Flowers Uncut

A Reality show about florists?!

I'm sure that many to be brides and floral designers will be tuning in this week to TLC for the premiere episode of "Flowers Uncut", with Jeff Leatham.  I know I will be.  It seems that I am more wedding obsessed now than I was when I planned my own wedding! (I can't get enough of "Say Yes to the Dress"!)

Who is Jeff Leatham...you can click on the link above to see his flowery resume, but he has a pretty crazy clientele list, he did the flowers for Eva Longoria's wedding and designs for the Dali Lama  (hmmm those two people in the same sentence doesn't really jive does it?!).  In the teaser he says that you learn something new with each event....so true.  Every wedding I do I learn something that will help me to be more efficient or help me learn something new about floral design and how best to work with certain flowers.  I'm looking forward to being inspired.  Maybe you'll even get some ideas for your own wedding!   Happy viewing!  

My new favorite Color Palette

What a strange day for the end of October.  Saturday October 24th was a dreary, humid, rainy day...not the best weather for flowers...especially Ranunculus.  Their thin petals seemed to droop under the weight of the air.  Still I was pleased at how the flowers turned out, just wish they had been a little fuller.  And I can't forget the colors...It's my new favorite palette....Orange, blue, and white.  

A boutonniere of white ranunculus and blue hydrangea

A boutonniere of orange ranunculus

A corsage of white ranunculus

Bridesmaids Bouquets; orange ranunculus, freesia, and greens

Maid of Honor Bouquet;  orange and white ranunculus, blue hydrangea, and freesia

Brides Bouquet;  white ranunculus...simple and elegant

It was a bit of a harried morning.  In between making bouquets/boutonnieres and such I was feeding little 1 month old Kenzie.  So my husband was in charge of taking the pictures before we left.  He didn't get all the shots I usually do, but you can still get the idea.

For the reception the bride found these amazing vases, such an interesting shape, and perfect for a dramatic centerpiece of floating ranunculus and a table loaded with candles.  I wasn't there to see the final result but can just imagine how sparkling the room was with the candles reflecting off of the vase and the water.  I thought it would be a cute touch to place one single ranunc under the center portion.  Ranunculus under glass.  

Unfortunately I have no pictures of the centerpieces...in the rush of getting out of the house with baby...yes Kenzie was on the job...I forgot the camera.  It was her first gig...and last...it's only because I am nursing and she is so young.  Here is a link to the pic of the vase.  It measures 9 x 9 and was definitely big enough to make a statement without using a ton of flowers.

http://www.wholesaleglassvasesint.com/images/product/VCP0909-CL.gif

This winter will be a slow one, with my next event not until April.  Last winter I had at least 1 wedding per month, but this year...who knows, I think maybe the economy might be deterring some brides and grooms from making their wedding plans.  Anyway it might be for the best as Kenzie is so little and by April it will be much easier to leave her with a sitter while I work.  

Don't worry though ;)  I'll keep posting with floral designs I create in the mean time (the holidays are a really fun time for flowers) and any interesting ideas I come across.  

My Own Dahlia's

In Early Spring I had grand ideas of planting a cutting garden.  Off to Home Depot I went, planning and buying bulbs so I would have flowers all summer.

Early spring turned into late...then into summer...I guess I underestimated how much being pregnant would hinder my plans.  So in a last ditch effort my husband threw some bulbs into a dirt pile on the side of the house...and who knew they would actually bloom.  How gorgeous are they!

Maybe next spring I'll finish my cutting garden ;)

A Baby Shower

I created these designs for a mother to be.  The question was...boy or girl?  The colors were chosen to reflect this question.  

Unfotunetly this was my first unhappy client. My heart literally sank when I read her email outlining her discontent.   I liked the designs, and would never deliver something that I didn't think was up to par with what a client was looking for.  So here are the poor un-liked arrangements.  You can give me your feedback and let me know what you think!

(The roses were a bright pink, they show up red in the photos)

Check back next week for pictures of a ranunculus wedding I'm doing this weekend!

I'm Back!

So...what can I say.  I am surviving and getting by after the birth of my second child.  It's actually been much much easier than I thought...not that it's easy...just easier.  My first had colic and did nothing but cry for the first 3 1/2 months...thought I was going to jump off a bridge...really.  It is crazy how sleep depravation will make you...eh...crazy.  Well just when I thought I couldn't take anymore my stinker started sleeping through the night and we haven't looked back..he's almost two now...and as we speak trying to help me write this post.  

This past weekend I had my first wedding after baby.  

The Bride, doing things on a budget (who isn't!),  decided to go with a non-floral centerpiece.  So I created the flowers for only the ceremony.  It was the brides idea to have the bridesmaids carry a single XXL Calla.  Beautifully simplistic.   I used these last year for an October wedding, but ran into some trouble this time around.  The nice, big, domestic, Calla's I expected to use are a little late this year, so I had to rely on the Columbian grown ones...which are narrow.  I searched and picked through flowers to find the most open blooms and happily I was successful.

(above....my husband...who feels very manly when I ask him to model bouquets)

The boutonnieres mirrored this simplicity using mini calla's.  I left the stems long, I think it looks elegant but, I can't take credit for the idea....I saw it on the wedding episode of Nip Tuck and have been dying to mimic the design for a wedding.

The colors were white, red, and purple...and the bride, who runs her own dance studio and is a creative person, wanted something funky, but structured for her bouquet using roses and XXL Calla's.  And I actually found some that were dyed the perfect shade of purple.  

Baby Kenzie has arrived!

One day after her due date the little angel arrived.

Kenzie Lorraine Reynolds

9/21/09

10:11am

7lbs 4oz

20 in long

We came home Wednesday and are happily settling in.  

I'll be getting back in touch with brides by early next week!  Thanks so much for your support and patience!

Follow Up to Delightful Dahlias

Val, the photographer from the Delightful Dahlias wedding, was so generous in sharing these pictures with me and giving me permission to post them on my site.  It's always so nice to see the professionals pictures of the bride and bridesmaids with their bouquets.  They really know how to use their fancy camera's (Unlike me who is just learning!).  

If you'd like contact Val for your own wedding you can see more of his work and reach him through the link below.

Red Umbrella Studio