what I do

what I do

Friday, September 21, 2012

Shopping for wedding flowers

It's wedding mode around here these days as my sister and I have three weddings we are styling in the next six weeks. 


Last Sunday we headed over to the Long Beach Flea Market to see if we could find some blue vases to use for centerpieces for a navy and pink themed reception. These cobalt blue glasses are the perfect size for what we need. They will be filled with pink roses and hydrangeas. I love that they are "recycled" and can be re-used later as drinking glasses!


We also took a little trip up to the L.A. Flower Mart to see what was available for the first two receptions.  We knew we wanted pinks for the reception with the blue vases but for the other wedding which is next week, we had a little more flexiblility.  I was kind of worried that maybe our unusual heat wave (that just doesn't seem to end) would hinder our choices. I was wrong ... there was everything we could have wanted in abundance.


When I am styling a wedding or even a small-scale party, I like to have an open mind when it comes to the flowers. For a smaller party my favorite places to go first are Trader Joe's and Home Depot (Yes, Home Depot! They are a great resource for beautiful roses in large bunches and also potted plants that can be tucked into urns). I shop with an open mind and let what I find available inspire me. If I have to fill in, then I will go to a more expensive florist. I like to have the same open mind when shopping at the Flower Mart. I have a general idea of what I want but often change my mind when I see what is in abundance, well priced or just too great to not get.


For the wedding that we are doing next week we knew we would be using a lot of white. 


It is an outdoor wedding with a slightly rustic, slightly vintage feel. What we mixed in with the white to add color was not yet determined as I wanted to see what was available ...


We fell in love with the most subtle shades of peach ...


And some not so subtle!


We found some great pots to put the flowers in for our centerpieces. They were only 49 cents each!


The colors are going to look great with these chairs:


I just love how this wedding is evolving! 

5 comments:

Carol@6WilsonBlog.com said...

I have a total passion for cobalt in the kitchen. I used to have a lot of it. Those glasses are perfection for flowers. Be sure to post the arrangements! :)

Mary Ann Pickett said...

So beautiful...I wanted to go to the Long Beach flea market last weekend with my daughter but she wants to go next month. Perhaps you'll be there!

Holly Gruszka said...

I bet you two are quite the team for these events and I can't wait to see what you do with the arrangements.

pve design said...

so did you get those blue glasses.
i have one red glass like that from my grandma.
pve

annie@mostlovelythings said...

I love those cobalt glasses...we had red growing up, but now I want them for vases. Great idea...and the Ikea ones are wonderful too...and can't beat that price!