Cakes and Flowers.

If you are anything like me, details are super important. But if you haven't the time or resources to do hand calligraphy on vintage handkerchiefs, then select a few main details that can be outstanding, such as your cake and bouquet.
And sometimes, less is more.

You can then leave it to the professionals, or DIY some gorgeous flowers and a divine cake. 

Bakers are getting more artistic by the minute, and my favourite cake trend of recent times is lace detailing.

Below you will find some of my favourite cake and bouquet pairings. =]
Enjoy!

images; Ruffled, 100 Layer Cake, Green Wedding Shoes, Martha Stewart Weddings

Flower Tips.

I'm pretty sure that the Flowers are the hardest, and most worrying part of any Wedding, and not just for the Bride - Florists have had many panic attacks too!

The biggest problem - from a Florist's point of view, is Brides who have no idea what they want. Florists are there to help and offer advice and ideas, but we can't do all of it for you. We like to have a jumping off point, so coming into the shop and saying "hmm, well.... I like roses." doesn't really give much help, since there are so many varieties and colours.

One of the worst nightmares is a Florist being given no help whatsoever in the theme department and creating a painstakingly time-consuming collection of arrangements, only to find the the occasion being twenty guests in a backyard.

Florists also tend to become the target for Bridezilla meltdowns, yet we, of all people know how important flowers are to a Wedding, and how they ultimately tie the theme together.

We are there to help create the flowers for one of the biggest days of your life. We want to help. But it is hard to when you are having a pre-wedding meltdown.

So here I have compiled a list of what to ask of / bring to a Florist;

Your colour theme.

One of the most important things. Saying "I want Pink" just doesn't cut it. We want to know if it is a dusty pink, a rich pink, a fuscia pink, a baby pink. The more specific you can be, the better.

Paint swatches from Bunnings are FANTASTIC. If you find them in the colours you are having, grab a set for your Florist, so they can match the flowers for you.

Even better, is if you have fabric swatches from bridesmaid dresses, grooms suits, your dress, even Mothers of the Bride and the Groom, if you are having corsages.

via we heart it

Pictures!

If you have a picture in a magazine you can spare {or even copy} of the Wedding or feel you are after, slip a copy in with the swatches. The florist will love you.

Florists need to know what feel you are going for, so that they can cater to your needs with the flowers.

Having a casual, intimate Wedding? You aren't going to need Church decorations, pew-ends and sprays.

Pictures of bouquets help give the florist an idea of what style you would like. Ideally, the florist should have some Wedding Portfolio's, and a collection of Bridal magazines for you to peruse with them. But if you have found a picture of that dream bouquet - bring it along to you consultation.

here

Monies!

Do not demand a quote the first time you walk in to the florist. We need to know details, what arrangements you want, what sizes you want them before we can quote you. Every Wedding is different, and should be priced accordingly.

Not to mention if you have your wedding planned around Big Dates. i.e. Valentines, Mothers Day, Christmas... the week of, and the fortnight before the date, you sadly must anticipate prices to be much higher.

In addition, the Florist shouldn't really be giving you a figure on the first meeting, unless they have a selection of ready priced packages for you to choose from. A good florist will probably have at least two meetings with you.

Flower Freshness?

Flower markets are generally on a Monday, Wednesday, and a Friday. But some florists only go once a week. Ask your florist if they are going to get the flowers fresh for your Wedding.

For a Saturday wedding, A good florist will order ahead, and go on a Friday market to get the ordered flowers, and create the arrangements freshly the day before.

via we heart it

You are in charge.

Don't be afraid to ask for extra flowers. If you want to do some table decorations with loose flowers, plonked lovingly into an old jar, then do just that. Don't pay the florist for something you can do yourself, for free! Ask them for their expertise with the bouquets, but also to order some loose flowers for you to decorate with.

via we heart it

Be honest. Don't tell the florist their work is wonderful, when you are secretly dying inside from the hideousness of the bouquet. Ask them to change it. Tell them where you want it different. The florist is a person too, and accepting a bouquet you don't like and bitching about the florist at the wedding is going to give them a bad rep, when they probably could have done another one better, in no time, and no extra cost.

I hope these tips have helped with any flower woes you may have!

Christchurch Bridal Expo[s]

So this Sunday past, I made a day of visiting both of the Bridal shows in Christchurch.

I have a general idea of what I want for my wedding, so I wasn't attending for inspiration, but more for an idea of what vendors where.

A selection of Christchurch businesses are already jotted down, scribbled into my wedding notebook, so it was great to put a few faces to the businesses, and know who I might be dealing with for my intricate details, such as the decision that macarons MUST be a part of my dessert table. - So imagine my squee of excitement when I walk inside and find J'aime Les Macarons as one of the first stalls at The Great NZ Bridal Show! [and subsequently received a free macaron! - which was delicious.]

As a whole, the Great NZ Bridal Show was well organised, and the displays were good. The $15 door charge was reasonable, though I'm not so sure what the money went towards.
I did however, find one overly forceful vendor, with three staff members, all of whom had severely bad hygiene. I can't quite see the logic in thinking that it encourages couples to opt for your business, over another, well groomed, attentive group.
However, it was a great opportunity to find out about local businesses that I hadn't yet discovered.

The Great NZ Bridal Show was definitely the more popular of the two, and the Wedding Show from Wedding Wonderland left much to be desired. Sure, I found a couple of pretty awesome vendors, for example Ruby & Scarlett, who do some beautiful letterpress. But it felt so empty in the Convention centre, since it was such a large space and the stalls were almost dropped in the middle of the hall, surrounded by office walls.
We also arrived at the time of the exercise demonstration; the music of which was completely overpowering, and I found myself unable to talk to any of the vendors as we were just shouting at one another over the music.
I kind of feel it was a waste of $10, just to wander round a selection of disappointing stalls. Though it is also a shame that some of the more promising stalls, such as Mille Feulle didnt get as much exposure.

Did anybody out there go to the Expo's over the weekend?
Any feedback or notable experiences? Comment us!

I can't have a post without a little eye candy, today forwarded from Green Wedding Shoes.

How GORGEOUS are these flowers? Pretty much what I am dreaming of most nights, except in slightly different colours.

Yum yum yum!

Floral Fervour!

Here, for you to consume with your peepers, we are going to share some progress photos from the floral creations for Laura's laid back, romantic, and beautiful wedding.

I love the satisfaction of creating a gorgeous arrangement, let alone several.

We hope you enjoy them as much as we enjoyed making them!

Floral Fervour! [and apologies]

To our readers; Apologies.

We have been rather lax as of late with posting.

Laura has the best excuse in the world, since it is only FIVE DAYS[!!!!!!!!!!] until she and Nick tie the knot. [and there she is, posting on the blog before I do!]

I, on the other hand, haven't got such a good excuse. I did however disappear to Queenstown for three days, and experienced some wonderful weather, and some beautiful scenery. Which helped me to understand why my friend got married at Blanket Bay in September. Nice.

So, on Thursday, Laura and I are starting on the flowers for her wedding. Which is very exciting. I am intending on taking some step by step photos, and pictures of the final product, and sharing them with you all. So you may just receive two doses of floral goodness this week. =]

I have noticed recently, upon my browsing of the web, that many clever ladies have been using unexpected vessels in place of glass or ceramic, "classic" vases, and it adds such a cute, interesting element to the tables.

here

here

cute, bark covered terracotta pot has a great vintage feel. here

here

Happy inspiration!

H x

Floral Fervour! #2

So it is fair to say, that I have been having floristry withdrawls. I actually rather miss it. However, I have been asked to make a HUGE bouquet for my brother's friend for his wifey. Excitement! And am also super excited about the lovely Laura's wedding, her flowers are going to be SO yummy!!
I spend a relatively large amount of my time drooling over delicious bouquets, dreaming of the day I will create something as wonderful...
So with that in mind, I just want to share a nice peachy, sugary themed inspiration board of floral beauties, [which subsequently was inspired by Laura's soft vintagey colour theme!] with you all.

I just LOVE Peonies and Roses. *nom* Especially in a tussy mussy style, mixed with things such as ranunculus, anenomes, different grasses and foliage. It creates an almost whimsical atmosphere, and looks so perfect.

{images from: Amorology Weddings, Martha Stewart Weddings, Brides.com}

Floral fervour!

Since the flowers are one of the most important aspects of any wedding, I thought; why not start with just that!

Conveniently enough for The Ivory Dahlia, Laura and Myeslf are both Florists by trade. [which is how we met and have subsequently realised this blog together!]

So today, I am blogging about just that; Flowers.

May I introduce to you; Floral Fervour. [because I am in the mood for a little alliteration]

Floral Fervour- I have decided- will be a fortnightly occurance, in which Laura and Myself will bring you something wonderful, and flower related. it could be a spotlight on a florist, DIY arrangements, or even something we cooked up ourselves! The possibilities are endless, and the outcome is always gorgeous, and (almost) always New Zealand. =]

For the first Floral Fervour, I thought we would start simple, and have a nosey at some DIY ideas for decorating with flowers.

I am absolutely in LOVE with the idea of adorning tables with a collection of vintage and upcycled bottles in various shapes and sizes. I have seen some really cute bottles around, even coffee jars come in some good shapes. I also find that local produce/farmers/craft markets can house some wonders. [granted that you will have to eat whatever organic goodness is contained within *sigh* before using it for flowers.]
Teamed with the right flowers, it could create dreamy centrepieces for any wedding.

And it doesnt take much.

All you need to know is what flowers you like and what season they are available. There are growers all over this little country, so sourcing & ordering won't be much of a chore. Better still, you could completely cut out the middle man, and grow your own! The Warehouse do a great selection of bulbs in spring, and Bunnings, Mitre10 and local Garden centres are easy to hit up and get some gorgeous plants.

Clear glass bottles are the obvious and most readily available choice, but you can also find some wonderful vintage glass in various shades of green and blue. Blue vases with silver/white flowers; lambs ear, echinops, sea holly, ananomes, roses etc would look classy and elegant.

Or even green vases with yellow flowers; billy buttons, roses or poppies would look bright and beautiful for a summer, yellow-themed wedding.

Personally, I am currently persuing an obsession with echinops and alliums, which would look SO cute in upcycled/vintage jars bottles and vases!

Jar at header www.intimateweddings.com tall jar vintageprettythings at etsy, bottles with corks twolittlesmom at Etsy, all flower pictures are from GettyImages.

Some examples of local growers include Moffatts Roses, Fairleigh farm, Aromaunga.
Riccarton Rotary market is a treasure trove of vintage finds and trade me is a great tool to help you find odds and ends.

Hope this helps inspire you!