Centerpiece ideas are one of the things I get asked about a lot – and something that seems to stump people consistently…
This advice should help! 🎉
For personal celebrations like milestone birthdays and graduations: start with the guest of honor’s interests in mind.
So, instead of thinking a graduation party centerpiece should be “graduation” themed – where you’re starting with the occasion – make it “Guest of Honor” themed and then style it TO the occasion.
Centerpiece Inspiration
Consider things that are unique to the graduate. For example:
- Interests & Activities – Music, Sports, Passions, Clubs, etc.
- School – College or High School
- Nicknames – or other things they’re known for
Based on the above, I designed 5 centerpieces specific to the guest of honor for this Modern Farmhouse Graduation Party. The themes were:
- Softball (catcher for her high school team)
- Purdue (the college she decided on)
- Agriculture/#Farmlife (from a farming family, active in 4H & FFA)
- AGNERD (beloved personal nickname)
- Violin (played since she was little)
See below for a close-up look at each of the final designs. I hope seeing these personalization examples will help to get your creative juices flowing too! Have questions? Ask me in the comments!
1. Softball Centerpiece
Summary: high contrast black & white softball design with industrial textures & jersey #
- Large mason jar inside wire utensil holder (embellished w/ a custom printable)
- #33 wood cut out, painted gold & hot-glued to dowel rods (covered with silver straws)
- Mason jar filled with white sand
- Double-sided frame with softball photos
- Softball trophy (w/ personalized nameplate) spray painted champagne gold
Shopping Resources: wire utensil holder – Marshalls // 33 cutouts – Etsy // trophy – Crown Awards // mason jars – Target // sand – Michaels // frames – Amazon
• • • • •
2. College Centerpiece
Summary: festive display with farmhouse vases, mini balloons & Purdue accents
- Set of bud vases in wood rack container
- Black and white sand in vases
- Decorative straws over wood dowels for stands + mini balloons tied on at varying heights
- Purdue/Boilermaker pennant flag on the tallest dowel
- Small Metal “P” – spray painted gold
Shopping Resources: metal letters – Etsy // wood rack with vases, sand – Michaels // balloons, straws – Amazon
• • • • •
3. Agriculture / #Farmlife Centerpiece
Summary: Trio design with 2 vases, farm wood cut-outs & livestock figurine
- Galvanized milk jug style vase – filled with rice for weight
- Tractor shaped wood cutouts – painted black
- Wood dowels covered with decorative straws – to prop up cutouts
- Small white & gold confetti vase
- Farm animal figurine embellished with mini grad cap
- Custom printables – #farmlife, “class of” pennant flag
Shopping Resources: milk jug vase, cow – Michaels // tractor cutout – Etsy // gold & white vase – Marshalls // mini graduation cap – Amazon
• • • • •
4. Violin Centerpiece
Summary: artistic display with Violin theme, bud vases, festive mini garland
- Gold rectangle wall shelf with mini garland up top
- Trio of bud vases in a rustic container
- Black & white sand in vases
- Mini violin painted white
- Embellished with a mini grad cap & fabric flags
Shopping Resources: wall shelf – Marshalls // paper garland, sand, rustic container with vases – Michaels // mini violin, mini graduation cap – Amazon // fabric – Joann
• • • • •
5. Nickname Centerpiece
Summary: custom AGNERD license plate, creatively displayed
- Custom novelty license plate – with ALL text details personalized
- Propped up with dowel rods (inside cow print party straws)
- Galvanized metal container filled with floral foam + rice
- Wood cutouts shaped like sheep (she raised lambs in 4H & FFA)
- Embellished with baker’s twine & washi tape
Shopping Resources: license plate, sheep cut out – Etsy // party straws – Amazon // galvanized container, foam, twine – Michaels
Final Thoughts
This was a large graduation party, so I created 5 different centerpiece designs to give the tables some variety (and also because I just loved all the “inspiration” options available!). You can always just do 1 or 2 designs though – the most important thing is to bring a little piece of the guest of honor into each of them. 💛
Farmhouse Graduation Printables
My Farmhouse Graduation printables are available in our store. They make it so EASY to add pro designer style & personalization to your event. It’s like instant branding for your party! 🙌 Click here to shop now.
