Wedding Lab Madness

One day a few weeks ago, an acquaintance of Carol's came knocking at Carol's front door asking for some help with her daughter's wedding flowers.  Carol replied that she no longer did weddings, but she had a whole class of students who would jump at the chance to do a wedding--and so tonight about 15 people crammed into our floral classroom and proceeded to arrange like crazy.  There were 30 large centerpieces, all of the personal flowers, plus pomanders and more.  All together 400 people are going to be attending this wedding on Saturday.  To say the least, I think we were all surprised at what a huge event it turned out to be!  There were roses, calla lilies, hydrangea, bells of ireland, gyp, leatherleaf, gladiolus, waxflower, heather, hypericum, amaranthus, snapdragons, larkspur, and oh my god the list goes on.  It smelled amazing in that room, though it was hot with all of us designing our brains away. 
Carol assigned me to the bridesmaid's bouquets, and to be honest, I was petrified.  I was definitely slow at first, but I picked up momentum and got some greatly appreciated help from another classmate.  I loved how they turned out and I wish I could see them on the big day.  The bride herself along with bridesmaids and family members helped out--and they were extremely lovely people.  I know the wedding will be gorgeous and perfect.  And so now, here follows a crazy amount of pictures.  Darn the iPhone for taking blurry pictures, it does not do the flowers justice. 

Two of the bridesmaids' bouquets.  Let me tell you, they smelled amazing.

Like the fancy beakers we used to hold the bouquets up?

Had enough of these?  Okay, let's go on to all of the other gorgeous arrangements done by my other classmates and the bridal party.

Blurry boutonnieres and corsages done by two very talented classmates.

I really especially loved the groom's boutonniere.  Look at that detail.

One of the many centerpieces.  I love the colors.

More centerpieces!

And the Bride's bouquet...with Crowning Glory.

Birdseye view of the Bride's bouquet, minus the Crowning Glory spray this time.

The Bride's toss bouquet.  The Bride said it was just too cute to have to toss!

Another gorgeous centerpiece.

And lastly, a fraction of the centerpieces lined up in the back lab storeroom. Holy moly!
All in all, it was an amazing night and though I felt like I definitely was too slow I know that practice makes perfect and I'll get there.  Here's to lots more practice.  Thank you, thank you to all of the family for letting us do your flowers.

Floral Design Class: Scalene and Vertical

One of the other styles we tackled in our advanced class was the Scalene Triangle design.  We had a lot of different flowers and greens to choose from, thanks to Carol and to other classmates with overflowing gardens of their own.  I used yellow gladiolus and some sort of fern to make the basic frame and I used some form of oregano (I believe that's what it was...) and misty to fill in a little of the negative space.  I liked the overall dramatic look of it and had fun watching my gladiolus open over the week.

And now for the design I battled with.  I don't know why, but I had a lot of trouble with the vertical arrangement.  Maybe it was a bad night, maybe I was tired, or maybe I just need more practice with it, but I was frustrated with my result.  We used myrtle and swordfern and [insert name of unidentifiable purple line flower seen here! Anyone know?] to make the vertical frame and used carnations and pom-pons to draw the eye up.  Amaranthus, pittosporum, and leatherleaf helped to frame the bowl.  I'm not sure, I can't put my finger on what I don't like.  The amaranthus look whimpy, that's for sure.

Floral Design Class: Bud Vase

When I stepped into the classroom for my very first class of Basic Floral Design, I was greeted by some lovely flowers and some even lovelier people.  I have enjoyed these classes so much and I have loved getting to know all of the ladies in the San Joaquin Delta Floral Design Workshop program.  I've learned a lot and I'm raring to learn more!

For our first class we did a simple bud vase arrangement with leatherleaf fern, swordfern, gyp, red carnations, and green gladiolus.  If I learned anything from that first class, it's that you have to enjoy yourself while you are designing.  If you're frustrated, it's time to step away and take a breath.  It seems obvious, but if you are crabby and forcing things to fit together, then your work is gonna look exactly like how you feel.  I got a little overwhelmed at first, but I just relaxed and enjoyed the moment.

I was pretty happy with the results and damn proud of my bow.