Branch Centerpieces

Kimberly010205

We are doing DIY branch centerpieces, for our rustic/woodland wedding.  I need help deciding what kind of branches we should use.  We really like the whole white birch look, but it doesn't look like you can buy them in the kind of branches we're looking for.  We'd like to have some branches that we are able to hang votive candle holders from, so it has to branch out and be sturdy.  Can we incorporate the white birch in somehow?  If not the other options I looked into were just regular birch.. (which I'm not sure will hold candles) and the manzanita branches.  Also any suggestions on the best places to buy these?

I was also thinking if we can't incorporate the white birch into the actual centerpiece, we can place a piece of round bark underneath the vase.

We want to keep it simple for the centerpieces and have the branches with candles, then do mason jars filled with hydrangeas/peonies etc.

Any suggestions appreciated, thank you!

tiffysue2012

Try looking online at etsy.com or save-on-crafts.com. I know save-on-crafts.com has a ton of real tree items.

Sue-n-Kevin

If it were me, I'd probably go up and down the street to find branches people had pruned and put out for pickup,  and save them. I'd then paint them off white and do black lines with black paint or black markers to simulate the look of birch without having to actually find the birch tree branches. If you take your time, it will look real.

As for the hanging votives, I'd recommend using frosted cups and LED votive candles, there's no risk of fire and the frosted candle holders hide the fact they are not real.

reppunzel

If you can't use the white birch, you can buy birch bark vases on Etsy.  You can also get "tubes" of birch bark (from branches or small trees) on Etsy or Ebay that you could slide over a basic glass cylinder (dollar store) for an easy DIY birch bark vase.  I'm thinking about doing that for some of our decor, because the tubes are less expensive than the vases. 

Belle0720

In Response to <a href="http://forums.theknot.com/Sites/theknot/Pages/Main.aspx/special-topic-wedding-boards_flowers_branch-centerpieces-2?plckFindPostKey=Cat:Special Topic Wedding BoardsForum:28Discussion:cb3efcd4-0ef5-474b-b39f-ba017a160ea9Post:f45baaa8-d127-4314-9a3d-ff5cf94192ae">Re: Branch Centerpieces</a>:
[QUOTE]<strong>As for the hanging votives, I'd recommend using frosted cups and LED votive candles, there's no risk of fire and the frosted candle holders hide the fact they are not real.
</strong>Posted by Sue-n-Kevin[/QUOTE]

Ditto this. My friend did Manzanita branches and hung votives from them. One of the votives fell at the table that my mom and FI were sitting at, nothing caught on fire but hot wax got all over the place.  

twilight.rose

My florist suggested spray painting branches white, which had a really nice effect. We literally went into the woods and collected the branches we wanted to use; that way I could make sure I liked the shape of each one. I've attached a photo so you can see how the white paint looked.