Cupcake cakes

My friend Casey's wedding cake. A 3-tiered cupcake extravaganza! She purchased the cardboard base, mod podged it with coordinating scrapbook paper, made beautiful cupcakes with "pearl" sprinkles, and arranged it all to look very elegant. We added a garland of flowers around the bottom layer, and placed little groups of flowers on the other tiers. It turned out BEAUTIFULLY. Once again, I wish I had a better camera. These photos don't really do it justice.

Cupcake cakes are a lower-cost alternative to traditional wedding cakes. They are just as beautiful and have tons of character, PLUS the added bonus of not having to slice the cake for your guests.

Speaking of fun cake toppers...

Here are the cake toppers from my wedding. Aren't they cute? :)

Erk and Sara's Wedding continued....

Consider adding character to your cake by making your own cake toppers! These frogs are a cute way to show a fun family joke that has been going on for years. It represents the couple and can also spark some curiosity.






Mom's corsage with white lisianthus and freesia buds tied with silver ribbon. The angle of this photo makes the corsage look kinda big, but never fear! It was a very nice, medium-sized corsage that didn't overpower the wearer.











Sister's wrist corsages were made with freesia buds, delphinium, and greenery (Italian ruscus) tied to a bracelet of silver wire.






The bracelets are hand made by twisting and flattening the wire and will fit to any sized wrist by simply bending it into place. Easy. Comfortable. Doesn't cut off your circulation like those elastic ones we all wore to dances. Nice!







Men's boutonniere features a lisianthus bud, hypericum berries, and Italian ruscus.

These are simple, stylish, and small enough for even my husband to be comfortable wearing it. If you have people in your wedding party that absolutely detest wearing LARGE corsages or boutonnieres, this is a great option!

More Wedding Bouquets (Erk and Sara's wedding)

In December 2009 my little brother got married. I got to do their flowers. So fun! The colors were midnight blue and silver (and not just because they are Aggie fans....) so for the bouquet we had a base of white roses, anemones, lisianthus, and lilies; blue accents of delphinium and thistle; and silver incorporated with wire accents. A "collar" of shimmery, delicate-looking bullion wire surrounded the bouquet, and the handle was wrapped with thick silver oasis wire. I really love the dark green aspidistra leaves that form the framework for this bouquet. They give a nice, clean, smooth finishing touch to a traditional hand-tied bouquet.


They were married on one of the (most unexpectedly) coldest and snowiest days of the whole winter, which was very unfortunate for the lilies. The bride's bouquet (which included those beautiful lilies) just couldn't handle being out in the extreme cold for all those photos after the ceremony, so it was replaced with another (hurriedly assembled!) bouquet for the reception. Unfortunately, there were not enough lilies left over to include them in her 2nd bouquet. Lesson learned: always plan for inclement weather when ordering flowers. It's much better to have too many rather than too few! You can always find places to use the extra flowers.



The groom's boutonniere was made with white freesia, blue delphinium, and a few green hypericum berries tied with a silver ribbon. Other boutonnieres and corsages (for moms, dads, etc) used white lisianthus instead of the freesia. Lisianthus is a wonderfully long-lasting flower and looks somewhat like a rose.



Several small arrangements were placed in groupings around photos that were on display at the reception and open house. Using multiple small groupings helps soften up the corners of photos while being small enough to not distract from the portrait. Using the same amount of flowers in one arrangement would have been overpowering, indeed! :)

This is one of my favorite small arrangements. A small decorative glass tumbler with a few lilies (the ones whose stems broke off, rendering them useless for a larger arrangement or bouquet) with a few cut sprigs of lily grass. It is eye-catching with it's clean, bold lines, and would fit wonderfully in with other tropical arrangements.

Color swatches

An easy way to coordinate your exact colors is to go to the local hardware/paint store and pick up some free paint color swatches. Get a few--a set for you, your florist, your dressmaker, and any other people helping with your wedding decorations. This helps guarantee you won't have any extreme clashes in color (I have seen some yellows that just DO NOT go together, haven't you?).

Weddings

One of the biggest floral occasions is a wedding. Did you know that in some parts of the country, people spend upwards of $5,000-$10,000 on wedding flowers? It's amazing. (I think I'd rather use that money for something else like a SUPER fun trip or a down payment on a home, but that's just me. Ha ha!).
In any case, flowers are definitely a focal point of most wedding celebrations. I specialize in wedding bouquets, corsages, boutonnieres, centerpieces, and cake flowers. And you get the whole package for $300-$600, depending on your flower choice and how big you want to go.


BOUQUETS

A bride's biggest flower concern is probably her bouquet. It should be stunning, spectacular, fitting to her personality, and with all that, not too heavy to hold for a few hours at a time. If you have a favorite flower, see if it is available in your wedding colors and incorporate it into your bouquet. There are SO MANY different styles of bridal bouquets out there. Find something you love. Don't be afraid to try something different.

The classic hand tied bouquet is a favorite of many brides. Any combo of colors and textures can be combined to make a unique, beautiful bouquet. This one (made for my friend Casey earlier this year--her colors were gold and sage green) features a mix of white roses, gerbera daisies, wax flower, and lily grass (those are the little "spiky" greens sticking out).

One of my favorite things about this bouquet is the wire accents. I used crinkly gold wire to make a "collar" around the base of the bouquet, adding a little soft sparkling effect. Then the stems are wrapped with thick gold wire instead of ribbon. This gives a clean, bold look. Curly-Q wire accents are also placed throughout the bouquet to add interest and incorporate the gold color throughout the bouquet. It turned out VERY pretty! I really wish photos would do more justice to flowers. (I might just need to get a nicer camera!)

If you have chosen wedding colors that are a little tricky to match with flowers, do not fret! This is where the ribbon, decorative wire, and other accents come in. You can use a "neutral-ish" colored flower like white or pale green for the bulk of your bouquet, then accent it with your wedding colors. You can also use special floral spray paint to achieve non-traditional flower colors. And I don't just mean the super bright, fake-looking neon colors you see on mums around holidays (though if you love that bright, fun look, by all means, use it!). There are several beautiful natural-looking options with browns, purples, oranges, etc. that will leave people wondering where in the world you found that color of flower. If done correctly, even the bright, bold colors come out beautifully. Though I usually recommend keeping flowers as natural-looking as possible. :)

Variations on the hand tied bouquet can give you a long, elegant, simplistic look. These can still be dressed up a bit with ribbon or wire accents while keeping their simple beauty.



Check back soon for more examples of bouquets! The options really are endless, but I hope to give you a small taste of the basic varieties!

WELCOME!!! I hope this blog is a useful tool for you as you look for creative ideas and inspiration for your big events (or even the small ones--they're important, too!).

In this blog I will not only post examples of my own work, but will also show you the fun, eye-catching ideas I find from other sources. I think the more you have to look at, the more likely you'll find something you love. And that is what matters.

Look for floral examples for weddings, sympathy, home decor (silk arrangements), prom, centerpieces, holiday, and those everyday "I'm thinking of you" arrangements. And since decor for your events is not just limited to flowers, I'll also throw in some ideas of other centerpieces and decor.

Remember that there is more to flowers than just the flowers. I will give tips on how to best care for your flowers, how to choose colors, what flowers are available during the different seasons, which seasons are "flower seasons" (and thus EVERY flower is more expensive---probably best not to order massive amounts of flowers while the prices are up), etc.

I know flowers can be PRICEY. Something so beautiful shouldn't have to break your budget or cause you all that extra stress, so I am committed to giving you a fair price for the best quality floral work! So if you like what you see and would like my help, give me a call or email.

Thanks!

Heather Thomas
801-618-8044
heathandthomas@gmail.com