Flowers for a Navy and Coral Wedding

It's fascinating to see a trend taking off and when I get multiple calls in one week for a particular color combination, I know it's trending well.  Navy and Coral is one of those trends this year and it's being chosen by brides who are having their wedding receptions in barns as well as country clubs.

When I meet with a client whose colors are navy and coral, I'm always anxious to hear how they plan on using the navy color in their wedding because, to be honest, there's not a lot of blue, especially dark blue flowers available unless we 'enhance' the flowers with some kind of colorant. Coral, peach and blush colored flowers however, are abundant. So if the navy is represented by fabric - bridesmaid dresses, tablecloths, napkins, etc., then I know the coral color can be the predominate flower color and will be used as an accent to the navy.

There are some strong blue hued flowers, but often times there's a violet or purple tint to them. Below is the cornflower.




And then there's the tinted or airbrushed spider mum.



And delphinium - which is more of a medium blue.



And the blue gerbera daisy, at the top - which was 'colored' blue. There's a few others, but the pickings are slim.  But, as for coral flowers, there's more variety available and a bridal bouquet, cake flowers and/or table arrangements made of a blend of corals, blush, pink or orange is stunning.

  Coral colored roses


  Dahlias available in a range of colors including oranges






  Gerbera daisies in peach, pink, blush and coral






  And peonies ranging in many colors including this lovely blush, which compliments the coral and softens the overall look.

The current trend with navy and coral includes some gold accents. The best way to incorporate gold into the mix is through fabric, ribbon and golden vases. One natural floral element in an arrangement is gold seeded eucalyptus, shown below.



And remember that navy also goes well with pinks and yellows - with accents of silver. And there are in fact some flowers and other natural floral elements in silver, including:


 Silver roses



 Lambs ear leaves which give a silvery green look to arrangements

And the magnificent silver brunia which is so gorgeous in bouquets and arrangements

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How to Make a Budget for Wedding Flowers

     Your big day is set - congratulations!  Now the work begins... because it takes planning and hard work to pull off a fabulous event and you want your wedding day to be amazing and memorable. Of course it's memorable to you and your sweetie, but you also want to give your friends and family a heck of party to attend and remember. Your wedding represents you as a new couple, if you're paying for everything. It's the biggest public event of your life! And if mom and dad are helping pay the bill, it represents them too.  So it's important to plan well.  So, how to begin with making a flower budget?

     Some brides come with a budget already in mind and that's wonderful.  To me, it means that they've checked around, made a list of what they'll need and then checked sources to find out how much things cost, in general.  They're usually pleasantly surprised when I give them our quote because our prices are really, really reasonable.  And then we adjust up or down based on our discussions before arriving at a final quote.  We charge a $150 deposit to 'hold the date'.  This amount is non-refundable because we've turned away other brides who wanted that same date. We can only handle so many weddings on any particular day, so it's important to 'hold the date' as soon as you can with your florist. Then the final bill is due 30 days prior to the wedding day and the order is non-refundable. Wedding flower orders are custom, with preparations made many weeks ahead. Flowers are ordered, sometimes from outside the country, delivered and prepped days before an event. A florist spends many, many hours leading up to the day of the wedding.

I recommend that you separate the ceremony flowers from the reception flowers when making your budget.  Ask yourself these questions:

 Ceremony

1. What type of bouquet do you want? (Some flowers cost more than other flowers and size matters) 

2. How many attendants and what flowers should they have? 

3. Do you want mom and dad to have a corsage/boutonniere? How about grandma/grandpa?

4. Do you want flowers near the altar or on either side of you and your husband-to-be?

5. How about flowers on the pews/chairs?

6. Any flowers for the door of the facility, outside stairs, entry way, table arrangements?

7. And don't forget -do you need flowers for your hair, or for your flower girl/ring bearer?

Now, let the party planning begin!  

Reception

1. Look around the venue site and see if flowers could help it's appearance (we'll help you with this one if you need a vision of how it could look)

2. How many tables will need decor? An estimate in the beginning will work fine.

3. Any arrangements needed for the book/gift table?

4. How about flowers to adorn the cake or food tables?

5. Do you want extra decor at the head bride/groom table?

6. How about using flowers to give the room a more luxurious look? (we'll help with this one too)

And the final piece of advice regarding a flower budget is to not be afraid to discuss your budget with your florist. We're used to working with all kinds of budgets and making the most beautiful wedding possible within your budget.

I hope this helps.  If you're planning a wedding in the N.E. Georgia/Atlanta area (we're located in Braselton, GA), give us a call at 770-557-9210 or email me at Cindy@ceflorals.com and I'll give you price ranges to help get you started. On our initial meeting with you, we like to meet at the venue site, because that's where the ideas begin. Then we set up a bride's board on our Pinterest page, Pinterest.com/ceflorals, so we can trade ideas and by the time your wedding day approaches, you'll have a good vision of what it'll look like. We handle all the details of the flower design, delivery, set up, rental of special equipment and then removing everything afterward.  That's what C E Florals does! We love what we do and we'd be honored to be a part of your special day.

Eagle Ranch Wedding

Wedding at Eagle Ranch Chapel in Flowery Branch, GA, with reception following at Reunion Country Club.

Our beautiful bride, Nicole, wanted a color scheme of white, with accents of sunflowers and purple and the results were gorgeous. The bride chose to go with a wild flower look for the altar arrangements. The mothers of the bride and groom held large single sunflowers and the flower girl's basket held a small lovely flower arrangement.  Potted blooming plants outside the chapel gave a welcoming look.

We decided that two arrangements with Lilies, Gerbera daisies, Queen Anne's laces and lots of greenery would give 'wild flower' look the bride desired. The effect was perfect for the chapel.

Flowering potted plants on the porch, along with a rocking

chair provided by the client, gave a welcoming look

Mothers of the bride and groom walked down the

isle holding large single stems of sunflowers and 

the flower girl carried a sweet basket with a flower 

arrangement, glued down to insure no spills.

 
Her white peony bouquet with purple accents
looked stunning with her dress. (Thanks to mom,
 Deb, for sending me the photo!)

The reception took place at Reunion Country Club

and the bride chose to have the lanterns on the tables

decorated with a mixture of white daisies, sunflowers

and purple accents. We twisted grapevine

on each lantern for a beautiful finished look.

The cage, which was placed on an entry side table to hold cards from guests, was decorated to match the table settings.

The beautiful cake was decorated with fresh flowers too.

Outside the country club, we made green wreaths for the doors with bride and groom initials, green ferns on either side of the entry door. 

The wreaths were made with three different types of fresh greenery and we added fresh flowers to the large ferns for a pop of added color. 

Attention to detail with white curly willow and matsumoto asters were added to the vases in the built-ins, within the dining room.

The dining room looked beautiful and ready for guests. 

Our very best to Nicole and Brooks! Thank you for letting us be a part of your very special day!

Top 2015 Trends for Bridal Gowns and Flowers

Top 4 Gown Trends:

Long Sheer Sleeves

Dramatic Necklines

Crop Tops and Long Ball Gown Skirts                 

Two in One Changeable Gowns (Detachable Skirts)

   

Top 5 Flower Choices:

Peonies                    Hydrangeas

Garden Roses          Dahlias

Ranunculus

It’s a busy wedding season in the C E Florals workshop and available spots fill up early. We are currently booking through the fall.

Make an appointment and we will meet with you at the venue site to discuss all your floral needs.  We provide all the equipment, delivery, set up and tear down after the event.  On average, our prices are 20 percent lower than our competitors and we are pleased to continue to offer the best prices and designs available.

Call 770-557-9210 or email for availability: Cindy@CEFlorals.com

We look forward to helping create the wedding of your dreams!

The Latest Trend in Wedding Bouquets 2014

I recently attended the American Institute of Floral Designers Southern Conference at St. Simons Island, Georgia where beautiful cascading bouquets were all the buzz.  Hand tied bouquets will continue to be a popular choice for certain dress styles but a cascading bouquet gives a classic look that can be exquisite when it's designed to accentuate the dress. 

The conference was very informative and the designs were amazing!

Opulent wedding/reception designs by Brooke Raulerson, AIFD, FSMD, owner of Artistic Florist,
Amelia Island, GA  gave a great talk at the conference about wedding trends. She mentioned
 that her shop does about 150 weddings a year so she knows what brides want.

Another beautiful design by Brooke

When I first stepped into the hotel, I knew this setting was done by a fellow floral designer. So creative!

With a conference theme of designing with nature, these baskets of flowers were so fitting and simply lovely.

Designer Rene van Rems, AIFD, author of 'Rene's Bouquets' created many beautiful
cascading bouquets for his talk on wedding trends.

And this is how florists decorate a room for themselves. The final conference dinner.  Breathtaking!

The 'Designs from Nature' portion of the conference were amazing too. Like the horizontal design below.
 

I can see this design being used at so many different events -
such as a fundraiser, restaurant opening, etc.

This unusual bridal bouquet was made for a nature loving bride and an outdoor wedding setting.

.

This fabulous table arrangement was made by Gerry Gregg, AIFD.  I loved it so much, I bought it at the auction, after the conference

Gerry Gregg was unable to attend the conference due to a recent illness, but had some of his floral art creations shipped in. Gerry is  currently undergoing chemo treatments and everyone at the conference missed him tremendously. If anyone's interested in some amazing wall art, I've added the link to his work and it's available for purchase.

 https://www.facebook.com/diana.lewington.1027/media_set?set=a.482158961884348.1073741840.100002707447611&type=1

Bridal Shower Table Arrangement Ideas

We recently provided table arrangements for a bridal shower at the Le Clos Restaurant inside Chateau Elan Winery. We were told the bride's colors were yellow and silver, so we used yellow roses with brunia gray silver balls as a filler flower for the dessert table arrangement, below right, and white hydrangeas with yellow roses in silver and glass cube vases on dining tables, below left.

The cube vases shown below work well for table arrangements and they come in many colors and textures for added interest.  

And don't forget the buffet, dessert and gift tables. Keep the color scheme the same as the dining tables, but alter the arrangement height and flower type slightly for added overall interest. The arrangement below works beautifully for a tropical or spa setting.

Dramatic Wedding Flowers Make a Beautiful Impact

     Beautiful bride Holly, wanted a big arrangement inside the country club where her wedding and reception took place. 

     She also wanted to make a statement at the entrance which was also going to be the backdrop for the ceremony which was held on the front lawn of the club house. 

     The urns filled with greenery, branches and hydrangea made a gorgeous impact. And railings leading up to the entrance were covered with baby's breath garland and bows in the bride's color theme for a softening effect.

     The dining room tables were set with baby's breath wreaths around black lanterns which made for a wonderful visual contrast.

     The bride's bouquet was made with hot pink roses and her bridesmaids carried a combination of pink, orange and blue flowers to add some fun and contrast against their pink dresses.

   

     Final touches throughout the buffet room and dining room included a colorful coffee table arrangement, hydrangeas in candelabras and pink quince tree branches in vases. Attention to details made all the difference in the world.  Thanks Holly for letting C E Florals be a part of your big day! 

     That's me in the background, working to get ready for the wedding.  C E Florals has lots of large vases and urns to create the dramatic effect you want for your wedding. We'll meet you at your venue site to discuss ideas, and we deliver and set up everything for you!