bouquet ideas

[hearts set]

Hi ladies! I miss this board! So busy lately with the holidays and new job!

My wedding date is May 21 (it''s on this board''s list for April but we decided for May instead)

My gown is a stone color (mon cheri). It''s fitted (not mermaid though) with lace overlay, dotted with beads and sparkles and a sweep train.

Since the gown is not white or ivory, I want the flowers to be.

I was thinking of a bouquet of manolias or gardenias, but I''m having a heck of a time finding pics.

I don''t think I want roses or callas...too formal. Orchids may be too tropical.

We''re getting married outside and my heart is gettting set on the magnolias, branches and all!!

THought I''d try this board, you guys are so resourceful!! ANy ideas you may have would be great!

Plus, I want a white flower in my hair with some feathers popping out...a sort of modified fascinator, kind of like kiera knightly''s in love actually. Anyone else doing this?? I found great supplies on ebay.

 

[qtiekiki]

Some pics of gardenia bouquets

 

[E B]

Those gardenias are GORGEOUS! I think that's a great choice. Another great choice might be Peonies. They're what I plan to have as my bouquet. They're amazing flowers!

Are you doing your bouquet yourself? I think that DIY bouquets are a great way to save money. The florists charging hundreds of dollars for a ball of flowers? I think not!

 

[jcrow]

mum- gardenias.... they smell SOOOO good!!

i found 2 hair pics using them.

1:

 

[jcrow]

2:

 

[MINE!!]

I know you do not want calla lilies.. but these are call and french tulips.. thought they were just beautiful

 

[JCJD]

Not quite what you asked for, but this is gardenia blossoms with magnolia leaves:

I'm also having a heck of a time finding pics of real magnolia blossoms. Most are silk, which may say something about its availability, ease of use, and/or price for wedding bouquets...


Here's some other white flower choices you didn't mention...

White Iris: (HUGE pic, sorry)

Stephanotis:

Daisy:

Baby's Breath:

Stock:

Lily-of-the-Valley:

 

[hearts set]

Thank you so much!! OMG!! I knew I came to the right place! So sweet of you all!

q- the gardenias in that first pic are so perfect with the hint of light green...so beautiful. I like the dark green accents as well!

ebree- I haven''t considered peonies! This white bouquet is so gorgeous! It''s another option that would really work! And, no, I''m not doing my own flowers although I have two appts. with florists and I''m afraid of the sticker shock! My hairdresser was married this past Sept. and used a great florist in our area to the tune of $6,000. Needless to say, I nearly fell out of the beauty chair, foils and all!!

Can you do your own? I wouldn''t know how to go about ordering the blooms.

j.crow- I''m taking that pic of the blond to my hairdresser! My hair is long, too long for a simple chignon. Her bun is perfect for me and with the gardenia...It''s so exactly what I have in mind! I have scoured so many hair pics and have not seen this one! YAY!! I haven''t thought of putting a bloom in the front too, like the 2nd pic. I like that !

MINE- I love these french tulips!! I remember seeing them in other pics...with the ruffly edges. Oh, and how appropriate given that my fi is French! mmmm, the wheels are turning! Great pic! I adore calla lilies too...especially for winter weddings! I was looking for something with more of a garden feel without looking too wild! French tulips foot the bill!

JCJD- This bouquet is sweet! I like the idea of using the magnolia leaves (great big dark green and shiny) as a collar around a full group of gardenias. THe undersides of the leaves are a pretty brown...so nice!

Another great flower I haven''t considered. WHite flags! ANd the fleur de lis is a symbol of France (although E asked me not to do some hokey Paris themed event...I''m so tempted! No eiffel towers!) but the iris would be a subtle tribute to my new family and where we were engaged! More choices!! My head''s gonna explode!

Oh, one of the daisy bouquets has a magnolia leaf collar!

I''m thinking of adding a sprig of Marguerite Daisies to E''s boutiniere (sp) since that''s my name, which actually means daisy in french and I''m so vain!! (they''re tiny daisies not like the gerbera)

Lily of the valley. How beatiful is that bouquet? and they smell wonderful



Oh thank you all for these great ideas! I''m adding these pics to my wedding idea folder!

Real quick, I made an appointment as this one designer who was standing there with salesperson. Everything I said, they kept looking at each other (do I have a booger on my nose??). When I mentioned gardenias she interupted me "I don''t do gardenias. I''m alergic to them!" THe sales person told me that she is very good at what she does and she confirmed "yes, I''m very good"

I''m used to colorful personalilies, I deal with them all the time and have long since stopped taken people to heart. But I asked her if it was HER shop. SHe said no. If I was the owner, I wouldn''t be thrilled with her. I''m thinking of cancelling the appt. I just don''t want hassles when it comes to this event. thoughts?

 

[qtiekiki]

It doesn''t matter that she does good work because she can''t seem to work with your vision and you probably just don''t want to deal with someone like that. That''s my opinion.

I think it would be hard to get a bouquet made of magnolia since their petals are crunchy and don''t bend easily, but magnolia branches are available wholesale so you can probably include them in arrangement.

Here''s more pics.
This one is made of roses, tulips, peonies and lisianthus. I know you didn''t want roses, but it look so pretty.

Tulips and lilac. I love the smell of lilac.

 

[AmberWaves]

I had this bouquet in my stock photos on my computer. I''m not sure what the flowers are... but it''s beautiful. I believe I saw it at brides.com.

 

[portia]

EBree... you posted my absolute favorite! I have that exact same picture.

hearts set - Here''s another idea... a bouquet of sweetpeas. I believe they are in season late spring to early summer.

 

[E B]

Date: 1/4/2006 12:33:47 AM
Author: portia

EBree... you posted my absolute favorite! I have that exact same picture.

When I first saw the picture, I knew it''d be my bouquet. I love how the peonies that haven''t opened look like scoops of vanilla ice cream.

 

[portia]

Date: 1/4/2006 1:17:22 AM
Author: EBree


When I first saw the picture, I knew it''d be my bouquet. I love how the peonies that haven''t opened look like scoops of vanilla ice cream.

That''s exactly what I thought! Or like eggs... unique, classy and sophisticated! Now how do you get the peonies like that - some opening and some not. I''ve not seen any other bouquets that have them not opened - most are already opening. Do you have a florist you''re working with?

 

[aphisiglovessae]

Date: 1/3/2006 1:14:22 PM
Author: AmberWaves
I had this bouquet in my stock photos on my computer. I''m not sure what the flowers are... but it''s beautiful. I believe I saw it at brides.com.

Looks like there''s stephanotis, maybe peonies and orchids in that bouquet.

 

[qtiekiki]

Date: 1/4/2006 1:27:36 AM
Author: portia

Date: 1/4/2006 1:17:22 AM
Author: EBree


When I first saw the picture, I knew it'd be my bouquet. I love how the peonies that haven't opened look like scoops of vanilla ice cream.

That's exactly what I thought! Or like eggs... unique, classy and sophisticated! Now how do you get the peonies like that - some opening and some not. I've not seen any other bouquets that have them not opened - most are already opening. Do you have a florist you're working with?

To achieve the some open and some not look, the florist will probably have to get the peonies at two different time. They will get some peonies a few days earlier than the rest, so the ones that they get earlier have time to open up and the later ones will still be close.

Funny how you found the sweetpea bouquet because I was thinking that sweetpea might work for you since it's gardeny and delicate.

 

[caligal]

Here''s a gardenia bouquet... And you can do your flowers yourself if you want to save money! I know I will as I''m paying for a majority of it. There are many resources out there on the web- here is just one: http://www.bridalchoice.com/wedding_how-to/wedding-flowers-projects.html

 

[hearts set]

amber..OMG! This bouquet is 100% bride!! It''s so beautiful...sparkles and all! I love it!

portia...these sweetpeas are so, well, sweet! Goodness, I''m spoiled for choice now!

qtiekiki...thanks for all of the attention to this thread! and btw, I cancelled with the allergy ridden floral designer!

caligal...thanks for the link for DIY. I found out that our wedding site uses a floral distributer for the centerpieces and offered me to order whatever I wanted (in season) if I wanted to make my own bouquet at no extra cost. It''s tempting but I''m not confident in my arranging skills for such an important bouquet!

q...your skilled with florals. Is it possible to DIY, or should I leave it to the pros??

BTW, I''m leaning heavily toward the peony/tulip/rose bouquet...I love the unopened buds and the frilly french tulips.

 

[hearts set]

How I love those thin dark stems of the sweetpea bouquet.

This will be a difficult choice

 

[selflove]

Hearts set--good for you for cancelling with that florist; sounds like it would have been a difficult relationship and why burden yourself with that when there are so many floral designers to choose from??

As for DIY, I planned on doing this so I started practicing. You''ve got a few months so treat yourself to some nice flowers in your house and practice! I think it won''t be as overwhelming as you think it might, especially if you are leaning toward using a variety of different flowers all in the same color--I think that could be about the easiest thing to pull off from a DIY perspective. I''m doing single colored roses, I''ll have to see if I can dig up some of the photos I''ve taken of them to get some opinions. Really, treat yourself to some flowers, use the websites as guides (thanks Caligal!!), and go for it! And post pics too!