What I made at Flower School

It goes hand in hand with working in the wedding industry that I absolutely LOVE flowers. I love the amazing things that florists can do with flowers, I love the smell that each stem gives off, basically I am a nut for flowers. But, I also consider myself creationary challenged - I am fantastic at visualizing but conception to creation {when I do it} never turns out the way I envisioned. So, in order to rid myself of this affliction, I went to Flower School last night.

The amazing duo, Bess & Ivie of Celadon & Celery, opened their studio for me to learn from the masters. Besides being so much fun, these ladies run an eco-friendly flower studio ... a rare find in Manhattan. Most all of their materials and flowers are eco-friendly or sustainable, which I just think is brilliant.

Ivie, my flower guru for the evening started off teaching me how to make a boutonniere ... I completely shocked myself with actually being able to follow along and produce one that actually looks pretty attractive!


(Any guesses on which one is mine and which is Ivie's?}

We then moved on to making a floral head wreath ... things got a bit more complicated here, but mine turned out okay. Its a bit disjointed on layout, but the rosemary smells amazing ~ just what you want from a flower girl going down the aisle - a rumbling tummy because the rosemary has got her hungry.



Next up was a bridal bouquet. I totally impressed myself here - I think mine is quite beautiful. Its romantic, asymmetric, loose and natural.




{We did a french braid down the stems with pearl pins on each braid}

Lastly, we made an awesome centerpiece. We started by putting kiwi branches into the bowl for character and then added in hydrangea leaves, millweed, rosemary, gigantic dinner plate dahlias and lastly, persimmons. I think it turned out so well.





I got to bring home my creations and I laid them all out diligently for my husband to see, when he got home he actually thought I had bought them from a florist - not made them myself! {I did have help though!} Perhaps I've been cured from my creationary challenge?!

Thanks Ivie & Bess! I had such a fun time learning!

Developing Your Wedding Day "Theme"

While you don't need to "theme" your wedding {i.e. Sandra and Billy's BBQ Throwdown}, it is good to have some sort of vision / theme for your day. While you don't want everything to be matchy matchy, you want the entire look of your wedding day to have some underlying element that gives it cohesion. Whether its a color, motif, logo, flower, you name it, it should be reflected in most aspects of the day. But ... that doesn't give you license to just use anything. Use something that makes sense to your union. I once attended a wedding where the couple had stamped a bicycle on everything: invitations, programs, menu cards, place cards ... neither of them were bicycle enthusiasts and I have no clue what the bicycle meant. I actually still have no clue and my sister in law has tried a million times to give me some clarity on it to no avail.

Anyways ... having some direction stylistically will be an immense help when choosing your decor. While your vision in no means needs to be carefully thought out and presented, it does need to have some meat behind it.

Par Example:





Style notes: warm tones, romantic candlelight, low and lush, rustic, country feel

When you find inspirational images you love, take a moment to write some notes about what you love about the image. These notes will serve as a great foundation to create your wedding day look!

{images from kimgray.co.za}

Day 9: Décor, Details & Design: Wedding Florists

Day 9: 30 Days: A Guide to Stress Free Wedding Planning

Once you've gotten your venue booked and your wedding style decided, its time to fuse those two and decide on your décor design. The optimal goal in design is to encapsulate elements from many sources:

Venue ~ what does the room look like? What elements should you play to? Is it formal/informal? Is it light and airy or dark and romantic? How does the location play into the venue? Is there a ton of history or something that the area is well known for?

Wedding Dress ~ is your wedding dress modern or vintage? Beaded or not? Is it body hugging or more princessy?

Bridesmaid Dresses ~ what color is their dress? Are the girls all wearing the same outfit, or different?

Couple Wedding Style ~ are you really into flowers or not? Do you want something sophisticated, elegant, modern or over the top? Do you prefer non floral elements like berries & fruits? Are you more ethereal and into candles to set the mood?

These are all questions that will come into play as you decide on your décor design. Weddings are meant to be cohesive (i.e. have some element that runs throughout from your Save the Dates/Invites through to the end of the wedding evening), therefore, what can you do in the design concept to run throughout the wedding experience?

Amass your inspiration boards, cut outs and other items that you love into a large collection. Spend time with each image ~ what do you love about it? When you start to meet with Florists, bring a list of Flowers you love (and that are hopefully in season when you are getting married) as well as a list of flowers you dislike. Bring your images to show what you like ... even if it's a simple detail like the color of a ribbon ~ your florist can find inspiration in that. Remember that you have time and you can change the elements if you find something better for your taste.






(sorry ~ i scanned these in and forgot to tag where I found them. If you know, PLEASE tell me so I can give full credit ~ thanks!)