Thursday 17 April 2014

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