Archive for the 'How to do your own Wedding Flowers' Category
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
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!!!
November 1, 2009
Hi There,
I show you how to make a cascade bouquet in my Do It Yourself Wedding Flower Guide – Bouquets DVD….it is much smaller than the one in this video done by JTV. In my opinion, the cascade done by JTV is WAY TOO BIG. But, the point is, if you want to learn how to make a cascade bouquet, the steps are here, all you have to do is modify the size for you. Cascade bouquets typically reach just about the top of your knee. However, as I always say, you’re the boss, do what makes you happy. If you want a super long cascade bouquet, make it super long. If you want a short cascade bouquet, make it short. It is YOUR day and you should have your bouquet YOUR way! Enjoy!!
How to Create a Cascade Wedding Bouquet!
uBloom – Sunday, 01 November 2009
October 22, 2009
Hi There,
This is a simple, yet dramatic centerpiece design using manzanita branches in a vase. Watch this video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1z1INsrR6X4 Here are some pictures of Manzanita branches in vases.
Spraying the Manzanita silver gives it a more modern looknatural manzanita in cylinder vase
Fresh Manzanita branches in vase
December 27, 2008
Congratulations! If you are one of the many couples getting engaged over the holidays!!! It is an exciting and scary time. There is so much to think about and so much to plan and so much money to spend. In the diffucult economy we are currently in, money may be a really big issue for you and planning your wedding. Are you a recessionista? A savvy young woman who loves the finer things in life but doesn’t necessarily have the money to buy them? Well, a recessionista will find creative ways to get what she wants without spending the money! I’d like to help all of you recessionistas out there who are planning a wedding. I have recently written and published a Do It Yourself Wedding Flower Guide. It is a workbook, with step by step instructions on how to make everything you will need for your wedding flowers from your bridal party bouquets, to the corsages your moms will wear to the boutonnieres the groom and the groomsmen and dads will wear to the ceremony decor and the reception centerpieces and cake decor. I also have produced more than 4 hours of video instruction showing you how to do all of these things yourself. And, the biggest bonus is that you will save 50 – 75% of the cost of your wedding flowers by doing them yourself! What recessionista doesn’t get that????
I am scheduled to be on a radio show out of New York on January 2, 2009. Here is a link to the radio show where you can listen to past interviews and set it up to listen to me live on 1/2/09!
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6:00 PM: Ever wonder how certain women “light up a room” with a signature move and radiant smile? YOU can, too, with coach Jacqueline Bradley‘s comedic, feminine and unapologetic “The Bombshell Bible” style & soul makeover guide.
6:30 PM: Masters degrees earn 24% more than BAs and PhDs earn 70% more. Admissions pro Don C. Martin’s ”Road Map for Graduate Study” navigates the choppy grad school waters, including financing. We’ll also cover relationship survival during school.
Happy Weekend!…/bonnie
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(Both of the above people who Bonnie interviewed on 12/5/08 were at the New York National Publicity Summit with me this past October 2008).
Then I am scheduled to be on a television show out of Atlanta, Ga. called EveryDay with Marcus and Lisa. ‘EveryDay” airs nationally via cable on FamilyNet tv. “We are a live, daily talkshow that covers a diverse range of subjects, from health and wellness to beauty, fashion, music and authors. We would love for you to come on and do a 10 to 12 minute segment on flowers for weddings. ” Actually, they have told me that while I am in Atlanta, they want to tape a second segment to air in March, 2009.
I believe you can go to www.familynettv.com and enter your zip code and find out if the show airs in your area.
Okay, this is getting exciting. Keep good thoughts for me and pass on the website to anyone you think might be interested. THANK YOU!!! www.doityourselfweddingflowerguide.com
