Pumpkin centerpieces?

I originally wanted a fall wedding and thought about something like that for the centerpieces! I love them! Think of it this way....when you carve a pumpkin for Halloween, you can get two good says of use out of it before it starts to soften, so I would think doing them the day before, as long as you had a cool place to store them would be ok and thy would last the entire day. But talk to a florist and get their recommendation.

When we started planning, we were going to do a carved pumpkin on each table. As our guest list expanded, we decided against it! We ended up with 23 tables so we'd have to do 23 pumpkins and keep them fresh for the wedding. We decided to go with carved pumpkins as accent decorations instead, and we're only doing eight.

I think it's doable - if you feel certain you can commit to it the week before the wedding. Otherwise, I'd go with fake pumpkins.

I agree with the other ladies. Carved pumpkins would have to be done probably the day before your wedding to ensure they are still good. Depending on how many tables you have, that could be a very large undertaking.

I was going to use pumkins for our centerpieces as well but felt like I would be too much work for us.

I did research that thier was a spray you could use so the pumkins would stay fresh once you carve them. However an option that would require no carving would be using smaller pumkins as accents surrounding candles or small floral arrangements.

You can get a pumpkin fresh spray or just a bleach/water solution and they will last up to a week ... but 3-4 days it will look as good as new! I will let you know -- I'm using pumpkins for 1/2 of my centerpieces and will be carving on wednesday!

We are wedding twins! I am contemplating doing something similar! I was wondering if a florist could do this? I love this idea! I am following your post.

One thing I am doing is painting pumpkins gold and setting them around the venue in appropriate spots. I've also seen pumpkins set up down the aisle (but I would be afraid my dress would either get stuck on one of the stems or I'd trip over one of them!) but I still love the way it looks.

@Rhonda, I did ask our florist and they would do this however it would be less expensive if you provided the florist with the pumpkins.

I would to the carvable pumpkins, and buy them when they go on clearance/super sale in a couple of weeks, you can carve them right away, and then store them! Cheaper, and you would be way ahead of schedule!

@Rhonda- yay date twin! Thanks the advice, guys! I'm going to go to AC Moore, Michaels' and maybe JoAnn Fabrics to see how the foam carvable ones look, if they look realistic, I'm thinking that will be easier

I am doing pumpkins for my rehearsal dinner. I am painting them a lavender color and decorating them with tulle, lace, rhinestones, pearls, etc. That way I don't have to carve them and I can do them the Monday before the rehearsal dinner on Friday. I am doing 27 pumpkins and 6 pumpkins for a topiary like structure. If you google pumpkins decorated for a wedding you can get several ideas on pumpkins that have been decorated and not carved. I personally don't care for the fake pumpkins. I hope this helps and happy planning.

I like this idea a lot. I think it is very do-able. How many bridesmaids do you have? To me, this seems like a great BM job, assuming you only need 10-15 pumpkins. If you had 2 or 3 girls gutting out about 15 pumpkins, I assume it wouldn't take more than 2 hours tops. The pumpkins in the pictures are pretty small. If you plan on doing this now, you can schedual it in ahead of time a day or two before the wedding. Just make time for it. Nails at 10, pumpkins at 12:30, etc.

I was going to do this, and after my consultation with my florist, who came up with a reasonable estimate for centerpieces, I decided not to DIY. That being said, I still love the idea. If you don't want to go with real pumpkins, here's an alternative. http://www.ftd.com/3316/catalog/product.epl?product_id=14-F2&index_id=product_fall&sid=1

I personally wouldn't want to carve pumpkins. Too much to deal with! What about those little ones you don't have to carve? You could pair them with tall candles, leaves, etc. Just a thought!

Thank you everyone!! @Teagan, great suggestion to enlist the BM's help (if they can)! I might do a mock one this year to see how the fresh turns out and how long it lasts and how difficult it'll be.... then do a fake one and see... I'll update with pics when I do!

I have never done this but I think it would look so great! Please post pics of your trial

If you want to keep em' real here are some links I found on preservation:

http://www.wikihow.com/Maintain-a-Carved-Pumpkin

http://www.today.com/home/preserve-your-pumpkin-and-make-it-last-long-I389846.

This one actually observed the pumpkins over a 2 week period:

http://www.extremepumpkins.com/pumpkin-preservation-methods.html

@Rachel Kay thanks so much for those links!!!

Love this idea of the pumpkins. I have seen a few different versions of pumpkins in centerpieces. I was told by a local florist that if you rub petroleum jelly on the inside and the outside, they will keep a lot longer as in weeks instead of days.

Also, if they are outdoors...animals will not mess with them with the jelly on them. We had an issue with a raccoon last year attacking my Halloween carved pumpkins...and the jelly made it stay away from them.

I made centerpieces in pumpkins a few times. On both occasions, we had the bride/family carve the pumpkins and bring them into us 2-3 days before the wedding. We kept them in the refrigerator. They were fine. See photo:

OMG. I have been dying for someone to talk about punkin' centerpieces because THESE ARE SO FREAKING BEAUTIFUL! I want to do them just because.

Here's a link to preserve: http://www.discountqueens.com/preserve-carved-pumpkin-household-items/