~ Shades of Pink Wedding ~ Hydrangea, Roses, Peonies & Lilies

Pink, Pink, & more Pink....that was the color palette for last Saturday's wedding. The Bride chose a cotton candy pink for the bridesmaid's dresses & wanted all shades of pink flowers to accent them. Shades of pink roses & to have the bouquets appear to be sort of a cascade & still have bare stems were her only requests. The rest she left up to us. We chose to use Ballet, Malibu, & Hot Princess roses with pink peonies, Sorbonne lilies, pink hydrangea & festival bush. The bouquets were accent with dusty miller & sea star fern. The stems were wrapped in pink double face satin ribbon & pinned up the back with a hot pink pearl head pin.

Here is what we designed for her:




Here are the hydrangea, which started out white & were tinted with 2 shades of pink flower tint. The roses have all been stripped of foliage & thorns. In the clear box are the stephanotis that were used in the Bridal bouquet, groom's boutonniere & a few of the corsages.



This is one of the bridesmaids bouquets completed, along with the shades of pink ribbon we used throughout the wedding designs.



Our Bride in her hotel room....we had just delivered the flowers & the photographer had set her up for this shot. I don't care for the way she was holding the bouquet, but the photographer didn't want her to touch the bouquet to her dress to avoid water spotting. Her bridal gown had a pink satin ribbon that laced up the back of the dress that continued to carry out the whole pink theme.



Her you can see a close up of the Bridal bouquet, we used the stephanotis in her bouquet but not the bridesmaid's bouquets. A cream pearl head pin was inserted into the center of the stephanotis for an added touch.



This is a close up where you can see the Bride's Rosary in the bouquet. The Bride's parents had this made for her by Monks especially for her wedding day. It is made of sterling silver beads & pearls. It also has sterling silver block beads with the Bride & Groom's names & the date of the wedding. Very special & pretty. Sometimes the Rosary is wrapped around the stem of the bouquet with the cross hanging over the Bride's hand when she carries it, but this Bride wanted her bouquet to appear to be sort of cascading as to not see the stems. So I decided that the best way to incorporate it, was to place it on top of the bouquet where you would be able to see it. When she walked the cross moved along the bottom of the bouquet & was so pretty.



All 4 Bridesmaid's bouquets using the same flowers, but all put together a bit differently so they were not matchy. Sorbonne Lilies, 3 shades of pink roses, peony, hydrangea accented with festival bush, dusty miller & sea star fern.



Close up shot of the Bridesmaid's bouquets.



Mother's corsages were designed using pink mini calla lilies & pink spray roses.



Groom's boutonniere: Malibu rose, festival bush, & stephanotis. The stem was wrapped with pink satin ribbon & criss crossed with a thin satin hot pink ribbon & pinned with hot pink pearl head pins.



Father's boutonnieres: Mini pink calla lily & festival bush. The stems were wrapped in pink satin ribbon & pinned with hot pink pearl head pins.



All other men's boutonnieres: Ballet roses & festival bush with the stems wrapped in pink satin ribbon & pinned with hot pink pearl head pins.



Jr. Bridesmaid's Pomander: Pink hydrangea, roses, & white stephanotis accented with shades & various sizes of pink satin ribbon. Hydrangea blooms were tied into the thin satin ribbon for a fun effect. This was all out of silk flowers, so she could keep it as a keepsake after the ceremony.



A memorial bouquet of silk flowers was used to honor the grandparents who were deceased. Each white candle represented one grandparent & were lit after the unity candle part of the ceremony. This bouquet was also made of silk flowers, so they would have it as a keepsake after the ceremony.



Here are the 20 potted plants that were placed under the edge of every 3rd pew along the aisle & were then used on some of the tables at the reception. I believe they were to be gifts for grandparents, aunts & uncles, & those who had helped with the ceremony in other ways.

We were not able to set these up as the Catholic Church had booked a wedding in at 3, Mass at 5 & this wedding at 7:30. We had to leave them for them in a room to be set up after Mass was over.

The Bride & Groom's family did all the reception decor & I am not sure what they decided to do.

At first I was not sure about all this pink, but I think it all turned out nicely since we were able to mix the shapes of flowers & the shades of pink.

What do you think? I would love to hear your thoughts, please leave me a comment!

~ Shades of Green & Blue Succulent & Orchid Wedding ~

Today I am posting the wedding we had Saturday, June 20th. This has been one of the most unique weddings I've designed for as far as the flowers go. The Bride had the idea that she wanted to use succulents in her wedding in the bouquets, so that the Bridal party could then use them afterward as a keepsake & plant them at their homes.

Sounds simple, right?..........not so much!! Finding the correct shade, (bluish, greenish gray) of succulent was not easy. I couldn't find them at any of the local nurseries, so I started searching on the internet. Most of the places I found that carried them were in the UK & the Netherlands. Finally after a couple of tries, I found a nursery in WV that had just what I was looking for. After having fits with my Paypal account (which was the ONLY means of payment) the nursery accepted, I got them ordered & had to have them overnighted to me. Again easy right?....NO...this nursery is in the middle of an extremely rural area & their local post office doesn't do overnight shipping. So they had to drive them over 40 miles to the nearest UPS shipping location to get them shipped. WHEEW!
A lot of stress & some big shipping fees later, I had my succulents at my door step on Tuesday morning. I am a fly by the seat of my pants kinda of gal, but this sort of stress is not how I like to work. On top of the succulent dilemma, I was having all sorts of issues with my green orchids. Some came in bad, some were the wrong color, & some we couldn't even get at all!

But all in all I am extremely pleased with how it all turned out. I guess I will know for sure once I have feedback from the Bride. You see that is another unusual twist to this wedding, I didn't deliver it! They decided to save a bit money, they would pick up the wedding flowers. And by they, I mean, the Father of the Bride! He told me that there was such a high stress level in the house that morning, that he actually volunteered to pick up the flowers!

So all of the details & explanations of how to pin on boutonnieres & how the bouquets were to be held, & how the magnetic corsages worked were explained to him as he nodded & seemed to soak it all in. He assured me that he would relay all the details & it would be fine. This was rather hard for me as I am very detailed oriented & sort of an obsessive control freak when it comes to how bouquets are held & body flowers are worn! I finally had to shut up & just let him leave the flower shop & ............Breathe!

Note: All the Bridesmaids & the flower girl's dresses were black.

Below you will find the photos of my Succulent & orchid wedding:



All the flowers have to be stripped of leaves, thorns & damaged petals before the Magic begins. I like to get all flowers prepped & separated with the proper amount it will take for each bouquet before I start to assemble them. That way when I start the design process, I can just put them together without having to stop & clean flowers.



Another counter with more of the flowers for the Bridesmaid's bouquets. Here you can also see one of the Bridesmaids bouquets that has been assembled. I leave it out on the counter so i can check back at the count of each flower.
Also you can see the fuel for this process....ahh STARBUCKS!! Thanks Val!!



Boutonnieres for all the guys were designed using: green hypericum berries, blue thistle, variegated pittosporum & the centerpiece was a small succulent. The finishing detail was the double face satin lime ribbon wrapped stem, that was held in place with 2 green pearl head pins.



The Groom's boutonniere: It was the same as the other guys, except I added a mini cymbidium orchid & some loops of lily grass.



The corsages for all Mothers, Grandmothers & other ladies were designed using: Green cymbidium orchid, blue hydrangea (silk) & tiny succulents.



The Flower Girl carried a pomander (kissing ball) of green mini cymbidium orchids & blue hydrangea, accented with pool blue & lime double face satin ribbon. This turned out so cute & most who saw it didn't even know it was silk! That is why you MUST use quality silk flowers!!



The Bride's bouquet was designed in a handtied style with 2 shades of green cymbidium orchids, blue hydrangea, green mini hydrangea, 2 shades of green roses, blue thistle, green hanging amaranthus, & succulents. It was accented with lily grass & variegated pittosporum.



These are the Bridesmaids bouquets designed similar to the bride's only smaller with each one being a bit different in the placement of the flowers.



This is the bouquet that was used to toss. It was designed with 3 large succulents, green hanging amaranthus, blue thistle & variegated pittosporum.

All church, reception & cake decorations were done by the Bride & her family. I'm not sure what the did, except that they ordered a spray of green cymbidium orchids that they were using on the cake.

~ Random Flower Offerings ~ & In My Kitchen Window

Just a few random offerings of what has been going out of the flower shop lately & what is in my kitchen window. By the end of the weekend I will be posting the wedding designs we are doing for this Saturday's wedding. Very unique!!



This is what is in my kitchen window right now...
I cut a few of my Lilies off the stem & left the buds outside to open.



Prototype for the Bat Mitzvah celebration coming up in July! She loved the bright colors!



Green & white was the theme for the baby shower we designed for on Wednesday. I was so happy to see that they chose to stay away from the traditional blue, pink & yellow. This arrangement has lilies, belles of Ireland, snapdragons, bluplerum, Queen Anne's lace, horse tail, curly willow & green hypericum berries in a clear cylinder vase with river rock in the bottom.



One of our complimentary arrangements for the new bakery downtown Lafayette, Yellow Bowl Bakery. In exchange we get to leave business cards with the bouquet & she sends us back to the flower shop with a box filled with all sorts of delectable treats!
This arrangement was designed using white lilies, lily grass, & horse tail in a unique shape vase with river rock.

~June is National Rose Month ~ In My Kitchen Window

Here is a peek at what is in my kitchen window, being sent out of my flower shop, & what is growing in my rose beds. June is National Rose month....Let's celebrate!!



This is what is in my kitchen window: hot pink peonies & Magic Moka Roses.



Beautiful massed bouquet of Sahara (blush) Roses



Close up of an orange spray rose. I am not sure which variety this one is. A spray rose is like a sweetheart rose in size, but there will be multiple blooms on a stem, where a sweetheart is one stem, one bloom. As far as a rose is concerned, spray roses are great value for the money, due to the multiple blooms on a stem.



One of my David Austen heirloom roses in my rose bed. This has the most wonderful fragrance. This is what a rose should smell like & I love the cabbage rose shape.



This is a twist on a dozen roses. This topiary was designed using Circus (orange with red tips) roses. For an extra bit of interest & flair, there are spirals of art wire & an angel charm dangles from one on the top. I much prefer this style of a dozen roses to the traditional in a vase with greenery & baby breath.


Quick tip about fresh cut roses.

Most people believe that a vase of roses must be this elaborate arrangement of long stemmed roses with lots of greenery & Baby's Breath. I say not so. I love to arrange roses in a smaller container with the stems cut shorter, little greenery & accent flowers. Don't be afraid to ask your florist to design your next bouquet of roses in this manner. Ask for a "Massed Arrangement" or "Massed Style" bouquet of roses.
Examples of this style are pictured above.

Reasons for this style of design are:

1. Shorter stems allow for less travel distance for the water to go from the bottom of the stem to the head of the flower. Thus filling the stem tightly with water & supporting the head of the flower better. Which will extend the life of your roses.

2. Mass style designs of roses enhance the beauty of the rose by showing the blooms of the flowers instead of a lot of greenery & flower stems.

3. Easier to transport for the one giving the rose arrangement & easier placement of the arrangement for the recipient since it doesn't take up as much room as the larger arrangements do.

How to extend the life of your fresh roses:

1. Re cut the stems on an angle so that when they are placed in a vase of water, they will have a surface for the water to be able to absorb up the stem.

2. Change the water frequently & remove all foliage that will be below the water level to avoid bacteria growth.

3. When you change your water add floral preservative to the water. It helps extend the life of the roses & helps keep your water clear. (your florist should give this to you when you purchase your roses)

Note: The above tips also may be applied to the roses that you are growing in your flower gardens. Cut them & bring them in to enjoy in your home.


Some Fun Rose Trivia

* People have been passionate about roses since the beginning of time. In fact, it is said that the floors of Cleopatra's palace were carpeted with delicate rose petals, and that the wise and knowing Confucius had a 600 book library specifically on how to care for roses.

* Wherefore art thou rose? In the readings of Shakespeare, of course. He refers to roses more than 50 times throughout his writings.

* 1,000 years old. That's the age the world's oldest living rose is thought to be on the wall of the Hildesheim Cathedral of Germany.

* Why white roses are so special is no mystery - it's a myth. Perhaps it started with the Romans who believed white roses grew where the tears of Venus fell as she mourned the loss of her beloved Adonis. Myth also has it that Venus' son Cupid accidentally shot arrows into the rose garden when a bee stung him, and it was the "sting" of the arrows that caused the roses to grow thorns. And when Venus walked through the garden and pricked her foot on a thorn, it was the droplets of her blood which turned the roses red.

* The rose is New York's state flower.

* A rose by any other name... according to Greek Mythology, it was Aphrodite who gave the rose its name.

* While the rose may bear no fruit, the rose hips (the part left on the plant after a rose is done blooming) contain more Vitamin C than almost any other fruit or vegetable.

* The rose is the official National Floral Emblem of the United States.

* Leave it to the romantic French to be the ones to first deliver roses. It was in the seventeenth century that French explorer Samuel deChamplain brought the first cultivated roses to North America.

* Recently, archaeologists discovered the fossilized remains of wild roses over 40 million years old.

* The people of ancient Greece used roses on festive occasions. They would adorn themselves with garlands of roses, and splash themselves with rose-scented oil.

* Napoleon's wife Josephine so adored roses, she grew more than 250 varieties.

* For the past 30 years and counting, June has been the National Rose Month in the United States.

Most of all ENJOY your roses!

~Summer Arbor Wedding~

Today we serviced a beautiful outdoor wedding that took place under a vintage rustic iron arbor at The Elks Country Club in West Lafayette, IN. If you would like to see an entire gallery of the flowers for this wedding you may do so at my new White Iris Designs Gallery Blog

It is still a work in progress & I hope you will bear with me as I get all of the past wedding photos uploaded & detailed. There is much to be done & I am in the middle of wedding season, so I will work on the gallery as time permits.
When it is finished it should be a great marketing source for prospective brides & other clients. They will be able to view floral work that we have done ourselves instead of us showing them a generic book of design photos. I think my clients appreciate & feel more comfortable choosing us to do their floral designs, when they can actually see what we do.

In the gallery blog, you will eventually find a gallery of many of our designs in many different categories such as Bridal, Sympathy, Everyday, Celebration etc. Soon you will find a gallery of our jewelry designs too, laid out in categories as well.

I felt it was necessary to create this "Gallery Blog" to make it easier for my clients to view what it is they are looking for without having to sift through all of my random blogs on here.
This blog will continue to be a source of what is happening at White Iris Designs as well as some random personal events.

I hope you will continue to follow the ramblings of this Flower Lady & pop over to the Gallery Blog to see what we are creating.

Have a great weekend!

~Wedding Centerpiece~ Shades of Coral, Peach, & Apricot ~

Thought I would share with you from start to finish the steps it takes to complete one of the centerpieces for my wedding this Saturday. The Bride's color palette is Sage Green for the Bridesmaids dresses with a Champagne sash. The accent colors are shades of apricot, coral, & peach. All the men are wearing brown tuxes.

Let's begin!



This photo shows some of the buckets of flowers we are using for this wedding. They are apricot lilies, coral roses, blushy peach roses, peach & coral gerbera daisies, peach hypericum berries, coral alstromeria, peach stock. We are using Cleopatra leather, lily grass, springeri, bluplerum & variegated pittosproum. I didn't include a shot of the greenery for this post.



Here are the containers we are using. My Bride was more interested in putting the money in the flowers than she was a container. So we are using a left over Teleflora Holiday special green plastic bowl. When I use inexpensive containers such as this, I cover them with poly florist foil so they are a bit more attractive. In this case I am using a sage green poly foil. This centerpiece will also require 1/2 a block of instant Oasis, which is a water soaked florist foam.



Here is the container wrapped in foil with the Oasis inserted & taped in. Water is then added & I proceed to add greenery over the floral foam.



This is what the centerpiece looks like after I've added the Cleopatra leather, springeri, & bluplerum. I have not added the variegated pittosproum yet because I will not get it into the shop till tomorrow morning, but I didn't want to wait. The lily grass is the last thing I add to the centerpiece.



This is how the centerpiece looks after the flowers were added & the loops of lily grass. Tomorrow I will add the variegated pittosporum to add a bit more interest. Variegated pittosporum is nice spring green with cream variation.

The flowers used in this particular centerpiece are: Lilies, stock, alstromeria, gerbera daisies & hypericum berries. Each centerpiece will have some of the same elements in them but each one will be a bit different. I think it is far more visually interesting if all the centerpieces look as though they are all coordinating, but not matching.

There are 8 of these centerpieces for the reception. The wedding is outdoors & the reception is inside the club house at the Elks. For the ceremony we are using a cream iron vintage looking wreath stand at the ends of every other or every 3rd aisle. The wreath stand will hold a floral piece resembling the centerpieces, that will then be removed from the wreath stand & then used on the remaining tables at the reception as centerpieces. That way she is paying once & using them twice. A very economical way to get the beauty of flowers for an outdoor wedding & to also be able to have centerpieces on every table at the reception.

I will blog the entire wedding over the weekend, so check back to see the completed designs. There will be an iron arch with flowers on it, cake flowers, the centerpieces in the reception area, Bridal bouquet, bridal party bouquets & all corsages & boutonnieres.