Flower power

We had appointments set up with three florists that I found on The Knot. Our first appointment was last month on April 5th in Georgetown. That... place... sucked!! The lady was sooooooo not helpful. For example, we want white flowers for the bouquets and when we asked her for advice she recommended the only four flowers she had available in her store: hydrangeas, orchids, roses, and tulips. HA! We were so annoyed when we walked out of her shop. To make things worse, she said she'd draft up a proposal and as of now, we still haven't received one.

The second appointment was with a florist who works out of her home. Her prices were more reasonable... probably due to the fact that she didn't have to pay for office space. We spent a total of 2 1/2 hours at this appointment and got so much accomplished. We decided on every single type of flower we're going to use:

CHURCH: The church doesn't require you to leave your arrangements but it's considered a good gesture if you do... kind of like a donation. We chose a simple arrangement of gladiolas, carnations and other flowers I can't think of right now. She's decorating the pews with bows free of charge.

CENTERPIECES: We want them to look very simple, airy and not too dense. We chose curly willow and dendrobium orchids in 24" pilsner vases. Orchid florets will be strategically placed in the water to have a floating effect. We want the centerpieces to be lit so we're using submersible floralytes. Another thing is, usually, florists have you rent their vases which means the flowers are totally useless after the reception is over. We didn't want the flowers to go to waste so we asked our florist to purchase the vases for us. That way our guests have the option of bringing home the entire centerpiece after the reception is over. The head table will have greenery and rose bowls for the bridesmaids to put their bouquets in.

CORSAGES: Mothers will have wrist corsages w/mini, pink cymbidium orchids; our grandmothers, pinned corsages with white dendrobium orchids and freesia; principal and secondary women sponsors, pinned corsages with white alstromerias (w/pink throats)

BOUTONNIERES: Cory will have a white cymbidium orchid; groomsmen, white calla lilies; ring and coin bearers, white spray roses; dads and his grandfather, white, mini callas; principal and secondary men sponsors, white alstromerias or peruvian lily (w/pink throats)

BOUQUETS: My bouquet will consist of white cymbidium orchids with a collar of lemon leaves, the stems wrapped in soft ivory ribbon with pearl-headed pins; the bridesmaids, 20 stems of ivory tulips, greenery ivy and salal, the stems also wrapped in ivory satin with pearl-headed pins; flower girls, pomander balls with greenery, white spray roses, florets of light blue delphinium, and white & blue streamers... they'll also have floral combs with white spray roses, light blue delphinium and ivy leaves ~ btw, our florist is providing the cake flowers and a tossing bouquet gratis!! ~ she's awesome!

MISCELLANEOUS: Three of the vases on the candy buffet will have submerged, white dendrobium orchids; and the wedding cake will have white cymbidium orchids as the cake topper and also scattered down the ledge

Today we signed the contract and mailed it along with the deposit... WOOHOO!!! One more task completed!!