Archive for the 'Do It Yourself Wedding Flowers' Category
August 30, 2010
Hi There,
I love this…a bride posted these tips at the Fiftyflowers.com site after ordering her wedding flowers from them.
1. If you’re particular about color, you might want to order
a sample shipment, or make sure you pick a specific
varietal that you know you like. I chose to just order in
bulk by the generic color, to save money. Instead of
ordering 200 “Vendela” roses for $220, I ordered 200
“light cream” roses for $200. I ended up getting Vendela
(the boxes are marked with the specific type), but didn’t
have to pay the extra $20, since I was flexible.
2. Before ordering, search online for a coupon code.
I was able to save 10% by using the code that came with
my sample shipment– CARE2009. Maybe try CARE2010
for 2010? Give yourself enough time to source affordable
vases– I love the little ivy vases that are only $1 each at
craft stores.
3. Get enough buckets and flower food in advance (it
takes more food than you think), and change the water as
directed. Get a good stem stripper– the plastic flower
ones I linked above were PERFECT. Also, get a strong
pair of shears– cutting thick stems with normal scissors
would be hard on your hands.
4. For roses, don’t forget to remove the guard petals–
you may have to remove up to 8 or so per rose– but trust
me, the flowers look MUCH better once you remove the
imperfect outer petals.
5. Set up an assembly line system– much faster!
As you’re going along, if you break some of the flower
heads off, don’t throw them away– save them to put out
around the cocktail area, around votives, etc. You can
also strip off the petals and scatter these around.
6. Keep an eye on how fast the flowers are opening, and
adjust how you’re keeping them accordingly (water temp,
room temp). For example, my lavender roses opened
much faster than the others. I should’ve moved them to
a cooler part of the room, but instead I made separate
arrangements of these lavender roses for the bar,
cocktail area, etc. If your flowers are opening too slowly or
too quickly, call the customer service line for advice–
they’re very helpful. My lavender roses were fully open by
the end of the night– they were gorgeous, but would not
have lasted another day. The other colors were beautiful
for days afterwards!
7. Figure out in advance how you’re going to transport
the finished arrangements, if you’re doing them off-site.
Transporting lots of vases with water in a car is very
difficult, as is rolling them down a hotel hallway on a
luggage cart (haha  )
8. Hire a helper, if you can!!!! My helper Barb was
incredible. It was GREAT to have someone else do most
of the execution, so I could just relax and take care of
some other last-minute things. So, my flowers were
DIY-with-a-twist! Of course, you can also gather together
a range of free friend and family helpers, if your budget
can’t stretch to this. But for an extra $15-$25/hour, I think
this is well worth it. Don’t underestimate the time
commitment– depending on the size of your wedding, it
can be a huge undertaking. We had ~60 small and ~30
large-ish arrangements of flowers, so it took a LOT of
time.
9. Don’t be intimidated– just do it! Don’t get stressed– it’s
pretty difficult to mess up such a gorgeous raw material. It
helps to have a trial run. This will help you determine what
quantity to order, and also give you an estimate on how
long each arrangement will take.
10. Enjoy the money savings! I had a certain look that I
wanted to achieve, but I wanted to bring it in under a
certain budget. The only way to have both was to order
online, and provide the labor and materials myself. I got
quotes from two florists, and they were more than triple
what I ended up spending (for flowers and labor and
equipment included). For the simple look that I wanted,
DIY was ideal. |
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| OK, thus ends my DIY Flower Diatribe! Good luck!
I have to add a few comments of my own now:
In my DIY Wedding Flower Guide I give you a sample form I use to figure out my flower orders. I also provide you with a list of the most common flowers and what stem counts they come in when you order them. This will help you determine what you will need to order.
Some varieties of roses DO OPEN FASTER than others. ALL LAVENDER roses open FASTER than others!
By all means, schedule and line up helpers well in advance. I even give you a handout with a way to figure out how many helpers you will need.
DO NOT deliver and set up your flowers yourself on your wedding day. This is what all the helpers are there for!!!
If you are transporting the flowers, make sure to pack the vases tightly with paper inbetween to keep them from falling and breaking. If the vases came in a box with dividers, try to use that box to hold your arranged flower vases.
Use an air-conditioned vehicle…a van is best. You can rent a van for $19.95 plus mileage that will have air conditioning from U-Haul.
You should plan on arranging all your flowers TWO FULL DAYS BEFORE YOUR WEDDING! Don’t do this the night before. You don’t need the added stress. Instead, enjoy your rehearsal dinner and have fun.
Make sure you have sharp, clean clippers for cutting your flowers.
Borrow vases and buckets from friends to hold the flowers until they are arranged. You can buy 5 gallon buckets from Home Depot, OSH or Lowe’s. Each 5 gallon bucket can hold about 100 roses.
Hope this helps. I give lots more tips in the workbook and videos of my Do It Yourself Wedding Flower Guide. For only $99.00 you can download your copy today.
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August 24, 2010
Hi There,
So, last weekend I had a super cool winery wedding in Sonoma, California at
Jacuzzi Winery. The brides color scheme was green, brown and ivory. Her bouquet was made using Polo roses (they open like an old fashioned rose), white lisianthus and green (called brocoli hydrangea-which is a NEW growth green in color and eventually turns white as it matures) and her bridesmaids carried white hydrangea with green button mums and hypericum berries.
It’s not super easy to see the bouquets displayed on a table this way. Here is a picture of the bride holding her bouquet.
The bride was from Newport Beach, which is in Southern California. So this was a destination wedding for them.
The ceremony was outside in front of the beautiful fountain. This bride elected to have pomanders hanging on the chair ends. The pomanders were made using floral foam 6″ balls, they were covered in moss and then green spider mums, green button mums and green cymbidium orchids were added and the balls were hung with brown satin ribbon.
Here is a close up of the pomanders….
I used a moss table runner I found at the craft store and cut it into small squares and covered the floral foam ball using greening pins. Then I inserted 5 spider mums, 5 stems of button mums and 2 cymbidium orchids for each ball. These were very time consuming…I didn’t keep track, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I spend 1 hour on each ball.
Because this was a destination wedding, the bride chose to give luggage tags as her favor. So we displayed them on beds of wheat grass. It turned out the wheat grass was too tall and the luggage tags couldn’t be seen, so I trimmed the wheat grass…kind of like mowing the lawn, only I had to use scissors.
I think they came out great, what do you think?
This couple had a cocktail hour in the courtyard and chose to decorate those tables with candles. So I used a 7 1/2″ tall cylinder vase and cut up 3 limes for each, added water and then a floating candle. For the votives, I wrapped a piece of brown ribbon around the base and glued a button mum to cover the ribbon seam.
I used glue dots to fasten the ribbon and Oasis Floral Adhesive to attach the button mum.
Lastly, this couple chose to have half tall and half short centerpieces. The tall centerpieces were Manzanita Branches in a 28″ tall cylinder vase with green cymbidium orchids and hanging crystals. I also had some ice crystals in the base of the vase.
The short centerpieces were 12″ tall cylinder vases with a stem of green cymbidium orchids in each and a little crystal ice at the bottom of the vase.
Here are close up views of the centerpieces.
This was a gorgeous wedding…hope you get some ideas for your own wedding from this photos and descriptions.
August 8, 2010
Hi There,
Stocks are members of the mustard family….some people call them “gillyflowers”. Their botanical name is Matthiola, and I have to admit I’ve never heard anyone call Stock by any other name than stock!
Stock comes in a variety of colors including white, pale yellow, lavender, purple, fuscia, pale pink and peach. They have a spicy, cloverlike scent.
Stock is not a flower I use a lot of in bouquets. When I do, it is normally just the tips that I am using. I do use a lot of stock in centerpieces though.
Here are a couple of pictures of stock used in bridal bouquets that I found on the internet.
Both of these bouquets have used white stock in them combined with other flowers and accents.
Stock is available year round, but peak season spans from February through August.
When you buy stock, make sure they have at least six, but no more than half open florets per stem. Avoid bunches with smashed, flattened, bruised, brown, molded, rotted or otherwise infected florets. Soft, limp flower spikes, leaves or stems should also be avoided. And, if the stems are slimey and/or the leaves have yellowed don’t buy them!
When you get them home, as with ALL flowers, give them a fresh cut (about one inch cut off bottom at a sharp angle) and strip any foliage that will fall below the water line fo the vase or bucket you will be storing the flowers in. Sometimes these flowers come with roots attached! If yours came that way, cut the entire root off or any white portion of the stem. It is always best to dip the flowers in a hydrating solution before putting them into the bucket of water. Store them in buckets/vases with flower food and lukewarm water. Then, after a couple of hours, put them into refrigeration until you are ready to use them.
Change the water and flower food and recut the stems every day or two. These flowers should last you 5-8 days, depending upon how fresh they are when you buy them.
July 28, 2010
Hi There,
We’re having another Recessionista Bridal Workshop….if you are looking for ways to save money on your wedding, this is the place for you to be. We’re giving out Swag Bags filled with all kinds of goodies for you, door prizes, great hands-on experiences, food sampling and so much more.
Where: Tre Events, 1212 Howe Ave., Sacramento, Ca.
When: August 15, 2010
Time: 1:00 – 4:00 PM
This workshop is FREE to you and your guest, but you must pre-register at www.recessionistabridalworkshop.com
May 31, 2010
Hi There,
I’ve done a few “Indian” weddings before…well, the brides and bridal party wore sari’s….but that was about the extent of the “Indian culture” including in the wedding. This past Saturday, I did the most traditional Indian wedding I’ve ever done. The entire bridal party wore Indian attire, even the guys. The backdrop was a “mandap” …Indian alter. See picture below. In addition to the flowers attached to the pillars of the mandap, I also provided garlands of flowers (like Hawaiian lei’s) for the bride and groom (they are used during the ceremony), a bowl of flower heads (also used during the ceremony), lot’s of rose petals….used on the aisle, made into paisley’s, used on the mandap stage and thrown at the couple….see pictures below.
Gold and Burgundy themed Mandap
Rose petals were used to make paisley's which were the theme running throughout the wedding
April 18, 2010
Hi There!
Roses are a bridal favorite whether they are in bright white or any other color. Roses come in so many colors, it is pretty hard not to find one that matches or complements your color scheme and for the most part, roses are pretty easy to get your hands on. Even the grocery stores sell bunches of roses!
How roses perform for you has a lot to do with how they have been handled before you get them and after you get them. For the most part, there is not much we can do to address what happens before you get them….if you are buying from a flower market of some kind, make sure you are buying from a reputable grower. But, I believe most of you are not buying wholesale, like I do, so you just have to go by how they look when you are buying them.
Have you ever seen somebody kind of pinching the rose heads….I do it sometimes….it is a way to see how firm the roses are….generally, the firmer they are, the fresher they are…..but NOT ALWAYS true. Some rose varieties are just softer because of the petal counts or the way the petals open. A rose that comes to mind is a POLO rose.
It is a white rose that opens up like an old fashioned rose, even though it technically is not an old fashioned rose. Those rose heads will typically be softer when you pinch them. They also are not a bright white. The picture above contains POLO roses.
Another soft rose is an Osiana, which is a beautiful shade of peach. It doesn’t have a super big petal count and therefore is typically softer to the pinch than other roses.
The Osiana rose is the rose on the right in this picture.
Besides the pinch test, there are other things to look for when buying roses. The stems should look and feel straight and strong, as opposed to limp and weak. The heads should be upright with no drooping petals. The foliage should not be yellowing or falling off. You’ll also want to be sure they don’t show signs of insect problems or fungal disease. If you see anything on the stem or just below the flower head that looks like gray mold…don’t buy the roses!
Assuming that you find and buy good roses, get them home as soon as possible and start processing them immediately. To process roses you want to strip all the foliage that will fall below the water line. I like to remove ALL the thorns as well. You really only have to remove the thorns below the water level, but trust me, you will be handling the roses above the water line and you don’t want to poke yourself with the thorns. Some varieties of roses have really tiny almost clear thorns on the top third of the stems and that is typically where I am handling them. Those micro thorns will get into your hands and fingers and wreak havoc, because you can’t see them to get them out. I normally will use a florist’s knife and gently scratch those tiny thorns off the stems!
Next you want to give the roses a fresh cut, cut at least an inch off the stem length and cut at the biggest angle you can cut. Make sure you are using really sharp sheers or knife. You do NOT want to damage the stem with clippers that can’t make a clean cut. The bigger the cut you can make, the more drinking surface you are giving the rose. Roses need to drink water and any obstruction in the stem will disallow the water to get all the way up to the head which will cause bent heads. Even an air bubble will cause the bent heads and roses are particularly vulnerable to this problem. There are many professionals who believe that roses should only be cut under water, because when you cut underwater there can be no air bubbles getting into the stem.
If you use a rose stripper, which I totally recommend, make sure you do not tear or scrape the skin of the stem, because this allows microorganisms (bacteria) to get into the stem and will impede the flowers ability to get that good drink of water it needs.
It is absolutely BEST to dip each rose stem into a dipping solution of a hydrating liquid before you put them in a bucket or vase with flower preservative. I don’t know of the hydrating liquids being sold at a retail level.
I plan on offering this product on my new website, www.flowerarranging101.tv under the products tab. I will be offering any products that I learn cannot be purchased at a retail store that I feel you need to be able to do your own flowers professionally.
Make sure when you transfer your roses to a bucket or vase that it is a clean bucket or vase. I use Clorox Clean Up to wash all my buckets and vases. A watered down clorox solution is fine too. You just need to be sure that you are killing any bacteria in the bucket/vase.
If you are not going to use your roses right away, the idea situation is to process them (remove thorns/foliage, give fresh cut and dip in hydrating solution) and then place the roses into a bucket of tepid (luke warm) water for about two hours. After that, it is best to put the roses into a refrigerator for at least another two hours (ideal temperature is 33-35 degrees). After that, do all the arranging your heart desires with your roses.
I know this sounds like a lot of work….if you want your roses to last, this is the process you should go through. This is what any reputable florist does before they sell the roses to you!
After you have arranged your flowers, make sure to change the water every other day and recut the stems. Always use flower preservative in the water as well.
When you display your flowers, make sure they are not sitting in direct sunlight or any other heat source. So, don’t put your roses on a table right underneath a heater vent when the heater is in use.
Enjoy your roses!
January 29, 2010
Hi There,
I was recently asked what flowers are available in the Winter months that brides like to use. I have compiled a list for your review.
Roses
Roses are a bridal favorite and available all year. However, at this time of year, both red and white roses will start to go up in price leading up to Valentine’s Day! There is a logical reason for this…besides supply and demand!
It takes about 45 days from the time a rose is cut from a bush until there is another rose ready to be cut. So that means that growers have to cut back their roses at the end of December in order for there to be enough supply for Valentine’s Day.
When the growers cut back all the bushes, it creates a temporary “lack of supply” which raises the prices. As for the actual Valentine’s Day roses, growers are trying to make up for the “lack of supply” and taking advantage of the supply and demand phenomenon. Typical rose prices from a retail florist will vary between $3-$8.00 per stem. The average is $5.00 per stem. During the two weeks before Valentine’s Day and up to Valentine’s Day, the cost of a typical rose will climb to double or triple that cost. The cost does not necessarily reflect “design” time or cost.
TIP TOE THROUGH THE TULIPS
Other flowers available for winter weddings include tulips, alstromeria, anemone, antherium, bouvardia, some cymbidium orchids, dendrobium orchids, carnations, some lisianthus, freesia, gerbera daisies, hyacinths, iris, lilies, calla lilies and ranunculus.
Some of these flowers are less expensive to purchase, however, require more design finesse and thus raise the completed bouquet cost.
For example, tulips (as long as they are not French tulips) are relatively inexpensive flowers. However, tulips are an unusual flower in that they continue to grow even after they have been cut from the bulb. They also continually stretch and bend towards light or sun. So to use them effectively in a bouquet, they have to be wired and taped…which is a big labor cost. Otherwise, you cannot know for sure what your tulips will do when taken out of the cooler and presented to the bride.
MIX IT UP
The least expensive and most reliable flowers for winter bouquets are carnations, mums and alstromeria. However, most brides do not adore these flowers.
I have used carnations as a base for a hand tied bouquet and used more expensive/prestigious flowers as the flowers you really see above the carnations. It’s a great way to get a nice look without the added cost of an entire bouquet made of expensive flowers.
January 16, 2010
Hi There,
I have been getting prepared for a mini workshop I will be giving at the Elk Grove Bridal Show on 1/31/10. As a result, I have created a timeline that I recommend for any bride considering doing her own wedding flowers.
Plan out your timeline and helpers!!!!
-Figure out how much time it will take to process and design your flowers
- Decide what flower types you want to use and make sure they are available at the time of year you are getting married, check out www.cutflower.com
- Line up your helpers IN ADVANCE, make sure you pick friends and family you can rely on to be there for you when the time comes to process and design your flowers
- It is better to have too much help than not enough help! But don’t have so many helpers that it is a circus, because then you won’t get anything done.
- Have a practice run …make one of everything …just so you feel comfortable knowing you can do this!
- Anything that can be done ahead of time, do ahead of time….
- pew/chair end bows
- corsage bows
- fabric swags can be measured and cut to length
- dry goods can be purchased and stored until you need them…things like vases, votives, ribbon, floral foam
- Order your flowers 3 weeks in advance
- Have your flowers delivered or pick them up 3 days in advance of your wedding (unless you are using something that needs time to open like lilies. Depending upon the time of year and the weather where you are located, you could need anywhere from 3-7 days for lilies to open.)
- Process your flowers the day you get them (anything you want to open, leave out of the refrigerator or Air Conditioning)
- Design your flowers 2 days before your wedding
- Store your flowers in refrigeration or Air Conditioned Room until your wedding day
- Assign helpers to deliver and set up your flowers. DON’T DO THIS YOURSELF, JUST BE THE BRIDE AND ENJOY YOUR WEDDING DAY!!!
December 18, 2009
Hi There,
Since we are in the holiday time of year, I’ve been sharing Decorating Tips with you this month. Here is an example of using garland down the center of your dining room table as a centerpiece. In this case I used an artificial garland. When you buy your garland, don’t buy the cheap, sparse type…it really looks bad. Invest in a nice thick garland with pine cones. Some even come with lights in them, although that wouldn’t work for a dining room table unless they were battery operated lights (which, by the way, use up battery life incredibly fast…plan on buying a lot of batteries and having to change them out frequently.)
Anyway, for this garland I used a 9 foot piece of garland and folded it in half and intertwined the branches so it looks like one big piece of garland. Then I added bows, which I have been using for the past several years (I store them away and take them out every year…you’ll have to fluff the bows when you take them out of storage and be sure you use WIRED ribbon or don’t plan on reusing your bows.) To continue with my fairly theme, I added fairies into the garland as well.
The bows have four different types of ribbon included in them…. a 2 1/2 inch green wired ribbon, a 1 1/2 inch purple wired ribbon, a 1 1/2 inch burgundy wired ribbon and a gold cording. I chose these colors because they work with my fairies and I like to be just a little untraditional in my personal decor.
Notice that there is still plenty of room to set the table without having to remove the garland from the center of the table. When I set the table, I use gold chargers and I tie each napkin with a matching gold ribbon. My set table is so pretty you don’t want to sit down and eat at it, but you can and we do!
Holiday Garland for Your Dining Room Table
Have fun and get creative. Use colors that match your theme!
December 2, 2009
Hi There,
Whether you are using a fresh tree or an artificial tree, the tips below will apply. If there are any distinctions, I will make them within the tip itself.
1) It is important to start with a THEME. Themes can be ethnic (Hawaiian), colors (like blue and silver or red and green or purple and gold), eclectic (a mixture of color coordinated items where all elements go together), playful, object oriented like stars or fairies, patriotic….you get the idea, right? All elements including the ribbon, ornaments and colors should help develop the overall theme.
2) If you are using an artificial tree, get it in shape before you start putting it together. I call it fluffy the tree. But the idea is to pull, form and shape the branches until they look like a REAL tree branch. Start with the lower branches and work your way up. Then shape the tips so they look as natural as possible. Obviously, when you are using a real tree, what you see is what you get.
3) Stabilize the tree. Whether it is real or artificial, you don’t want the tree leaning or falling. In some of the hotels I have decorated, they actually had their maintenance department create plywood bases that the trees were attached to and the bases had wheels so the trees could be moved around the ballrooms as needed. You probably don’t need to do that in your home, but in case you do, it’s a great idea. If your tree is over 12 feet tall, you really should use guide wires high in the tree, attached high on the trunk of the tree and extending to a wall or ceiling.
4) If your tree trunk is a little bare, use an artificial garland and wrap it around the trunk to cover up the bareness and make the tree look fuller.
5) Plan to use 100 lights per foot of tree height for trees 7 feet tall and as many as 150 lights per foot if the trees are more than 7 feet tall. Consider using shorter strands because they are easier to use than 100 light strands because of cord lengths. It is also easier to replace strands if you have to.
6) Follow package instructions as to how many light strands to attach together. Generally, you cannot connect more than six strands together. Be very careful NOT to attach too many or you create a fire hazard. Use a multiple strip outlet or special tree light cord attached to the trunk of the tree to safely plug in all strands.
7) Put the lights on FIRST. Start at the top of the tree and work your way down. If you have them plugged in while you are attaching them, it is easier to ensure even placement. Place lights on one branch at a time starting at the inside by the trunk and working your way out to the tips. Wrap the lights around the main spine of the branch. As one branch is finished, return to the trunk and move to the next branch, repeating the process. This can take 15-20 minutes per 50 light strand.
When you are ready to start adding the decorations, turn the lights out. This eliminates distraction and allows for a more balanced distribution of the decorations. Place the topper on first, next add any fabric, ribbon, vines, permanent foliages, bead or tinsel garlands.
9) The next step is to add the ornaments. Follow a plan. Visualize the tree as a group of triangles, and decorate each triangular area evenly. Make sure ornament placement and color distribution is balanced. Place large or important ornaments on the tree first, in prominent focal areas. Then place supporting ornaments that may be smaller and less important. Finally, finish with filler materials such as small sprays or permanent, dried or preserved flowers.
10) Check your work! Plug the lights back on and look at the tree from a distance. Make any adjustments and fill in any holes. Tape down electric cords, arrange the tree skirting, scatter packages under the tree.
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