Garland centerpieces aren’t going away any time soon. Many of our clients already have cascading greens worked into their floral budgets to get these textured beauties on their reception tables. We love the look too, but know that it comes at a price! Thanks to one of our favorite florists, Shaya over at Stella Event Design, you can become a garland guru as you plan your wedding florals.

We’ve taken some of Pinterests’ most popular photos for wedding garlands and given you the 411 here!

SEEDED EUCALYPTUS TABLE RUNNER

Perhaps the most requested greenery in the world of weddings, seeded eucalyptus has graced many of our tables.

The pros: It doesn’t have to be hand-tied. Your florist can save some time (and money!) by laying these stems loosely on your tables because they have nice height. Eucalyptus is notorious for hanging in a naturally beautiful way. Some greens just don’t drape like these!

The cons: Eucalyptus doesn’t grow well in wedding season. Most florists can order stems whenever you need them, but the quality suffers June-August because they grow in sub-tropical regions.

Price point: ~$8.50/foot for garland

CASCADE FLORAL GARLAND

Oh me, oh my this runner is gorgeous! You can assume adding flowers comes at a price with garlands. And having flowers isn’t the only thing making this garland a pricey one to recreate, it is the type of flowers that will alter the price as well. The white orchids are a very expensive tropical flower. There are also a lot of hydrangea in this piece, which need a lot of water to make it through an event. Anytime you have this many flowers, the florist is no longer just wiring the garland together, they have to create a base with a water source.

Tight budget? Try popping in some flowers that don’t require as much care and can be used with floral water tubes. Shaya suggests something from the mum family instead of the orchids or hydrangea.

Garland Price Point: ~$90/foot

SIMPLE GREENS TABLE RUNNER

This runner is made of a hand-tied lemon leaf foliage. Lemon leaf is a common option for a brighter green to add as a centerpiece. This particular garland is quite thick, but if you thinned it out a bit, you could get the look for around $6 a foot.

Add some color: Shaya suggests using Wax Flower in these greenery runners. It does fairly well out of water and is a great alternative to Baby’s Breath.

Greenery alternatives: Some other affordable greens you can utilize in table garlands are Plumosa, Ruscus, and Spring Rye

RUSTIC ARCH GARLAND

The Hydrangea Dilemma:  Hydrangeas are a great flower because they are full and typically affordable. (Plus they come in gorgeous colors!) But these are probably the last flower we would advise you to put in the beating sun in the middle of summer. Hydrangeas need A LOT of water to make it through the day and the sun doesn’t help that wilt factor.

Try instead: Dahlias, Football Mums, Wax Flower for filler

Price point for this look: ~$17/foot for Olive Branch foliage garland (approx. 17 feet in this photo), $650 for floral focal point

Our advice to all couples hoping to incorporate garlands into their wedding design: coordinating is better than matching when it comes to event styling. Not every centerpiece should match perfectly. Try doing a cluster of bud vases on some tables, garland on others, and a large floral piece as a third option. Not only is this visually appealing, but it allows you to splurge on certain tables and save on others!