Use Venue Characteristics To Choose Your Centrepiece

Your centrepiece makes the central hub of your venue styling decisions.

Your choice of centrepiece instantly tells your guests what type of feel you're trying to achieve. Whichever centrepieces you select, there are ways to ensure they create a knockout experience for your guests.

Nearly all your decorating choices are based on your choice of venue.

Here are some common characteristics of some venues which will make choosing your centrepieces that much easier.

 Stately historic estate venue

Stately historic estate venues such as Rippon Lea Estate tend to be run by organisations like the National Trust. Common characteristics include:

• ornate ceilings and plasterwork
• gilding and/or stained glass windows
• elaborate drapery
• strict regulations on using flameless LED candles

Here, you can complement the venue's stately ornamentation with silver and gold centrepieces, choose vintage style compote bowls, or showcase the flowers by renting tall clear glass vases so the decor of the room speaks for itself.

Five star city hotel function room venue

Most five star luxury hotels or city venues feature function rooms which are, effectively, shells for you to decorate. Common characteristics include:

• Blank walls designed to be slid open or closed depending on the number of guests
• High, generally plain ceilings with lighting options
• Luxury quality chairs
• Centrepieces hired as part of a standard package

These rooms are blank canvases and do not suit garden, vintage or rustic style.

They are ideal for super-glamorous or contemporary events, and look especially amazing if you hire specialists to install light colour washing to add atmosphere, and toweringly high centrepieces to balance the proportions of the (usually) very high ceilings.

Posies are lost here and look silly.

If you do rent the package centrepieces offered here, it will save you time. However, your event does run the risk of looking like everyone else's.

Beachside restaurant, sailing club or marina

• panoramic water views
• balcony or deck to watch the sunset
• either minimal decoration - or decor of a nautical theme
• smaller guest capacity than the five star city hotels, thanks to the cost of waterside real estate views

Like the five star city hotel venues, seaside  venues typically offer little in decor, but more than make up for it with a stunning ocean vista by day, with twinkling lights of the marina or city by night.

You can choose centrepieces with such nautical elements as live goldfish bowls, shells, starfish, sand, clamshells, fishing nets, sailboats, lighthouses, lifebuoys, or even rowing boats. 

Vineyard venue

• Tend to be located at least an hour from the nearest capital city
• Established gardens and/or vineyards
• Chapel, gazebo or permanent garden arbour
• Cellar with wine barrels

Depending upon the age of the property, the vineyard venue may be rustic, or, if purpose-built, quite contemporary in style.

Centrepieces in the Dining Room at Port Philip Estate tend to be more intimately sized to allow guests a sweeping view of the vineyard or geometric shaped vases in a nod to its modernity, while brushed metal bowls are ideal on the long, rustic style communal tables in the Barn venue of the Stones of the Yarra Valley. 

Discover our range of centrepieces and vases.