Wed Recap: Let them wear what they want!

This is an image of the dress I originally wanted my bridesmaids to wear (and in this color, too):

Isn't the back adorable?  It's a Dessy (After Six) dress (from their web site).

When I took my six bridesmaids with me to a shop to try it on, I was so excited to see them all fall in love with it.  Perfect for our spring April wedding and to match our turquoise/aqua color.  Unfortunately, they all HATED it!  I mean, not just, "Uh, we're not thrilled about it."  But rather, it is totally unflattering...the bust is horrible...I hate the color...please don't make us wear this, hated it!

I was so bummed.  But I wasn't going to let the attire issue come between me and my girlfriends and relatives.  Then they started going on about how they didn't like the blue colored dress and wanted to go with red instead (the other color of our wedding).  They said they would more likely wear red again and it would be flattering on all skin tones.  I was really bummed out about this because the blue was what I wanted to go with my color scheme!  The red was only the accent color.  So I asked them to show me some options of what they liked.  They came up with two choices:

Photo by Dessy

(This would be in the same color as above)

I was sort of okay with these so I told them they could each pick which of the 2 they liked to wear.  But one of my cousins wasn't there at the time so she went back with me and my daughter to try the 2 different dresses on and guess what?  She hated them both!  And then my daughter tells me that she also didn't like them (even though she was there when all the other girls picked them out).  

Ugh, even the sales lady was telling me they weren't good quality dresses and that pleating rarely looks good on all body types.  I was again so bummed out.  But my cousin and daughter picked out two more dresses that they said they both loved. 

These dresses I loved as well and the color (berry) was PERFECT to match the cranberry color of our wedding.  So I brought all the girls back to the store again and had them try them on.  They all agreed they did love the dress.  But since my daughter was younger and not developed, we realized it wasn't as flattering on her.  But the sales lady showed us a dress by the same designer in the same fabric and very similar style for my daughter.  She loved it and so did I.  So I opted to let her wear a different dress.  But then she said she wanted the dress in the blue color (known as Bahama Breeze).  I was actually excited because I had wanted *ALL* of the girls to wear the blue.  So I decided my daughter got to stand out in a different color. 

Then my cousin realized that her very large endowed chest was not going to fit into this dress.  Again, the sales lady rescued us showing us another dress by the same designer in the same fabric and very similar style that held my cousin's bossom in perfectly!  :)  And much more flattering on her as well.

So we ended up with a bridal party that looked like this: 

Photo by Robert Mullins

Photo By Yan Freedline

Photo By Yan Freedline

I later found out that one of my Bridesmaids actually wanted the dress in the blue color as well.  I had offered for all the girls to wear whatever color they wanted to when we placed the order but they all just went with red.  When I asked her why she didn't go for the blue, she said she didn't want to cause ruffles and be the only one different besides my daughter.  I told her I would have loved for her to be in the blue and I wish she would have spoken up!

And here is my little one in her dress from our post wedding shoot :)

Photo by Rachel Garcia

And how cool is this one of the tiger looking at her?

Photo by Rachel Garcia

I had great BM's...they weren't divas and didn't have to do too much but were important ladies in my life.  I thought they all looked beautiful on the wedding day - some even better than me! ;)  My stylist did great with their hair and makeup too though 2 of them did their own hair/makeup.  Can you guess which ones?

TODAY'S WEDDING TIP:  If you are one of those brides who wants to let your bridal party be a part of the attire decision making process, then be sure to talk to each of your bridesmaids AWAY from the rest of the bridal party and ask for their desires and feedback regarding their choices and preferences.  They may be intimidated by other girls to truly be honest about decisions you want their input on.  And don't we all want our friends and family feeling beautiful, confident and comfortable while they are celebrating our special day with us?

Post Wedding Shoot: Channeling fellow blogger brides

I got back the disc of images from our post wedding shoot but I'm going to split up sharing some of my faves in separate recaps mixed in with the recaps of our wedding (yes, they're still going on 4 months after the big day!).

So I never shared with you the story about a special gift I received in the mail from Australia via a favorite bestie blogger friend of mine, Mrs T from Ninety-Nine + Forever.

Mrs T informed me that she had sent me something several weeks before our wedding to use on my wedding day.  I adore her.  If you are not a follower, become one and go back and read all about her big day.  We share some things in common and became friends quickly.  So I was excited to see what she had sent me.  But alas, the stupid post office managed to LOSE the package she sent me!  She tried to track it down before the wedding day and we determined that it was somewhere in Los Angeles, but it never arrived before the wedding day :(

However, a few months later...yes, like 2 months later...I finally got the package which contained a sweet card and a pair of these fun little heart shaped sunglasses like Mrs T had worn on her day!  I loved the photos she took with them and was excited that I had an opportunity to still wear them at our post wedding shoot! :)

One of the cool photo opportunities at our venue was this red phone booth.  I mentioned to our photog that I needed to remember to use the red heart sunglasses in some shots and she thought this photobooth would be the perfect place/background.

Just a few silly shots of me alone in the booth

And now me with the sunglasses on. 

I tried to channel Mrs. T

but Mr Fix It wasn't getting it...he didn't understand the 'look' I was going for.

And then he thought it was funny to raise his 'pimp hand' to me which he tries to pull off quite often.

I didn't think it was funny.  So I locked him inside the phone booth.

 

Maybe he'll think twice before trying to be silly next time.  :)

All photos by Rachel Garcia of Brilliant Imagery

Reflections on Marriage: Treasure Hunting

Doing the laundry takes on new meaning when you have a husband in construction.  I absolutely have to dig through the pockets of every piece of clothing in the laundry if I want to salvage our washer/dryer.

When it was just me and my daughter, I would find a gum wrapper or loose change or a piece of fake money from her school which she received as a reward for something like not talking during story time.  But with a husband, especially a manly, grungy, work hard husband, I now find screws, drill bits, loose change, business cards, receipts, and of course, CHECKS and CASH! 

I guess it's kind of nice to try to turn in a new dirty chore like laundry as a wife into a scavenger hunt.

Share Time:  What's the funniest, strangest, coolest thing you've found in clothing or the washer and dryer?

I sold my wedding gown!

Now, now, before you all start flipping out with questions like "How could you?!?" and "What about your daughter?" let me just say that I did in fact discuss the issue with my daughter first.

I have always been one to notice that it doesn't seem like very many girls wear their mother's gowns in today's day and age. Styles change over the decades for sure and with shows like Say Yes to the Dress and all that jazz, it's like every girl's (and mom's) dream to get to go into a salon and try on all kinds of styles until she finds 'The ONE'. So how could I deprive my daughter (and myself) of that very special moment? I mean, it is in fact a once in a lifetime moment, right?

Now this gorgeous gown is in fact something I was so absolutely amazed by and excited about on my wedding day:

When I first tried on the Maggie Sottero SaBelle, I was not sure that it was the one. But after carefully going over the dress and every single one of it's amazing details (the beading, the lace, the sweetheart neckline, the pickups and gathers, the unique split front/side and the ruching and fitted bodice) I mean it had everything that I had wanted in my gown and more!

So, my hubby and I decided that there was no reason to save it. Instead, I would try to sell it. Now I didn't rush out to do this right away because as you know, we just this week had a post wedding shoot which provided me an opportunity to don the gown one last time. But while I was browsing that web site I told you about going through wedding classifieds looking for photographers, I noticed that they had boards to sell and ask for wedding gowns as well. So I just did a quick search for my gown and found that there was a girl many, many months ago who was looking for my exact gown. I left a comment on the post asking is she had ever found her gown indicating that I was considering selling mine. Well, lo and behold, about a week ago a young lady from Canada contacted me saying she saw my comment and wanted to buy my gown.***

I shared the details of the dress with her - size, color, alterations I had made - and we discussed her height compared to mine and all that jazz. Though she is about 6 inches shorter than me, we contacted our tailors and asked them about the concerns regarding altering a dress like this for a shorter woman. Well, she decided she was too in love with the dress to let it go by. She had already tried it on in some bridal salons and was in love with it.

So we negotiated a price which gave me a 60% return on my original cost of the gown and I told her that as soon as I have the gown cleaned this week, it'll be shipped off to her for her wedding next year! I am so excited that I didn't have to put hardly any effort into selling it at all and that I am getting to help out another bride who also loved my precious beauty.

And since there's that whole nostalgic tradition thing that I am losing by parting with the gown, we came up with an alternative family tradition. Instead of saving my gown for my little girl, I decided to share something else with her on her wedding day. I received so many compliments on the custom designed brooch necklace that I had made for our wedding that we have decided to keep it in the family as a treasured 'hand me down' from one girl to the next. I will keep the necklace and as each young lady in our family marries she will have the option of wearing the necklace on her day. This way not only my daughter but also our nieces, cousins, etc will be given the opportunity to have something borrowed and 'old' that has been used in many family weddings. I already have one niece who can't wait to don it on her day :)

Sorry I don't have a clearer picture of it. So, what do you think ladies? What are your plans for your gown after the big day and are there any other items or things from your weddings that you are considering using in future family weddings?

*** She has sent me the check but we have had some problems cashing an international money order, so the final sale is contingent upon us clearing the exchange of funds :)

Old to me, new to you: FOR SALE!!!

Hey ladies...I'm selling some of my leftover wedding items and decor from the big day.  If there is anything you might be interested in (especially for you local So Cal ladies) let me know.  Everything is in great condition.

27  4x6" photo frames in 3 different decorative patterns of silver - used as luminary table numbers and for miscellaneous signs - $20 total

Custom designed vintage pearl bracelet (made out of a clip on earring) - $25.00

24 turquoise paper covered glass cups (used to hold pens on cocktail and dining tables for scrapbook/guestbook at photobooth) - $10.00

Brown wicker basket (currently covered in silk red fabric) used for flip flops and/or photobooth props - $15.00

70 Glassine Envelopes (used for lottery tickets or tissue packs) - $5.00

13 Keychain 5 foot tape measures - used as favors (for bridal party or showers?) Reads "Love Beyone Measure" on label - $5.00 total

30 Large sized BLACK GLOSSY Gable Boxes (image does not show color of actual item) - $15.00

E-mail me at jkr2995@aol.com if you are interested.  Paypal and cash forms of payment accepted.  No shipping for local buyers who want to meet up (I am in Orange County, CA).  Buyer pays any shipping costs.

Wed Recap: The most important recap

Why is this the most important recap?  Because next to the dress, it has to do with the one thing the bride will have on her almost the entire day - her bouquet!  That little beloved beauty typically means a lot to most brides.  But it also coincides with another huge aspect of your decor and style for the day - all the florals...whether silk or real, they are a huge part of most weddings.  So this the recap of all of my amazing florals and the lessons I learned going through this process of selecting, designing, and most importantly carrying or wearing the florals on my wedding day.  Before I start with the info, I just wanted to post the only photo I have of my florist on the wedding day since she was just so incredibly amazing!  She was super affordable, super creative, super accommodating and nice and super stealth like!  On the day of the wedding, she was in and out setting everything up, dropping off bouquets and then off for the day. 

As a matter of fact, I didn't even get to thank her on the day of the wedding.  So my first tip begins there:

TIP # 1:  Be sure to ask your florist to personally deliver your bouquet(s) to you on the day of the wedding.  That way he/she gets to see your reaction (hopefully a good one) and you get to thank her/him in person.  This is Allison of Flower Allie...USE HER if you are in the So Cal area!  You will not be disappointed.

*  My bouquet
          Consisted of dark reds and burgundys:  Black Magic Roses, Red Tulips, Mokara orchids, Burgundy Cymbidium orchids, Burgundy Dahlias, Small spray and red roses.  It held up really well.

By Yan Freedline

I gave my florist a small blue brooch to add to the bouquet as my something blue which was Mr Fix It's mother's brooch.  She passed away when she was only 49 so this was very special to me to incorporate.

I did *NOT* want any greens or berries in my bouquet.  I was adamant about that.  And I wanted a very different type of ribbon wrap...Allison said another local florist uses this wrap all the time.  I loved the way the ivory ribbon was all gathered around the bottom of the bouquet. 

TIP #2:  Allison asked me to bring her some of the fabric from my wedding gown after my seamstress had hemmed it.  She was going to use it to create the ribbon wrap.  Unfortunately I forgot to bring it to her but this is a great tip for fellow brides.

TIP #3:  Be sure to discuss the height and weight and shape of your bouquet with your florist.  For as thorough as I was, I didn't think about these issues when we were discussing the bouquet.  As much as I loved this bouquet on the wedding day, it was honestly just way too damn heavy!  I mean, look at it in this photo - it covers almost my entire torso from waist to the top of my bust!  (Note that this was totally not Allison's fault...something I should have considered when we just kept adding flowers to the arrangement!)

And check out these two photos...look at my arms and how I am straining to hold the bouquet up...you don't want to have to feel this way all day long during your wedding, ladies...so please take this into consideration!

I also wish it would have been 'rounder' in shape instead of longer vertically.  I didn't really think about this until I saw the second bouquet that Allison made for me to use in our post wedding shoot.  It was a rounder bouquet which I really loved...it sits better on your dress for photos like these:

By Rachel Garcia

But the weight thing is most important.  My bouquet was so heavy that, I wanted to put it down throughout the day.  As soon as I got to the top of the altar, you see me handing it to my sister.  Now the MOH will usually hold the bride's bouquet as well as her own during the ceremony and then hand it back to the bride just before she returns back down the aisle.  Or sometimes, the MOH will hand it to the bridesmaid next to her so she can fix the bride's train while she is on the altar.  But for me, as soon as I handed my bouquet off to my sister, I told her to set it on the ground next to her because it was just way too freaking heavy for her to hold during the entire ceremony! :)

*  Bridesmaid Bouquets
          Consisted of:  Red Tulips, Green Hydrangea, Burgundy Dahlias, Black Magic Roses, Green Bear Grass, Green Jade Roses.

Originally I wanted my BM bouquets to be mostly blue hydrangea along with a couple jade green and black magic roses.  But after sharing the basic style I wanted with my florist, I let her finish it off.  The main thing I told her was the type of flowers I wanted and the fact that I wanted the bear grass weaved in and around the bouquets.  I love the way she finished them off.  She urged me to get away from the blue flowers and instead go for the blue ribbon wrap and then stick to more red and greens.  I told her as long as they didn't remind me of Christmas bouquets or colors, I'd be happy.  She didn't let me down.  I loved the spring feel of the Jade Green roses and Green Hydrangea.

By Yan Freedline

You can see my blue brooch on my bouquet really well in this photo

TIP #4:  Listen to your florist!  If you hired them, it's probably because you liked their work.  So trust their experience.  I originally wanted my BM bouquets to have the same type of ribbon wrap as my bouquet.  But Allison called me a day or two before the wedding and said she was concerned that the wrap was too much with the green bear grass that was sticking out of the bouquets.  The bear grass was more important to me than the ribbon wrap, so I told her I trusted her to make it look 'right.'

*  Wrist corsages for the mothers
          Consisted of:  One single white gardenia flower

I did not want to do the pin on corsage for the moms and I wasn't super excited about the little tussy mussy or small spray bouquets for them to carry either.  I had seen a few magazine pics of a single bloom on a wrist and told Allison that a pure white flower would be perfect to complement their dresses and colors.

Overall, I loved the idea and they were really pretty.  Unfortunately, this was one of the only things I was a little disappointed about regarding the florals.  My mother's flower fell off of her bracelet as soon as we were done taking the formal photos before the ceremony and my mother in law's gardenia was browning at the tips before the ceremony as well.  I think that was partly just because gardenia's are a very delicate flower that don't hold up as well.

TIP #5:  If you go with this idea, ask your florist how they are going to secure wrist corsages and be sure to use sturdy flowers - not delicate or easily wilted ones.  Though I loved the idea, I wasn't super excited about the little plastic pearl type bracelet that they came on.  I think I would have preferred a simple ribbon tied around their wrist.  Another little detail I didn't think of.

*  Boutonnieres
          Groom's consisted of one single Burgundy Cymbidium bloom.  It was horrible!  It did not last at all.  Within less than an hour it was wilting and falling apart.  But it was his own fault...my florist and I didn't like that flower for a bout at all but even after showing Mr Fix It a gardenia and a gerbera daisy, he insited on using the cymbidium orchid.

The Groomsmen bouts consisted of small green orchids tied to a metallic blue wire with a few green berries. 

I actually really liked these.  Unfortunately, my photographer did a horrible job of getting shots of all the different floral elements.  So I had to take other photos and crop them to zoom in on these type of things. 

I think the only thing I would have changed was maybe only using 2 blooms instead of 3 and spreading them out just a bit so they were more distinctive.

Ring Bearer's bouts consisted of a single green kermit mum (also called a mini mum I think) with a metallic blue wire wrapped around it.  It was perfect for the little boys tuxes.

TIP #6:  Be sure to ask your florist to 1) stick around to assist with attaching the bouts to your wedding party and 2) leave you extra pins to attach bouts.  Somehow, one of our ring bearers didn't show up until well after we started photos so when it came time to put his bout on him all of the pins had been taken.  I believe there were only enough for each individual bout and someone grabbed an extra one.  (We didn't need our florist to stick around because our DOC helped the guys get their bouts on)

*  Flower Girl Wand & Wreath
          I gave my flower girl the option of carrying a wand bouquet or carrying a bucket of petals to toss and she opted for the wand which I actually wanted anyway.  :)  I sent my florist like 2 photos of some wands I had seen on blogs or in mags and told her to just incorporate the wedding colors.  I really didn't give her any other direction and she came up with this adorable little wand with the turqouise ribbons streaming off all on her own.  You can see it consists of a few of the same flowers from the other bouquets.

I also wanted a wreath for my FG.  Again, I didn't give her much direction other than to incorporate the same colors and flowers.  This is one of my fave pics of my FG with her mom (my cousin) during our ceremony. 

As you can see by this pic which shows the back of the FG's wreath, it didn't go all the way around her head but rather had a ribbon to tie it in the back so it fit a little better.  And somehow my florist managed to match the ribbon color perfectly to the gown and the other ribbons.

*  Ring Bearer Pillow
          Consisted of tons of mini kermit mums tied with a ribbon around it to hold the 'rings.'  Of course, my florist attached fake rings to the pillow...I didn't even need to ask her (which I forgot to do).  She just showed up on the day of the wedding with the pillow and fake rings attached.

Again, my photog did not get one single shot of this thing on it's own and so I had to zoom in on it from another photo.  Best I could do...sorry, Allison :(  And I didn't even see the pillow once all day long on our wedding day either which irritated me more that he didn't get a good shot of it :(

TIP #7:  Get creative with things like your RB pillow.  It doesn't have to be traditional.  I loved the idea of creating our pillow out of nothing but florals.  It was unique and matched with the colors and other florals of the RB's bouts and such perfectly!
*  Ceremony
          I wanted to keep the ceremony decor minimal since the main reason I picked this venue is because of the beautiful flowers and trees that already line the grounds.  Some people still go crazy at our venue with their ceremony flowers but this was the least of my budget focus.  As such, I opted NOT to put anything on the arch above our heads at the altar. 

I still wanted our aisle to be done up and we didn't have any type of a runner.  So instead, I found a pic on a web site that I shared with my florist.  We took a single dark red (burgundy?) gerbera daisy and tied it with ribbon in turquoise color to the end of each row of chairs. 

For the altar arrangements and the end of the aisle, we used a tall spray of dark red tulips on the top of a tall vase with a few submerged tulips inside.  To bring in the turquoise color, Allison added a simple blue ribbon at the top of the vase.  This also served nicely to hide the floralyte that was attached inside the top of each vase to help light up the vases during the reception. 

TIP #8:  We used 4 of our tall arrangements from the reception area to decorate the ceremony area.  As soon as the ceremony was over, our DOC and her team carried the 4 arrangements back up to the reception area and placed them on the tables.  Since the guests hadn't entered the dining room yet, no one knew any different and we saved money not having to pay for additional arrangements for the ceremony.

For the aisle I also loved some images I found of a deep gutter of dark red petals lined with a few sporatically placed green spider mums.  This was a great way to bring in more of the spring green accent color in our wedding decor and to help make the gutter of petals a bit more unique and bright.

Here's another pic I love of the tall arrangements at the end of the aisle.  My florist 'loaned' us all of the vases and the red boxes that we used for the ceremony area free of charge.  Rather than having to pay a rental fee, she allowed us to use them with the understanding that our DOC would tear everything down at the end of the night and return all of the florist's vases to her shop the next day.  This also saved us from having to pay an extra delivery fee!

TIP #9:  Try to see if you can hire vendors who work with each other so that you can take advantage of discounted services between them.  Since our DOC knew and worked with our florist on other weddings, the florist offset our costs by having the DOC help with returning the vases and such.

Here is the finished product.  This is the best shot I have of the entire thing set up and it was taken by my cousin.

By Amber Marquez

This is another photo I love because it shows the huge flowers that were part of the venue's grounds.  We specifically chose the month of April to get married in because we knew that all the flowers and leaves would be in bloom and the So Cal weather would be perfect - not too cold and not too hot!

A great angle of the venue's flowers

*  Memorial Table
          Consisted of a personalized vase engraved with the names of our loved ones who had passed on.  I had our florist keep with the main 'tulip' theme by using tulips in this vase but in a white color for the memorial.  This was the only place (besides the mom's wrist corsages) that I used white florals of any kind.

*  Cocktail Tables
          Again, I wanted to keep this part of the decor extremely simple!  You can make a bold and unique statement with very minimal florals...believe me.  And besides, as you can see in this photo behind the brown tables and lounge chairs, the venue itself already offered a pool lined with lots of in bloom florals in our cocktail area.

For the lounge tables, we had a vase filled with submerged mochara orchids and a floating candle at the top.  Very simple and pretty way to bring in the red colored florals.

By Yan Freedline

For the seated and standing tables in the cocktail area, we didn't want to clutter the tables since I was hoping the guests would be filling out guest book pages and eating :)  So we opted for a very small square vase with submerged red gems (same as the inside reception centerpieces) and a single spider mum bloom in them.  This again carried in the green spider mums from the ceremony and I loved how the little pop of spring green accents meshed with the main wedding colors of cranberry red and turquoise linens.

A close up of the cocktail table centerpieces:

*  Reception Tables
          Everyone questioned my decision to use turquoise with cranberry red as our wedding colors.  Mr Fix It thought that it would look like the 4th of July with red, white and blue and my mother was concerned it was just too bright.  But when our guests walked into our reception dining room, they adored the colors and details and florals just as much as I did.  And Mr Fix It and Mom gave me a huge stamp of approval and loved it!

We alternated the dinner tables with high and 'low' arrangements to help offset the cost....and because I really did not want to have the exact same centerpiece on every single one of our 20 tables!

The low centerpieces really weren't low but rather were more simple with just 4-6 single tulips submerged in a taller rectangular vase.  To keep it from being 'too simple' we placed 2 or 3 small votive type vases around them with a single burgundy dahlia bloom in them.  I loved this!  And the guests thought it was very unique to have submerged florals.  Sorry that my photographer took all these photos before the caterer and DOC had set up the reception room so you're going to see tables without being fully set up with glassware, silverware, candles, etc :(

This was the tall centerpiece.  It was about 3 dozen tulips sprayed out of a tall vase.  We wanted to be sure not to block the guests view of each other while trying to chat across the table...a very important concern.  We also carried in the submerged tulips from the alternate tables by submerging 3 tulips in each of the tall arrangements.

Here is the one and only shot I have of our entire room all set up for the reception.  It was thankfully captured by my videographer's wife!  It's still day light outside and we didn't enter this room until after it was just about dark so it's not quite the same effect...but you get the idea.

By Yan Freedline

For our sweetheart table, we needed to keep it very simple.  We sat on the dance floor and then as soon as dinner was finished, had them tear down our table to make room for dancing.  I didn't give our florist any real direction on this at all.  She just placed a few of the kermit mums around the table along with some votives and some spider mums, roses and dahlias as we had on the other cocktail and reception tables.  I loved it. 

And to finish all this up, here is a little 'inspiration board' style recap I put together using Shutterly Studio to showcase many of the florals from our big day.

I always give huge props to those brides who make their own flowers and set up their own decor using silk or real florals.  No way was I going to worry about that stuff on the day before or during our wedding....and frankly I just don't have that talent! 

Our flowers took up about 7% of our total budget and were relatively inexpensive.  Most brides have no idea how expensive flowers are when they first start planning a wedding.  Allison of Flower Allie prides herself on being able to do most weddings for under $3,000 which ours definitely was!  Allison was amazing to work with and she kept telling me how people are going to think I spent $100,000.00 on our wedding!  And a lot of them probably did think that!  To me it wasn't anything over the top, just a lot of thoughts and ideas and things I liked and wanted to incorporate that my ever so amazing florist brought together in a well thought out cohesive plan which was professionally executed. 
Share Time:  How important were the florals to you in your wedding planning process?  What part of your budget did you allow for florals?  Did you make them yourself? 
Some additional WEDDING TIPS: 

1)  For boutonnieres, corsages, etc that have a single flower that may be something delicate or that does not hold up well under weather and time, ask the florist to give you a discount and create a duplicate 'back up' copy of these so that if one is destroyed or dies, you have a second on reserve in a vase or fridge somewhere to change into later during the day.

2)  A really good florist should definitely include an opportunity for you to see a full fledged mockup of your centerpiece idea BEFORE your wedding day.  This should be included in your contract and will provide you the opportunity to make revisions based on sizes, colors and costs.

3)  Just because it's your wedding does *NOT* mean you need to have a white bouquet or white florals.  I personally love white florals but I did not use them anywhere in my wedding decor other than the memorial vase.  I really prefer a bouquet of some color against a bride's white gown...but that's just my personal preference.  My sister actually had a red and green bouquet at her wedding and then used all white bouquets for the bridesmaids against their chocolate brown dresses.  It was beautiful!

Unless otherwise indicated, all photos by Robert Mullins Photography