Before: Alicia's wedding

Alicia is having a beautiful beach wedding this weekend - and wouldn't you know it? It has been cold and raining all week. Hopefully it will improve in time for the big day.

This cold snap has provided me with one huge problem - this wedding includes lilies. Lilies arrive as a closed bud so you have to order them in advance to give them enough time to open. With the heat and humidity we have had for the last few months, it only takes a couple of days for them to open into a flower. However when it is cold, it can take a week or more.

When I ordered the lilies, it was hot and humid so I didn't think there would be a problem. And I only need 3 white lilies for the bride bouquet and 16 orange lilies for the bridesmaids so that should be easy right? Well I have been watching and tending to my lilies all week and whilst the orange ones are great, the white ones just aren't budging! And did I mention that I only need 3?! It's probably time to put a backup plan in place.

Here are Alicia's flowers: (you can see how tightly closed the white ones look)

Alicia's flowers are white oriental lilies, orange tiger lilies, some cordyline leaves and camellia leaves. She is also having some white artificial frangipani's too.

I'll be back after the weekend to let you know how I went. Keep your fingers and toes crossed for me that these white lilies open!