Simple vases - Single stems

This weeks simple vases could not be any simpler so there's really no need to worry if your flower arranging skills aren't up to much! 

If you ever get a bouquet and don't know what to do with it, or are thinking about how to display flowers for a dinner party or a more formal event, rather than trying to arrange them all in one vase, you could try using stems individually with a group of vases.

I feel a bit like Delia Smith teaching everyone how to boil eggs, but here are some tips and tricks for a pretty group of single stems in simple vases.

• An unusual selection of vases will make an interesting display.
• Bottles come in all shapes and sizes. Look out for interesting necks, curves, and waists. 
• Oil and vinegar bottles, mustard and pickle jars are all great makeshift vases. 
• Raid the drinks cabinet for coloured glass and curvy bottles. 
• Wine goblets, whisky tumblers and sherry glasses are perfect for flowers. 
• Keep old cosmetic and perfume bottles - but wash with diluted bleach and rinse thoroughly before use.

If you want to give your display a little personal twist you could:

• add a little food colouring to the water
• try your hand at tinting glass 
• follow this diy to learn how to paint the inside of bottles with enamel paint.

Using single stems shows off both the bottle and the individual flower, but there is still a bit of an art to it. Try out some of the following and see what difference it makes to the overall look of your grouping.

•  Use large, heavy blooms cut short so that the head sits at the mouth of the container.
• Think about proportions and leave some stems longer - suits tall slender vases
• Give your collection of vases a little space, so that you can appreciate each one.
• Vary heights/colours so that the whole grouping is balanced.

Most of all have fun with it, its not rocket science, its only playing with flowers.

Images via- Desire to Inspire, 100 Layer Cake, Debi Treloar, Martha Stewart, Martha Stewart Elizabeth Anne Designs

Classic Wedding Flowers - Lillies

Do Lilies really have any place in a modern day wedding? Sometimes I do wonder...

Lilies used to be a popular choice in floral arrangements for weddings, and were used in the Brides bouquet as well as on tables and venue arrangements.

In the last 20 years, more brides have been opting for hand tied bouquets rather than shower or cascade bouquets and lilies seem to have fallen out of favour.  A couple snuck into a shower bouquet is quite traditional but hand tied, they're not the most delicate of flowers it has to be said.

I love how they are used in this bouquet though. Still a strong, focal flower but softened by sprigs of Astilbe or wild grasses, clematis and nestled into squishy plump Dahlia. Great colours too.

 And I like the wildness that trailing ivy and amaranthus add to this shower bouquet.  There are lots more images out there of Oriental Lily bouquets, but none that feel right here. They're just not doing it for me.

So what if I'm not a big fan of lily bouquets, I'm not going to stop you using them if you love them. Its not as if I have anything against lilies themselves, I love them in a big vase at home and they are great for decorating the venue.

The traditional arrangement of a few stems in tall lily vases is of course a wedding classic, if not a bit of a cliche but I can't deny that they do make a big impact in the venue with their long stems, large blooms and heady scent.

Maybe I'm a little jaded as a florist, but I'd much rather see lilies used en masse in large vases instead of those tall skinny things with 1 or 2 piddly liliies in! Stand them on plinths for the ceremony and move them to food/drinks/side tables for your reception.  Either on their own or with eucalyptus, contorted willow branches or mixed with other flowers like roses and hydrangea they can make a really impressive display.

Another way to use them for decorating the venue is to use them in arrangements. Big focal flowers like large lily blooms really add drama to swags, garlands and archways.

How lovely is this lily stairway garland. As with any fresh flowers that are not going to be in water it would be best to make these early morning on the day of the wedding. Another reason, if you need one, to leave the floral arrangements to a florist. 

Alternatively you could use artificial flowers (ick can't believe I'm saying this!). The strung lilies below used silk flowers, and from a distance you would never know they were fake. Thats the best way to view silk flowers in my opinion, from afar. But it has to be said I really love this idea, its such a great backdrop for the photos. If you'd like to have a go at this, follow the image link below for the DIY.

How do you feel about Lilies? Will you be using them for your big day and if so how? As always I'd love to know what you think.  Next in the series, Kate's favourite, Lily of the Valley.

Top image my own, the rest from here, here, here, here, here 

Classic Wedding Flowers - Calla Lillies

  

The second in a new feature On Classic wedding flowers, this week I'm talking all things Calla lilies. Arum and Calla Lilies have become a modern classic. I've seen them grow in popularity since the 90's with their tubular flower heads and clean linear stems providing a perfect match for simpler gowns.

Theirs is a very understated beauty, that won't overshadow the finer details of your dress. What makes them so stunningly elegant is their simplicity, so stick to simple designs and try not to overcomplicate your bouquets and arrangements. 

If you're opting for Hand tied flowers, I would choose either a few of the larger fuller heads of Arum Lilies, or more of the tubular Calla Lily for a good bridal bouquet.

They also lend themselves to shower or cascade bouquets, where you could combine them with roses, and phaleanopsis orchids for a really wowee bouquet.

A great way to avoid blowing the budget is to give your bridemaids over the arm bouquets. A few Calla lilies, some choice foliage and grasses is perfect for simply elegant floral touches and because you only need 3-5 stems, they won't break the bank. 

As for gents, unless your chap is a statuesque rugby or basketball player, I'd recommend using the smaller Crystal Blush Calla for buttonholes as larger varieties can swamp all but the biggest lapels.

Callas can work right through the theme - they're elegant in tall vases, or stunningly simple tied or spiralled in low vases or fishbowls. I'm really liking the clean minimal style of having flowers within vases too.

And don't you just love the styling of this stairway. Groups of long stemmed bunches have been used in vases on plinths and arranged so that they criss cross. You'd want to use fairly sturdy glass vases or possibly even pinholders to have avoid topples as those leaning lilies could be top heavy.

A stunningly simple idea that could be adapted to decorate all manner of venue and table displays.  Next time, I'll be looking at Lilies and asking if they still have a place in modern weddings.

Images top to bottom from here, source unknown, here, here, here, here, here, via here, and here.

Simple Vases - mix it up

To create an informal feel for wedding tables, or just for a pretty arrangement at home, instead of one large vase of flowers use a mix of vases of assorted shapes and sizes.

Petite vases, even egg cups or votives, show off delicate stems and individual blooms.

For a stylish display, stick to one colour palette, but use groups of one type of flower in each vase.  You could add decorative details like lace to link the vases. Or for a cheaper alternative, try textured paper or doilies. Dress the table with coordinating accessories.

A combination of tall and shorter vases adds depth and interest to the table centres. A single colour theme for the vases and flowers keeps the display clean and modern. Simple. 

Photos from here, & here (If anyone knows where the middle one is from please do let me know so that I can give credit)

Gypsy Wedding

Gypsophila is having a bit of a moment. Images of Baby's Breath have been cropping up all over the net for the last year or so. This hand tied bouquet is really sweet and stunningly simple, but I have to admit this trend has been a real slow burn for me.

Its got a lot to do with the 80's, when fluff and frill and flounce were everywhere, from the ra-ra skirts and frilly blouses to austrian blinds and ruffled bedding.

Flowers followed suit and were frilly and fluffy, and Gypsophila (or Gyp as I have always referred to it rather dismissively) was used to excess (this was the 80's after all) with masses of carnations or sold with a few straggly roses in your local boozer!

Now I'm slowly coming round to the idea.  Used on its own, its almost cottagey, it looks like it could be grown in a typical english country garden, and cottagey is most definitely a little country, and country is definitely a lotta rustic....so.. yeah I'm warming to it. 

Used simply, on its own in vintage tumblers or mix and match glassware its sweet and subtle.

Used en masse in tall vases it floats like lofty clouds of pretty floral fizz. One thing to note though, and this may be the design stickler in me coming out, in tall table arrangements it looks best in opaque vases as the stems can look a bit straggly in clear glass. 

Its light and airy and yes unashamedly fluffy, but somehow very now.   

photos from here, here, here, and here