This is a guest post from our friends at Gracious Garlands, and is part of a three-part series on setting your table in style.
Hi Fig & Dove followers! This is Elle from Gracious Garlands, here to share my top tips on how to choose the right seasonal greenery for your table – from the type of greenery, to the size/length.
I often get the question “Which garland should I use for my table?” from my customers. When it comes to this time of year, there are three questions we always ask back to help guide customers to the right garland for their table.
Are you setting the table for Thanksgiving or Christmas? Are you wanting to create a fall table or holiday table?
I designed the
Fall Collection to embody tones and themes of the harvest season - muted greens in eucalyptus, lots of caramel and velvet from backing of the magnolia leaves and olive leaves which encompass the meaning of peace and friendship.
How long is your table?
For
The Fall Collection, the garlands come in 5’, 10’, 15’, 25’ - you have several options in lengths.
The Holiday Collection is a bit different. Most of our
Holiday Collection garlands come in only 25’ lengths. For both collections, we recommend that you can buy a larger quantity and cut the garland with garden shears and use the garland in many different places, like above a doorway, on your mantle, on a sideboard, on your bar cart or on a railing.
If you have a rectangular table, we love the look of our garlands with candles. Even if that is all you add to your table, this is a simple and elevated look packed with beauty and charm.
If you have a
smaller table, we recommend one of our swags or centerpieces that come in 24”-36” from our collection
here.
If you have a
round table, you we recommend the look of a wreath packed full of candlesticks or pillar candles in the middle. Or, our smaller swags are perfect touches to a round table. For a large round table, one versatile use of our
versatile swags is to use two of them and create an X with both in the center of your table. Because these particular swags are pliable, the are very easy to stack for this look.
If you have a rectangular table - are you planning to add place settings to the ends of your table?
If your answer to this question is yes, we have an easy equation you can use to calculate how much greenery you'll need, considering that a typical place setting is about 14" - 16" wide.
Estimated length of garland needed = length of table in inches - (15" x 2)
For example.. if you have an 8' table, this would be your calculation.
(8 x 12) - (15 x 2) = 66" or 5.5'
For this size table, you would need 5' - 6' of garland. We would recommend buying a 5' garland from our Fall Collection or cutting a 5' segment from any of our Holiday Collection garlands.
If your answer to this question is no, we absolutely LOVE the look of garland cascading off the ends of tables and drooping to the floor. If you plan to do this, we recommend 3 extra feet per table end. Here's an easy equation to determine the length you'll need if you want the look of greenery cascading to the ground off the ends of your table.
Estimated length of garland needed = length of table in feet + (3' x 2)
If you have an 8' table, this would be your calculation.
8 + (3 x 2) = 14'
For this size table, you would need 14' of garland. We would recommend buying a 15' garland from our Fall Collection or cutting a 15' segment from any of our Holiday Collection garlands.
If you have any questions about seasonal greenery, or need help calculating what you need, feel free to reach out to us! Email us at
info@graciousgarlands.com, or reach out to us on Instagram @graciousgarlands. Thanks for having me, Fig & Dove!
- Elle
Through 11/29/19, Fig & Dove followers can get 15% off their Gracious Garlands purchase with code FIGANDDOVE15 at checkout.
