Lighted centerpiece samples

Had a blisslight rental at the local country club this evening so wifey and I took along our new Chauvet slimpar56 battery cans and staged a few shots of the lighted centerpiece concept. Basically what we're looking at is a shadow box that surrounds the fixture, glass top, then they place whatever floral arrangements they want on top of that. The idea is to coordinate the table uplight color with the perimeter uplights. Right now I'm thinking to offer at 5 for $375 ($75 each). Would appreciate any thoughts you guys have. Here are some sample shots. The clients for last night's event were fawning all over themselves and proclaiming how they "wish we had budget for those". Feedback is strong so far.

The full album is here: https://plus.google.com/photos/104949851951762302969/albums/6003088591178573361?banner=pwa

ahoustondj said:

Thats really played out since the early 2000s, at least here in Houston. We used to use those at the Resort back in 2004 for everything from Liquor Bottles at the Bar to centerpieces at the tables to the Tip Jars on the Bar. I have several at home AC/DC Battery powered and they Rotate. Purchased for about $5.00 each wholesale. Here are many options right here!

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Strength of the fixture is what you're missing. Those itty-bitty-battery powered units never put enough light out. I'll be curious to see how well it sells but so far the feedback is much more than I expected.

steve149 said:

I think the type of vase has a lot to do with the final effect. The thinner one seems to let light hit the flowers unimpeded and causes too much of a burn halo. The square and fatter vase does a better job of diffusing the light.

I think seeing the centerpieces strobe with the music (very sparingly) might be a cool effect.

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I agree, Steve. While I don't want to get into actually providing the vase (or flowers), I think we're going to have to provide several samples of different vase styles so the brides will know what they want to use. I've got 5 scheduled at our 10/5/14 event over at the Opryland Hotel and that bride wanted me to send her some pics. I have a couple of event in May that I'm going to try and get them into. Lots more options and experimentation needed but I think the concept is strong, based on the feedback we're getting.

Incidentally, the flowers in those shots are fake. They were just something the country club had sitting in a back room and I snagged them for these shots.

Ausumm said:

Looks great, Rick....I like it!
If you're really worried about the extra light, as Steve said...
try using paper or cardboard squares that cover the entire top of the light,
with different size/shape cut-out to only let light thru as you want it.
(square cut-out for square bottom vases, round for round, etc)

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Thanks for the props. The more I look at it, the less I'm concerned about extra light as it looks cool against the ceiling. Check out a few shots from Saturday's event. This was a Sorority formal and I threw in 4 of these centerpieces and used my extra battery unit to light their ice sculpture (yea, that's a Squirrel). I'm convinced that the idea is a winner but I still need to keep getting some good sample shots. I'm looking for some wavey flutes, like the top shot (purple) but would like it in a semi-frosted glass. On the EZ-Slimpars, the one beef I have is the rocker switch. It's entirely too easy to get turned on accidentally. For the boxes, I also had to put rubber feet on the back of the fixtures and will probably add some velcro to get them to remain stationery. BTW, DO NOT try just putting a fixture on the table. At the end of the evening the kids were walking around with the boxes, looking at them. No doubt if these were smaller, they'd be walking out of the building.

Here's the full album:

https://picasaweb.google.com/104949...yFormalLibertyParkClarksvilleTN?noredirect=1#






One more thing, check out this next shot. In the left-hand side, you'll see a centerpiece with a blue light in it. This was 3-4 of the little LED tealights that florists normally use. While it does show up, it was completely under-whelming, especially when compared to the Slimpar.

maestro said:

In my area, they would have to be wireless DMX controlled lights otherwise the decorators would simply purchase them right after they saw mine in action.

You know Rick I'm all for trying new things but IMHO, most of the brides want a softer more elegant look, not mind blowing 'Ka-pow!' super-colored centerpieces...

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Good point. Obviously, the fixtures can be toned down but the little tealights cannot be toned up. Time will tell what's going to sell and what won't. I'd given thought to wireless DMX but I think the main selling point of going with me over a florist is that I can color-match table fixtures with perimeter fixtures. I don't know of any florists who are doing perimeter uplighting in this area.