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Floral Questions Answered

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MasterFlorist Posts : 222 Registered: 11/30/07
Re: Floral Questions Answered
Posted: Feb 18, 2008 1:22 PM Go to message in response to: Guest

FUTUREMRSALTMAN:

Wow.. I'm so sorry about that! I would tell you not to worry but you are a bride.. and that is almost impossible to do :P.  The good thing is that we CAN do something.  Remember, it's not the flowers per say that can look cheap.. but the way  they are used.  Focus the majority of whatever is left in your budget for flowers on your bouquets...even if this means having small centerpieces. These are the flowers that will be in all your important pictures...trust me.. if you have amazing bouquets no one will think the reception is "cheap" just because there are little or no centerpieces.  If you haven't contracted the photographer maybe your florist can refer you to someone.  Sometimes we have deals with other vendors.. giving each other business.. and pass down savings to the customer if they mentioned they were referred by our preferred vendors.  If thats out of the questions, then the best advice I can give you is to revisit with your florist.  They know what flowers they are going to use and how much it will cost.  Don't be afraid to go back and tell them your situation has changed.. they won't want to lose your business.  Use carnations, mini carnations, roses, alstroemeria, and mums/ daisies.  To keep them from looking cheap tell your florist you prefer to not use baby's breath or "typical" foliages such as leather leaf.  The result is something like this:

 

Here is a carnation bouquet;

 


 

 

 

Carnation and Dahlia:

 

Use them even in corsages and boutonnieres:

 

Most people will remember the colors and shapes not so much the specific flowers.  Also use plastic vases instead of glass. With a florist almost anything and everything is negotiable...


Google "Stems Event Florist" for my website.

 

boutonnieres
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MrsStrong62108 Posts : 107 Registered: 12/27/06
Re: Floral Questions Answered
Posted: Feb 18, 2008 1:26 PM Go to message in response to: MasterFlorist

First let me say, I'm so happy I found this thread!  I love looking at your pictures and read your advice.  You may have already answered this, but this thread is so long I couldn't read every entry....I really like to look at the pictures.

I would really like to use calla lillies, but I know they are very expensive.  Do you have some great photos of arrangements with calla lillies with some other flowers, maybe roses?  Our wedding colors are hot pink, black, and white.  I'm not looking to spend a lot on flowers.  I've even considered have the girls carry a single calla lilly to keep costs down.  Thank you MasterFlorist!!!!

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MasterFlorist Posts : 222 Registered: 11/30/07
Re: Floral Questions Answered
Posted: Feb 18, 2008 2:43 PM Go to message in response to: MissyF

MISSF:

What can I say... I'm a Woman to the boards.. slave to my passion :P

The easiest way would be to use tension rods.  They can usually be bought at a fabric, home improvement, or even retailers like Wal-Mart or Target:

 

They are very inexpensive..usually not more than $3 each. You can use monofilament.. or fishing wire  bought from craft stores and I think Wal-Mart also carries it:

Just create strands and tie around the tension rod.. the rod goes inside the door jam and requires no hardware so you won't damage the wood.  I've used mini carnations for this type of project also..the one below uses daisies and carnations:

 

There really wasn't a trick to it.. I used a needle with a big enough eye to thread the line through.. then just made sure to make a small knot before and after the flower to prevent it from sliding. You can even thread plastic, cyrstal or glass beads.

 

Alstroemeria isn't fragant.  Silk blooms would definetly be easier to handle.. there is no risk of the flowers wilting or turning brown from people touching them..not to mention that they won't weigh as much and you can rework it if you don't get it right the first time. If using silk I'd recommend some type of bushy flower like hydrangea. This way you could break it up and string individual florets getting a lot more per stem and they tend to not look so cheap as other silks even if they are inexpensive.

afloral.com sells these and silk leis inexpensively.

 Hope that has helped you!



Google "Stems Event Florist" for my website.

 

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MasterFlorist Posts : 222 Registered: 11/30/07
Re: Floral Questions Answered
Posted: Feb 18, 2008 3:37 PM Go to message in response to: NDNbride

NDNBRIDE:

I admire people who can keep their eyes awake that long..I'd get a LOT more done, instead I have an internal clock that shuts my eyes at 11 every night!  ANYWAY, most florist flowers don't open because they are cut too early for money's sake..they won't last long once they open. BUT, it's possible to force some to open yourself by putting them in hot water until the water cools with a paper bag over the heads. Do this a couple of times a day or two before your wedding to have lush blooms.  Your valentine's day gift could have been peonies:

They are large rose like flowers that come in lots and lots of colors.  Garden roses or english roses aren't any different than regular roses.. they are hardy and beautiful...no special care is required.

Fiftyflowers.com sells these below: 

http://fiftyflowers.com/search.php?search_val=garden+rose

Roses come in all shapes and sizes..there are  many regular roses that are just as large...it just depends on the variety and where they are bought.   Grandiflora varieties are usually the largest.  Here are some good websites to learn about them:

www.obiesfloral.com (click on products)

http://www.growquest.com/rose%20section/rose_page.htm


Google "Stems Event Florist" for my website.

 

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MasterFlorist Posts : 222 Registered: 11/30/07
Re: Floral Questions Answered
Posted: Feb 18, 2008 5:00 PM Go to message in response to: MrsStrong62108

GNTEACHER:

 >>I would really like to use calla lillies, but I know they are very expensive. Do you have some great photos of arrangements with calla lillies with some other flowers, maybe roses? Our wedding colors are hot pink, black, and white. I'm not looking to spend a lot on flowers. I've even considered have the girls carry a single calla lilly to keep costs down.

That is a very striking combination.  The colors alone are a look all in themselves.  Roses and calla lilies are one of the most traditional combinations out there.  You can definetly save money by pairing them together. I would suggest using hot pink/pink roses and white callas like this:

 

 You can also use hot pink roses mixed with light pink (to represent the white) and hot pink calla lilies:

 

 You can also mix them with berries:

 

Use a black ribbon to tie like below and you have a gorgeous combination:

 

You can certainly  have your BMs carry one single calla lily.. very modern.  Make it pink instead of yellow like below:

 

 

 

 

As for centerpieces..something like below.. 

 

with the lip of the vase with carnations like this:

 

Or something like this:


Which will give you this effect:

 


I hope that has sparked some ideas.. if not.. you know where to find me!

Google "Stems Event Florist" for my website.

 

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Re: Floral Questions Answered
Posted: Feb 19, 2008 7:30 PM Go to message in response to: MasterFlorist

Master FLorist,

 Thank-you!! You really did calm me down about this. lol I didn't know what we would do. SO I have been searching on brides.com as well as other wedding sites.. and I have come up with a few ideas for flowers and wanted to see if you thought they were good ideas and/or what you would do to make them better! First... the girls dresses are brown, and I have gone with pink, green, and yellow flowers (instead of orange... I just thought orange was too 'fall'-ish. lol )

Anyway... I love daffodils anyway. SO I was wondering if you thought yellow daffodils with green cymbidium orchids would look good as the bridesmaids bouquets? I WOULD like to add some pink in there but don't really know how to or with what flowers. What do you think?

Then for the centerpieces I was thinking of doing the green lemons still (the florist said these would not be much whatsoever) and then having yellow daffodils and pink roses? or yellow daffodils and pink gerbera daisies? I am not a huge fan of carnations.. so although they are inexpensive.. I'd like to try other flowers. Do you have any suggestions for these? I would love to use tulips... but I read that tulips are "allergic" to daffodils... is this true?!?! Maybe you told me that... I don't remember!!! lol I just know somehow I heard that.. and I definately do not want flowers dying an hour into the reception! lolol... I also really like irises and (pink) hyacinth. Would these  be able to be incorporated... if so - how would you do it?! I'm so sorry for being a pain.. I thought it was allll done- and I loved all the choices I had... but now I need to cut back on the types of flowers. I do love orchids- and although they are expensive would like to incorporate them in (especially my bouquet)

THANK-yoU!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! You are GREAT! And I appreciate everything you have done for me.. thank-you!

-Megan


DaisypathWedding Ticker

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JanaM Posts : 23 Registered: 1/29/08
Re: Floral Questions Answered
Posted: Feb 20, 2008 6:48 PM Go to message in response to: MasterFlorist

Masterflorist, you are so kind and generous  for answering all our questions.

My question is, you posted a bouquet that I loved, I am going to attempt to attach  it

http://s46.photobucket.com/albums/f108/j05spring/?action=view&current=bouquet.jpg

 I was wondering what could I use for center pieces with the same color scheme and keep the price reasonable.  I really love the combonation of the lime green, ivory, light pink, and dark purple

Our wedding is Oct. 2008 and my dress is ivory and my bridesmaid dresses are chocolate brown.

Thank you masterflorist!!!

 

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Re: Floral Questions Answered
Posted: Feb 21, 2008 7:37 PM Go to message in response to: MasterFlorist

MasterFlorist: You are so amazing! Thank you for taking time out of your busy schedule to answer all of our questions. I have a few questions. We are having a backyard wedding. My dress is a ballgown/pick-up style and it is all white satin, with a fuscia colored sash. My bridesmaids are wearing tea-length dresses in the same color as my fuscia sash... here is a pic of their dress/color. Photobucket I have an idea on what flowers I would like to use for my boquet, I just need help with colors and what not. Our wedding colors are fuscia/hot pink and black. The flowers I would like to use are: Roses Stargazer Lillies Calla Lillies Here are my questions: 1) Do you have any pictures or ideas, colors, for my boquet? 2) What do you suggest my MOH (1) and BM (1) carry? - I was thinking of having them carry just a nosegay of roses or a nosegay of stargazers or something? Would that be too plain? 3) What should the guys wear? I was thinking about having FH wear a single calla lilly and keep that as a special flower for him and I... Should his bestman and groomsman wear a single rose? I think that is it for now! Pics would be great!!! Thanks a lot!

ballgown
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GUEST21 Posts : 812 Registered: 2/2/07
Re: Floral Questions Answered
Posted: Feb 25, 2008 2:51 PM Go to message in response to: MasterFlorist

Hi MasterFlorist!

I have been here before, but we have made some changes so I needed your input again...

I have decided that I want orchids as my "theme" flower.. The girls dresses are as follows.. the dress will be celadon green with a pale pink sash:

BMDresses.jpg picture by tbsm0616

This is the MOH's dress...it will be all pale pink:

BelkyssDress.jpg picture by tbsm0616

I will be in this white dress:

WeddingDresspics5--dad.jpg picture by tbsm0616

I want the bouquets to resemble these:

bouquets11.jpg picture by tbsm0616

and the centerpieces to be like this:

orchidcenterpieces.jpg picture by tbsm0616

Now for my questions:

I have a 2K budget for real flowers.

What do you suggest for the bridesmaids bouquet? All pink? All Green? All White? All three? And I have 9 bridesmaids.. so it gets pricey.

As for my bouquet, should it match the BMs? Should mine be all white? Etc.

As for boutenieres (sp?) I need 16 bouts... What color should I make these? I also have 9 groomsmen.. 2 dads, 1 granpa, 1 RB, 4 Ushers.

Finally, for the centerpieces, should I do them all white? Or should I make it more "cohesive" and make it all three colors? My venue is very "silvery" so I was hoping for silver accents... How much do you think these centerpieces would be? (Without the vase, I can buy those on my own). I have 20 tables.

I need 6 church arrangements and like 5 bags of flower petals. One arrangement for the guest table also. Do you have any suggestions as to what to make these (i.e. pictures lol).

Oh and one more, I want one white orchid in my hair for the reception. Do these flowers hold well? Or should I buy a hairpin instead?

Also, do you think $2k can cover this, or am I being unrealistic? If it is unrealistic, what should I do to get in my budget? Which flowers would cut it?

AND finally, do you think having all mostly one flower is not a good idea? Should I involve more flowers?

Wow, I'm sorry this was so long but thank you in advance for all of your help. You truly are a blessing to us! :-)


~Tati, WIfe to Rob on September 13, 2008   :-) ~

Our wedding website: robandtatiswedding.weddingannouncer.com/

"You are all I long for, All I worship and adore." - Nat King Cole (From our first dance song)

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MasterFlorist Posts : 222 Registered: 11/30/07
Re: Floral Questions Answered
Posted: Feb 25, 2008 5:19 PM Go to message in response to: Guest

FUTUREMRSALTMAN:

I'm sorry I've been MIA!  I've actually gotten busy with work..at work.. yea, go figure :P  I do most of my answering here so it had to be put on a back burner last week. 

>>I was wondering if you thought yellow daffodils with green cymbidium orchids would look good as the bridesmaids bouquets? I WOULD like to add some pink in there but don't really know how to or with what flowers. What do you think?

That would fine.  But I thought you were trying to save money..! Cymbidium orchids are really expensive at about $25 a stem..not bunch.   You should use them in your bouquet to make it extra special :).  You can always use tulips either in pink or green in your BM's.  You can also use pink ranunculus, lisianthus, hyacinth or roses.  Daffodils are only toxic in the first 24 hrs after a fresh cut and yes.. should not be mixed with other flowers UNLESS they have been conditioned properly.  That is:

1. Place the cut daffodil flowers in water overnight and then rinse the stemps prior to use with the cut tulips. 2. Use 20-25 drops of bleach per gallon of water. Place the cut daffodil flowers in the solution for a minimum of one hour and a maximum of six hours. Subsequently, rinse the stems and use the flowers with the cut tulips. After 24 hrs. there shouldn't be a problem.  Your florist will take care of this. Here are some examples:

 

tete a tete daffodils, tulips, pink ranunculus.

 

Here is a sweet mix of pink sweet hear roses, light pink peonies, and yellow stock. 

A lovely mix of green vibernum, yellow roses, and pink peony. 

 

 

A  cute bouquet of paperwhites. 

 

Daffodils, tulips, pink ranunculus, green vibernum. 

>>Then for the centerpieces I was thinking of doing the green lemons still (the florist said these would not be much whatsoever) and then having yellow daffodils and pink roses? or yellow daffodils and pink gerbera daisies? I am not a huge fan of carnations.. so although they are inexpensive.. I'd like to try other flowers. Do you have any suggestions for these? 

I like the daffodils and roses.  Believe it or not roses can be less expensive than gerbera daisies. 

>>I also really like irises and (pink) hyacinth. Would these be able to be incorporated... if so - how would you do it?!

When arranging.. and especially in your case it really isn't a matter of how..but where.  All you have to do is simply add them to your centerpiece or BM's bouquets.  OR you can just reserve these flowers for the Flower Girls to distinguish them..or corsages.

Floral Wreaths:

 

Place card tables or napkin holders:

 

Take your pick! 



Google "Stems Event Florist" for my website.

 

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krista210 Posts : 451 Registered: 7/14/07
Re: Floral Questions Answered
Posted: Feb 25, 2008 5:35 PM Go to message in response to: MasterFlorist

Hi! My wedding is in July (on vancouver island which is on the west coast of canada) by the beach. My colors are ivory, black, and an aqua greeny/blue. I wanted to add another color by way of flowers. Does a pale pink sound okay? I really like pink and white peonies, are these in season in the summer?? Thanks in advance!!
DaisypathWedding Ticker

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RockChalkChick Posts : 48 Registered: 12/27/06
Re: Floral Questions Answered
Posted: Mar 2, 2008 2:58 PM Go to message in response to: MasterFlorist

First off, I'd like to say how wonderful I think you are to share your advice with everyone!! I've seen some really amazing advice on this thread, and it's wonderful to see honest advice from a pro who's not just looking to sell the most expensive package! (That said, I know florists and other wedding pros need to make a living, too!) 

 

Anyhow, we're having a rather DIY wedding - I want to save some money, but I'm also looking for something very personalized and individual, rather than "canned." We're renting a park lodge for our April 25 '09 wedding in Iowa, and, barring storm or blizzard, are planning for an outdoor ceremony. We're making the dresses - mine will be white chiffon with a yellow embroidered bodice, and the girls will be in a buttery/lemon yellow tea-length crepe. The guys will be in black with silver vests. 

So, down to the flowers. I'm planning to order in bulk and build my own bouquets, with input from my former-florist aunt. I dislike calla lilies, and want to minimize roses (too "wedding" boring, though I acknowledge they're classic). I'm planning to do primarily daffodils/narcissi - either solid yellow for me and paperwhites for the girls, or vice-versa.  My concern: do I need to mix in other flowers, or is a hand-tied bunch of narcissi going to look ok? How about greenery?

Also, my guy's kind of vetoed the idea of a narcissus boutonniere, so what options are there for bouts and corsages that will complement the yellow/white scheme? I'm sure basic yellow roses would do fine, but any ideas for something more daring? 

For centerpieces, I'm hoping to force bulbs in clay pots to bloom for the correct time frame (then let those who would like take them home to plant for future springs - we're a garden-ish family). We're doing a test bunch of a few different varieties this year (growing at the moment) to figure out the timing, but I'm curious what I might need to do to make it look clean and deliberate, instead of "dad's garden shed?" Any chance you've seen this sort of table decor before? Any tips to make it look refined, but not fussy? 

 

Again, thanks in advance for all the help! You're quite the addition to this board! 

boutonniere
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jess143 Posts : 153 Registered: 8/15/06
Re: Floral Questions Answered
Posted: Mar 5, 2008 10:59 AM Go to message in response to: RockChalkChick

Hi!! Wanna answer one fo rme?? I'm having my wedding in Late July and I'm having mango calla lillies for my flowers the bridesmaids get white ones. I need help with centerpieces. I'm would like something low so you can really see it from all angles. MAybe something do it yourself?? Also, any ideas for those decorations at the end of the isle at the church? P.S. i hate baby's breathe!! 

 

Thank you soo much!!  

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Ash410 Posts : 21 Registered: 10/21/07
Re: Floral Questions Answered
Posted: Mar 6, 2008 2:37 AM Go to message in response to: jess143

Ok, I'm back. :) I posted earlier for help identifying flowers in a really pretty "exotic" looking bouquet, but it had a lot of pink in it (though i still love its look) Is there other bouqets out there with more orange and white (can have some pink) that still has the exotic look? I'd love to have plumeria flowers, they would be my number one choice if I didn't have to fly them in overnight :) I've tried googling but i've never been a good googler. :) any advice is much appreciated. :)

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KatharineC Posts : 940 Registered: 2/6/08
Re: Floral Questions Answered
Posted: Mar 9, 2008 5:56 PM Go to message in response to: Ash410

I've just read half this thread and my brain is hurting (from ideas and from it being past midnight!) Anyway, I need a bit of help. I have an idea of what I want, but I really need a picture or something a bit closer than what I already have, so I can explain stuff better to my florist and friends who are helping out with setting up the decor.

These are pictures that I like, but none of them are quite right. Basically I just want lots of open crimson roses, in glass vases or containers, with lots of candles and scattered rose petals. I love the flowers being submerged in the water idea, but not sure how to accomplish this! I also love floating candles. Anyway, here are some ideas that are partly right:

I love the FEEL that this picture gives off, but I don't actually like what's on the table - too bare!

Also love this one, but the candle stick stems are too high and the flowers too round and posy-like for my taste:

And finally I'm in LOVE with this, but it's completely wrong for my wedding! It's too tall (I do not want tall centrepieces) and it's lilies instead of roses (though my BMs are carrying lilies) and it feels more summery than romantic. But do you have any ideas how I can incorporate the beauty of this centrepiece into what I want? I love the way the light reflects into the vases, making the flowers glow...WOW:

Thank you so much!


 

When is my wedding

On October 31st 2008 I marry my One True Love!

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