“M & J” had known of each other for years, but had never really “met” till two and a half years ago when a mutual high school friend of theirs formally introduced them. Well, guess what? They ended up getting hitched!

I got a text message from the bride-to-be about a yearago, asking if I’d be a bridesmaid in her wedding, and also if I’d do the flowers for the bridal party. I said “yes” to both accounts, and we started to brainstorm about colors and textures for her flowers. She was going with a Spanish theme and her colors were red and black. Don’t worry; it wasn’t a GOTH wedding…

On a crisp Saturday morning in May, the lovebirds met me at the SF Flower market where we walked around pricing flowers and getting a feel for the textures that “M” had in mind for her arrangements. After a couple of hours we had the floral list: Red Roses (Freedom), Red Freesia, Black Schwartz Calla lilies, and Red Aranda Orchids. This selection would give us great rich colors, and really soft/lush textures.

Once we were set on the floral palette, I got to designing and decided that the bridal bouquet would be the main focus with the most color and texture; the groom’s and fathers’ boutonnières would be constructed of one Calla Lily with a fiddle stick accent; the mother’s corsages would be one Red Rose bloom with some accent greenery; and finally the bridesmaids would have simple bouquets of red roses.

I wish my dear friends “M & J” the best in their “Epic Love” and hope that it leads them onto an even more “Epic Life”! Love you both! Congratulations!!!

Tip #1: if you’re buying flowers for an event from the flower market, make sure;

a)    The flowers you want are in season (this will cut your cost considerably)

b)     Put in the order for the flowers about 2 weeks prior to the event with the different vendors, to ensure that you get great quality fresh flowers

Tip #2: Brides-to-be; make sure you have a tossing bouquet that is separate from the bouquet you walk with down the aisle. This way you can dry/preserve your original bouquet as a keepsake from your special day.