Christmas wedding

Dec 31, 2009 // by Shannon // Blog // 2 Comments

Stacy and Mark’s wedding took place on December 28th with the reception at the Capitol View Room, Hyatt Sacramento, Ca.

What I loved: They named their tables after the 12 Days of Christmas. With the table numbers being the cutest plates featuring a painting of each day. Plus- candles, candles everywhere!

Real wedding Wednesday- Candace and Zac

Dec 30, 2009 // by Shannon // Blog // 2 Comments

I just received these photos from Jaclyn Photography of Candace and Zac’s wedding. The wedding and reception took place in the Barrel Room at Wine and Roses in Lodi, Ca. Candace and Zac were a total joy to work with!

Photo shoot flowers

Dec 29, 2009 // by Shannon // Blog // 2 Comments

Chris with Shepard Photography asked me to make him a bouquet for an urban bridal shoot he was doing. I happily made him this bouquet of phalaenopsis orchids, Black Star callas, fuchsia carnations and black tinted tree fern. Very fun!

Trendsetting wedding flowers- Martha Stewart

Dec 28, 2009 // by Shannon // Blog // 1 Comment

There can be no doubt to the major influence Martha Stewart’s empire has over the wedding trends.

In the world of wedding flowers I can name so many trends that started in the pages of Stewart’s “Weddings” magazine. Hand tied bouquets, detailed ribbon treatments, the use of garden flowers, the use of herbs, fruits and vegetable in decor, mono-variety bouquets (use of a single

flower en-masse) and vintage inspired decor are all trends began or gained popularity in a photo spread of the iconic magazine.

For me, the bouquet of the cover of the first issue of “Weddings” will always be most important of all the thousands of images that have been published in the magazine over the years. When brides first starting coming to me with this image I was amazed. The bouquet was lovely to be sure but, for several reasons, not practical for the rigors of the wedding day. The bouquet would be heavy, take forever to create and Ex-pen-sive.

A few fun facts about the featured bouquet:

*The bouquet was made with over 150 roses

*Each rose was individually wired to achieve the heart shape of the bouquet.

*This bouquet weighed approximately 20 pounds.

* The bouquet would take approximately 4 hours to create.

*The retail cost of this bouquet would be about $700.

And so began my love hate relationship with Martha Stewart’s “Weddings”. I love that the magazine encourages brides and grooms to personalize and pay attention to the details of their weddings. I hate that the ideas and decor featured are often not practical. But then, I love that the

magazine inspires couples to include unique elements in their day.

Nearly every wedding professional has a mixed reaction to Martha Stewart’s “Weddings”. But those same professionals will agree the magazine has revolutionized the way modern weddings are conducted.

For better or for worse do you, Shannon, promise to keep reading? I do…

Trendsetting wedding flowers- Princess Diana

Dec 26, 2009 // by Shannon // Blog // 1 Comment

I thought it would be interesting to post a series of blogs about wedding flowers that have appeared in the media and set trends or changed the way flowers for events were designed.

Certainly one of the most iconic weddings that have taken place in recent memory was the marriage of Charles to Diana in 1981.

Diana carried an elaborate cascading bridal bouquet. The bouquet was designed to scale with Diana’s wedding gown. The bouquet set the trend of large cascading flowers for the bride. That trend continued through the 80′s and much of the 90′s.

Fun Facts:

Diana’s bouquet consisted of gardenias, orchids, stephanotis, freesia, lily of the valley, roses, ivy, tradescantia, myrtle and veronica

It is a tradition for a sprig of myrtle, from the bush grown from the original myrtle in Queen Victoria’s wedding bouquet, to be included in a royal wedding bridal bouquet.

Three bouquets were made for Princess Diana. One for the practice the night before the wedding, the second was delivered to St. James’ Palace, the third bouquet was taken to Buckingham Palace on the day of the wedding and used for the formal photographs.

After the wedding one of the bouquets was placed on the tomb of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey.

The bouquet was 42 inches long and 15 inches wide and weighed approximately 6.5 lbs.

Merry Christmas!

Dec 25, 2009 // by Shannon // Blog // 1 Comment

Everyone at Flourish wishes you and yours a wonderful Christmas holiday filled with warmth and love.

These pictures are from our annual family photo session with Beth from True Love Photo.

Aren’t the boys getting big?

Fun to toss

Dec 24, 2009 // by Shannon // Blog // No Comments

As a fun alternative to the traditional white woven basket filled with loose rose petals give your flower girl something new to carry and toss:

Scented Spring: Organza drawstring bag filled with lavender buds and crushed rosemary for her to scatter.

Brightest of Summers: Galvanized metal bucket decorated with colorful trailing ribbon filled with wildflower petals of blue delphinium blossoms, orange zinnia petals, yellow sunflower petals and purple hydrangea florets for her to herald the bride.

Fall Fun: Gathering basket decorated with moss and acorns and filled with colorful maple and oak leaves for her to sprinkle down the path.

Winsome Winter: Crushed velvet cone filled with small, white tissue paper snowflakes to lazily drift down the aisle.

Image by Andrea’s Images

Real wedding Wednesday!

Dec 23, 2009 // by Shannon // Blog // No Comments

These lovely images are from a wedding we did this past summer. Thanks to the talented photographer, Allison Stahl for sending us the eye candy!

The most disappointing bridal bouquet, ever

Dec 22, 2009 // by Shannon // Blog // 2 Comments

I was never a religious watcher of the HBO show “Sex and the City”. But I did pop in every once in while to see what Carrie and her gals were up to and wearing. I really enjoyed the fashions on the show. Sometimes it was with a loud “Oh no she didn’t!”.

When I saw the movie I was so

excited to see what Carrie’s bridal bouquet would look like. Boy, was I so disappointed! Her dress was incredible, her veil was incredible (bird on her head is still out to the judges) her bouquet was NOT! A bridal bouquet should compliment and elevate the bridal ensemble. Much like a beautiful piece of jewelry.

Carrie’s bouquet was sloppy, amateurish, half dead (note the petals on the ground) and ho-hum. The only thing good about her bouquet was it exploded quite nicely when Carrie used it to beat up Mr. Big.

What bouquet would I have designed? Maybe something like this (on the right):

Image by: Justine Belson

In Order of Importance

Dec 21, 2009 // by Shannon // Blog // No Comments

Choosing where to spend your floral budget can be a difficult decision. You want your dollars to go to good use and have the most impact.

Personal flowers: Anything anyones holds, carries or wears. These flowers will the most photographed and remembered on your wedding day. Spend the money to get exactly the look and design you want for your wedding. This category should be the one place you do not skimp.

Centerpieces: Your guests will spend most of their time at their tables. Choose your centerpieces to have the most impact. Be creative, have a sense of humor and have fun with your centerpieces. Give your guests something to talk about.

Cake flowers: The cake is the center of the reception. The first thing your guests will do after finding their table is go take a look at the cake. If you are opposed to fresh flowers on the cake (I know, sometimes people are) flowers around the base of the cake is a lovely alternative.

Ceremony flowers: The focus of the ceremony should be the marriage. Of course it is wonderful to have an abundance of flowers but if your budget does not allow for flowers everywhere you look, focus on the ceremony area. I design all the ceremony flowers to be re-used in some fashion at the reception for added decor.

Guest book table: It is nice to welcome your guests with an arrangement at the guest book table.

Head table: Most of my couples opt to use the bridal party bouquets as the head table decor. To add something extra to the re-purposed bouquets try pillar candles in large hurricane glass.

Place card table, food tables, and other areas: It is nice to have a beautiful floral arrangement in these areas but going simple or foregoing flowers in these spots altogether works as well too.

Images by: Rachelle Photography