Centre Pieces for Wedding Receptions

It has been a while since I wrote a piece.  2012 was a busy year for us as we experienced significant growth in different arms of our business especially the cake and invitation/card making sides of our business.  I will be sharing some of our designs at some point and I will be talking about some lovely couples we worked with and their testimonials.

We have started consulting and securing bookings for 2013.  One of the things we do well is to help couples create a beautiful day within their budgets.  Whilst consulting with a client recently, we realised that her budget could not accomodate the sort of centrepiece arrangement she wanted for her day.  We looked at other options and finally came up with a cheaper option that will give the same effect and ambience she wants for her big day.

When picking a centre piece arrangement, always remember that fresh flowers are expensive.  Seasons, colours, type of flower etc all add to the cost. Also, the more flowers you have in an arrangement, the more expensive the arrangement will cost.  I advise clients to think of how to use other elements to substitute or complement flowers; that way you use less flowers but still bring in the freshness they introduce to a decor.  Example:  Use candelabras with taper candles (use non flame candles if the venue objects to open flames).  Add little flower arrangements for freshness:

Candelabras come in different heights so you can create a high centre piece effect or a lower one.  Mirrors, rose petals and votives can also be used.

There are so many elements that can be used as centrepieces to create a nice table setting without breaking a bank.

Conceptualising Designs

2012 is already in full swing; it’s February already! It is going to be a busy year for us as we are signing up more clients, building up relationships with venues and new suppliers and working towards starting our own cake and cake decorating shop for wedding cakes, celebration cakes, cupcakes and novelty cakes. Watch out for more information.


For our client’s who are getting married this year, we are at different phases of the design process and so I will like to share some thoughts on designing your event.

Designing an event goes way beyond what the room looks like. Designing your event will require that you harvest your inspiration from many places. Inspiration can be in the fabrics, magazines, favourite holiday destinations, the flowers, the space (venue), or the time of year. Wherever you find it, when you start conceptualising your event, remember to design your entire event. What I mean by this is to create a thread that will weave your event from the beginning (the invitation) to the end and after (thank – you – notes). It should all work together cohesively, building a full experience. This thread can be a colour, the elegant atmosphere, a fun theme, the menu, the interactive entertainment, or the worthy cause. Find the thread that works for you and then communicate it through your printed materials, your decor design, your menu, the guest experience, EVERYTHING. 

Greg and Mariame - 20th August, 2011

Mariame is one of those great clients who you know you will just love!  We met Mariame at our UK Wedding Show exhibition in February at Excel, London.  She was a delight to work with; a really nice and classy lady.  She wanted a really simple wedding décor for her reception, her bouquet, wedding party flowers and ceremony; we worked closely together to create this really simple but classy ambience that she wanted for guests.  The wedding ceremony took place at Notre Dame de France at Leicester Square and the wedding reception took place at Millennium Hotels, Gloucester Road

Mariame wanted white chair covers with bows; she really wanted her décor simple. We designed her chair covers, keeping the design simple but with a bit of character. For the bows, we used pistachio green silk taffeta fabric which was the exact match of her bridesmaids’ outfits.

Mariame wanted Phalaenopsis Orchids in a tall vase as centrepieces.

Beautiful pink crystals and pink favour boxes to the table setting. She had a beautiful colour coordinated gift box.

The wedding cake tied in to the theme of the wedding; simple and classy

Mariame wanted a simple rose bouquet

It was an absolute joy for us to be part of Mariame and Greg’s big day. We wish the lovely couple a very happy and blessed married life!


This is what Mariame had to say:

"I met Ify at a wedding fair in Excel 6 months prior to my wedding and honestly she's been a life saver! From our first meeting I knew I was in good hands. She was very professional, well prepared and very pleasant. I used her service for the church, cocktail and reception rooms decorations and all the wedding flowers (bouquets and decoration). She took her time to listen to every detail and at no point I felt like she was trying to impose her ideas on my wedding. I was most impress by her willingness to help me with details that were not part of our contract and even helping me find a videographer. I will definitely recommend her to any bride-to-be as she will be one less thing to worry about!"

Post Event Analysis (PEA)

It is every Planner’s joy to walk away from an event knowing that their clients are happy and that their Company provided the excellent service(s) that they were contracted to deliver. However, things sometimes don't always go as planned.

Here at HM we always review what went well and what didn’t go so well after every event. We call this the 'PEA'.  We believe that every event - successful or otherwise can be improved upon and there are always lessons to be learned.

Here are some of our PEA questions.

For a successful event:

1) Was the event a success?
The definition of ‘success’ is relative so we go through our checklist of what boxes a successful event should tick.

2) If the event was a success, what areas can still be improved on?
Every area of the event is analysed, those responsible for each area(s) are questioned and answers/ comments/recommendations are communicated and documented.

3) Was the successful event profitable? Were there hidden cost(s) not anticipated or accounted for? Did we compromise profit to secure the job?
A business needs to make profit to survive

4) What are the lessons learnt?
These need to be documented in the client’s file.

5) Are the clients truly happy?
Happy clients bring repeat businesses

6) Are their guests happy and amazed?
Every guest is a potential client or will recommend a good vendor to friends and family. Word of mouth is the best form of advertisement in the events industry.

7) Are other vendors happy?

For a not so successful event:


1) Why is the client not happy or satisfied?
2) Why is the event not successful?  What factors contributed to this?
3) Were the reasons/factors within our control?
4) Were there communication gaps?
5) Were both parties transparent in their dealings with each other?
6) Could we have handled matters differently?
7) What steps do we take in future to avoid a reoccurrence?


Thank goodness we have a high percentage of happy clients because it takes a few weeks for a good Planner to recover from the shock of a bad event!  An unsuccessful event is not just emotionally draining but very costly to a business - your reputation is simply on the line!

Send us your Love Story

The wedding season is in full swing at Hannah Michael. With the weather warming up and the royal wedding only 21 days away, love is really in the air!

As we design and brainstorm with our couples on the details they will like to incorporate into their big days, we ask how they met? How he proposed? How she proposed? What is their Love Stories?

We have had the privilege of hearing some really romantic and intriguing stories and so we decided to offer a couple getting married no later than 2012 with the MOST romantic, funny or captivating love story , 50% off one of our services. So send us your stories.  

To enter the draw and for full details of the offer including terms and conditions, visit our Offers & Competition page on our main web site.