The importance of having a professional wedding florist for your big day...

With today’s economy and access to endless tutorials in the internet, many brides are considering D.I.Y. flowers for their big day and often don’t consider the amount of time, expertise and setup needed in creating and executing their fabulous floral vision for the day of their wedding.  I can write a gazillion pages about how important it is to hire a professional wedding florist, especially when I hear from folks how they regret doing their own flowers for their wedding, but will leave it at just the space of the next couple of blog posts.   

 We are passionate professionals –

Choosing the right flowers, creating perfect bouquets for each of your 5 or 6 bridesmaids, sturdy boutonnieres for your groomsmen, and crafting Preston Bailey-inspired ceiling high centerpieces for 20+ tables is not as easy as you would imagine when there are out-of-town guests coming in for your wedding to entertain, finalizing all the details of your big day and just having the time to enjoy being a bride-to-be.

Flowers are one of the most perishable materials to work with, more perishable than food.  Most of the crafting of flowers for your wedding can only be done just the day before.  As trained florists, we have the professional experience and training of knowing what flowers will be in season for your wedding date and which flowers will hold best in hot or cold weather.  We also have the knowledge and materials used in flower care and handling that will provide you with the freshest flowers for your special day.

To be in the wedding floral business, we HAVE to be passionate about flowers and providing our brides with beautiful, quality floral arrangements!  Having access to the amount of flowers needed for a wedding is not a 9-5 job.  Often times, we would need to stay up until 3 in the morning or wake up at 4am to have the best pick of flowers.  Then, there’s the mandatory time set aside to clean and process thousands of blooms to get them ready for arranging and finally the multiple steps of the art of floral arranging multiplied by how many bouquets and centerpieces you need.  Despite all this, we love our jobs and are passionate about fulfilling your floral dreams for your wedding day!

That’s it for now! Look out for the next blog entry…Professional floral designers are expert artists in capturing your wedding floral vision.

Dahlias for your Autumn Bouquets

Autumn is fast approaching and one of my favorite autumn bloom to use is the dahlia.  Dahlias are a mass flower that ranges from 2 to 10 inches in diameter and come in the following colors:

white

yellow

orange

pink

dark pink

red

dark red

lavender

purple

bronze

flame blend

light blend

dark blend

variegated and bicolor

When picking dahlia blooms, I look for them when they are in the late-bud stage (just beginning to open and showing good color).  Also, I make sure to check if buds and blooms have any shattering, bruising, browning or rot.  The leaves are also a good indicator to choosing fresh dahlias, making sure there are no yellowing, mold, or powdery mildew in the stem and leaves.

Vase life expectancy of Dahlias can range from 4 - 10 days depending on care and environment.

Interesting Fact:  Dahlias are members of the Compositae/Asterae family which includes chrysanthemums, Gerberas, asters, sunflowers and marigolds to name a few flowers.



Here are a few internet autumn bouquet inspirations using Dahlias:

a bridal bouquet using large stunning orange dahlias from Bouquet Wedding Flower

mixed flower bouquet with striking orange cornel ball dahlias from Romantic Flower

here's a rustic autumn mixed floral with dahlias centerpiece created by yours truly

www.lavenderandbloom.com

 

 

 

The Meaning of Flowers

Flowers can express what words cannot.  In Victorian times where people used symbols and gestures to communicate as much as words, the meaning of flowers played an important role. But today, with so many flower choices, there are no rules. Flowers are used in weddings to provide decor and express the couple's unique and individual style. Many people assign their own personal meanings - a flower or color that might remind them of a special event or moment in their lives.  I think it's beautiful exploring the deeper meaning of flowers for your wedding.  It brings more romance to such a special and momentous day.  Maybe instead of looking at a bride's bouquet as just roses, orchids, and hydrangeas, we can look at it as the bride expressing unity, perseverence, and delicate beauty as she carries her bouquet down the aisle to her waitng groom.  For those of us interested in all things vintage, here's a list compiled by the Societ of American Florist on the traditional meanings of flowers used during the Victorian Era:

Alstroemeria	aspiring
Amaryllis	dramatic
Anemone	fragile
Apple Blossom	promis
Aster	contentment
Azalea	abundance
Baby's Breath	festivity
Bachelor Button	anticipation
Begonia	deep thoughts
Black-Eyed Susan	encouragement
Camellia	graciousness
Carnation
pink	gratitude
red	flashy
striped	refusal
white	remembrance
yellow	cheerful
Chrysanthemum
bronze	excitement
white	truth
red	sharing
yellow	secret admirer
Cosmos	peaceful
Crocus	foresight
Daffodil	chivalry
Delphinium	boldness
Daisy	innocence
Freesia	spirited
Forget-Me-Not	remember me forever
Gardenia	joy
Geranium	comfort
Ginger	proud
Gladiolus	strength of character
Heather	solitude
Hibiscus	delicate beauty
Holly	domestic happiness
Hyacinth	sincerity
Hydrangea	perseverance
Iris	inspiration
Ivy	fidelity
Jasmine	grace and elegance
Larkspur	beautiful spirit
Lavender	distrust
Lilac	first love
Lily
Calla	regal
Casablanca	celebration
Day	enthusiasm
Stargazer	ambition
Lisianthus	calming
Magnolia	dignity
Marigold	desire for riches
Nasturtium	patriotism
Orange Blossom	fertility
Orchid	delicate beauty
Pansy	loving thoughts
Passion flower	passion
Peony	healing
Poppy	consolation
Queen Anne's Lace	delicate femininity
Ranunculus	radiant
Rhododendron	beware
Rose
pink	friendship
red	passionate love
red & white	unity
white	purity
yellow	zealous
Snapdragon	presumptuous
Star of Bethlehem	hope
Stephanotis	good luck
Statice	success
Sunflower	adoration
Sweetpea	shyness
Tuberose	pleasure
Tulip
pink	caring
purple	royalty
red	declaration of love
white	forgiveness
yellow	hopelessly in love
Violet	faithfulness
Wisteria	steadfast
Yarrow	good health
Zinnia	thoughts of friends

Topiary

According to the Merriam-Webster dictionary, topiary is the art of training, cutting, and trimming trees or shrubs into odd or ornamental shapes.  I love creating the traditional topiary shape seen in English gardens with floral arrangements!  It gives me the opportunity to play around with colors and different blooms within the context of the unique yet familiar shape of a topiary. It's a great way to add height and to use branches.  Also, since it utilizes a lot of prop building, I get to use power tools, pvc pipes, cement and other "manly-man" materials along with flowers. I also love giving my clients the option of using something different from a glass vase.

A topiary arrangement with blue titinium, white stock, white roses, and salal. The couple was only allowed floor arrangements at the church for their wedding. They wanted height in their flowers but they weren't allowed to use any stands or pedestals.

I used a tall cylinder vase to capture the illusion of a topiary.  The flowers were actually arranged in a wreath to allow tall branches to shoot out of the center. 

 I wanted to created something different from the single linear shape topiary.  I covered my mechanics with geranium leaves. 

Here is a very traditional topiary that allowed me to use ribbon to complement the colors of the arrangement.

So I think I misnamed my blog. No, I know I did because creating flowers for weddings and special events is not work for me. It's my passion and one of my sources of happiness. It's my second baby, the first one being a lovely 3 year old boy named Matthew.   Whatever the name of my blog is, I wanted to create a space where I can give more background information on my floral designs, the events they are made for, and the people that are celebrating these special events.  I wanted a space to post pics I took with my phone when I'm on site setting up or step by step pics of my creations without having to wait for proofs from a professional photographer. So here we go, I finally took the first step of making my blog! Here's a sneak peak of my next post where I discuss my adventures in topiaries, terraniums and teacups.