Seasonal Flower Varieties for your Wedding

Having a Spring Fling? Capture Springs refreshing colorful blooms after a long winter. Seasonal flowers will keep costs sane.
Enjoy:
tulips, roses, hyacinths, lisianthus, phlox, gerbera daisies, gladiolas, lily of the valley, peonies, anemones, japanese cherry, ranunculus, snapdragons, mimosa, narcissus, helleborus, sweet peas, vibernum, calla lilies, orchids

Summer blooms: Remember to choose wisely for the heat can 'drain' a flowers beauty.
Stock, delphinium, iris, columbine, roses, lilies, orchids, snapdragons, gerbera daisies, hydrangeas, belles of Ireland, freesia, english lavender, queen anne's lace, mist, asters, mums, sunflowers, tuberose, daisies, dahlias, gladiolas, allium, protea, celosia, dianthus, scabiosa

Autumn Stems include:
Roses, asters, dahlias, zinnias, lilies, statice, chrysanthemum, gladiolas, astilbe, snowberry, celosia, lady's mantle, pincushion, millet

Winter Wedding flowers:
Amaryliis, annabelle hydrangeas, anemones, belles of Ireland, roses, calla lilies, orchids, ranunculus, casablanca lilies, stargazer lilies, holly, waxflower, chili peppers, japonica, leucadendron, anthurium, red ginger, ornamental cabbage

What is the new wedding flower trend this year?

While your own style and preferences should lead the way through choosing your overall look and feel of your flowers, a view into what's hot this year cannot do any harm. In fact, the following guidelines will assure a photogenic and stylish flower display, unique and your own!

Choosing to group your chosen prize winners in individual decorative vessels is hip this year. Seasonal affordable blooms in masses of make fantastic saturated displays of color and texture, especially when one elects to change varieties from vessel to vessel. Show your colors by flickering your hues throughout the event while giving them an interesting vessel; crystal always dresses up , a distressed vessel warrants one massed bloom, as well as tiered opaque vases in different shapes shows modern, yet safe for the individuals wanting timeless.

Color and texture creates dimensional stylish huddles of flower power!
Don't be afraid to combine many shades of purple ( a hot color for 2009) or your preferred color. It's the thing to do. Let your floral designer 'go with it' should you love pink, she is sure to please; besides she is in the industry to do just that and is privy to hundreds of pink flowers, waiting to be layered and paired with its perfect compliment. Don't be afraid when it comes to color. It is passionate and flirty, also vibrant and creates a good energy your guests will feel and appreciate.

Vintage never goes out of style. Besides, what is not to love about old worn out jeans and antique jewels? Shades of beige, pale pinks, soft yellows, chocolate, lavender, light green, cremes and ivories come together to offer a view into your ancestors minimal lifestyle. Vintage always shows romantic and timeless, and offers a level of sophisticaton and appreciation of the past. Don't forget to 'bejewel' your vintage bouquet with an hierloom brooch or hairpin. Consider carrying 'something old' on the stems of your bouquet or within its' blooms.

Glamorous and Vibrant is hot and bold. Reds come together in many 'shades of ' with Bride's lipstick to match; stay subdued on your nails. Perhaps consider the red ballet flats. Have your floral designer lace crystals or beading throughout for a glitzy accessory to your fabulous gown; besides it is your purse for the day! Consider crystal pins and brooches, layers of satin ribbon on your stems and be ready for the compliments!

Why do wedding flowers cost what they do?

How does one go about defining a budget for wedding flowers? There is a common rule of thumb that flowers can cost 8 to 10 percent of your entire wedding budget. And it is common place for many Bride's to spend such that. I suppose this estimate may shock some especially if they already have a $30,000 event in front of them without the flowers. It is quite easy to see the flower budget grow as you lay out the many places you'd like to dress with beautiful, romantic, stylish bouquets from the church to the reception tables. Let's look at the overall picture when it comes to the flower industry.

First of all, it is common place to decorate a wedding with flowers and candles. And to bring it to the next level of wow by turning to tall cascading designs is one's own preference; hey if you have it, flaunt it. While an average table centerpiece comes in at $50, you might see many flowers at a local grocery store that can do the trick for $13. Good Luck finding the many similar varieties you'll need as well as finding them in usable conditions. The grocer buys from a local flower market in mass quantities and has their florist break them up in groups of 3's (you actually get less flower stems in one bunch now than you did 2 years ago). Thus, if you do the math, a stem still costs you over $1.25 in not so good condition and from a massive corporation swallowing up family owned flower shops and artsy floral designers trying to make a modest living. Here lies one reason to turn to your designer. Support your family owned businesses.

Ultimately, why are bouquets over $100 and into the $200's? Everyday when we walk into our flower market we as designers see a rise in cost for what we must spend to bring them to you. Also, the weak dollar drives costs as well as poor weather conditions. Exotic flowers from Thailand and Hawaii cost more to fly them here with cost of fuel, and of course, out of season blooms are a pretty penny when the market has few places to turn to in order to provide one with their 'peony' dream wedding. Taking this into account and the hours shopping the just perfect blooms, coupled then with the handling and preparation of the precious stems, requires care, attention and understanding.

Prepping the flowers not only means placing them in water. Stems must be cut just right, foliage removed and stems cut again and again to 'draw open' the blooms that make the bouquets. This isn't true for all flowers. Some require tight wrapping to ensure straight stems, others need very little water to avoid peeling stems. In essence, one can spend 2 hours prepping the flowers for the designing stages. Gathering the selectively chosen flowers takes more time. One cannot assume the bouquet will take its' shape in one try, nor not shift as additional flowers are added. It takes a patient hand and a good eye for color and texture to form a rhythmic flow of flawless petals and blooms in the style the client requests, and if they twist and fall out of place, one may start the process over.

After bouquets are made, a delicate hand continues the process to yet another bouquet in just the right shades as the first. And then comes the 15 boutonnieres, and 15 corsages, all perfectly wired and gathered, then ribbon tied and pin embellished. Phew, are you feeling the exhaustion yet?

Nonsense, we love it! Ribbon wrapping is the fun part, much like wrapping an expensive gift just right? Would you wrap a diamond in tissue paper? Satin ribbon is preferred here and layers of it with multiple colors shows modern and may be more time involved, but completes the bouquet.

Is this entire process mess free? Most designer shops have a barrier between the client and the 'back' where it all happens. Floors are a mess, and one might think one has had a flower fight. Petals are everywhere, water, wire, pins, thorns, cut stems, beheaded flowers, and maybe body parts with those unskilled (cutting stems sometimes cuts fingers).

With all of this said, I'd leave the flowers up to a true, passionate floral professional; fleurLILY Chic Wedding and Event Styling, one who knows the industry, is fluent in flowers, and knows how to turn your eye candy magazine $300 bouquet into a more realistic expense of $175 to $200. Don't dissect the bouquet to figure out the cost per stem, it cannot be done because there lies a design story and history behind its' making to place it in YOUR hands to cherish!

Don't give in to complimentary flowers from your venue, for the sake of saving you dollars, it could cost you more!

In attempting to save dollars on the overall flower budget one might elect to cut out traditional flowers and elements without realizing they are minimizing the grand feel and ambiance the flowers themselves create which ultimately adds to the sophistication and elegance of a wedding. It seems common now for a reception site to 'offer' the centerpieces thus convincing the Bride they'll be appropriate enough for the event. And most often, Bride's are taking the reception hall or restaurant up on the offer without the question "well how much is it really costing me to put a sampling of florals at each table?" This offer does not come free, it is incorporated in the cost of the charge to rent the venue. And when I ask the Bride how much she is being charged for a vase of roses per table with votives, most likely she will say it is included. But there is the hang-up! The reception place knows there is a window to add more to their bottom line by offering a convenient service without really having to define what the charge is for the centerpieces. I suppose if if takes the burden off of the Bride and her family to have the reception place choose her flowers, though be aware they will supply minimal flowers or elements and most likely will not capture your personality and vision.

This then creates a large gap between the Bride's wedding party flowers that are professionally thought out and designed and the reception flowers. How can they possibly coincide to create a seamless rhythm of colour, texture and dimension, let alone show the same quality and attention to detail. Besides, this is your event to SHINE, to demonstrate your love and passion for another, to pick and choose only those things in your life that make you feel beautiful, special and unique. You go out of your way to choose the best venue, try the food, taste all of the cakes, select the most flattering dress (and stretch to afford it), pamper your body weeks before, diet, and of course coordinate nearly everything for your Bride Attendants and all in the wedding party, why skimp on the flowers? Why allow a restaurant manager to 'cover them' for you?

I assume it is for budget constraints, but truthfully, there are MANY modern cost effective ways to show flowers that would ultimately be less expensive than the venue's so-called complimentary vase of roses at each table. Think about floating individual flower blooms in a low vase with lily grass and a floating candle. Call upon a designer, fleurLILY Chic Wedding and Event Styling, to create multiple vases of different varieties that you LOVE and creatively disperse them according to size or color.

Use flowering plants that are relatively inexpensive and are great for take home gifts. Or simply, indulge and live in the moment by giving yourself and your guests a plethora of blooms long to be remembered!

Keep your flowers colors in sync throughout the event and be consistent with the varieties you choose for good rhythm and flow. Play up your colors by choosing many varieties in the colors of your wedding (shows playful) though watch out not to mix varieties that really aren't complimenting another. Or, decide upon a few and take them as far as they can go, beginning with your bouquet down to the flowers you place in a bathroom (tip...keep those fragrant).
Think of your childhood memories in your mother's garden, or picking the neighbor's flowers to make a bouquet for your mom. How did they make you feel? I remember the lilacs and the peonies and today, I cannot get enough of them! Choose flowers that have meaning or importance.

Ultimately, flowers are not that big of a headache and really are not too difficult to choose even for those who do not know much about them or for one that isn't a 'flower person'. That will change in your next life of living as a couple, owning a home, tending a garden and taking in a new appreciation for all things green and natural.

Call upon fleurLily Chic to assist you in the decisions you find difficult to make, or to provide a cost effective approach to keeping within your budget. Hiring a professional isn't going to mean more dollars wasted, it will grant you peace of mind and satisfaction in knowing they are going to capture your style and personality in the meetings or conversations you have with them. And if one wants you to choose from a catalogue with minimal room for modification, I recommend trying out a designer that is in the business to make YOU happy.

Perfect Wedding Flowers on a Budget

Greetings Brides-to-be!

This blog is a forum devoted to helping us make that most important day in our life a beautiful, memorable experience.

Flowers are the most lovely examples of natural beauty- each is unique and each is glorious in its own right. But therin lies the problem we face: there are so many choices of flowers and of designs, that it can be a daunting task to get the mixture right-


--How do we know how many flowers to buy?
--What are the cost implications?
--Who should carry flowers to support the wedding group?
--How can I interview a florist to ensure I am getting what I want?
...and the list goes on...

Ideally, your Floral design is a reflection of Your inner beauty. Flowers should embellish your wedding. They should be a unique reflection of You-- not a selection out of a catalog. How do we get started?

Let's simplify this process by talking openly about what works, and what doesn't, so we can get through the process of:

--selecting our Style, taking into account the venues, the seasons, and etc...
--reviewing the options
--understanding the impact
--finding the right floral designer
--contracting their services
--ensuring satisfaction

Brides to be and people in the business of helping make weddings perfect, Please feel free to post your thoughts, questions, comments and suggestions. I am simply here to facilitate the conversation! Thanks and Best wishes to you in your new life journey!

Carolynn Hunt
fleurLily Chic Wedding and Event Florals
http://www.fleurlilychic.com/