Recently we had the pleasure of visiting the design studio and shop at Tanarah Luxe Floral, a renowned floral designer for weddings and events. We were lucky enough to learn all about How to Arrange a Thanksgiving Flower Centerpiece with Tanarah herself.
Domo the cat was also onsite with his tips to make sure you really create a magical centerpiece.
Tanarah was full of tips on how you can achieve a beautiful arrangement at home.
She began where all should, selecting flowers and other natural elements to create a lovely color scheme. She used both greenery and flowers, and made use of some leftover pumpkins from Halloween.
Her biggest tip here was to think outside the box: Thanksgiving doesn’t only have to be brown and orange, it can also have rich reds, blues, and greens.
It is important to remember to visit your yard first before running out to purchase flowers.
Tanarah used magnolia branches, ferns, and greenery that you can find right in your backyard. She also made use of pinecones and driftwood which added a really lovely touch.
Before you begin making your floral arrangement you’ll need to select your vessel.
Tanarah made a point to keep in mind that this will be a conversational piece, so you’ll want to make sure your guests are able to see each other at the table. Keep this in mind when you select your container. You’ll also want to keep the mass of your arrangement low so that everyone can still engage.
For this particular arrangement, Tanarah selected an antique container, which required she use floral foam to hold the arrangement. You can find this easily at your local craft store, along with picks and floral wire.
You’ll want to soak your floral foam in water for 30 minutes.
She started constructing the centerpiece by placing greenery at the base.
When arranging your centerpiece you will want to place your flowers and greenery in clusters. This sets an arrangement apart because it is how plants and flowers naturally grow in nature.
She made use of leftover Halloween pumpkins by spray painting them gold and using them as an anchor in the centerpiece. Uncarved pumpkins can last for several months and are great to use for holiday decor, not just Halloween.
She then began to add flowers in clusters.
Keep in mind that this a centerpiece and will be seen from multiple angles, so you want to move around when creating your arrangement and look at from different perspectives, much like your guests will at the table.
A pro tip she gave us to consider when making your arrangement is that whenever you introduce a color you should repeat in a slightly different way somewhere else in the arrangement.
She accomplished this through the use of red roses and some dyed red yarrow and by using different kinds of greenery throughout.
Be resourceful and make use of every bit of your elements as you can. She was able to use branches left over from the greenery to create a modern, architectural element. She tries to never waste anything and saves much of what is left to use in creative ways when setting the tablescape or later on in other arrangements.
She also added simple ferns but shed a portion of the leaves to create a beautiful modern edge to the centerpiece.
It is important to let the flowers dictate the arrangement and not to fight with or try and overly manipulate them.
When placing her final touches she added driftwood and votives to the table. She selected ones that were all a bit different but were apart of the same color family.
The final result was truly stunning and a work of art. Though, our arrangements won’t be able to rival Tanarah we are certain we learned a lot and can produce something we are proud of at home. We’d love to see how you take these tips into action and design your own Thanksgiving centerpieces, be sure to tag us on social media or comment below with some of your favorite floral hacks! We cannot get enough of looking at Nature’s beauty.
See more of Tanarah Luxe Floral’s beautiful designs on her Instagram account.
Photos: Dorothy Townsend
