QuestionHi I see reading you other answers you are from alberta. I'm getting married at banff springs this summer. I was hoping you might be able to advise what types of flowers would be economical but still pretty for wedding decor and bouquets, for colors wanting varrying shades of purple, ivory and green. Also any decorating tips for the bride on a budget? It will be a scottish themed wedding with a little western twist.
AnswerHi Carolyn;
Thanks for your inquiry, and congrats on your up-and-coming wedding! Banff is an amazing spot to host a wedding as well.. you'll have soo much fun!!
Summer weddings have the advantage of most flowers being available during the season, with the exception of spring blooms. For you, that will mean you will have lots of choices that will help keep you in your budget.
Your color combination is one of my favorites.. classy and elegant and always looking fresh! There are quite a few options for bloom choices in those colors.
With a Scottish-meets-the-prairies themed wedding, I would definitely recommend using the 'Scottish thistle" in your bouquet.. the beauty with these is their tough nature.. they last for days, and even when they've expired, you would never know it.. they look the same dried as they do fresh! They make great corsages and bouts as they're fairly resilient to crushing.
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3516/3865337025_6e762f849f.jpg
http://www.elizabethannedesigns.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2009/10/blue-and-gre...
These only come in a blueish-purple color. Other purples (purples are actually part of the 'blue' family to florists.. so don't be alarmed if your florist refers to them as 'blue') available in the summer are delphiniums (very commonly used in a Scottish wedding), some hydrangeas (dependent on the soil conditions.. ph of soil determines outcome of color for the year. Check with florist on availability), roses and irises (depending on when your wedding is, they may not be available anymore.. but some florists can get them hot-house grown still.. so check availability if you like them). Other 'filler blooms' that are smaller and come in a large variety of purples/blues are freesia (smell amazing!), lavender, and lisianthus.
You can do an ivory floral base with the purples as your accent colors, with natural greens as your greens. Having said that, a definite consideration would be the Bells of Ireland.. a very cool looking bloom that is a pale green..In this arrangement they are the little cupped green flowers.
http://www.arenaflowers.com/files/Image/arenaflowers.com/bespoke/weddings/table-...
Ivory offers lots of floral choices. Try to go with blooms that offer a larger 'bloom head' size, like a gerbera daisy or a hydrangea.. this will allow you to have less in your bouquet, helping to keep your budget down. (Flowers are all priced by the stem.. so a bouquet of smaller blooms can add up very quickly).Roses come in varying degrees of quality: South American roses spend an awful lot of time in transit, and although they are a good rose, we, as Canadians, end up with them at the tail-end of their life-span. They usually are less expensive simply because they wilt very quickly or won't open from the bud stage at all. Premium roses are more expensive.. you can expect to pay anywhere from $7 per stem and up for them.
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_UnHZfyOYACc/SedDRYx8LyI/AAAAAAAAHC8/M-8UrtG4ml0
/s400/wild+purple+and+ivory+wedding+bouquet.jpg
You can also go with green as your predominant color instead, and have the ivory as the less frequent accent color, something along this line:
http://pics.gallery.weddingbee.com/8801.green-purple-flowers-20100626-wiese-10.j...
This may work well for you if you want that 'pop' of color against a white or light colored wedding gown for nice contrast for your pictures. Depending on the color your bridal attendants are wearing, you could go opposite colors with them.
You can also go strong with the blues/purples and lighter on the greens and ivories.. it really depends on the look you want:
http://www.belvedereflowers.com/blog/Bridesmaid%20bouquet%20in%20lime%20green%20...
In all of these bouquets, you can easily incorporate green wheat to accent the prairies (western) touch you mentioned:
http://www.creatingawedding.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/06/lav-wand1.jpg
I would take a visit down to the Scottish Shoppe in Calgary and see if you can pick up enough ribbon to wrap the stems of your bouquet in the applicable clan tartan (its not cheap, but so worth the money spent!). They're very helpful in getting the right tartan, or the next closest thing to.. Use this ribbon to tie your bouquet and in the groom's boutonniere (smaller width, of course). You may also choose to add it to the parents corsages/bouts on both sides as well.
For table and reception decor, choose floral elements that can server double duty;
*rent small galvanized pails that you can fill with ivory colored gerbera daisies (inexpensive) or field daisies in purple (even less expensive!), tie with a corresponding ribbon and use in your ceremony location to decorate the aisle. Then designate someone to move them to the reception hall and place them for centerpieces on all your tables.
*Opt out of flowers for centerpieces and go with square vases filled with green wheat (can get some free...send the guys out one night to cut some for you from a farmer.. if you ask them, they'll likely let you take some at no charge..you can also find it growing in the ditches on the other side of fences of wheat fields, due to overspray.. free for the picking!). Tie the vases with some coordinating ribbon and circle with odd-number of votives (3's or 5's work best). Be sure to cut the wheat shorter so it doesn't topple out of the vases.
* Alternatively, you can make small free-standing bunches out of greens only.. lily grass, green wheat, curly willow twigs.. all add texture and class to any event at a fraction of the cost of flowers.
* If you are having a toss bouquet separate from your bouquet, use it to decorate the guest book table. Keep it in a vase until you need it, so it stays hydrated.. in the mean time it looks nice on the entrance table. You can also use it on a cake table.
* Rent decorations. Some rental companies have silk flower rentals that are available to you as well.. that look nice and are functional. This is usually at a fraction of the cost of doing fresh flowers.
* Request colored napkins for your event. If you can't afford the look of full-out linen rentals such as chair covers, etc.. then even a splash of color with napkins can make the world of difference. Alternatively, you can put chair covers on the head table and family table chairs only and leave the rest of the room as is.
* Have the hotel or your florist provide the proper number of vases across the head table, partially filled with water, so you and your girls can drop your thirsty bouquets in them when you reach the reception hall. This adds a nice floral touch to the head table, and re-hydrates your flowers at the same time. I used to do this for my clients as part of my service.. see what your florist will do for you.
* Use garlands of fresh greens to line the edge of the head table, cake and guest book table in lieu of flower arrangements. Much less expensive! If you are getting married outdoors, these can be used double duty at the ceremony location and then moved to the reception hall later as well.
I hope that helps! Be sure to ask at the Banff Springs what they have as far as decorations. I do know they were getting quite a collection of stuff available to their clients.. so you can cut costs by borrowing as much as you can from them as well.
If I missed anything, please let me know!
Melanie Lauren
