented with millinery birds.

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Decorated Glasses

Bryan Gardner
Make These Glowing Glass Centerpieces

Clustered around a floral centerpiece, these gussied-up containers enhance any scene. We relied on common adhesives—glue, stickers, and tape—as well as paint and glitter to make basic glasses stun.

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Pink Vinyl Centerpieces

Bryan Gardner

Snip plastic strips of hot pink vinyl to the same height as vases, roll them up, and slip them inside. Add a glue dot to keep the strip in place on larger vessels. 

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Veneer Centerpieces

Jonny Valiant
Make These Veneer Centerpieces

Rather than an explosion of petals, consider a sculptural arrangement of veneer figure eights.

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Wrapped Branches Centerpiece

Make This Wrapped Branch Centerpiece

An arrangement of branches wrapped in seam binding and bedecked with fabric blooms makes for a minimalist look that holds maximum appeal.

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Stacked Boxes Centerpiece

Make This Stacked Centerpiece

Check off three boxes with this display that counts as a centerpiece, a stack of party favors, and a table-number indicator all in one.

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Gold Embellishments

Flowers and birds and clovers—oh, my! Sold by the sheet, Castle in the Air Dresden paper-backed foil trims take a zillion shapes, pack flat (perfect for a destination wedding), and are so wallet-friendly that even your grandma would agree they're a good deal. Re-create this tablescape by using double-sided tape to affix the embellishments to clear glass vessels in varying sizes. Pair the golden hue with soft pastel blooms.

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Tissue Paper Flowers

Max Kim-Bee
Make These Tissue-Paper Flower Centerpieces

In winter, when fresh blossoms may be harder to come by, these lush tissue-paper flowers are in full bloom. Their silver centers are actually Christmas balls, a nod to the season. Arranged at different heights in silver trumpet vases and mint julep cups, they bring whimsy to a formal reception table set in all white.

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Floral Spheres

Make These Floral-Sphere Centerpieces

Spread out on lush lawns or placed on a pedestal, these whimsical globes consisting of hundreds of orange, red, fuchsia, and yellow gerbera daisies add a pop of color to your wedding.

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Paper Magnolias

Make These Paper Magnolia Centerpieces

Gorgeous paper magnolias are a wilt-free way to incorporate these beautiful harbingers of spring into an eye-popping centerpiece.

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Garden Foliage Centerpieces

Make This Herb Centerpiece

Scented geraniums, herbs, and other foliage nestled in hand-painted pots are a charming—and easy—garden party decoration. Invite guests to take home their favorite as a favor.

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Paper Décor

Make These Vellum Paper Centerpieces

Turn a simply set table into something worth raising your glass to with just a few supplies—vellum paper, scissors, and tape.

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Papier-Mâché Fruit

Make This Papier-Mâché Centerpiece

A minimal centerpiece, like this whitewashed papier-mâché fruit arrangement piled on a cake stand and trimmed with silver millinery leaves, is as chic as it is unexpected.

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Map-Covered Vases

To make these map-covered vases, simply cut charts to fit around cylinders of various heights, then attach them with double-stick tape and fill each with flowers or a candle.

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Striped Luminarias

Make These Luminaria Centerpieces

Download our chic striped clip art to create this modern take on luminarias—paper bags with votives inside.

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Floral Luminarias

Raymond Hom
Make These In Full Bloom Centerpieces

At these blossoming tables, conversation will be anything but garden variety.

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Accordion Accent Centerpieces

Make These Accordion Centerpieces

If you can print and fold, you cake make these luminarias, inspired by cake-decorating stencils.

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