Color combo of greatness. Plus artificial pros.

This year, a popular color combo is PURPLE paired with GREEN. I just so happen to love, love, love this color scheme, so I am very excited to do another wedding with these colors.

Here are two bouquets featuring callas, orchids, gerber daisies, ranunculus, and spider mums. Take note that these are both fashioned with artificial flowers. There are several benefits to artificial, including:

• Ability to re-purpose arrangements (especially good if you'll be having multiple receptions and prefer to save a little money. Maybe you can even convince whoever is paying for the flowers to put the money saved into a honeymoon fund. Just an idea!)
  
• No need to worry about keeping them watered and away from heat/sun or cold/drafts.
  
• Lighter than real flowers. I know a bouquet really isn't all that heavy either way, but holding it for hours on end can make your arms pretty tired!
  

Artificial flowers have come a long way....looking more and more realistic for less expensive prices. Of course when you are doing wedding work, you want to make sure you get high quality floral stems. Plan on spending between $1-$7 per stem depending on which flowers you choose. This definitely makes an artificial arrangement a bit more expensive than a real one, but perhaps the pros outweigh the cons. It all depends on what you like and what you need.

This particular bride is having two receptions a week apart. She will use these bouquets as toss-aways, as well as for her bridal photos (a week before the wedding). See all that re-purposing? Awesome money saver! Not to mention much less stress.

She still wants real flowers, too. (There really is just something nice about fresh flowers, isn't there?) So we will be fashioning her wedding day bouquet from fresh flowers. Really, she's getting the best of everything!

Wild and Elegant

Today I am doing flowers for a wedding with a Beach theme. The bride wanted to incorporate a few seashells into her bouquet, and have a soft, elegant feel.

When I think of a beach, I automatically think of wind (and messy, wind-blown hair) and waves and interesting rocks and creatures. I know that doesn't sound like an elegant picture for a wedding...BUT I think all the feel of that beautiful mess can be captured in a beautiful bouquet. Here is the result. What do you think? Does it feel like the beach to you?

A Few Favorites

Here are a few of my favorite arrangements and bouquets I've made over the past several years.


I just love the colors and textures in the bouquet above. So light, airy, and elegant!


The slight cascade of this faced bouquet made a few flowers go a long way. The same number of flowers in a hand-tied round bouquet would have looked much smaller. So if you want your bouquet to look bigger, but not cost (and weigh) a ton, consider doing something like this.

This cute centerpiece of hydrangea, statice, and waxflower added just the right touch to a dinner table. The size of the arrangement, however, was a little small all by itself, so I added a little something extra. The "place mat" underneath is is simple a coordinating piece of scrapbook paper topped with a weaved ribbon mat and sprinkled with glass "water droplets". This super easy, super inexpensive addition makes the whole arrangement look bigger.


Topiaries are SOOOOO fun! Once again, the visual weight is greater than the number of flowers actually used. You can get the height and feel of a large arrangement from combining three small ones. These look great on a banquet table, flanking an entryway, or in a corner.


More topiaries, this time centerpiece-sized. Simply take three roses (or other flower of choice) and bunch them together. Insert them in your container, then fill in the base of the container with other flowers (carnations, baby's breath, more roses, etc). I also lined the clear glass container with leaves to hide the floral foam. These are short enough that you can still carry on a conversation with the person opposite you on the table. Try adding some sort of decorative place mat (like mentioned before) to make them appear more substantial without adding more flowers.


Large sprays are expensive, but add a nice touch to the pulpit at a convention or other meeting.


"Long and Lows" are great for the head table at a wedding luncheon, especially if you make them 2-sided. That way,everyone has a beautiful view. Plus you can still see each other. :)


Another tall spray that would look great in a corner or on a banquet table. The orange and red hues are a favorite of mine. Feels like Autumn, doesn't it?

Recent Weddings

Stacy's bouquet. I really loved the elegant, soft feel of these flowers. The ruffly texture of the super green roses and purple lisianthus give a delicate feel, while the calla lilies add bold lines. The bouquet's "handle" was a 'green goddess' calla wrapped around a foam-filled bouquet holder. The simple, clean lines of the handle add to the elegant, simple feel.





Ashli's wedding. Her colors were black, ivory, and brick red. She wanted an elegant, simple feeling as well, using the deep red, almost black calla lilies.

Corsage/boutonniere
Floral glue was used to make these corsages and boutonnieres. The lilygrass backdrop was wired together with the white (silk) flower first, then the calla was simply glued to the front. This was definitely necessary to get the callas in the right place. If I had tried to wire/tape them on, they would have been very high up on the corsage, making it look unbalanced.

Bridesmaids' bouquets

Bridal Bouquet
Don't be fooled! Arranging a bouquet of calla lilies is more difficult than it seems. The flowers are more rigid, making it harder to keep them pressed up against each other (thus filling in any "gaps") without bending their stems. If you plan on a bouquet of all callas, be sure to order more than you think you'll need. This bouquet has about 35 stems in it. Wow! But it definitely was beautiful!

Christmas Trees

Have you ever wondered how to make your tree look professional without having to spend a fortune on the trimmings and hours on end decorating? Let me share with you some tips and tricks an employee of Jimmy's Floral in Layton shared with me last year.

1. Don't be nit-picky!!! Absolutely, positively forbid yourself from tweaking that ribbon after it's on the tree. (Exception: if your tree is completely unbalanced with, say, ALL the ribbon on the top half, you can take it off and start again. Unless, of course, you purposefully keep the lower half bare due to curious young children...) It's your choice: spend hours trying to make everything look just right, or quickly throw the trimmings on the tree (pretty much haphazardly) and have it turn out looking more professional.

2. Just keep going. At first you will doubt that anything looking like this will ever be remotely pretty. But keep going! There is a magical moment awaiting you--the moment when suddenly your tree is absolutely gorgeous. It really does happen suddenly. You'll be surprised.

3. Don't be afraid to use LARGE items. You'll be surprised how well they actually fit. Tucking huge ornaments, stuffed animals, bird houses, etc. into the branches of your tree adds great variety and interest.
4. Variety is your friend. Using both shiny and matte finishes adds a lot of depth. Use both rough and smooth textures. Experiment with different shapes. Pretty much anything goes.

5. Shop the after-Christmas sales. As long as you don't mind being "a year behind" in the fashion trends, wait until after Christmas to get the trimmings for your next tree (or to find a few more pieces to add to the tree you already love). I recommend Tai Pan Trading as a great place to find quality items for super cheap. I got enough trimmings to completely fill my little 6 foot tree and make a nice wreath to match for under $50. I also went to the local Joann craft store to find some inexpensive floral picks after the holidays.


OK, now it's time for some step-by-step instructions. You ready?

1. Choose your color scheme and gather your trimmings. Find something you love and build your colors around it. I found a ribbon I loved and used that...I ended up with a bronze/orange/magenta/red/gold theme. Sounds strange, but it turned out very pretty! Using floral picks is a great way to add variety to your tree. I found poinsettias and some glittery leaves that fit perfectly into my color scheme.
Trimmings checklist:
(depends on size of tree...the first numbers are what I used on my 6 foot tree)

• 15-30 floral picks (each "bush" comes with multiple picks)
  
• 30-70 yards of ribbon
  
• 10-30 large ornaments
• 20-40 medium ornaments
• 20-40 small ornaments
• any specialty items you wish to include (a lady in my neighborhood has a cute rustic ladder she props in her tree. We put teddy bears on my mom's tree last year. Like I said, anything goes!)
  

2. Decide on white or colored lights. I chose multicolored so the warm hues of my ornaments would be emphasized. White lights are more popular these days and can be used with any color scheme.

3. Add the ribbon. Tie one end of your ribbon to the top of your tree. Work in a loosely circular motion around your tree, weaving up and down as you circle the tree. Tuck some parts of the ribbon deep into the branches and leave other portions at the surface. Avoid being symmetrical. It should look something like this:
If you have 2 0r more types of ribbon, you can either put them on separately or tie them together and apply all at once.

4. Add floral picks. Simply tuck the picks into the branches of your tree. This should take all of 2 minutes. (If it takes longer, you're being too nit-picky!) Avoid symmetry. Don't space them evenly all over the tree. Tuck one here, a group of 2-3 there...

5. Add ornaments and special items, starting with your largest. Work from biggest to smallest. Tuck some ornaments deep in the branches to add a sense of depth to your tree. Don't be afraid to put some large items toward the top, but definitely keep most of them on the lower 2/3 of the tree.

(Sorry these photos aren't the best...they really don't do justice to the beauty of the finished product!)

HAPPY DECORATING!!!

Bridal Bouquet

Here is a link to a video that shows the bridal bouquet I did recently (and forgot to take photos of!). The video/photos are done by Wayman Studio (www.waymanstudio.com). I definitely recommend them! They did my little brother's wedding photography, and everything turned out beautifully.

Website links

Since I can't scan in and post all the floral examples I have from my books and magazines, I thought it would be nice to provide an online source of other people's floral portfolios for your viewing pleasure. It is interesting to see the different styles and color choices. Looking at a variety of options may just help you find something you love (and that might even be something you never expected to love).

Rebecca's Silver Rose

http://www.rebeccassilverrose.com/weddings/bridal-bouquets/

I really like that this website is easy to navigate and has a good variety of floral work. Notice she has sections for bouquets, wearables, cakes, centerpieces, etc. Take a look and see what you like!

Bella Floral Design

http://www.bellafloraldesign.com/#

Great photography and fun ideas! I liked both the website and the blog.

Fleurs de France

http://www.fleursfrance.com/portfolio

WIDE variety of bold colors and flower combinations. I really like a lot of these bouquets, boutonnieres, and cakes. Go to the "portfolio" tab and navigate through the "personal flowers" and "weddings" sections.


I will be on the lookout for more portfolios to share. Like in most things, seeing someone else's work can help inspire your own to be better!