Fruity Palm Tree

Since Staci and her fiance (now husband) Jon attend college in Hawaii, of course they had to have a tropical-themed wedding reception!  One of our previous posts showed the guests' table centerpieces--engagement photos of the couple and a vase with sand, seashells and LED tea light candles.  Staci wanted something tropical for the buffet table, too.  We had previously seen photos of palm trees made from fresh pineapples and decided to go with something similar.  We sat down and spoke with our caterer (who also happened to be Staci's employer at the time) and told her what we wanted--an eye-catching yet edible centerpiece for the table. Here is the finished result:

 Since it was summer most fruit was in season--watermelon, cantaloupe, strawberries, pineapple, mango, etc.  We bought an inflatable wading pool for the base or serving bowl.  Now that we look back, we should have bought a solid colored pool--this was in August so the stores had Fall supplies already out--whenever you are looking for something specific it is hard to find! The inside of the pool was washed and then a clean plastic table cloth was laid inside before the fruit was added.  Our caterer sacrificed a house plant to make the "palm fronds"....poor plant.  It was for a noble cause.

Skewers were used to hold the pineapples together to make the "tree".

The finished result had a lot of positive comments and it was certainly unique.  Planning, shopping and decorating for the reception was a lot of fun for our family.  It was a learning experience as well.  I think whenever you do something for the first time, later on you might realize there was a better or different way that you would do it.

More posts will be coming up on the reception preparations soon!

Thanks for visiting!