Finally, consider getting personal. “When it comes to a centerpiece or table décor, I like to incorporate reminders of all the good things that have happened over the year,” Cano-Murillo says. Have your guests e-mail – along with their RSVP – something they were grateful for in 2009. “Find someone with really nice handwriting, and put [the messages] on bamboo skewers of different heights in jars in the center of the table,” she suggests.
 
You can accomplish the same idea by filling the base of a glass bowl with marbles, cranberries or small ornaments. Then, sprinkle the top with small papers containing personal memories or empowering quotes that guests can read during dessert.

At the end of the day, your centerpiece is your centerpiece. “A lot of times people get so caught up in a centerpiece having to look beautiful and perfect that they forget true beauty comes from memories,” Cano-Murillo says. So, feel free to glance through magazines or visit design shows for ideas, but then do what you can to put your own twist on it.

“Do something,” Cano-Murillo urges, “that makes it 100 percent yours.”

— Laurie Davies can be reached at phxmag@citieswestpub.com.



RESOURCES

Arizona Flower Shop
1812 E. McDowell Road, Phoenix
602-258-8308, azflowershop.com

Carol Buto Designs
15770 N. Greenway-Hayden Loop,
Ste. 104-J, Scottsdale
480-348-7496, carolbutodesigns.com

Karen Rapp Interiors
3629 E. Colter St., Phoenix
602-956-3575

Kathy Cano-Murillo
craftychica.com