Bouquet Breakdown #3

This week we present our 3rd bouquet breakdown. You may have seen this bouquet before, as it was featured in our Tennessee Orange & Kentucky Blue featured wedding.

Although this bride chose the main colors of Tennessee Orange and Kentucky Blue, she didn’t want blue in her bouquet. Instead she chose to add light pink flowers to bring out her blush colored gown. Here are our florist’s thoughts on each of the stems in her bouquet.

Hypernicum berries

Hypernicum berries (orange) – These small berries make a great, colorful filler. They come in a variety of colors for a reasonable price. They do well for the better part of a day without water, making them great for all kinds of arrangements.

Peonies

Peonies – These flowers are all the rage right now. We think they’re lovely, but they’re just so darn expensive. We paid $150 for just 20 stems! And that was during peak season. For a cheaper replacement, there are several garden rose varieties that have a very similar look.

Roses

Roses (bright orange) – These roses were the perfect shade of orange! We recommend them for fall harvest themes, bright color combinations, and of course for any UT Vols weddings/events.

Tulips

Tulips (bright orange) – This is another one that had the perfect shade of orange. Tulips are a great for a pop of color. Also very affordable. Just note that tulips open quickly, giving them a different appearance everyday. If you want closed tulips, we have to add them to bouquets at the last minute. Here we chose to have them open in order to show off as much of their bright orange color as possible.

Sweet Pea

Sweet pea (light pink) – Sweet peas have about 3-4 flowers on a short stem. These are very delicate, fragile flowers. They are so prone to breaking, that our warehouse supplier always includes a few extra with our order. However, we love them for the soft, romantic look that they give to any wedding.

Ranunculus 

Ranunculus (orange) – These flowers are also very popular right now. The problem that we had was that the supposedly “bright orange” flowers came with too much yellow in them. They were so yellow that we didn’t get to use half of what we ordered! When selecting this flower, we recommend a picking a color that is tried and true, such as white, unless you don’t mind a little color variety in the flowers. 

Send us an email to order your wedding bouquet. The quote is free! anelegantencounter@gmail.com

Floral Hair Pieces for your Wedding

An Elegant Encounter has recruited Lipscomb University fashion professor Charity Armstead to help us design some fabulous new floral hair pieces, using leftover flowers from this bridal bouquet. Check these out and order your own unique piece for your wedding.

This little hair piece shown above is possibly our favorite! It contains a single white chrysanthemum and a sprig of silver dollar eucalyptus (which is all the rage this year) on a clear comb.

This next beauty contains purple statice and baby blue eucalyptus for a simple, elegant effect.

                                     

But not all of our hair pieces have to be simple. We can make them as intricate as you wish. This clip contains chrysanthemum, statice, mini pink roses, and green poms.

Finally, we have a pink rose and silver dollar piece that is small enough to make a perfect accent piece for your bridesmaids.

Here are some more photos, just because we can!

When you order wedding flowers from An Elegant Encounter, be sure to let us know if you would like any floral hair pieces for the bride, bridesmaids, or flower girl. We can make floral pieces on hair clips and combs, on headbands, or into a hair wreath or crown. For questions, email us at anelegantencounter@gmail.com, or send us a message on Facebook at www.facebook.com/anelegantencounter

Bouquet Breakdown #2

Today we present another bouquet breakdown. If you missed the first one, you can find it here: Purple bouquet breakdown. 

For the bouquet shown in today's article, the bride requested pinks & purples with that oh-so-popular eucalyptus. If you're looking for a cheap bouquet, you should definitely consider some of the flowers on this list, as they are some of the most affordable flowers ever. 

Chrysanthemum

These white chrysanthemums come with several flowers on each stem, making it a great value. At 2-3" in diameter, they take up a good amount of space for a low cost. In this bouquet, we only used 3 stems (3 flower heads on each) to create that pop of white. But beware, as soon as chrysanthemums begin to wilt, they shatter, and you'll have a huge mess of petals. For a sturdier alternative with the same look, consider dahlias.

Alestroemeria

Oh Alestroemeria, the cheapest of flowers, found in grocery stores everywhere. These babies have many flowers per stem and come in a wide range of colors. My favorites are the deep burgundy and the white. This bouquet used the "salmon" pink variety. These flowers hold up well and look lovely.

Tissue Culture Statice

We love tissue culture statice for it's deep purple color and long vase life. The flower gets its name from the tissue paper look and texture. After the other flowers wilt and die, you can save this statice and the eucalyptus for a lovely dried bouquet of green and purple.

Silver Dollar Eucalyptus

You're seeing silver dollar eucalyptus EVERYWHERE right now. Greenery is the wedding "flower" of the year. And yes, we followed the trend and fell in love with it, too. Eucalyptus is great because it ages so well. If you leave eucalptus without water (say in a garland) it will just dry and get a little crinkly without losing it's color. And the lovely scent gets stronger as it begins to dry.

Baby Blue Eucalyptus

Ditto above with this baby blue eucalyptus. This variety has a totally different look than the silver dollar, but still has the same great smell and long vase life. Don't be confused by the name, the color is only a slight blue-green.

Mini Roses
We love mini roses for almost every type of arrangement. They come in so many colors, last for 2 weeks, and are surprisingly affordable. A single stem can have 5 or 6 buds, so they're great for bunches in bouquets, as above. We also like to break them apart and use them in floral hair pieces. Be on the lookout for our upcoming blog post on creating unique floral hair pieces.

Bouquet Breakdown

By Kelsey

This purple bouquet is one of our fan favorites. We get compliments on it all the time, and we're so appreciative! A lot of people want to know the name of those deep, dark purple flowers. Today we'll share with you the breakdown of this bouquet and some tips about each flower.

El Aleli - These are the deep, dark purple flowers that everyone loves. There are actually multiple little flowers on each stem, which make it look so full. These are some of the best flowers for the dark purple color. But beware, they have a STRONG smell. You do not want these in your hair or on a corsage. The stems also wilt quickly in excessive heat.

Leatherleaf - These are a very hardy version of ferns. Up close they are tough, shiny, and almost plastic-looking. But mixed into a bouquet, they are a great if you are looking for dark greenery. They are also very affordable.

Orchids (Lilac Mist) - Orchids are very hardy flowers. You can leave them out of water all day and they won't wilt. We recommend them for corsages, boutonnieres, and hair pieces.

Roses (white) - Roses are also pretty hardy. They are surprisingly cheap, unless you have a February wedding (Valentines Day prices, Eek!) Be careful with white roses; any damage will instantly turn brown and will definitely show.

Campanula (stock) - There are several varieties of stock, and most websites don't clarify the type. These "Campanula" stock blooms are about the size of your thumb. There are many blooms per stem, so you get a lot for your money.

Wax Flower - We love these tiny little flowers! They make a great filler, especially if you want to avoid greenery in your bouquet. The come in a variety of pinks, purples, and white.

Looking for a florist in Middle TN? Email anelegantencounter@gmail.com for a free quote today.

Minimalist Flowers, Big Impact

By Kelsey

At An Elegant Encounter, we love flowers of all shapes and sizes. We have so much fun creating unique arrangements for each bride. Perhaps large centerpieces are not your style or are out of your budget. Well, consider scattered flowers in single-bud vases as a low-cost alternative that makes a big impact.

For example, this bride ordered 150 scattered single roses, plus 4 bouquets and boutonnieres for a total floral cost of only $450!! The average cost of wedding flowers in the United States is $2-3,000! You can save so much money with this method.

There are so many ways that we can make single stems work for your special day. Order flowers in a variety of colors for a fun look. Or how about solid white flowers in colored vases for total elegance? We can also vary sizes of vases to add height and depth.

Hang stems from the ceiling to give instant drama to the room. Put flowers everywhere! How about covering the steps of your church alter? Yes! In all the windows? Yes! Seriously, put these flowers in every nook and cranny of your venue, and still pay half the cost of a traditional floral arrangements.

Are you totally in love with these square glass bottles? Well, you can rent them when you order flowers from An Elegant Encounter. Email us for a quote today: anelegantencounter@gmail.com

Wedding Floral Prep

By Kelsey

At An Elegant Encounter, we want to show our readers what goes into prepping flowers for each event.

Flowers arrive 2-3 days before your event, tightly packed, closed-bud, and sleepy! Our florist starts by carefully unwrapping flowers and trimming each and every stem. This allows flowers to soak up more water and hydrate quicker.

Then 12 hours later, BAM! Color explosion.

Flowers are now bigger and need more space. They get separated into buckets. And pitchers. And bowls. And any other container that we can find. We’ve actually had to invest in more buckets due to recent large floral orders.

Once the flowers have taken over the building, each and every stem must be stripped of leaves. The leaves, pretty as they are, will make bouquets and arrangements too thick around the middle. Additionally, if sitting in water they will rot, and flowers will die faster. For a large order, leaf-stripping can be a full day’s work. Our florist likes to turn on some dance music and rock out while working.

Finally, flowers are ready to go into your bouquets and centerpieces. Sometimes, they get packed into the car for on-site assembly (altars/arches, tall centerpieces, etc.).

One way or another, they eventually will turn into a one of a kind creation for your special day.