The Truth behind Floral Décor: Arches

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I had the privilege of assisting on a truly beautiful wedding this past weekend. You would have loved it: outdoors at a wonderful botanical garden on the grounds of the Cheek mansion. The florals were bright, happy, perfect for a summer day and quite extensive. There in lies the bugaboo.

Saturday in lovely NashVegas was 92 degrees and possessed of all the humidity for which the south is famous. Now the wedding didn’t start until 7:00 and by that time the temperature had improved a bit and the breezes had picked up, but at 3:30 it was a bear.

The arch you see above had to be done completely on site. It began with a ladder, a green garland and 5 buckets of flowers. Two of us spent 2 hours in the afternoon sun climbing and cutting and placing and misting to achieve the results you see. I am not telling you this to complain, I am telling you this so that you are aware of what goes on behind the scenes of your big day. When we stood back and looked at our work we were as in love with it as I hope you are. It was most definitely worth the effort; but wow, was it ever hot!

The floral décor was by Branching Out Event Florists. The wedding was held at Cheekwood. If you would like to see larger images of the images above, visit my Flickr Photostream.

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Flower Friday: The Carnation

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Some times the simplest things can have the biggest impact. Take for instance the humble carnation. We have all seen the old fashion, boring flower arrangement with a few carnations and a bunch of green filler or even worse the single green carnation in the bud vase tied with paper ribbon. I think we can all agree on Yuck! That is where these easy to use, sturdy and inexpensive flowers got their bad rep.

Look at what happens when you use them in mass! Think pave in a single color on an interesting shaped floral foam base. That humble little flower becomes transformed into something very modern and sculptural.

Lightly scented and wildly ruffled; they add a fresh alternative to the over used rose. So when your floral designer mentions the word carnation, do not run for the hills, hear them out. You might just be surprised.

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Rose Petal Monogram

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If you follow the Dish then you know I have had my share of stories about rose petals; good, bad and hysterically funny. Whether it’s keeping my head down while the planner and the church lady argued over their very existence or traipsing through the pouring rain and lightning to collect them off the grass, they seem to be ever present. For some reason when I stage with my friend Vicki I always end up on rose petal detail.

The newest trend I have seen emerging is the rose petal monogram. We always place it at the end of the aisle right in front of where the couple stands to take their vows. With so many couples incorporating a monogram in their décor this is the perfect way to carry the theme into the ceremony site. Make sure it is allowed by your church, temple or synagogue first; see aforementioned church lady; then just go for it. Provide your floral décor team with a copy of your monogram and you should be good to go.

If you are going to DIY this, lay out your monogram in sidewalk chalk (concrete or stone), ribbon (carpet) or corsage pins (grass) first then just start adding petals until your design suits you.

The above monogram was done by Branching Out Event Florists at Gaylord Opryland Hotel.

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Oooooo! Flower School

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I want to go back to school. Well at least this school.

While traipsing around looking for something interesting to bring you for Flower Friday I ran across La Belle Ecole. Located in Paris, the school offers a variety of disciplines from cooking to painting but it was the floral design that caught my eye.

Offerings are set up as either 5 day intensive workshops or individual 2-3 hour classes. The workshops, called the Floral Art Week of The French include a field trip to the famed Rungis, the largest open air market in the world.. ~sigh~

I especially covet this one The Parisian Florist: Florist and Decorator, on June 30th. It covers Bouquets, window design and wedding flowers.

Enjoy the pretty slide show on both links. If you suddenly start dreaming in French, don’t blame me.

Vicki, if you are reading this, I can pack really quickly and my passport is in order.

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Centerpieces for a Casual Wedding

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Last weekend was busy, busy. I wanted to share with you some shots from Friday night’s rehearsal dinner.

The goal was to have a casual country feel to the event. It was held in a beautiful location, the carriage house at Belle Meade Plantation. I know you wouldn’t think that using burlap for the table clothes would work for anything but in this setting it was spot on. Combined with the black chairs and black napkins it looked easy yet elegant. What do you think?

Vicki at Branching Out, along with the mother of the groom gathered a massive assortment of blue glass bottles and rustic lanterns. The vases were filled with simple individual stems to evoke a very ‘wildflower’ look and the lanterns withstood the strong breezes to add a bit of candle light. It was just perfect.

I particularly liked the use of mason jars for water glasses. I completed the look to give everyone a casual vibe to enjoy the late spring evening before the more formal events of the next day.

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Winter Candle Centerpieces

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I had a great time this weekend with the fab girls over at Branching Out Event Florists.

Vicki and here design team did it again; another gorgeous look that was anything but mainstream.

There was a lot of thinking outside the box on this wedding, not just in terms of the décor. It was held at Schermerhorn Symphony Center. The ceremony was held in the lower lobby and the

dinner in the balcony level lobby. We then flipped the ceremony site and turned it into the setting for a rocking dessert/after party. The lucky guests had 3 different settings and looks but never had to brave the cold night air. What’s more, because it was on a Sunday they had the entire place to themselves. Think outside the box when you consider locations.

Beautiful bride, beautiful location and beautiful décor. What more could you ask for?

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Finding Inspiration III

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I thought that I would leave you with some inspiration for the long holiday weekend. The images above are all from my favorite floral designer, Vicki Sanders. She and her team at Branching Out are quickly becoming the most innovative and sought after event designers/florist in the South. Yes that is her on the bottom row.

A while back I clued you in on a wonderful rental company that I always seek out when I am in need of inspiration, Fabu. I also gave Sarah a whack of the pencil for not having a great website so I didn’t have to fight the traffic to get to her shop. Well great news, Sarah’s website now has an extensive catalog of fabulous thing that you can peruse to your hearts content. Not only that, but she has opened a new show room for the event rental side of her business to make viewing easier. Incidentally, if you like Sarah’s taste as much as I do you should check out her gift shop. With the holidays just around the corner I know I’ll be there at least a few times to find the perfect little gifts for everyone on my list.

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Gorgeous Flower Ideas for Your Wedding

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There is a goldmine of flower ideas out there if you just know where to look. Rather than trolling through the same old galleries that you have looked at before here are a couple of new and wonderful site I have run across recently.

Wedding Flower Ideas. This one from the UK is just chock-a-block full of great ideas for anywhere you could possible want flowers from the ceremony to the cake to a really big collection of bouquets. I hope you have an hour or two to invest.

Asiel Design This company out of California is both a design service and floral company. Wait until you see their portfolio. Their site describe Linnea Asiel as what you would imagine if Pablo Picasso and Tim Burton had a love child. That pretty much sums her style up. Be warned, the opening page has music and I could not find any way to turn it off; so if you are at work (no, not you) hit mute before you open it.

The Flower Expert Once you have found all these beautiful flowers you may want to know just what they mean. This handy online flower encyclopedia will have the answer for you. Again, I hope you have a few hours to invest because this is another site that I could wander around on for a while.

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