Here's one I prepared earlier

This Easter long weekend i'll be putting together the wedding flowers for a lovely couple who happen to be my immediate neighbours*.

The bride is beautiful and has great taste. I know this because she has elected to have floral arrangements dominated by white roses. White roses with: white orchids, magnolia foliage with some trailing ivy, and ivy berry for texture. Pure class.

The only left field request is a fully wired trail bouquet (like this one I made previously, pictured above).

Now, why is a fully wired trail bouquet a strange request?

It's nothing to do with the fact tear drop shaped bouquets haven't been truly popular since 1992. Trail bouquets are making their way back into wedding vogue. The under representation of this style is more to do with the cost of the fully wired trail bouquet. Most brides are pretty conscious of the massive cost that their dream day adds up to. That's why the simple dome shaped hand tied bouquet has been staple for a couple of decades now. Simply put, a natural stem bouquet is a cost effective option. It takes a lot of effort, a lot of flowers, and A LOT of time to make a trail bouquet. Meaning, florists charge much more for them.

Sometimes though, the trail bouquet is indeed requested, and it can be a nice change for a seasoned florist (of which, I am not one...yet). The trail bouquet allows for the use of flowers that can be difficult or even impossible to use in a hand tied bouquet. This is because every single bloom in the trail style is cut from it's natural stem and put onto a wire (picture if you will, three dozen roses decapitated, then every single stunning cymbidium orchid flower cut from the stem they share, and the best magnolia leaves plucked from their branches). This allows for the stems to be bent and arranged into place to create the tear drop shape. It makes for a very secure and neat arrangement, and held against the ivory silk, satin and lace of wedding gowns, it looks stunning. But, as you might be beginning to imagine, this is a time consuming arrangement, pretty as it can be.

Now, i'd better get to work on this beautiful wedding.

K xx

*They are lovely neighbours

Flower love

There are flowers I went into floristry expecting to love, and flowers I couldn't care less about. What surprised me more than flower preference was  how easily I could give my flowers away after class. My Mum, my Grandmother, and my Mother in Law, they all received flowers, some of them more than once. I had so many blooms to 'babysit' each week that I readily gave them away. I formed no attachment to my first ever King Protea, or the second for that matter. Both went to new homes, happily. A whole stem of Cymbidium Orchids was plucked from a makeshift vase and sent to my flower-loving Grandmother, who I am sure has never resented cut flowers. My Mum received my first ever spiralled posy, probably the best posy I've ever made. And yet I was eager to share my flowers with her.

It turns out you can resent flowers. I was short on space, short on vases, and changing the water in each vase/drinking glass was low on my to do list. I had anthuriums hanging out on my coffee table for weeks, and I was willing them to just die. It seemed like every time I went to class there would be more anthuriums in my bucket. Inevitably they'd join the other anthuriums still going strong in my living room. Don't even get me started on monsterea leaves...

There are flowers I love. Ranunculus are my current favourite. I'll never say no to a rose, especially the flawless David Austin varieties. So, here I thought i'd list the flower types that I am surprised I took a liking to:

Hydrangea- which can be devilishly difficult to keep looking 'happy' in the vase. But it's most endearing quality? It's BIG. Which means it fills a vase quickly, but most of all it's a dream flower to have when putting together a spiralled bouquet, hiding gaps, and just generally looking very pretty.

Magnolia Leaves- you only need to rub one of these beauties between your thumb and finger in order to fall in love. The velvet brown underside is magnificent. They are my absolute favourite leaf to wire for bouquets.

Berzelia- is striking, and oh-so-textured. This baby adds interest wherever you use it. It can jazz up a posy, be wired onto a hair circlet, or fill out a buttonhole. It adds serious interest wherever it goes.

Do you have a favourite flower?

K xx