Ostrich Feather Centerpiece Tutorial
Ranked #190 in Weddings, #12,592 overall
DIY Non-floral Elegant Wedding Centerpiece Tutorial
Ostrich feathers come in many colors and sizes to create the perfect look tailored to your wedding or party. The long neck of the Eiffel tower vase will allow your guests to easily talk across the table, while creating a stunning arrangement that will wow.
The best part of using a non-floral centerpieces, they can be set up in advance and disassembled afterwards to sell or store for use with your next event.
Photo Credit: Nibbled.
Contents at a Glance
- Selecting the Right Type of Ostrich Feat...
- You Will Need these Feather Centerpiece...
- Video Tutorial: Assembling the Centerpie...
- Written tutorial for DIY Feather Centerp...
- Links to Feather Centerpiece Inspiration
- Other Wedding Related Pages & Tutori...
- Wedding Centerpiece Survey
- Share your Wedding Centerpiece Ideas
Selecting the Right Type of Ostrich Feather
Not all feathers are created equal, know what you are paying for
There are a few tricks to cut costs, such as mixing lower grades and lengths of the same color. The flaws are easily hidden in a full arrangement. Look for deals locally on craiglist.org or nationally on eBay. Many brides will resell their feathers, so it's also worth checking out bridal forums such as TheKnot.com.
Image thanks to Michael Allen Smith
Gorgeous White Ostrich Feathers
Create wedding centerpieces with WOW factor
You can't go wrong with all one color feather centerpieces, but if you've got a good eye, you can easily mix multiple colors to fit your theme and create something truly custom. I tried to mix in some black feathers into my white arrangements and they turned out too Mardi Gras for my taste. Instead I ended up creating an all black centerpiece to place on the bar.
Image thanks to Haldane Martin
You Will Need these Feather Centerpiece Materials
Shop around online and locally for the best deals
- 1Per centerpiece you will need around twenty to thirty 12-15 inch white ostrich drab feathers (use even longer feathers create a more luxurious centerpiece). The number of feathers determines the fullness of the arrangement. You can go with less or more depending on your budget and the look desired. A 50 feather centerpiece for example looks amazing, but I found 30 is still awesome, but much easier on the wedding budget.
- 2A belle-style bouquet holder with fresh floral foam. These should have a straight up and down handle. The floral foam is important as regular Styrofoam can damage the feather tips.
- 3An Eiffel tower vase. These can be any height you prefer, but keep in mind a taller vase will allow your guests to see each other around the table. They come in clear and frosted.
- 4(Optional) Sand to fill the vases for stability. I recommend using the clear Eiffel tower vases if going this route.
- 5(Optional) A few Floralites on a string to light up the vase if not using sand. The frosted Eiffel tower vases work better if using lighting.
About 30 Ostrich Drab Feathers per Centerpiece
More or less depending on look and budget
CASE OF 250 Ostrich Feathers Drabs 12-15"
Amazon Price: $450.00 (as of 06/02/2012)
Here's where budget comes into play. 250 feathers would give you 5 very full arrangements of 50 feathers each. Or you could make 8-9 less full but still gorgeous arrangements with about 28 feathers. And even close to a dozen is possible if you don't mind a sparser look with 20 feathers to a vase.
Ostrich Drab on eBay
Deals on bulk feathers
Mix it up with Colored Feathers
Go beyond boring white
This all black centerpiece in the foreground added to the party. I couldn't get a mix of black and white to look right, so I ended up making a very full black arrangement for the bar.
I recommend playing it safe and sticking with all one color or shade of feather per arrangement, it's much less stressful. But if you have a natural eye go for the mix. Check out the link selection below for some color inspiration, my favorite combo is turquoise feathers with orange ribbon. You could also add ribbons and crystals for a little something special.
Photo Credit: Nibbled.
Clear Eiffel Tower Vases
These also come in frosted
20" Glass Eiffel Tower Vases - 12 Pack - Clear
Amazon Price: $42.00 (as of 06/02/2012)
Although the shorter vases are cheaper, keep in mind that the taller vases will allow your guests to talk across the table. I found my 36 inch vases through a local rental company.
Belle Bouquet Holders with Floral Foam
Essential for creating the perfect centerpiece
CASE OF 12 Straight Stem Foam Bouquet Holders
Amazon Price: $29.95 (as of 06/02/2012)
It is important to work only with floral foam bouquet holders that have a straight handle. If you use Styrofoam the feather tips may break and will not stay as secure in the bouquet holder. A tipped bouquet holder simply won't stay in the vase.
(Optional) FloraLytes
To light up the Eiffel tower vases
Pack of 10 Acolyte FloraLyte White
Amazon Price: $16.00 (as of 06/02/2012)
These work great with a frosted Eiffel tower vase. Just tie them to the handle of the belle-bouquet holder with varying lengths and let them dangle inside the vase. Note: I found the bright lights clashed with the glow from candle light. Take that in to consideration if using both.
(Optional) Colored Sand
Fill clear vases with sand to add color and stability
Exclusively Weddings Colored Wedding Sand
Amazon Price: (as of 06/02/2012)
I preferred the glow of candles to the light from the floralytes so used clear vases filled with black sand to add a little pop of color. You could also wrap a colored ribbon around a frosted vase.
Decorate the Base with a Mirror & Candles
Scattered rose petals are always a nice touch too
The heat from the candles will cause the feathers to float a bit. Very pretty. I mixed in a lower centerpiece that had a large pillar candle. So using the tea-light candles on the tables with the tall ostrich feather centerpieces helped pull the two centerpiece looks together.
Photo Credit: Nibbled.
Video Tutorial: Assembling the Centerpiece
Easier than you think, looks great with less feathers
From here you can build upon the basic look by adding more feathers, using longer feathers or mixing in different colored feathers.
You could ditch the lights and use a clear vase with colored sand as I did. Or try adding other elements like beads, ribbon, floral stems or crystals. Let your creativity lead you.
Video courtesy of Wholesale Event Solution.
Keep the Feathers Dust Free
Written tutorial for DIY Feather Centerpieces
Simpler than it looks!
- 1Keep feathers wrapped in tissue or plastic sleeves until ready to use. They can attract dust (hence feather dusters). Organize your feathers from longest to shortest. The longest feathers should fill in the bottom layer, the shortest feathers will go on top.
- 2If using sand, fill up your vase. If using FloraLytes, measure out the length of string and tie to the bouquet holder handle.
- 3Place the bouquet holder on top of the vase. The handle will keep the bouquet holder upright and secure.
- 4Start pushing feathers into the floral foam of the bouquet holder at the base or bottom of the floral foam. Push the feathers in at about a 45 degree angle so they are slightly pointing down. They will fall a little on their own. Keep going around in a ring leaving a little space between each feather.
- 5Move to the middle to create the next row, this time pushing them in a little straighter. Try to place the second layer of feathers so they are above the first row but sit in between the stems of the bottom layer. This will help fill in holes. Depending on how many feathers you work with you may put another row or two before moving to the top layer, but this isn't necessary. You can also save the extras to push in as filler wherever a little more fullness is needed.
- 6Place the top layer of feathers sticking out and up to give your centerpiece some height. I like to stick at least one going straight up at the top.
- 7Now step back and fill in any holes with additional leftover feathers or smaller filler feathers if using.
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8(Optional) If working with fewer feathers, you may want to spray paint your floral foam to match the color of feathers you'll be working with before assembling. This will help hide any holes.
Another money saving tip is to purchase a pack of 6 inch ostrich feathers, which are much cheaper. They make great filler, especially on top.
At this point you could also add in other details as mentioned above. Ribbons, crystals, flowers, etc. Check out the link section for inspiration.
Daytime Event?
The feathers still stand out
This arrangement held about 35 feathers from 17"-23" a mix of A and B quality. It also had a handful of filler feathers that were about 6"-9" each.
Photo Credit: Nibbled.
Save money by mixing centerpieces
Tall & short centerpieces look great and add interest
These tall centerpieces have a lot of impact. For weddings with a lot of tables fairly close together the impact can be overwhelming not to mention expensive to create. We had about 20 tables to decorate in a fairly small room. By mixing in a cheaper candle based centerpiece with the tall Eiffel tower centerpiece we saved money and still had gorgeous results. To unify the different centerpieces they both used feathers and candles.
Photo Credit: Nibbled.
Links to Feather Centerpiece Inspiration
Plus tutorials and resources
- Image Inspiration Galore
- Look at what these creative minds have come up with for Ostrich Feather Centerpieces
- How to make tower vase arrangements
- Not the greatest tutorial, but Save On Crafts sometimes offers great deals on supplies.
- Dying ostrich feathers at home
- If you would like to know how to dye ostrich feathers here is how-to instructions.
- DIY: BIG Feather Tree Centerpieces // Hostess with the Mostess®
- See how color and little details can really personalize this fun centerpiece. The turquoise feathers with orange ribbon wrapped vase are bold and beautiful.
- How to Make Ostrich Feather Centerpieces
- A concise tutorial from a company that offers all the supplies you may need to create beautiful Ostrich Feather Centerpieces. Wholesale Event Solutions is the same company that put together the great video tutorial shown on this page.
Other Wedding Related Pages & Tutorials
Wedding Centerpiece Survey
What's on your table?
Share your Wedding Centerpiece Ideas
Please leave a note, thanks!
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The Feather Place
May 10, 2012 @ 2:12 pm | delete
- Wonderful tutorial! We are asked everyday for DIY Ostrich Feather Centerpieces directions! This is a great resource that we will gladly recommend to our clients at The Feather Place!
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girlfriendfactory Feb 19, 2012 @ 12:12 pm | delete
- This is really well done and something I haven't seen before. I don't do much in the way of weddings so that's probably why, but I thought it was very interesting and the video was clear and easy to understand. They look like feather palm trees. :) I like that your guests can still talk around them, too.
This terrific lens is more than worthy of a Flyby Winging and it can be found among the other blessed lenses for today at Have Wings Will Bless! They may call me an aimless wanderer, but not all who wander are aimless and I'm glad my aim was good when I wandered upon this. ~Ren
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Wholesale Event Solutions
Feb 9, 2012 @ 10:40 am | delete
- This is the most complete resource that I have ever seen online concerning ostrich feathers. Well done!
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stellargamebirds
Nov 28, 2011 @ 11:45 pm | delete
- Wow! Nicely done! I have emus incubating in my incubator, maybe I can do some centerpiece with their feathers! Thank you for your info!
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RickBasset
May 11, 2011 @ 12:47 am | delete
- Nicely Done! They do make gorgeous centerpieces!
Blessed by The Wedding Decorations Angel!
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Nibbled
May 22, 2011 @ 11:17 pm | delete
- Thank you kindly for the blessing RickBasset! :) Very much appreciated.
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CofCJenny
Apr 16, 2011 @ 1:54 pm | delete
- My cousin just had these at her wedding and they made beautiful centerpieces!
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Nibbled
Apr 16, 2011 @ 8:57 pm | delete
- Thanks for visiting Jenny. I agree feathers make for beautiful wedding centerpieces!
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by Nibbled
I recently joined the ranks of the Giant Squids by crafting over 50 great lenses and have earned 3 purple stars. I also have my wings and am the Neighborhood... more »
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All-In-One Kit
Ostrich~Bleach White DELUXE Ostrich KIT-4 sizes -400 Feathers--Lights and Tops included
Amazon Price: $399.95 (as of 06/02/2012)
A Must Read Reception Book
The Best Wedding Reception Ever! Your Guide to Creating an Unforgettably Fun Celebration
Amazon Price: $14.49 (as of 06/02/2012)
I can't recommend this book enough. It gave me so many ideas for my ceremony and reception that I couldn't fit them all in. If you're planning your own wedding, this is a must read.
Belle Foam Bouquet Holder
Florist Eiffel Tower Vase LARGE Flower Foam TOPS (12)~Bouquet Holder
Amazon Price: $36.63 (as of 06/02/2012)
This is the type of floral foam bouquet holder that you will stick the stem of the feathers into.
