Wedding May 2014; Capon Springs Resort

I work with many brides who are not local. Some of whom I never physically meet!  With all the various means of communication today, face-to-face consultations are happening less and less.  This is one of the weddings where I did most of the communication via phone and email, pinterest boards, picture swapping in emails and the final day everything was gorgeous.  Wedding location was the secluded and serene Capon Springs Resort, Capon Springs WV.  It always reminds me of the resort from the movie "Dirty Dancing".

The Bride's bouquet; Hydrangea, lisianthus, sweet peas, dusty miller. Very soft and romantic.  

  
The wedding party.




The ceremony at the Music Pavilion:

 
The bride picked out her own clear hobnail jars that I filled with simple bouquets of hydrangea and seeded eucalyptus.

 






The reception was at the Sunset Lodge which overlooks the resort's golf course.  It is a huge outdoor space that is sheltered and features stone fireplaces.

I love when a bride personalizes her wedding with hand picked containers.  In this wedding, silver candle holders with glass hurricanes accented with seeded eucalptus, milkglass containers and compotes filled with hydrangea, lisianthus, and other assorted flowers.

The cake decor was a challenge actually.  Seeded eucalyptus stems are too heavy to individually place stems on cake layers.  So I hand wired the leaves and accents of fresh lavender for a light weight accent to be placed on the cake layers instead of inserted into the layers.

all photos courtesy of Ash Imagery, all flowers designed by Flowers by Snellings, Capon Springs Resort, May 2014

Holiday Tips and Info just for you!

A few holiday tips and info:

1. Poinsettias are NOT poisonous.  They are NOT.  Every year this myth persists but it's simply not true.  Granted, I wouldn't substitute Poinsettia leaves for lettuce on my BLT, but you won't die. 

2. Holly berries rarely grow on the very tip of the plant branch.  Much to florists' frustrations, the berries usually grow about mid way up the stem.  Holly berries ARE POISONOUS and should not be consumed.

3. Mistletoe berries ARE POISONOUS. Also this plant is hard to find and most florists don't carry the fresh variety because of availability and cost. 

4. Your florist's hands are going to be black from pine sap.  We don't have a contagious disease, I promise.  We wear gloves to protect our hands from the sap (which turns black and is extremely hard to get off). But with answering phones, waiting on customers, computer work, sometimes the gloves come off and we hustle back to work without them.  Olive oil, lava soap, and the mechanic's orange soap are great at getting (most of) the sap off.  They also dry out our skin to the point where it cracks and bleeds.  The less glamourous part of the floral industry for sure.  Most of us lather up with vaseline, bag balm or other moisturizers and put socks over our hands before we go to bed at night. 

5. Flowers do not like temperatures below 36 degrees.  Fresh flowers are comprised of  mostly water, water freezes at 32 degrees. 

6. Flowers also do not like 80 degree living rooms and direct sunlight.  Either one of these elements speeds up the life cycle of fresh flowers.  Try to keep your fresh flowers in a cooler room and away from heat ducts, radiators, and windows.

7.  With all of the instant messaging, texting, etc in the world today, your internet order card message more than likely won't be edited.  If you write it, we print it.  We are under the assumption you want the message to say "I L U  TC TTYL- Snickkers"  Maybe you call each other pet names and if we correct the spelling, then we're in trouble for editing.  Please proofread your messages before you hit "Next" or "Continue" on the order screens.

8.  To keep your flowers fresh, if in a vase, change water completely every day, at the minimum every other day with fresh clean water.  No aspirin, sugar, bleach, pennies, sprite, etc.  Just clean H2O.  If your flowers are arranged in a a container, add water to the arrangement everyday.  The best way is to add water at the lip of the container so the oasis floral foam will soak up the water like a sponge.

Have a great holiday season!!

Vintage Wedding at the GW

These pictures are from a wedding I did a while ago, and the theme was vintage and the Bride and Groom nailed it! From the soft colors to the antiques scattered throughout the reception at the gorgeous George Washington Hotel it was beautiful!  The tables were set up in 3 sets of long rows, and the family style seating was a nice change from the traditional round tables.  Tall vases of simple Gypsophilia (aka Baby's Breath) were set up down the center of the tables.

The bride's bouquet consisted of ivory, pale pink, and champagne roses with white scabiosa to compliment her ivory/champagne dress. 

Antique typewriter with old books by the guest table/gift table.

Mother's corsage of pale champagne sweetheart roses, baby's breath and ribbon.

 

Simple boutonnieres of single rose with greenery and baby's breath:

Oh Martha, you've done it again...

So I decided to peruse Martha Stewart Weddings website to see what she's promoting this summer for weddings.  I found a link to "Affordable Wedding Centerpiece Ideas".  Overall I thought yes, some of the ideas were good, cost saving ideas.  Some ideas presented were deceiving, like this:

http://www.marthastewartweddings.com/231103/affordable-wedding-centerpieces/@center/272498/centerpieces#160644While the idea of using fresh clementines, oranges and kumquats is a great way to incorporate color on the table on the cheap, it takes a serious wrong turn when they suggest orchid blossoms, stephanotis blossoms, and gardenias.  Why? Stephanotis are a small quarter sized blossom that are sold individually for around $3-$4 per blossom.  Orchids, depending on what variety and size, can either be a great buy (dendrobium have multiple blossoms per stem at $6 per stem) or expensive (Cymbidium by the bloom, $9-$13 per bloom) and gardenias.  I LOVE the smell of gardenias.  But they are one of the most high maintenance flowers in existence.  They come packaged 3 blossoms per box, at around $25 per bloom.  And yes, you will have to buy all 3 in the box.  The oils from your skin will turn the petals brown so I strongly suggest latex gloves.  Do you see where I'm going with this?  What is great in theory is not so great in real life execution Martha.
 The next idea:

Carnations are inexpensive.  HOWEVER- this arrangement features approx. 75 stems (my best guess with looking at the size in comparison to the plates).  75 stems x $1.45 =$108.75.  That doesn't include labor and the container.  Is it a great use of a otherwise plain flower- yes. Great texture and color- YES.  Is it mildly deceptive- yes.  With labor and container (it does take quite the chunk of time to arrange 75 stems of anything) possible retail - $170-$185.  Can I design a similar look but scaled down in price -Absolutely.

And the last one:

"Mix inexpensive blooms like miniature daisies, doily-shaped Queen Anne's lace, and baby's breath to create a show-stopping centerpiece."
Hmm.  Well, yes those are inexpensive flowers. But no, this particular arrangement is not inexpensive.  I'm assuming most people would look at this and think it costs all of $35.  Could it be done more reasonably- yes of course.  But as shown- I would estimate around the $200 mark.  It's hard to see how many stems of those flowers is in it, but judging on what I can count, there are many, many stems and it is quite large.  Labor is also another factor here. 
I'm not writing this to depress you, mainly just to educate you on the reality of glamorous magazine photos you see online and in print. Ask us if we can modify, if we can design something in the same style/color scheme/flowers but at your budget. We can do that and more.  Just ask!

May Weddings

I haven't blogged in awhile mainly because the Month of May is CRAZY.  Not only did we have to be shut down during Apple Blossom Festival, the following week brought Mother's Day, 3 Proms (!), SU graduation and Nurses week- ALL in ONE WEEK.  Scheduling 3 proms mother's day weekend is insane for many reasons, but I won't go into that right now...that's a whole other blog post.
So finally after all that crazy, I thought (initially) the following week with 4 weddings wouldn't be that tough.  Unfortunately  my long time partner in crime (i.e. designer) had moved on to another opportunity closer to home.  Good for her, bad for me.  So it was me, myself, and I designing all the daily arrangements (funeral, hospital, birthdays, etc) and designing the weddings.  I got it all done and my designer did come in one night after her other job to help me out for a few hours.  (and I am so thankful she did).  With all the daily work I got a late start on the weddings and worked late into the night Thursday and Friday. Here's some pics:
One wedding inside the cooler waiting for Saturday delivery

Wedding #2 inside the cooler waiting for Saturday delivery:

Some other pics from this weekend's weddings:

Submerged orchids The bride's bouquet

Centerpieces in metal cube vases

Centerpieces.
(I apologize for all the weird spacing, but I haven't gotten the blogging format down to perfection just yet)

 

 

 

When there's a florist in the family Part 2

I had a family wedding at Oglebay in Wheeling, WV.  This is the view of the golf course and it was a beautiful location for a wedding.  Unlike my sister's wedding there were not any wholesalers close enough to the location that also had enough space for me to work.  So....

I purchased all my flowers and supplies from my local wholesalers in Virginia, loaded everything in the truck and took off for West Virginia.  Luckily enough the venue had a meeting/conference room I could convert into a flower/design room for the weekend.

Plastic was laid down to protect the carpet, thermostat was put on the coldest setting possible and all the flowers were set up and ready to go.

And some pics of the necessity of plastic on the floor!

Table centerpieces waiting and ready to go.

Bride and Attendant's bouquets

The massive fireplace required I borrow a ladder from the venue which they were very helpful and even spotted me on the ladder.

Another company decorated the ceiling and this is before everything was finished and I was placing arrangements.

close up of the bouquet.  Light blue hydrangea, light blue delphinium, blue agapanthus, white freesia, white mini callas, and white lisianthus.

Low Centerpieces on oblong tables.

Lighted tall arrangements.

 

 

Dendrobium orchids attached to the venue's restroom mirrors. This is one of my favorite ways to add a little bit of fun to the restrooms- a unsuspecting place for flowers generally.  Amazing little glue dots made from the same adhesive magazines use to attach trial size products they promote.  It's especially pretty with brightly colored orchids and inexpensive also.

 

Holiday tips and tricks

Pine sap, which turns your hands black after it has dried, can be removed easily with hand sanitizer applied generously and wiped off with a paper towel before it dries on your hands.  Olive Oil is another liquid you can use to remove the sap. 

Change the water in your vase of cut flowers and greenery daily.  Especially those vases with pine sap, this is important.

Poinsettias are NOT poisonous.  Yes, if you eat it, or your pet eats it, it will probably make your stomach upset. 

Mistletoe IS Poisonous..to humans and animals...as is holly berries.

Centerpieces should have water added daily as well...this helps keep the oasis foam wet and keep your greenery looking fresh.  You can even spray the evergreens with water if you want.  Keep centerpieces away from heat, flame, and dry rooms.

Panty hose are great for adding the shine back to your decorative candles. Slip hose over your hand and run your hand over the candle.  Voila!

If you have a candle in your centerpiece- do not leave a burning candle unattended.  Clip any greenery that may interfere with the candle once it burns down.  Don't burn the candle down all the way, use only during a dinner then extinguish the flame. 

Poinsettias brightly colored "flowers" are actually brightly colored bracts, or leaves.  The actual "flower" is the yellow circular flower in the center of the bracts.

Flowers DO have a freezing point....32 degrees...do not place any fresh flowers in the freezer...EVER.

Holiday Orders

Only a few days left to order your Holiday arrangements for delivery all next week!!
We will be closed Christmas Eve and Christmas Day so next week is the last week to get orders placed and delivered anywhere in Frederick and Clarke counties!  Sometimes the best gift for someone who has "everything" is a fresh flower arrangement...for a side table, centerpiece or to brighten up their apartment or assisted living room!  Order today!

When a floral designer marries...Part 2

I've had the pleasure of decorating the gorgeous mantle in the GW Hotel Ballroom several times, and every time is different.  For my wedding I opted for and arrangement to flank either side of the mirror, and several low cylinders with roses and floating candles in the middle.

 

Red Kangaroo Paw, Red Mokara Orchids, Red hanging Amaranthus, Black Magic roses, maroon carnations in a clear glass urn, the arrangement is handtied and is simply placed into the vase on site.

Low Centerpiece of Roses, red Ti leaves,Leucadendron, accent of silver around top of cylinder vase.

I was able to "test drive" a new product available to me for the wedding.  LED submersible light strands.  The strands are flexible and perfect in this application. 

 

Did I mention I like simple?!  Cupcakes from Frosted Crumbs, serving trays by GW Hotel...easy and hassle free for me!

The silver and lavender flower shaped broach was my late Grandmother's.  A big thank you to my cousin for finding it and gifting it to me on my wedding day :)  

(All photographs courtesy of Julie Napear Photography. A big thank you to the other vendors:  Flowers by Snellings, George Washington Hotel, Stephanie Novak Artistry,  Frosted Crumbs Bakery)