20 Christmas Wedding Centerpieces in Evergreen, Red and Gold

A reception table on the wrong day of the year has to work twice as hard: pine and candlelight already do half the job for a December wedding, so the centerpiece just needs to pick a lane and commit to it. Twenty styles follow, grouped by how they are built rather than by theme, so you can match one to whatever room you already have.

None of them ask for raw linen or anything tied on with cord. Pressed cotton, satin and velvet carry the season better than anything undyed or wrinkled ever will, and candlelight is kinder to all three.

Pick the family that matches your venue first, flowers for a room that already glows, fruit and foraged pieces for somewhere rustic, metallics for a ballroom, and work down from there.

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Candlelight and Greenery

These are the centerpieces built around a flame first and greenery second, the kind that make a whole room glow without needing the overhead lights on at all. They suit nearly any venue, since candlelight reads as celebration everywhere from a barn to a ballroom.

Keep a runner or cloth underneath every one of them, wax finds its way onto tablecloths no matter how careful the night gets.

Pine and Candles

A table with nothing on it but white china looks like it is waiting for something. Loose pine down the center, with tapers rising out of it at staggered heights, finishes the thought without raising the budget.

Work with fresh pine garland or loose sprigs, brass or glass candle holders in three heights, and a deep green or wine velvet runner underneath so wax drips do not panic anyone. It suits a barn, a conservatory or a ballroom equally, since pine reads as season rather than style.

No fresh pine where you live in December: a faux noble fir garland holds its shape all night and never needs water near the candles.

Gold Candlesticks with Greenery

Mismatched candlesticks sound like a packing mistake until they stand together at different heights down one table, all sprayed the same gold. The eye reads them as a collection, not a muddle.

Thread trailing eucalyptus loosely along the base of each one, ivory tapers on top, and let the wax pool where it likes. It works best on a long banquet table in a manor house or hotel ballroom where there is room for the height to register.

Thrifted silver candlesticks spray gold in one coat and dry long before the greenery arrives.

Frosted Eucalyptus and Ivory Pillar Candles in Hurricane Glass

A reception that wants to feel like the first snow rather than a Christmas market reaches for white and silver, not red and green. Frosted eucalyptus, dusted pale rather than painted, circles glass hurricanes holding ivory pillar candles at the center of each table.

It suits a hotel ballroom with chandeliers already doing the sparkle. The glass hurricanes also mean the candles survive any draft near the doors.

Frosted eucalyptus runs pricey by the stem: a light dusting of cornstarch over silver dollar eucalyptus gets close for far less.

Brass Lanterns with Juniper and Cinnamon Sticks

A lantern does something a vase cannot, it survives being carried outside for photos and comes back in without spilling. Fill it with juniper sprigs and a small bundle of cinnamon sticks tied at the candle’s base, and it works as a centerpiece and a prop in the same evening.

It suits a conservatory especially, somewhere a little cold air will drift past the table and carry the scent with it. Use a flameless candle inside if the venue has rules about open flame near the juniper.

No juniper on hand: rosemary sprigs give the same deep green and nearly the same scent.

Flowers and Blooms

Flowers carry the season on color rather than on pine needles, so the shade you choose does most of the work before a single candle is lit. A deep red reads as Christmas, a pale blush or ice blue reads as winter, and both are correct.

Red Roses with Evergreen

Say roses to a December bride and she pictures a summer bouquet, not a reception table. Deep red roses tucked close against cedar or fir branches shed that association completely, the dark petal reads as velvet, not valentine.

Build it low, in a compote, roses clustered at the center and the greenery trailing loose over the table’s edge. It suits a restaurant private room or a wood-paneled hall where candlelight already does half the work. For the full palette beyond the table, see 19 Red and Gold Christmas Decor Ideas With Old-Hollywood Glamour.

Garden roses run expensive in December: ranunculus in the same oxblood shade gives the same density of color for less.

White Poinsettias

The poinsettia carries a reputation it has not earned, mostly from sitting in a plastic sleeve at the supermarket. In white, potted into a low silver cachepot with pine sprigs tucked around the rim, it reads as bridal rather than seasonal clearance. See more of this palette in 18 White and Gold Christmas Decor Ideas That Glow Like Candlelight on Snow.

It suits a church hall, a restaurant with high ceilings, or any room that leans traditional. Group three pots at staggered heights rather than one tall plant and the table gains shape instead of just color.

Heated venues dry real poinsettias out fast: a faux version holds its white through a whole evening of candle heat.

Amaryllis and Magnolia Leaf Centerpiece

A table that needs height, at the top of a staircase or in the middle of a wide dance floor, asks for a tall stem rather than a low cluster. Red amaryllis in a brass urn, with glossy magnolia leaves packed around the base to hide the mechanics, gives that height without looking like a prop.

It suits a grand foyer, a chapel hall, or any room with ceilings that can take the scale. Keep the leaves a true dark green so the red amaryllis stays the only color doing the talking.

Amaryllis blooms finish at different rates: order a few extra stems in bud so late bloomers fill in on the day.

Blush Ranunculus and Frosted Pine Arrangement

Not every Christmas wedding wants to go full red and gold, and blush ranunculus against frosted pine sprigs gives the season without the saturation. Build it low, in a glass compote, so the pale petals sit close enough together to hold their own color.

It suits a garden room or a softly lit restaurant, anywhere the rest of the decor already leans gentle rather than bold. The frosted pine keeps it from reading as a spring arrangement that wandered into December by mistake.

Ranunculus closes up in a cold room: let the stems sit in warm water for an hour before the reception starts.

Ice-Blue Hydrangea with Crystal Garland Runner

Red and gold are not the only way into Christmas, and a table in ice blue with a draped crystal garland running its length reads as winter first and holiday second. Ice-blue hydrangea heads anchor the ends of the table while the crystal garland catches candlelight along the middle stretch.

It suits a glass-roofed ballroom with existing chandeliers, where there is plenty of light to bounce off the crystal. Keep the tablecloth a crisp white satin so the blue stays the coldest color in the room.

Hydrangea wilts fast once cut: condition the stems overnight in deep water before the reception.

Fruit and Foraged Accents

No flowers in this group, just what already grows or ripens around this time of year: fruit, dried citrus, pine and berries. They tend to be the cheapest entries on this list, and the easiest to build the afternoon guests arrive.

Pomegranates and Pears with Candles

A table that leans on fruit instead of flowers looks like it belongs to a harvest supper that happens to fall in December. Pile fresh pomegranates and pears loosely along the runner, pillar candles rising between them at uneven intervals.

Deep red cut pomegranates against the pale gold of the pears give the arrangement its contrast without a single stem of greenery. It suits a courtyard tent or a restaurant with exposed wood, where the fruit’s own color does the decorating.

Pears bruise in transit more than they should: clementines in the same cluster hold their shape through a whole weekend.

Velvet Ribbon and Pine Cones

Pine cones alone look like something gathered on a walk and forgotten on the table. Wrap a length of velvet ribbon loosely around a low pile of them, letting the tails trail off the edge, and the same cones read as a finished idea.

It costs almost nothing if the cones come from your own garden or a park walk, and it works in any venue since it carries no strong style of its own. For a centerpiece she can still build the afternoon guests arrive, see 13 Christmas Centerpieces Built in the Last Hour Before Guests Arrive.

No velvet ribbon in the right shade: a wide satin one in the same color gives almost the same weight and shine.

Holly and Berries

Holly has a sharpness, literally, that keeps a centerpiece from going soft and generic. Tuck short sprigs with their red berries still attached into a low garland or a cluster of bud vases down the table’s center.

It suits an outdoor terrace or garden marquee especially well, where real holly growing nearby makes the connection between table and setting obvious. Light it with a few lanterns rather than open flame if there is any wind at all.

Holly out of season where you are: winterberry branches or ilex give the same red dot against dark green.

Cranberry and Rosemary Garland Runner with Taper Candles

A table runner you can smell before you can see it does something flowers never quite manage. Fresh rosemary garland, studded through with whole cranberries, runs the length of the table with taper candles rising straight up out of it in brass holders.

It works beautifully on a garden-venue table, where the scent carries into the air between courses. Keep the candles further apart than you think you need, rosemary catches.

No fresh rosemary to hand in bulk: dried bay leaf garland gives a similar texture and holds for days.

Cedar and Clementine Garland with Copper Candle Holders

Dried citrus gets talked about so often for wreaths that it is easy to forget it works flat on a table too. Thread dried clementine slices through a cedar garland, running it down the table’s center with copper candle holders set at intervals along its length.

It suits a restaurant’s private dining room or any space already warm in wood tones, since the copper and cedar both lean that direction. The citrus adds a note of color without a single flower.

Fresh clementine slices mold within a day: dry them in a low oven the week before and they hold for the whole season.

Dried Orange Slice and Cinnamon Stick Candle Ring

A candle ring lies flat, which makes it the easiest thing on this list to pack, store and reuse. Dried orange slices alternate with short cinnamon sticks around a base built to the exact width of a pillar candle, so it sits snug at the center.

It costs very little to make in bulk and suits a farmhouse-style restaurant dining room without any extra styling around it. One ring, one candle, one table, done.

No time to dry oranges at home: pre-dried orange slices sold for wreath-making work exactly the same way here.

Metallics, Ornaments and Trims

Shine, not bloom, carries these centerpieces: glass, polished silver and a length of good ribbon do the decorating. They work especially well in a room that already has a chandelier or a mirrored wall to bounce the light back.

Ornaments in Glass Bowls

The worry with ornaments on a dinner table is always the same, that it starts to look like the tree lost an argument. Keep the finish to two, a matte red and a glass gold, inside one clear bowl per table, and the worry disappears.

A short pillar candle nestled among the baubles keeps the eye moving instead of landing flat. It sits well on cocktail tables and ballroom rounds alike, anywhere guests will see it from above before they sit.

No large bowls to hand: a row of narrow glass cylinders with a handful of ornaments in each does the same job down a long table.

Silver Bells with White Flowers

Bells on a reception table can tip into novelty fast, which is exactly why these are not a cluster tied on with cord. Polished silver bells, the kind with real weight and a proper ring, sit scattered among white ranunculus in a silver compote.

The metal catches candlelight the same way the flowers do, so the whole arrangement glows rather than just sitting there. It suits a ballroom or any room already leaning silver and white.

Anemones are a short season: white ranunculus alone, en masse, carries the same quiet elegance.

Mercury Glass Bud Vases with White Ranunculus and Pine Sprigs

Narrow tables, the kind in a small restaurant’s private room or a tight garden marquee, cannot carry a tall or wide centerpiece without blocking conversation across them. A cluster of mercury glass bud vases, each holding a single white ranunculus and a short pine sprig, solves that without asking anyone to lean sideways.

The mercury glass finish throws a soft gold light of its own once candles are lit nearby, so the table never looks underdressed despite how little is actually on it. It is also the cheapest entry here to multiply across a long guest list, since each vase holds exactly two stems.

No mercury glass vases to hand: small clear bud vases with a tea-light behind each one give a similar scattered sparkle.

Tabletop Trees and Traditions

A smaller family, but a sturdy one: both entries bring a touch of whimsy to an otherwise formal table, and both suit a wedding with a traditional or family-heavy guest list.

Mini Christmas Trees

One tabletop tree per table turns a reception into a small forest without anyone having to explain the theme. Dress each tree in the wedding’s own ornament colors rather than the usual mixed bag, and set it into a painted ceramic pot, never anything wrapped in rough fabric.

They work on long tables where height matters, and they double as the easiest favor in this whole list, guests simply carry their table’s tree home at the end of the night, no extra errand required! For more centerpieces built around something other than flowers, see 21 Wedding Table Centerpieces Built Around Something Other Than Flowers.

Real mini conifers dry out under reception heat within a few hours: a good faux tree with built-in lights survives the whole night and the car ride home.

Nutcracker Figures and Gold Pillar Candles

A pair of small nutcracker figures standing either side of a cluster of gold pillar candles brings a note of the toy shop into an otherwise grown-up room, without tipping into kitsch. Keep the figures to one matched pair per table and let a low bed of greenery hide their bases.

It suits a reception with a playful or traditional streak, especially one where children are on the guest list and will recognize the figures. Choose nutcrackers in the wedding’s own colors rather than the standard toy-shop paint.

Full-size nutcrackers overwhelm a small table: the shorter versions keep the scale right for a place setting.

Frequently Asked Questions

What colors work best for a Christmas wedding?

Deep red with gold, burgundy with gold, and black, white and silver with a splash of red are the three palettes most couples return to. One bride planned her colors as mostly black, white, and silver with a splash of red, while another chose burgundy and gold.

What can I use for a centerpiece instead of fresh flowers?

Candles, pinecones, fruit and small trees all stand in for flowers without losing the holiday look. Filling wooden bowls, baskets, or glass cloches with pinecones, sprigs of holly, and red berries gives a simple yet stunning look.

How much do Christmas wedding centerpieces cost?

A simple centerpiece can run as little as fifteen dollars a table using basic vases and a single flower with a floating candle, while elaborate multi-flower arrangements cost far more. One bride’s centerpieces were about fifteen dollars per table using vases from Ikea, rocks, a single hydrangea and a floating candle.

Can wedding centerpieces double as favors?

Yes, mini trees and personalized bells are the easiest centerpieces to send home with guests. Mini Christmas trees decorated for the tables can even double as guest favors.

What greenery is traditional for a Christmas wedding?

Holly, pine, evergreen boughs and mistletoe are the classic choices for a December reception. Holly, pinecones, evergreens and mistletoe work well in centerpieces and for decorating the ceremony site.

Do Christmas wedding centerpieces have to include flowers?

No, many of the most popular December centerpieces skip flowers entirely in favor of candles, fruit, pinecones or small trees. Evergreen and candlelight already carry the season’s look on their own, so florals become optional rather than essential.