Okay hive, honest time? I talk out of my ass—not TMI ass talking—but rather, I have a tendency to make a declarative sentence and then go back on what I’ve said. Whatever, not worried about it. This particular declarative, now defunct statement is about our formerly flowerless wedding reception. That’s right, we are now investing in colored leaves that die. Or more accurately, my future in-laws are generously gifting us flowers.

I had several reasons against flowers, the first being the price tag. I also thought they were expected at a wedding—a reason to not have them. (I have a tendency to go against the norm, it’s the designer in me.) I’ve also heard many a story where wedding day flowers were completely different than what the florist and couple had previously agreed upon. Finally, the vases I purchased for the centerpieces are beautiful in their own right and don’t (read: didn’t) need flowers.

We started ordering candles for the vases and it became apparent that some just wouldn’t be able to accommodate candles.

Rhode Island has established very strict (with good reason) fire codes ever since The Station nightclub fire in 2003. I tried to think of other ways to decorate the vases but in the end thought flowers would be the best solution. I want them to look beautiful, not different for the sake of being different.

So, on Halloween I separated the vases into boxes. 17 into boxes bound for the Biltmore, complete with candles, (I am full of alliteration today—please bear with) and 17 into boxes bound for the florist with inspiration photos, peacock feathers, and swatches. Last Friday, my FMIL and I headed over to the florist for a little consultation. Here’s the deal though—I don’t want to get invested into the flowers. I am purposely not giving a clear vision of the flowers I want because I do not want something like colored leaves that die to interfere with my wedding day happiness. Has anyone else done this? I am literally making a decision to devest (it’s a word—I just made it up—it’s better than Beyonce’s Bootylicious). Devesting is an important step in the SEDIP philosophy. We’ve done it in other areas of the wedding but I just realized what we’re doing. There are certain details of the wedding day, mostly the ones that we cannot control, that I am just not interested in caring about.

In the end, we ordered 6 pew flower decorations, 17 flowered centerpieces, 6 corsages, and 1 bouquet. Wait, what? Miss Zebra! Oh yeah—when I said I made my bridal bouquet out of fake flowers- is that what you’re thinking about? I couldn’t help it. I have an awesome mother-in-law that sometimes convinces me to spend her money. My bouquet will have light pink peonies and deep purple David Austin roses.

David Austin Rose

Peony

The rest of the flowers I instructed the florist to use “bright pinks, purples, and greens.” That’s it. Devested and it feels so good!

In what areas have you devested in your wedding?

This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.

Brides hoping to have a traditional ceremony when they tie the knot may want to consider roses as their wedding flowers.

This is because, according to Times of the Internet, they are a "classic" bloom that brings an elegant touch to the occasion.

The news provider claims these are a popular choice as they work well with a variety of other plants.

While some brides may like to use roses in their bouquets to complement their wedding dress, the publication notes that a "table setting with even one single rose will add beauty to your wedding reception".

What is more, they come in a wide variety of colours, such as white, yellow, red and pink, so they are bound to match any theme.

Alternatively, the website suggests lilies, orchids and wildflowers as other options brides may want to consider.

Last month, an item posted on Lon's Article Directory advised it is important to research wedding florists thoroughly and book them four or five months in advance.

Whatever colour scheme or style of wedding you choose, be sure to find a matching flower in the hitched.co.uk wedding flowers section

This article was originally posted onHitched.

“Flowers always make people better, happier and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine to the soul.” – Luther Burbank

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So about 3 weeks ago, I turned lovely age of 31 {oof, it looks so much older when I write it out!}. And for me, once I passed the 30 mark…my birthday wishes changed a bit. Gone are the crazy birthdays at the club…the dreams of a new “It” bag…the girls’ weekends to LA. Now, I just wished for simple things—a picnic with friends, a cozy dinner at my favorite Italian restaurant…

And a bouquet making class at Studio Choo.

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Yep, you heard me! Studio Choo is a charming floral design studio that I have been pining over since I stumbled upon one of this marvelous greenhouse wedding of one of the owners, Jill.

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Cheerful, unruly and hopelessly romantic, I didn’t know much about flowers, but I did know that I loved everything about Studio Choo’s arrangements! And if I had a pot of gold, I would have just booked Jill & Alethea 2 tickets to paradise as our wedding florists. But since that wasn’t in the cards for this budget bee, I did the next best thing…I signed up for their bouquet making class.

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The class was really tiny—only 6 of us—and for almost 3 hours we watched and listened to Jill and Alethea as they shared with us their tips and tricks for creating the perfect unruly bouquet. They taught us how to incorporate the ever popular succulents into an arrangement and which flowers to start and end with, based on sturdiness and delicateness. Then, they sent us off to wander around the shop to pick our own blooms for our very own bouquets. There was an army of dahlias—giant and small—in a dazzling array of colors. There were ranunculus galore. Berries, Jasmine, Hydrangeas, Geranium and others that I can’t even remember the names of. it was like a candy shop! And slowly but surely, bloom by bloom, our bouquets came to life…

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Once it was assembled, the Studio Choo gurus showed us how to wrap it together and finish it off with a pretty ribbon of our choosing. And, the great thing about these bouquets is that you can easily pop them in a jar or vase and voilà! instant floral arrangement.

I tried to take as many photos as I could but realized quickly that my hands were full almost the entire class! Jill and Alethea took most of these but I was able to snap a pic of my masterpiece at the very end….

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And the best part? The Studio Choo gals gave us parting gifts of our bouquets, the mason jar as a vase, flower shears and a sweet studio choo tote to carry everything in!

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In those 3 hours, I learned so much about floral design—the style I like, the flowers, berries and filler I love and even the way I want my bouquet bound! And while it would be dreamy for me to design my own bouquet for my wedding day, I know that is down right crazy for me, as it will just add more last minute stress that I am trying desperately to avoid. But, I now have the knowledge I need to speak the same language as my local florist, who is super flexible and loves new ideas. Hooray!

So, if you have the opportunity to sign up for a floral design class, I say go for it! Mine was reasonable and I know that many flower shops and city colleges offer classes like these. Now I’m counting the days until I can take another one.

Are any of you DIYing your bouquets for your special day? If you’ve taken a flower arranging class, what’s a good tidbit of information you’ve learned?

This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.

There is no need for brides to make their wedding flowers loud and garish, as keeping it simple with a few berries can have just as dramatic an impact.

Speaking to the Richmond Times-Dispatch, Carl Shaw, owner of Carl Alan Floral Designs, said simplicity can be beautiful and the use of berries as accent pieces lifts a bouquet to another level.

He stated that for him, using one colour for a single flower can illuminate a wedding venue and look beautiful, with blooms that make a statement by themselves being one of his favourite things.

While some may find a single colour monotonous, Mr Shaw said that carefully placed berries can add another dimension to the bouquet.

"A light or whitish hypericum berry or winter berry … I would place them at certain points in the bouquet as highlights and it breaks up – in certain people's mind – the monotony of one flower or very few colours," he told the newspaper.

According to stltoday.com, hiring a florist to create the perfect bouquets is not a straightforward task.

Among the things couples must consider when choosing a florist are friends' recommendations and their budgetary constraints. 

Whatever colour scheme or style of wedding you choose, be sure to find a matching flower in the hitched.co.uk wedding flowers section

This article was originally posted onHitched.

Brides tying the knot in an autumn ceremony should take advantage of some seasonal blooms when choosing their wedding flowers.

This is according to an article posted on Helium by Jillian McCoy, who said there is a wealth of vibrant flora for women to select from.

"From the season's harvest to the falling leaves, autumn sees some of Mother Nature's most beautiful shades. There's also a whole rainbow of in-season flowers for a fall wedding," she advised.

While brides can choose from a variety of roses, orchids and stephanotis, Ms McCoy claimed hydrangeas can make the perfect centrepiece to an autumnal celebration.

Dahlia are another good option, as they come in red, brown and golden tones, while the expert described the aster as a classic bloom to complement the larger wedding flowers.

Writing for the same publication, Michele Wilmonen advised women to use stands of "fall-coloured ivy" to get a cascading look to their bouquets.

Whatever colour scheme or style of wedding you choose, be sure to find a matching flower in the hitched.co.uk wedding flowers section

This article was originally posted onHitched.

A couple of days ago, I talked about our centerpieces and how Mr. Cardy and I were so thrilled to be able to have real flowers. Now, I’m excited about the centerpieces and all, but the part of our flower contract that gets me really excited are the ceremony flowers – our bouquets and boutonnieres.

I have this thing for flower bouquets. I love them. Mr. Cardy buys me fresh flowers to keep in the house all the time, and I just love the look of a pretty bunch of flowers. Even though I love bouquets, I had a hard time finding inspiration photos that really fit what I wanted – soft and romantic, but still bright and fun. I found this one, and it fit what I was looking for pretty well:

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And then while I was in the middle of putting together an email to send to our florist about our inspiration, I got an email from a friend who saw a wedding on Snippet & Ink and thought of me. That’s when I found THE bouquet.

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Y’all, I can’t even explain how much I love this bouquet. It’s fluffy and romantic, but punchy and bright all at the same time. I love everything about it! So, I immediately sent it over to our florist. Oh, and guess what else was a part of that wedding?

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Is that not the most gorgeous boutonniere you’ve ever seen? Swoon! As my luck would have it, though, Mr. Cardigan didn’t really like the gray thing in it (you know, only my favorite part of the stupid boutonniere). But, I sent the photo over to our florist anyways, so she could at least have an idea of the style we like.

So. What will be in my bouquet?

Yellow Ranunculus

White Hypercium Berries

Yellow Solidago

Dusty Miller

As well as some yellow roses, billy buttons (of course!) and some other white accents. My bridesmaids bouquets will be similar to mine, with more white flowers and fewer yellow.

And for Mr. Cardy’s bout, we’ll have two billy buttons, with some dusty miller as an accent (so I can get my gray in there!) with some of the white berries, and a little bit of the solidago.

I’m really excited about our ceremony flowers, and I think that our florist did a great job of taking what I wanted and translating that into something I could afford! I cannot WAIT to see how they all turn out!

Did you end up getting more excited about an aspect of the wedding than you thought you would? I never thought I’d be this excited about our flowers!

This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.

I decided at the beginning of our wedding planning to not use fresh flowers. I ultimately decided to go with tissue paper carnations in whites and yellows.

I’ve never been a huge fan of carnations, but in a big bunch they’re gorgeous. I used Folding Tree’s tutorial for tissue paper carnations. So without further ado, here are our bouquets:

There are three for my ladies that are yellow and white and then my bouquet is white with yellow edges.

These are for my ladies

This one’s for me!

The best part is that these 4 bouquets only cost about $20 to make. It would have been hundreds if they were fresh. I also plan on making boutonnieres for the men and corsages for the moms using the same type of flowers.

Have you considered using alternatives for fresh flowers?

This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.

I don’t like flower girl baskets. All of the ones I see are satin-y and white and frilly… and not me at all.

Like this:

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I mean, it’s beautiful… but it’s so fancy! It does not at ALL fit in with the theme of our wedding – fun, cheerful, and slightly whimsical. So, to be honest, I figured that the FG basket was something I’d just forget about until a week before the wedding and then I’d just cave and buy a fancy one.

I tried to think of an alternative, but I really wanted our flower girl to be able to throw petals, and I just couldn’t think of a cute option to hold the flower petals that would actually fit in with the rest of our wedding! There’s no such thing as a cute, non-fancy flower girl basket, right?

WRONG! A few days after Easter, Mr. C and I were in Hobby Lobby, and when we walked through the door I saw a huge display of Easter stuff, on sale for 50% off. We decided to walk through the aisles and see if we saw anything fun, and then, I saw this:

It’s cheery! And yellow! And fun! And only FOUR DOLLARS! I hadn’t really thought I would find a cute Easter basket that would work, because most of them are pretty large with ridiculously long handles, to fit all of the Easter loot. But not this one! It’s the perfect FG basket size, with a proportionately sized handle to boot!

I’m so glad we decided to check, and I’m ecstatic that I actually found a flower girl basket that I like!

Did you have any wedding items that you didn’t think you’d be excited about, only to fall in love with something?

This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.

So, you want to know how to save a bundle on flowers?

Did you perhaps receive a florists’ quote exceeding $4,000, for what you thought was a rather skimpy amount of blooms?

Of course, not to knock the florists’ talents! It’s well worth the money to avoid the hassle of planning and arranging for your own floral needs at your own wedding! As professionals, florists deserve to mark up their product, just like any other vendor would.

That said, I am an avid gardener and passionate arranger of flowers and so I will be doing it myself all for under $300.

Anyway. If you’re going the DIY route, first off, establish a budget. This, we saved until the week before the wedding, like big stupid heads.

We were going to try to source everything from our own garden, but it was a tough winter on our flowers.

So, all the Paisley money has run out, being that it is a week before the wedding. Fortunately, a generous, last-minute gift from Mama and Papa Paisley of $300 was enough to play with, considering we have our own garden full of filler blooms.

That money brings us, courtesy of Sequoia Wholesalers:

• 15 stems Dahlias (light pink)
• 20 stems Billy Buttons
• 40 stems Veronica (white)
• 100 stems scabiosa (white)

And, from Fiftyflowers.com:

• 56 stems peach Juliet peony roses

For some reason, the thought of putting together my own bouquets and 22 centerpieces scared Mama Paisley. For some reason. I honestly don’t know what!

She ordered me outside to prove my flower-arranging worth, and, not to brag, but less than 10 minutes later I came back with a nicely shaped, full, pink-and-white bridal bouquet that I would have been happy to carry on the actual big day. Except Mama Paisley said it stank (the smell, not the looks) and put it outside. But, Mama Paisley looked relieved, and I was happy to assuage her fears and show off in front of her and MOH Paisley.

Arranging flowers is what I most look forward to doing the day before our wedding.

For “filler” flowers, I have this, my mom’s garden, to work with:

A nice, big, Mock Orange:

Some Feverfew:

Lamb’s ears:

Pink Veronica:

And much, much more:

With these as fillers and my Veronica, Feverfew, Scabiosa and oodles of the showy, white-and-yellow Matilija poppies, (that grow on the roadside in Lake County) my centerpieces will resemble Saipua’s aesthetic: loose, organic, gorgeous!

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A cross between the above, and this:

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For our bouquets, using the peach Juliet roses, they will turn out something like this:

Miss Cowboy Boot’s bouquet! With peach Juliet roses, I believe.

The Billy’s Buttons I might use for the boutonnieres, or perhaps the centerpieces.

Stay tuned to see how it all turns out!

Are you taking on a HUGE do-it-yourself project that everybody and their brother just shakes their heads at when you tell them about it? But you just don’t care what they say because you luuuuurve doing said project? Maybe it’s baking your own cake? Baking batches of macaroons for your dessert table? Sewing your bridesmaids’ gowns? Letterpress printing your own invites? Do share!

This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.

I have a certain fear.

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All of the flowers at the ceremony and reception are going to be roses and peonies. So while for the most part that means a ton of fluffy goodness, it can also be concerning. For evidence, see above.

My beef with rose bouts is this: they remind me of high school dances, where every single date of mine had the same tight rosebud bout. I also don’t love how far it sits away from the lapel. I’d like to avoid this.

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Those aren’t roses, they’re dahlias, but they sure are awesome. Note how the flowers lay flat across the lapel and while they’re large, they’re a quirky large, not “I’m a giant bud” large.

Another convincing argument:

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So I think at this point, a rose is not the ideal flower bout for us. But peonies are a little delicate and I assume they would not hold up as a bout either. Do you have any last minute suggestions for a flower available in June that’d be flat and big and lovely?

This article was originally posted onWeddingbee.