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.