lisianthus

You are currently browsing articles tagged lisianthus.

How much do wedding flowers cost?

22 June 2012 | 1 comment

pink-and-white-flowers

Can you work out which of the flowers above costs the least and which is the most expensive? extra points if you can put all 6 in order of price (The answers are at the bottom of the article).  The flowers & plant association has a very useful guide to flower prices, perfect if you don’t know a dahlia from a delphinium.

Setting a budget for your wedding flowers can seem daunting, especially since the price depends a lot on what flowers you choose.  Before you set your heart on a particular flower or design, work out what you can afford and tell your florist roughly what your budget is.  If you have no idea what flowers cost, as a rough guide allocate around 10% of your overall wedding budget to flowers.  Your florist will be able to give you a good idea of what you will get for your money and advise you on suitable flowers and designs that fit within your budget.

gloriosa-peony-rose-bouquet

If you are on a tight budget your florist will help you make the most of your money.  They are the floral experts and know lots of clever techniques and special touches to give your flowers the maximum impact without blowing the budget.

A recent survey showed the average amount spent on wedding flowers is £200 – £400, 60% of florists surveyed placed their average order value within this range. For that amount brides received a bridal bouquet, bride’s maid bouquets, button holes and a top table arrangement.  Nearly 30% of couples spend £400-£1000, they received the bridal bouquet, bride’s maid flowers, button holes, top table flowers and reception table flowers.

rose-and-muscari-bouquet

The price of flowers is also dependant on the time of year, around St Valentine’s Day and Mother’s Day nearly all flowers are more expensive because of demand.  The types of flowers you choose will affect the price, some flowers like carnations may cost a pound a stem, others like calla lilies could be six or seven pounds a stem.  If you choose a loose informal style for your flowers they will have more foliage and require fewer flowers, whereas a compact style arrangement with no foliage will need a lot more flowers per arrangement.

Don’t get hung up about all this information though, good florists are like miniature flower encyclopedias, packed full of information on flowers, prices and ideas.  They will know all the tips and tricks to ensure your flowers look fantastic whatever your budget.

So were you right?  The flowers are in ascending order starting with the cheapest, gerbera.

6 – Gerbera

1 – Ranuculus

2 – Lisianthus

5 – Rose

3 – Lily

4 – Hydrangea

Tags: , , , , , , ,

Cadbury purple wedding flowers

18 June 2012 | Permalink

moon-series-carnations

Cadbury purple is one of this years most fashionable wedding colour schemes.  Start the look off with bridesmaid dresses in a stunning deep purple shade and dress flower girls in white with a wide purple sash.  Complement the dresses with flowers in shades of purple, lilac and white.  Or if you want to liven things up, pick a bright accent colour such as fuchsia pink, orange or lime, or a mix of all three.

Can you guess what the sphere of flowers above are made from? they are compact balls of carnations.  You might not have thought about carnations when you considered which flowers to choose for your wedding, but there are so many new funky new colours and varieties to choose from.  A new range called moon series features a range of purple colours from pale lilac through to luscious deep purple.  Carnations are very versatile and look great used en masse for pomanders or spheres of flowers.

purple-tulip-brides-bouquet

Purple is one of the rarer colour flowers but there are still plenty to choose from.  These flowers are all available in purple: lisianthus, freesia, sweet pea, trachelium, aconitum, dahlia, hydrangea, gladioli, allium, delphinium, lilac, carnation, tulip, orchid and stock.  Roses aren’t available in purple but double lisianthus is a good substitute, it looks very similar to roses.  There are also lots of lovely lilac roses available.

Lilac and white flowers will help to soften the look of a deep purple colour scheme.  Mix them with herbs like rosemary and sage to provide a lovely aromatic fragrance as well as adding an elegant informal garden look to your flowers.  Flowering mint and fresh lavender also have lilac blooms and smell gorgeous.  A touch of silver will help to lift this colour scheme, try adding silver grasses, and using silver candelabras with mirror on your tables.

cadbury-purple-teardrop-bouquet

If you prefer a brighter colour scheme cerise pink will liven up your flowers.  Or you could mix purple with cerise, orange and a touch of lime green for a really vibrant look.  This colour palette will really stand out against purple dresses.

For a rich and decadent colour scheme mix red with purple.  A touch of black will also add to the glamour.  Black glass candelabras overflowing with luxurious floral canopies would be fabulous, dripping with black beads or pearls.

Tags: , , , , ,

Fairy tale wedding ideas

8 June 2012 | Permalink

fairytale-bouquet

Every little girl dreams of her own fairy tale wedding, wearing the perfect dress and having a magical day with her prince charming.  I’ve got plenty of ideas and inspiration to help you feel like a princess for the day.  Think luxurious fabrics, flowers in soft pastel shades, twinkly fairy lights and diamantes.

Choose an elegant font and timeless style for your invitations, maybe you could theme them around a fairy tale phrase such as  ’happily ever after’ or ‘once upon a time’.  Follow the style of your invites through for your table plan and place names.

There are plenty of princess style wedding dresses to choose from, a princess line or A-line dress is an obvious choice.  It is fitted at the top and hips and flares out towards the hem creating the classic princess look.  Don’t forget a crystal tiara to complete your look.  Your brides maids can wear any colour from the palette you are using for your flowers, blush pink dresses are a pretty colour for this theme.

image:oncewed.com by Jose Villa

image:oncewed.com by Jose Villa

Castles are the ideal venue for a fairy tale theme, if you are lucky enough to live near one.  Any venue with a grand ballroom would also suit this theme; town halls often have large ballrooms with ornate decorations. If you have found your perfect venue but it needs some help with decorating you can set the scene with some clever props.  Event companies can set up wall drapes or star cloth to add a luxurious feel.  Use star cloth behind the top table to make it the focal area of the room; they look magical in the evening.

To arrive in style for your fairy tale day, organise a horse and carriage or Cinderella style carriage. Dress the outside of your venue with a beautiful floral arch in soft romantic or topiary trees with dressed with roses and big organza bows.

Pastel shades are lovely for a fairy tale theme, very pretty and romantic shades like blush pink, soft peach and cream.  Lavish floral arrangements will really complete your fairy tale theme.  As roses are the classic flower of love, they are a must, mixed with other pretty flowers like peonies, bouvardia, cherry blossom and lisianthus.

Bridal bouquets should be large and romantic for this theme, with flowing ivy or fern.  Roses in mixed pastel shades or several shades of pink will give a very pretty effect.  You could give any young brides maids flower wands dressed with satin ribbons.

princess-bouquets

Garlands are a traditional decoration that will help create a fairy tale look.  Drape them over staircases or along your top table.  For an extra special effect, ask your florist to add battery powered fairy lights to them; they can be switched on in the evening.

For your reception room use large floral arrangements surrounded by candle votives to continue the romantic look.  Candelabras would also fit this theme well with fresh flowers and ivy wound round the arms. To make your top table even more special have it dressed with fabric drapes and ruched along the top edge with muslin or coloured organza.

I hope I’ve given you some ideas to turn your wedding day into a magical fairy tale.

Tags: , , , , , , ,

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

1 November 2009 | Permalink

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.

Tags: , , , ,