Orchids, Callas, Berries, and Grass

Melanie emailed me from New Jersey with a half-inch jpeg of a bouquet and asked if it was something I could recreate for her Salt Lake City wedding. With the help of a zoom, magnifying glass, and some insightful guessing, I was happy to recreate this beautiful assymetrical bouquet using phalenopsis and dendrobium orchids, 3-foot calla lilies as well as mini calls, hypericum berries, and bear grass. I was also able to create some boutonnieres and bouquets of the mini callas for the bridesmaids and gromsmen with an orchid boutonniere for the groom. Using the nearly 4-foot callas in the centerpieces added a great connection through the event with orchids and bear grass on the cake. It was such a beautiful wedding, a beautiful party, and such beautiful flowers to work with! This "Orchid Wedding" is a consistent favorite with all my clients and is definitely worth a mention in my review of my best and favorite work. Thanks again, Melanie for all of the fun!

Thanks for all the fun!

We had such a great time at the Grand America Bridal Extravaganza last week! We know it was tough to try and pull yourselves out of the house on a cold Saturday morning...much less so when that morning was the day after the new year...but it was great to get to meet so many of you and talk flowers and photography, so thanks for taking the time!

It's difficult to go wrong in such a gorgeous venue, and we loved filling our booth with the photos and flower accents that we hoped set us apart from our neighbors.


One of my favorite things when it comes to trade shows is to play with the flowers that strike my fancy. For a show like this, I have no customer with specific requests...it's just me. Things were made a little bit difficult because of the holiday. My wholesalers were closed for the weekend starting on Thursday, so I had to be very careful which flowers I chose...I needed flowers that would be hearty and would last the weekend, and I wanted some colors and styles that would appeal to brides with various tastes.

My first choice was Stargazer Lilies. Not only do they take about four days to bloom (I still have a lovely arrangement on my coffee table that is continuing to bloom), but they are strong and striking! I added some soft pink roses and some draping seeded eucalyptus accents to make a fairly formal bridal bouquet. To add to the fun, I used a floral shaped gold bouquet holder and sparkling brown bling to bring out a new look to the classic pink and brown that we all love.


Next, I decided on something to the far end of the spectrum from formal...baby's breath! Gypsophila is a sweet, fun, and simple flower that most people remember from their parent's wedding photos from the 70's or 80's. Baby's breath got a bad rap after being over-used and abused in the floral industry during those decades, but I wanted to show that any flower can look different when you have some imagination! Instead of using it as an accent or a filler the way that makes everyone I know roll their eyes, I chose to make it the main flower in a solo-flower bouquet. All Gypso...all the time! By trimming some of the branches to keep the flowers into a textured pom, I had so much fun taking this cute little flower to a new level. The shape took on a tree-like quality to me, so I chose some green and brown ribbons to wrap the stems in my pinned ballet technique for the ground effect, and then added some blue butterflies in the "sky". It's just such a happy spring bouquet that I still smile every time I look at it.


To bring in more color and some styles to the middle of the road between formal and casual, I chose some vibrant orange calla lilies, spray roses, and alstromeria (princess lilies). A classic shape of bouquet was offset by using a little bit of bear grass springing out as well as caging the blooms. I was particularly proud of the stem wrap on this one, simply for the fact that there is only ONE PIN in the entire thing. The stems were wrapped in two large aspadistra leaves and then were wrapped in more bear grass to hold it all in place. Lots of wrapping, overlapping, and twisting, ending in a single pin at the top, and you have a great looking, clean-green grouping of stems!


My final bouquet was a cross between the classic and the sweet. Another single bloom bouquet in white, but this time made up entirely of stephanotis blooms. My silver bouquet holder looked great, but I knew there would be a bit of space showing between the blossoms, so I wrapped the head of floral foam in an extra aspadistra leaf and pinned it in place. Each stephanotis bloom was also pinned in place with sterling pins right through the center, creating a great effect of metal in the petal. I had brought some sleek silk grey and black ribbons, but a single bow just didn't seem like enough...so I kept going! I added loop after loop of the layered ribbons to back the stephanotis flowers and pinned the loops in place with more of the sterling pins. The final bouquet turned out better than I'd hoped. One more reason why a little bit of imagination and simplicity can be totally new and different! Also another reason why following a feeling with flowers is what turns fun into fashion!


Thanks so much again to all of you that stopped to chat or if you even just picked up a card to view at home...I had a great day and hope that you did too! I'm already starting to consider my options for the next show. Hmm...blue and purple next time? Daisies and hydrangea? I'll ponder!

Come see us at the Grand!

We're excited to be joining the great team at the Grand America for the upcoming bridal show! Come see us on Saturday, January 2nd, and feel free to sit on the couch, go through our new portfolios, and enjoy the photos and flowers that we are excited to present!

We hope to see you there!!!

Flowers Uncut

Yes, I had it programmed into my tivo before the premiere. Most of you know that at any given time, if you were to walk in on us watching tv, it would be about a 50/50 chance that you'd see wedding dresses, flowers, or wedding cakes on the screen. We really do live weddings in our house! My new favorite thing, thanks to the TLC station, is Jeff Leatham and his team. They create the most amazing flower designs for events in New York City. He's worked all over the world, and I now have a huge case of flower envy for the events at Versaille as well as the MoMA...who gets to do flowers for an event sitting at tables surrounded by original Monets?! After the first episode, I wanted to work for him. After the third, I realized that he needed to come up with a couple of new ideas because some of the arrangements are the same from event to event...but it made me smile to see that he re-uses vases. I do that too! It also made me nod knowingly to hear him drop costs on some of the episodes...yes...for something that beautiful, you're talking $4,500 just in flowers...add in supplies, labor, and his name to the deal, and you can just imagine how high his invoices soar.



I am so much of a flower geek at this point, that it made me giggle to see how many times he used hydrangea (I recommend it all the time as a money saver...and here he is using it as a major design piece in every single event!) as well as that he hired someone else to come in and build bouquets and boutonnieres for him on a wedding. He does events...locations...full rooms of flowers...not personal bouquets. Hmm. Maybe I can call and suggest myself. ;) The final smile is that Jeff is actually from Ogden, Utah! Yes, you heard me! This funny man in cut-off tees and leather pants, with the mouth of a sailor when riled, and who sports a questionable accent because of all the locations he's lived, is a home-town boy made famous! How fun is that?!

Ahh...share the flower love and joy with me, people! Thank you TLC for combining so many of the things that I love most!

Mariana and Carlos

We definitely work with some of the most fun and wonderful people! And, as many wonderful couples as we've worked with, Mariana and Carlos are probably in our top five when it comes to the weddings we've done this summer! Talk about the cream of the crop! Mariana is from Brazil and Carlos is from Spain, so the cultural flare and style that they brought to every meeting we had was like a breath of fresh air!

Not many couples could pull off dancing through their engagement session or kissing at the top of the Capitol. Heavens, so few people could pull off those white shoes! Good thing Carlos is gorgeous, sweet, and a salsa dancer! And Mariana matched him every step of the way!...she's just as sweet, just as gorgeous, and check out those fantastic toe points when they dance! Preow! You go, girl!



Mariana had some amazing flare for her wedding flowers too! It was so much fun to bring in flowers like blue iris and hydrangea. And, despite some reservations from Carlos about a little bit of drama possibly going over the top (he requested a single white rose for his boutonniere), we all compromised and came up with some gorgeous arrangements that brought in ostrich feathers, architectural aspadistra leaves, and ribbon sprays!

Thanks so much to the staff at the Joseph Smith Memorial Building for their awesome support and their go-to attitudes! And thanks to Mariana and Carlos for dancing so colorfully into our lives!

Halloween...Fear the Clawhand Curse!!!

Just a reminder to scale your bouquets to match not only your style, dress, and waist size, but also the size of your hands!

Compare these examples of larger mannish-looking fingers holding oversized bouquets...


...to some examples of some more delicate bouquets that match the sassy sexy brides that hold them!


Avoid the curse of Clawhand and remember to coordinate a bouquet with your florist that enhances your beauty, not your ability to palm your flowers!

John & Maree - fastest decorator in the West!

My latest project included paint, paint, ribbon, earrings, and more paint!

Maree was/is a fantastic bride to work with! We met a few months ago in preparation for her wedding, and we had a blast figuring out ideas to incorporate her wedding colors...black, white, and a soft peacock/teal/turquoise blue. She brought me a picture of the bouquet she wanted that was all black roses and asked if we could make it happen. Of course! She looked nervous when she asked if I’d ever worked with feathers...specifically peacock feathers...and I just laughed and pulled out a bouquet that had blue, green, orange and brown flowers in it with peacock feathers poking out! Whew! She was so relieved to have someone to play with when it came to her wedding! Black, white, and blue, eh? Hmm. So, black roses, that’s decided. Let’s add some feathers, blue ribbon, and some white curly willow! She loved it!...and then we went a step further with her centerpieces.

We had three events over two weeks that her centerpieces were going to have to work through, and she didn’t want to waste a lot of money on fresh floral arrangements that were all going to die and cost more and more for every location. My solution for that whole process was to use curly willow branches in some tall vases and hang some of their most amazing engagement pictures (thanks to Jon!) from the branches.

I mounted about 100 of their photos to black and turquoise paper with contrasting black and turquoise ribbon and came up with a great way to use earrings to hang the pictures from the tree branches…but…being me…I had to go the extra step and paint the branches white to make sure they were one of Maree’s color choices. I had no idea how many cans of spray paint it was going to take for eight bunches of willow, but after getting started, we realized that it was going to take about ten cans. No lie. Jon hit WalMart for me, and we both spent the next hour and a half spray painting branches…breathing in too many fumes and cursing the cold weather.

Still, the final effect was worth it! I found some turquoise vases and black hanging jewels at Tai Pan Trading (one of my all-time favorite places for inexpensive touches), I matched the ribbons and backing paper exactly, and matched the photos to the paper. We also ended up with enough branches to handle 14 vases/centerpieces. For such an incredible statement that lasted through three events with a price tag of less than $400?!...Yes...everything together turned out beautifully!

At all the events, I had such fun watching every pair of eyes go wide as guests walked into the room! They all spent some time talking to the bride and groom, but then most of the people wandered for another half an hour around the tables looking at every arrangement and photo. You know you’ve done a good job when people forget the cheesecake and spend their time looking at your decorations! YAY!

Thanks for making it so different and fun, Maree!

Trina and Jordan

We were so lucky to be connected with this amazing and great couple for one of our first weddings back in 2007! Trina and Jordan made our giveaway a pleasure, and we're excited to now have access to their proposal video thanks to Bride Access (formerly Utah Bride).

Thanks Bride Access!!!

It's been a few months since I filmed a segment with the wonderful Bride Access team for their weekly show on all that weddings are. Ryan and Jon were amazing to put me at ease and even brought a few comments out of my addled brain that made sense. Extra points for that magic! Ryan is an amazing editor and wove in the photos I wanted to use as examples so beautifully...it all makes me feel glad to do what I do, to work with the people I do, and makes me comfortable putting some of my thoughts out there for the world to see. The segment has already aired on tv, but you can still catch it on the Bride Access website or here, thanks to You Tube.



I even experienced a moment of fame when a young bride approached me at a trade show after the segment aired and asked if I was the one that talked about Claw Hand! Ahh. I'm glad my 15 minutes improved the world in some small way.

Enjoy!

The Cycle of Style

With the return of leggings, Ray Bans, and blue eyeshadow, I feel a sense of comfort knowing that the 80's have made another appearance in fashion. (Yes, I once wore peg-legged jeans.) It’s amazing to see the way that trends swing back and forth in so many areas of our lives! Car bodies are looking boxy again. Yes, that All American Rejects song is probably a remake. And even wedding styles have a way of making the old seem new again. Keep an eye on the runways this fall and you’ll notice that shiny-satin jewel-toned bridesmaids are back, asymetrical styles and single-strapped gowns get a nod, and a wave of mermaids have come ashore!

Flowers too have a way of riding that pendulum of style, swinging back and forth from small and simple to draping and elaborate! During my studies in the business, my research pegged a pattern, older than my jeans, and I’ve had a blast, embracing the trends, while hiding a knowing smile about what was coming next!

Care to take a little trip through time with me?

At the turn of the 20th Century wedding bouquets were elaborate and large to match the wide skirts and long veils. Brides often wore flowers on their gowns as well as in their hair on top of carrying a bouquet of traditional blooms.

The pendulum swings, and the flowers in the 1920's became a testiment to the changing times. Flappers were in power with short skirts and short hair, which was so shocking to the generation before. Flowers followed suit! This bride holds a few flowers surrounded by fluffy feathers, and most brides of that time settled for a single orchid in thier hair band or a clutch of violets at thier waist.

Swing that trend back again, and you see that in the 1930's, Hollywood was growing and stars were being born. Weddings became public affairs, and the pomp and circumstance had to match the status of those stars! Here you see a trio of bridesmaids holding simple rose bouquets, but notice too that the fabric netting, which more than doubles the size of the arrangements, is a lacy frilly nod to added expense. Their gowns and hats all match too...not something that was previously done for weddings...and which would have been an expensive touch in that day.

Swing, swing, swing, and soon enough, war broke out. Rationing everything was a way of life in the 40's. Not only were sugar, fuel, and silk stockings a luxury, but wedding gowns and all the accessories that went along with them just weren’t as important. When your love is shipping out, possibly never to be seen again, a simple little corsage is bouquet enough.

Swing forward once again, and now that the war is over and the country is booming again, weddings follow along in the 50's. There is more money for fabric so dresses get longer, wider, and have puffy sleeves. Flowers get longer, wider and puffier too! Notice all the extra arrangements around the room...Excess equalled status, and the bigger the wedding, the more important you had to be.

Ride the swing the other direction, and in the 60's and 70's, watch the younger generation change music, war, and the world! Their idea of weddings changed too. Dresses became plain. Hair was straight and natural. And swinging to the total opposite of the structured, large and elaborate bouquets of the 50's, natural country flowers like daisies got gathered up in a handful and sometimes made it into crowns such as this. Peace, love, simplicity, and flower-power, people!

Swing high! Enter the 80's. Lady Di. Need I say more?

Push your feet back hard on that swing and head into the 90's! The end of the 20th Century changed the look of wedding flowers again by shifting to smaller, simpler flowers. Clean balls of a single color with visible stems and minimal accents were all you saw with smaller bows and short ribbons that kept with the trend of clean and simple.



So, here we are in a new century. Swinging back through time with me, kick your feet to the sky on the last swing and tell me if you can you see what's coming now?

Flower arrangements are adding whimsey and flair. Shapes are anything but clean and round, with draping lines, asymetrical shapes, and bursts of blooms. Add in metal wire and crystal beads and jeweled holders, and there's no end to the looks you can create this season! In this modern world when flowers are flown in from growers around the world, no flower is ever really out of season. With advances in dyes and sprays, no color is unavailable. In direct repsonse to the simple flowers of a few years ago, brides now want a touch of something unique and elaborate, there is no limit to the little things you can have peeking through the leaves of a bouquet...It's not just pearls or beads anymore, ladies...but we see bugs, butterflies, and birds or even tropical fish! Smile at a tiny pinwheel, peacock feathers, and party streamers! Let your imagination run wild, and enjoy the details, design and deliciousness of the new flower style!