The Wedding
Vision For My Bouquet
Simple, lush and full type flowers, elegant. Cascading bouquets were especially popular in the 1910s, c. Titanic era. These cascading bouquets are from the 1940s and 1950s, but they began to lose popularity during World War II. They picked up again in the 1980s with Princess Diana's ginormous bouquet. Now it's made a come back.
Bridal Bouquet
Our florist Susan Foy The Wedding Designer helped me decide to go with a romantic cascading array of all-white phalaenopsis, cymbidium, and dendrobium orchids with lily grass for added simple linear elements. No ribbon. Some people asked, "Won't you look lost in all of that?" That was what I wanted. I wanted a look that had elegant flowers but was over the top, with touches of tropical due to my Vietnamese heritage.
Bridesmaids Bouquets
The maids will be carrying 1 antique green/white hydrangea with accents of 7 pink and champagne/sahara roses and wax flower filler for texture. The ribbon will be wrapped in corset style (also called criss cross or ballerina wrap) in an ivory color and light link overlay, and accented with pearl pins. The look I was trying to achieve was antique and subdued.
Shows the color of the antique pink and champagne roses
{Susan Foy The Wedding Designer} |
With our Catholic heritage, I asked my florist to add an Immaculate Heart of Mary Medal (aka Miraculous Medal) to their bouquets.
Groom's Boutonniere
FI's bout will be a double white dendrobium orchid with a little bit of bear lily. We chose this small bloom because we wanted something small in size so it won't overwhelm his lapel.
Groomsmen Boutonniere
We are going with a white dendrobium orchid, just like the groom's, only a single one.
Flower girl crown
Real flower girl crowns are labor intensive and the quote was steep no matter if we went with our florist or any another. So we are doing a DIY project using faux leaves. The look we want is mountain laurel leaves and tiny white wax flowers.
Flower girl
I was smitten with Princess Grace's Lily of the Valley bouquet.
Grandmas' & Mothers' Corsages
The most important women in our lives (two grandmas, MOB, and MOG) get corsages made of white cymbidium orchids.
Family Boutonnieres
In the Vietnamese culture, we typically provide bouts for family members. The purpose of these bouts is to honor everyone and differentiate which side is which. We chose white so that it will blend with everyone's outfits: a cattleya orchid for the bride's side (left) and the other a calla lily (right) for the groom's.
Comprehensive Flower List for Brides to Consider
Personal Flowers
Bridal bouquet Bridesmaids' bouquets Groom's boutonniere Groomsmen's boutonnieres Mothers' corsages Fathers' boutonnieres Additional corsages/boutonnieres for family, ushers, special people Flowergirl basket/wreath/kissing ball Flowergirl floral headpiece Ring bearer boutonniere Tossing bouquet |
Public Spaces
Large arrangements for ceremony entrance Aisle markers Altar arrangement Flowers for Statue of Mary and Joseph Petals for tossing Wreath/Arch for reception entrance Escort table arrangement Table centerpieces Cake decor Arrangement for food and bar stations Floral display for the guestbook and favor tables Restroom arrangements |
Planning Tip
TIP: It's advisable to have your color scheme fairly set before choosing a florist; unless, of course, your florist is also your designer. You'll be going back to the drawing board all the time.
TIP: Unless flowers are your top priority, you can typically wait a little longer to book your florist. The reason being is that florists can usually do more than one wedding on any given day. Photographers and videographers, on the other hand, book faster.
TIP: One bride advised me to carefully consider against an all-red-roses bouquet because they tend to turn out as a dark blob on non-pro cameras or in low lighting.
TIP: Someone told me that a few parishes request that altar arrangements be donated to the church. Check with this before you make intentions to move them from the church to the reception.
TIP: If you are submerging your bouquet in a vase during the reception, make sure the ribbon color doesn't bleed and stain everything.
TIP: If you are doing a bouquet toss and want to keep your bouquet, make sure you have a second one specifically for tossing.
TIP: If you want to professional preserve your bouquet, make sure to coordinate with someone such as a BM to have that done for you before you go to your honeymoon. There are also other ways to turn your wilted bouquet as a keepsake. You can turn it into a dried wreath, put it in a shadowbox, grab some petals and insert it into a clear glass ornament, countless ways.
TIP: Unless flowers are your top priority, you can typically wait a little longer to book your florist. The reason being is that florists can usually do more than one wedding on any given day. Photographers and videographers, on the other hand, book faster.
TIP: One bride advised me to carefully consider against an all-red-roses bouquet because they tend to turn out as a dark blob on non-pro cameras or in low lighting.
TIP: Someone told me that a few parishes request that altar arrangements be donated to the church. Check with this before you make intentions to move them from the church to the reception.
TIP: If you are submerging your bouquet in a vase during the reception, make sure the ribbon color doesn't bleed and stain everything.
TIP: If you are doing a bouquet toss and want to keep your bouquet, make sure you have a second one specifically for tossing.
TIP: If you want to professional preserve your bouquet, make sure to coordinate with someone such as a BM to have that done for you before you go to your honeymoon. There are also other ways to turn your wilted bouquet as a keepsake. You can turn it into a dried wreath, put it in a shadowbox, grab some petals and insert it into a clear glass ornament, countless ways.
Budget Tip
TIP: Outside of going to a pro to have it professionally preserved, an inexpensive technique of preserving your bouquet (that I personally have not tried yet) is to use hair spray. You can also use preservation kits sold at craft stores like Michael's that I've seen for about $10-15 that would be enough for a half dozen roses.
TIP: You can take classes to learn how to make and tie bouquets or boutonnieres and arrange centerpieces. To order the flowers, either 1. find a licensed florist friend who can order them for you, 2. check out open markets in bigger cities, or 3. go to wholesalers like Sam's and Costco. Just keep in mind that in addition to DIY the actual flowers, you will have to consider DIY everything that comes with it: storage, delivery, arrangement, clean up, etc. If you have large family and friend support, go for it!
TIP: Stay seasonal. In-season flowers that are available to your florist locally on your wedding day will be most affordable. Here's a list of flowers that are available in which season for most of the USA:
Spring: daffodil, delphinium, hyacinth, lilacs, narcissus, peony, tulip
Summer: daisy, dahlia, geranium, hydrangea, iris, lily, sunflower, sweet pea
Fall: aster, bird of paradise, dahlia, gloriosa, orchid, marigold, zinnia
Winter: amaryllis, camelia, cosmos, daffodil, holly, jasmine, poinsettia, waxflower
TIP: Here's a typical list of some of the more costly blooms usually $7/stem or more:
peonies
ranunculus
orchids
lily of the valley
calla lilies
Here's a typical list of less expensive blooms usually $3/stem or less:
Asian lillies
hydrangea
alstroemeria
roses
carnations
gladiolus
chrysanthemums
TIP: Here's a list of blooms that are typically available year-round for about less than $3/stem for most of the USA according to a Real Simple 2008 article:
alstroemeria: red, pin, peach, orange,yellow, purple, white
carnation: many colors
chrysanthemum: red, yellow, purple, white
freesia: pink, orange, yellow, purple, white
snapdragon: red, pink, yellow, bronze, lavender, white
stock: red, pink, burgundy, purple, cream, white
sweet william: red, pink, purple
TIP: It's a plus to marry in a space that's already decorated like a flowering garden or a church after Easter season.
TIP: For full arrangements, consider using flowering branches like cherry, dogwood, and apple blossoms instead of big flower arrangements.
TIP: Avoid major holidays like St. V Day, Easter, and Mother's Day.
TIP: You can take classes to learn how to make and tie bouquets or boutonnieres and arrange centerpieces. To order the flowers, either 1. find a licensed florist friend who can order them for you, 2. check out open markets in bigger cities, or 3. go to wholesalers like Sam's and Costco. Just keep in mind that in addition to DIY the actual flowers, you will have to consider DIY everything that comes with it: storage, delivery, arrangement, clean up, etc. If you have large family and friend support, go for it!
TIP: Stay seasonal. In-season flowers that are available to your florist locally on your wedding day will be most affordable. Here's a list of flowers that are available in which season for most of the USA:
Spring: daffodil, delphinium, hyacinth, lilacs, narcissus, peony, tulip
Summer: daisy, dahlia, geranium, hydrangea, iris, lily, sunflower, sweet pea
Fall: aster, bird of paradise, dahlia, gloriosa, orchid, marigold, zinnia
Winter: amaryllis, camelia, cosmos, daffodil, holly, jasmine, poinsettia, waxflower
TIP: Here's a typical list of some of the more costly blooms usually $7/stem or more:
peonies
ranunculus
orchids
lily of the valley
calla lilies
Here's a typical list of less expensive blooms usually $3/stem or less:
Asian lillies
hydrangea
alstroemeria
roses
carnations
gladiolus
chrysanthemums
TIP: Here's a list of blooms that are typically available year-round for about less than $3/stem for most of the USA according to a Real Simple 2008 article:
alstroemeria: red, pin, peach, orange,yellow, purple, white
carnation: many colors
chrysanthemum: red, yellow, purple, white
freesia: pink, orange, yellow, purple, white
snapdragon: red, pink, yellow, bronze, lavender, white
stock: red, pink, burgundy, purple, cream, white
sweet william: red, pink, purple
TIP: It's a plus to marry in a space that's already decorated like a flowering garden or a church after Easter season.
TIP: For full arrangements, consider using flowering branches like cherry, dogwood, and apple blossoms instead of big flower arrangements.
TIP: Avoid major holidays like St. V Day, Easter, and Mother's Day.
Resources
Inspirational Boards for flowers
Afloral
Cheap containers for flowers
Afloral
DIY flower arrangement
Lowe's on flower arranging
Oprah on flower arranging
Elegance in Bloom's hand-tied bouquet
Boutonnieres
Yahoo! Save on Crafts
Afloral
Cheap containers for flowers
Afloral
DIY flower arrangement
Lowe's on flower arranging
Oprah on flower arranging
Elegance in Bloom's hand-tied bouquet
Boutonnieres
Yahoo! Save on Crafts
My Vendors
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