February 12, 2013

Valentine Flower Panic - NO MORE!


So, its that time of the year, when lovers out there get into a panic about flowers... so we thought we might help with some tips about how you can get the best flowers for your love...
Skip The Same Old Standbys. Unless your Valentine is crazy for red roses and only red roses, avoid them like the plague. The same goes for pink roses, and pink and red tulips, though to a lesser degree. You see, various players in the floral industry save up their Valentine's Day heavy hitters for days and weeks before the holiday, meaning that by the time you buy the red roses, they maybe have a few precious hours to live. Much better to buy something a little less traditional that was harvested more recently. Here in Singapore, most blooms are shipped in, so get the ones that arrive on the day you are shopping rather than ones that have been brought in and prepped days in advance. 
Don't Fret If You Don't Know Their Favorite Flower. I've seen so many people have a near-panic attack when they realize they dont' know their beloved's favorite flower. It can be a helpful bit of trivia, but many people have several favorites, or no favorite. It's much, much more helpful to think about, and tell me about, your beloved's style. Is her home stark and modern? Does he dress in many colors at once? Does she like to run through forests barefoot, or would a manicured garden be more her scene? Adjectives like wild, modern, exotic, sweet, feminine, rugged, sunny, lush, or mysterious, whether they apply to your beloved's clothing, home, or personality, can help me put together the perfect arrangement.
Take Cues From Food. Scent is a major issue in the floral world. Think about what your Valentine likes to eat and drink. Does your darling prefer more savory scents? Many florists these days are carrying fresh rosemary, bay, mint, and oregano, so you can put together a bouquet good enough to eat.
Have Your Love Letter Ready. Chances are you'll be asked what you'd like to have written on the card if you are ordering your flowers to be delivered. Don't be shy  — but do be prepared. It can be extremely difficult to come up with something romantic/meaningful/sexy/sweet on the spur of the moment, with someone waiting, so have your inscription written down ahead of time. This will also give you a chance to figure out the punctuation you prefer — exclamation points can make all the difference!
Be Explicit When You Order. If you need an arrangement delivered by 3pm, please be sure to tell your friendly neighborhood florist! Deliveries are generally arranged geographically (all the orders for the day gathered and then delivered via the most efficient route possible) so yours might not arrive until 6, after you've already left for the weekend.
Be Patient (Within Reason). If you didn't specify a time and your Valentine hasn't received a delivery yet, try not to worry. Valentine's Day, the days before, and even the day after, are a crazy time in the life of florists, a period of 12+-hour days without breaks. 
Remember It's Only One Day, It's Only One Bouquet. Whether you're sending or receiving flowers, it can be tempting to put the pressure of the entire relationship on their delicate stems. Are the flowers she sent you a bit lackluster? That might say more about the depleted flower market and the exhausted florist than it says about her feelings for you. Did he not send your favorites? Maybe there are no pink tulips within a hundred miles. We do our best to make each bouquet perfect, but there are misses and miscommunications. Whether the flowers are wonderful or underwhelming, they're just flowers, and it's just Valentine's Day, and there's so much more to your love than that.

August 05, 2012

Still Smooching after 25 yrs

The Flourist recently was given the opportunity to decorate a home for a 25th anniversary celebration.
What an honor...

The couple in question are lovely - and really that word does not even do justice to all they have achieved in 25 yrs. Sweethearts they were and still are, judging by the jokes, jibes and hugs they still give each other. We were witness to that kiss... WHOA! if thats anything to go by, they must be doing something right ;)
They have lived in several countries, raised two amazing girls...oops i mean ladies, run great careers at different points in their lives, handled ups and downs so gracefully, developed an amazing network of friends in all the places they lived, and still maintained a great family connection with their far flung extended family.

As we were given a free hand to design whatever we want, The Flourist decided to go with a naturally exotic look - We used Heliconias - to be specific the Richmond Red and the pendant Crab Claw. The choice of flowers completely fit the nature of this family - beautiful wild and majestic.



Recognise the hoops?
we wanted to draw attention to the lovely exposed roof in this house, so by hanging the hoops with the heliconias strapped to them, we moved the eye focus above, to take in the architectural beauty of the home. Also as there was going to be lots of family catching up, we did not want tall arrangements hiding faces etc...


So, to complement the hanging pieces, we had low arrangements, once again keeping it simple and natural, this time coupling the monstera leaves with the pendant Crab Claws. They looked amazing, almost like they were growing out of the tables ;)


This is a great way to use these lovely blooms in a natural way without too much manipulation, and you don't need too many to make it look amazing. Beauty in simplicity.


August 02, 2012

Olympic Fever Wedding

So hooked on the Olympics that you want an Olympic themed wedding?
GREAT!

We draw on some of the images as inspiration to give you a headstart in planning your special themed day. You don't really want to go completely overboard, but it is a fun theme to use.

Venue:
Choose a sporting venue - like an indoor tennis/badminton/squash court for your venue. These venues are quite strict about heels etc on the ground and the line paintwork, so be sure to check all your do's and dont's with the venue.
If you live in a tropical country like Singapore/Malaysia, but want to use an outdoor venue, why not try a volleyball court, complete with nets. It could be a 'courting' game perhaps for the groom to woo the bride ;)

The Bling:
We are loooooving these rings inspired by the Olympic Rings...


Decoration:
Use the five olympic ring as inspiration, or use your country's colors to decide on your theme. Or if you decide on a particular sport venue, then use all the accessories like racquets, balls, outfit, nets, caps etc as inspiration. This could feature in your wedding outfits too.



Cakes:
Use the Olympics as inspiration and design your cake. You could choose a whole cake and design it with the rings. Or concentrate on the medal tally or a particular sport.






Or you could stay on trend, and use cake pops  and have a variety of designs on them. They add a fun element to your wedding, and will definitely be different.










So what are you waiting for? With these ideas you will get a headstart in planning your unique wedding and will surely be the Sporting one amongst your friends ;)



oh! and don't worry if your wedding is a few months after the largest sporting event of 2012, you can always bring back the glory and refresh everyone's memory with the little details.

We need more hours in the day

Is it already AUGUST!???
wow where does the time go.

I have to say sorry to all The Flourist's fans - the problem with running a one wo-man show is... exactly that. There are only one pair of hands and one brain to think and do everything.

Couple that with the fact that we now have a little one year old as part of the team and yes... all plans are usually scuppered or delayed because the flowers - or wowers as our new team member says... are usually too interesting to place in an arrangement, but much rather dissected and analyzed for more shall we say exploratory purposes ;)

Anyhow, this is to say we have been working hard on getting new clients and working on new projects, and we have not forgotten about you at all... just saving up great things to write about and give you more inspiration for your big day or any event.

Stay tuned ;)



April 30, 2012

Playing Catch Up

Last year... yes yes, I am severely delayed....

where was I? thats right, last October we were lucky to do another tiffany blue and silver inspired wedding. And due to the bride's really busy schedule we never got to meet!!! So, I had to figure out what the bride liked or did not like just by emailing images and lots and lots of emails ;)

The flowers were white white white with a touch of emerald green which were mainly the lisianthus buds. We also used wax flowers, gerberas and silver gum nuts.
We used white pebbles spray painted with silver and silver bits to style the photo album and desert tables - they looked lovely against the tiffany blue ruffles on the table.

Recognise the boxes? ;) yup we had some left over from another wedding, and so we used them to hold the flowers... love the way these turned out.

Thankfully we pulled it off, and the bride and groom loved the final pieces. Hope you like them too ;)





April 23, 2012

Purple Madness

Our last few brides have loved the colour purple and white, which is lovely... but why not try pairing purple with other colours - like pink, or yellow? or even different shades of green.

The brighter yellow lifts the purple and makes the look pop and is very trendy


 Or leave the purple on its own with different shades of green - the above are two very modern takes on a very traditional purple theme...





Or mix purple with pinks and deep reds to get a more sensuous, romantic look...

Its all fair in purple and colours... so feel free to let the passion show.


Flower School!

The Flourist recently had the good luck to meet an ultra inventive mum who was looking for something interesting to do for her daughter's 13th birthday... She had already planned a day of treasure hunting in the city, and a sumptious birthday breakfast and dinner treat and was looking for something to fill in the morning...

So, we planned a little craft activity. We went along to teach 4 13 yr olds and 1 10 yr old the basic techniques of wiring and making a button hole, and then building on that to make corsages.
They were amazing! They were completely serious and into it from the get go... from wiring, to taping and putting all the bits together, they were fantastic!

This is a great idea for an older child's birthday or even for a hen night activity before a night on the town.

We had so much fun teaching them the steps - we would love to do it all again!!
Have a look at the finished products!
Floura-tastic ;)






And as a treat at the end of the session, we made them little chocolate flower cupcakes... needless to say they did not need any lessons how to gobble them down ;)


March 06, 2012

party dreams...

Talk about party dreaming...
I came across this link today as I was browsing and looking for inspiration - thats code for being a sticky beak and seeing what other people were up to on the space ;)

the party dress is such a cool and well put together space I just had to share it with you.

everyday I think about pretty things, and WILL for new clients to contact me so that i can help them create something new and interesting... and This link really makes me want to to will them even more ;)

So here it is sending a sonic willing message out to everyone....

enjoy being inspired ;)

January 30, 2012

Bicycle built for two

The Flourist finally got to do a wedding that featured decorating two of our favourite things...a bicycle and a mini cooper ;)

We booked this December wedding quite early on, though some of the details were only finalised closer to the date of the wedding. It was fantastic to be back in the swing of things again, after the short baby break.

The theme was purple and white, and the bride and groom wanted a country look for their wedding. So we used simple heart shaped frame with orchids for pew ends, and tall arrangements for the altar. With the colour theme, we used a lot of orchids for this wedding - from the accessories to the church decoration. The altar arrangements had to be tall to be seen - so we used the idea of a hand bouquet of orchids and adapted it for a vase arrangement. We tinted the water for the altar arrangements to make sure it was in theme...



The wedding was at a church on Tanglin Road, and had an interior decor with wood panelling and wooden pews with plush seats that went well with the country theme. Add to that a bicycle out the front to greet guests at the wedding - the country quirk was perfect. We had such a lot of fun decorating this wedding! For the bicycle we used purple brassica (the cabbage looking flower) and lots of little daisies - the idea was to have a just picked look for the bicycle. We then decked it with ribbon in case the bride and groom decided to use it as their get away vehicle ;)










The only departure from the purple country scene was of course the bridal car... but I love the mini cooper, and obviously so did the couple and it was their day - so who cares if the red clashed with the purple...we simple left out the purple for the car, and used white gerbera daisies and roses and lots of green to make the flowers pop.