What's a wedding without vibrant, aromatic flowers? Like little sentinels assigned to accompany the bride and all her party throughout the day, they carry beauty in symbol and in form, and they are deceptively important to the tenor of the event and all its meaning.
My job as Mother-of-the-Bride was to order and arrange all the flowers for our daughter's "Burgundy, Navy, and Champagne" wedding in late September. With so many other details to take care of, our daughter was more than willing to delegate the job to me. She had read about Fifty Flowers and suggested that I start there.
I gulped and made the phone call which resulted in a 45-minute consultation with "Violet," who helped me pick the right flowers for our color scheme and our budget. She was extremely knowledgeable and quickly grasped the style and tone we were hoping to achieve. She reviewed photos of bouquets that my daughter had collected on a Pinterest Board and knew just what I meant by "elegant with a touch of vintage." She began describing various flowers and their personalities as if she were speaking of dear friends.
I was intimidated by the four large altar vases that would need arrangements, but Violet suggested that we use large Cranberry Antique Enhanced Hydrangeas. They were absolutely stunning and created the size and fullness we needed without being too expensive. She also explained how to use clear waterproof tape to create a grid on the top of the vases to support the flowers and further create the sense of fullness. On Violet's advice, I even used one of the hydrangeas as the base of the bridal bouquet. It worked like a charm!
One of our biggest challenges was finding a navy blue flower, but the thistles Violet suggested turned out to be both beautiful and original, and my personal favorite (though I never would have thought of it, myself). Once we finalized our order, Violet sent a chart that showed the quantity of each flower to use in each of the bouquets and arrangements. With so many beauties, a few tricks of the trade, and my sister's help, the whole thing came together almost like magic.
The flowers were delivered right on time. I received email and text updates from FedEx, so I knew exactly when they would arrive, and once they were delivered, I also received a follow up phone call from Fifty Flowers with care instructions.
Every mother-of-the-bride knows that weddings are stressful. It's hard to say goodbye. And you want everything to be perfect. Weddings are also beautiful. They can symbolize just about everything that life holds in store. And the humble flower's place in that mystery is steadfast and unassailable.
