blog.theflowerlab

Orignally posted on Wedding Aces on February 19, 2009.

Using orchids at weddings is very en vogue! They are available in many colors and are stunning, exotic, and of course, expensive! Not only are they beautiful, showy flowers, but they are available year round, and also quite hardy - able to last through the end of the wedding when the guests have all passed out. And as another plus for those outdoor summer weddings, they are unlikely to wilt in the heat. There are many types of orchids available as cut flowers that can fit within any budget and color scheme!

Dendrobium

One of the most economical orchids are dendrobium orchids. These are the typical magenta flowers that are made into leis you might have noticed on your last vacation to Hawaii. They also come in white, green, light pink, light orange/yellow, and light and dark purple. Per stem, they are usually less than $1 wholesale at the LA Flower District with at least 5-8 blooms per stem. They form a beautiful line that works well for larger arrangements and they can be immersed in water for a modern look. As individual blossoms, they can be used as boutonnieres as well as flowers for each place setting without breaking the bank.

Oncidium and James Story orchids

Oncidium and James Story orchids are typically longer than dendrobium orchid stems. Oncidiums usually come in a golden yellow as well as more brown shades. James Story orchids typically come in gold/orange as well as burgundy. As longer stems, these orchids are great for tall, spraying and draping centerpieces. Individual blossoms are not as large as dendrobiums or mokaras, so they are not typically used for boutonnieres or for place setting flowers. But that is not to say they can’t!

Mokara

Mokaras usually come in gold/orange and burgundy shades similar to James Story orchids. They are shorter in length, but come with many blossoms per stem. The length of the stems and number of open blooms at the ends of each stem make them very amenable to bouquets. Treat them like dendrobiums as each individual blossom can be used in boutonnieres and corsages, or at each place setting on the reception tables.

…Click HERE to read about more orchids - cymbidiums and phalaenopsis - on WeddingAces !

The bride carried wedding white, but the girls carried deep purple and magenta.

Featuring: gorgeous white peonies in different stages of opening, ‘hot lady’ roses, pink cymbidium orchids, purple freesia, dark pink tulips, and deep purple sweet peas.  Young, bright and cheery!

A fresh and natural garden look with lavender toned flowers.

Featuring: lilacs, waxflower, lavender (cut flowers and potted plants), delphinium, spray roses, viburnum, and herbs from the Santa Monica farmer’s market - mint, parsley, and dill.  It all smelled incredibly YUMMY!

Lots of lavender toned flowers for a beautiful wedding at The Turnip Rose in Costa Mesa, CA!

Featuring: sweet peas, ‘ocean song’ roses, muscari, china mums, lilacs, hyacinth, and freesia.

With Memorial Day Weekend just past, summer has (unofficially) begun! I got to ring in the summer season with a fabulous beach wedding in Malibu. Setting up the wedding arch in my bare feet digging into golden sun-warmed sand, I couldn’t think of a better way to spend the day.

Read the rest of this post on WeddingAces.com

For couples living in an area with a wholesale flower district, visiting the flower market is a fun and informative way to investigate what types of flowers are available in their chosen color scheme. In addition to cut flowers, you can also check out different designs for containers, colors and patterns for ribbons, as well as accessories and embellishments for bouquets and personal flowers.

Such a trip might require rolling out of bed early on a Saturday morning, but I highly recommend it! Some brides and grooms will visit the flower market about a month before their wedding with their floral designer as a guide. He or she can then point out the types of flowers and colors to be used in their floral designs. Many times brides or grooms will see something different and interesting they want to include in their wedding arrangements.

…read the rest on WeddingAces.com!

Flowers can cost a lot of money! I remember when I just started my business doing wedding flowers, a friend of mine was very supportive of my new endeavor. He very seriously confided to me that I was going to make some big bucks because “did you know that my [very crazy] friend spent seventeen hundred dollars on their wedding flowers?” I guess that could be considered impressive… if it were just for the bridal bouquet!

But all kidding aside, flowers can be a hefty percentage of your wedding budget. And who hasn’t had a mom, grandmother, or friend admonish you when you surprised them with flowers by saying “But they’re just going to die anyway”? Flowers are beautiful and ephemeral and not too many people are able to rationalize their expense except perhaps on a once in a lifetime event. And even if you are prepared to spend a lot on flowers, there are ways to get more bang for your buck.

…Read the rest of this blog post here on WeddingAces!

As we all know, most weddings are held during the summer and early fall – think the months of June, July, August, and September. Though not as common, winter weddings are special in their own right and can be extraordinary with the right selection of flowers, branches, and berries particular to the winter season. The only tricky part is having décor that affirmatively states “winter wedding” and not “holiday office party”.

…Click here to read the rest of my post about Winter Wedding Flowers on WeddingAces !

It’s winter time and the low season for The Flower Lab. I’ve been taking it easy with some weekly corporate accounts, a random wedding here and there, as well as enjoying the new spring selections at the LA Flower District. Consultations are steady with brides who have weddings in the upcoming 2009 summer and fall wedding seasons, and I just submitted our CA state business taxes!

A couple of interesting developments to note: I was recently invited to be a featured blogger on Weddingaces, a newly launched blogsite by Weddingwire! Weddingaces is:

“… a new online community designed to provide brides with firsthand knowledge and experiences of planning a wedding from none other than the experts themselves! Let our diverse group of expert wedding vendors guide you through this exciting, but often stressful, wedding planning experience.

Follow our Aces as they share tips, tools, and tricks of the trade for all aspects of planning a wedding. Learn from their mistakes and take advantage of their knowledge of the inner workings of the wedding vendor world!”

As you can imagine, I am very honored and excited to be a part of this new endeavor by Weddingwire! Please check out my first post here which is just a little introduction of me.

The other bit of good news I wanted to share is The Flower Lab was recently chosen to receive a 2009 Bride’s Choice Award from Weddingwire! Before we toot our own horn too much, I must disclose there were 23 florists recognized in the Flowers & Decor category - third largest category after Photography and Wedding Planning - but we are extremely happy and honored to have this special recognition! A very special THANK YOU to all our recent newlyweds who put in a good word for us as well as Weddingwire!!

The Flower Lab recently had the honor to help sponsor the first annual Asian Bridal Fair at the San Gabriel Hilton in November, 2008. We had the great opportunity to work with Wildflower Linen to present gorgeous tables and floral-linen dresses in the ballroom foyer. We also helped with the florals of Bella Destinee’s booth by presenting a garden birdcage reception centerpiece with matching peony and rose bouquet. It was a great first Asian Bridal Fair with tons of delicious food, fashion, and of course floral decor! Check out some of the flowers we made for the show and our booth: