Wedding Flowers

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Behind the scenes: A day in the life of a wedding florist – Part 2

1 November 2009 in Wedding Flowers | No comments

Once all the boxes of flowers arrive the fun starts.  We have the flowers delivered midweek before the weekend of the wedding.  This gives them a chance to have a good drink, as most flowers are sent from Holland without water and need to be hydrated immediately upon arrival.  The flowers also need some time to open the perfect stage.  Some flowers like lilies require longer than others to open and often we will have those delivered a couple of days earlier than the rest of the flowers.  With all the buckets neatly lined up, the flowers are carefully conditioned and put in water treated with flower food to feed them and encourage them to bloom.  Some flowers like phalaenopsis orchids require extra special treatment.  They are cut and submerged in water to hydrate the whole head.

white wedding

With buckets and buckets of beautiful flowers surrounding us we start to prepare the arrangements.  We first ‘green up’ any arrangements that will be in floral foam, such as table arrangements and pew ends.  This in florist terms is preparing the base of foliage into containers with floral foam.  Foliage is widely underrated as it helps create a perfect shape and provides a lovely background for flowers.  It’s not free as frequently presumed and without it twice as many flowers are required.

Once the flowers have had a couple of days in water they are fully hydrated and start to open.  In the summer some flowers like roses have to be kept cool to prevent them from opening too much, whereas in winter it can be a struggle to get flowers to open in time for the wedding, warm water is often required to encourage flowers to open a little quicker.  We always select the best and most perfectly shaped flowers for the bridal bouquets and put them to one side first.  Apart from giving the bride the very best flowers to carry, the bridal bouquet will feature a lot in photographs for the wedding so we pay special attention to selecting them.

The day before the wedding we can finally get going putting flowers in the arrangements we have greened up and make the rest of the designs.  Any buttonholes or wired designs are made last to ensure they are in water as long as possible before they are wired and taped.  We make the pew ends, pedestal arrangements, and table arrangements as these are in floral foam which retains water.

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Behind the scenes: A day in the life of a wedding florist

28 October 2009 in Wedding Flowers | No comments

Ok, it’s not really a day in the life….it’s a little longer than a day.  A day would only give you a tiny glimpse of what goes into creating flowers for a wedding.  So I’ve split it up into a few blogs.

Preparations for us start many months before the big day and then several days of preparing the arrangements on the actual week of the wedding.  After the initial consultation we often send several emails and revised quotes in the months leading up to the wedding to include any little changes or big changes as the case may be to ensure the bride and groom get exactly what they want.  Nearer to the wedding, details like final numbers for buttonholes and delivery times are confirmed.

A few weeks before the wedding we get going with the boring numbers part… spreadsheets.  We calculate how many flowers we need for every bouquet and arrangement. This part is the least exciting part of wedding preparations.  But we know soon enough we will be knee deep in scented gorgeousness, and the spreadsheets really help us see at a glance how many of each flower an arrangement is allocated.  Of course this isn’t an exact science; flowers have a tendency to vary in size, so we always order some extra.  We then check with our suppliers that there are no problems with the availability for any of the varieties we need.  Very occasionally growers just decide to stop growing a lovely rose or Mothers day abroad means certain flowers are in short supply.  Once we are happy everything we require is available we place the order with our supplier, ordering the flowers to arrive early in the morning a few days before the wedding.

Next time….the flowers arrive

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A Chinese wedding – flowers, food and firecrackers

10 October 2009 in Wedding Flowers | No comments

Last weekend I had the pleasure of providing flowers for a Chinese wedding, and attending it, as the bride and groom are friends.  The couple had a traditional English wedding on Friday and a Chinese celebration on Saturday.  The bride had picked a fabulous colour scheme of turquoise and cerise which was followed through with the wedding flowers.

Chinese wedding flowers

Friday’s festivities were formal, as is English tradition. The reception room was complete with table plan and crisp white chair covers, everything perfectly co-ordinated with the wedding colours, from the chair sashes to theatre style spot lights.

The Chinese banquet was a more informal affair.  No table plan to direct guests to specific seats, a relaxed outlook to the arrival time and a riot of colours including red, yellow, gold and cerise.  On the way into the wedding, guests all signed an embroidered red piece of silk with messages of good luck.  Red is an extremely lucky colour to the Chinese and it is used in many places at a Chinese wedding.  The bride wore a beautiful red dress embellished with gold embroidery and red flowers in her hair.  Wedding gifts of money were presented in red envelopes and the head table dressed in red table linens.

Lilly Vase

All the floral arrangements were cerise and pink.  The wedding flowers featured over 100 stems of cerise Singapore Orchids as well as Gladioli, Roses, Asiatic Lilies and Gerberas.  Large pedestal arrangements welcomed guests at the entrance to the wedding. Tall vase arrangements decorated the tables with pink Gladioli, Orchids and willow with pink tinted water.

Before the meal started we were treated to an amazing lion dance and Chinese firecrackers.  Drums and gongs accompanied the dance, the loud sounds are said to drive away evil spirits.  The Lion then followed the guests into the banqueting room and performed a dance where it stands up and eats greens hanging from the ceiling with a red envelope, it spits the greens out around the room to symbolise spreading wealth.  The bride and groom then took part in a tea ceremony where they knelt in front of the groom’s parents and served them Chinese tea as a sign of respect.

Chinese Table

The banquet consisted of nine main courses plus rice, noodles and deserts.  Chinese food has special symbolism and each delicious course had its own meaning.  Roast Chicken was served which means phoenix and wishes the newlyweds a prosperous life.  Lobster is called dragon shrimp in Chinese.  So the Lobster and chicken at together indicated the harmonious relationship between the dragon and phoenix.  In marriage the dragon symbolizes the male role and the phoenix symbolizes the female role.  Our table was excited to try some of the more unusual delicacies such as jellyfish and stuffed crab claws.  Desert was fresh fruit and Cantonese sweet bun with lotus seed paste fillings which wish the newlyweds a sweet life.  During the meal the bride and groom went from table to table with their family to toast all the guests and thank them.

Everyone thoroughly enjoyed the day’s festivities and the wonderful banquet.  When the day had come to an end the bride and groom stood with their family in line to thank the guests and wish them well.

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Retro Glamour Weddings

20 July 2009 in Wedding Flowers | No comments

It starts with a dress, well wedding inspiration usually starts with the bridal dress or sometimes the spark of an idea .  I  started with this dress which inspired a sophisticated theme of old hollywood style glamour.

halterneck bridal dress

I love this glamorous dress by Christine Fox at Wedding Belles Bridal Studio. It’s reminiscent of Hollywood times gone by, Audrey Hepburn, sophisticated parties and fabulous clothes.

The Wedding Belles Bridal Studio is based in Great Moor, Stockport.  It specialises in creating individual and unique wedding dresses and accessories.  As well as offering a semi couture collection of bridal gowns that can be personalised.

The classic lines of this dress and the ruched bodice ooze glamour.  What could be more perfect than a glameria bouquet with this dress?  Glamerias are made from lots of rose petals skilfully arranged into one large rose.  This bouquet feature red rose petals, although they can also be made with lilies.  It is edged with a collar of skeletonised leaves.  Crystals dotted throughout the bouquet or a crystal collar could also be incorporated to tie in with the crystal detail at the waist of the dress.  I would love to see ruby red shoes peeking from under this dress.

I’ve picked red to go with this dress as a colour scheme as it is a classic colour and gives a very chic look.  Think red lipstick, classic glamour and sophistication.  Red used with diamantes and faux crystals looks even more luxurious. Touches of black could also be added to give the colour scheme a slightly more dramatic look.

To carry the glamorous look throughout the rest of the wedding you could serve guests their welcome drinks in martini glasses with a strawberry on the side.  The top table could have small tank vases filled with red roses along the length of the table.  With rose petals and large faux crystals scattered in between the vases.  A star cloth hung behind the top table would give added star quality to the look and looks fabulous when you turn the lights down in the evening.  For luxurious table centres, large cocktail arrangements of red roses and gerberas grouped with frothy fern and crystals in tall martini vases would look fabulous. Rose petals and crystals scattered around the arrangement complete the look.

A swing band would be the perfect accompaniment to this theme and a black and white checkered dance floor would also be a chic touch.  There are lots of resources available on the internet for this look if you need any more inspiration.

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Colour series part 4 – Winter colours

3 July 2009 in Wedding Flowers | No comments

Winter wedding flowers

amaryllis arrangement

Even though there are not many flowers whose natural season is winter, there are still plenty to choose from.  Such as roses, amaryllis, freesia, lisianthus and lilies.  As well as exotics from the southern hemisphere such as gingers, orchids, proteas, kangeroo paw and euphorbia.  Some early spring flowers also are obtainable such as rannunculas, tulips and narcissi.  With the short days and dark nights in winter, rich colours can really brighten up a room and create a warm, inviting atmosphere.  Velvety reds with dark glossy foliages or jewel colours with beads and luxurious ribbons add texture and colour into a room.

exotic flowers

Another popular winter look is icy whites and silver with pale blue accents for a frosted winter wonderland. With crystals added for a touch of glamour and sparkle.  Of course all winter wedding flowers are brought to life by candles.  Whether using tiny tea lights dotted around the room, chunky church candles in hurricane lamps or glamorous candelabras dripping with flowers, crystals and flickering candles.  They create a wonderful romantic ambiance.

Rather than trying to match colours exactly, a more pleasing effect can be achieved by picking shades of the same colour. This also applies to any others items you are chosing such as stationary or chairs bows.  Selecting several shades of one colour can help give a colour scheme more depth and can soften a look. As well as making life a bit easier for you, rather than getting hung up trying to match a long list of things to one swatch of fabric.

You should have booked your venue by the time you start to think about your colour scheme.  The style and décor of your venue will be part of the look on your big day so don’t forget to look to the colours in your venue for inspiration.  Many older buildings will have more classical decoration with patterned wall coverings and carpets.  So a thoroughly modern and contemporary theme for your flowers might look out of place in that type of venue.  On the other hand you may have chosen a modern hotel that would look fabulous with contemporary flowers.

Choosing colours to complement your venue will give a pleasing look.  If you are unsure or don’t want to be swayed by the colours in your venue, a neutral colour scheme of cream and whites with greens would suit most surroundings.

pedestal arrangement

This is the last blog in our colour series.  I hope they have provided you will some useful information and inspired you to pick the perfect color palette for your wedding.

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