Mingara 'Getting Hitched' Expo Aftermath.....

I think I have finally recovered enough from the Mingara bridal expo that was held on Sunday, to actually write a post to tell you about it. So lets start from the beginning......... (get ready for a photo overload)

It all started on Monday last week when I had some Oriental Lilies delivered. Because the weather is so cold, these flowers need to come in earlier than everything else so that they have an opportunity to open. Well that is supposed to be the plan anyway.... more on that later.

These are the rest of my flowers that arrived on Friday...Clockwise from the top left hand corner we have: pink oriental lilies, white oriental lilies, white and cream roses, molucca balm, orange tulips, pink and hot pink and cream roses, white singapore orchids, pink blushing brides, white lisianthus, green hydrangea and some dusty miller foliage.

It was up to me to actually turn these flowers into something beautiful. My only problem was that my lilies weren't opening. So on Saturday when I needed to start making the bouquets, my lilies looked like this...

Aaaauuuuuugggghhhh! Sometimes working with lilies is an absolute nightmare. In winter, it is so cold that the flowers don't want to open, and in summer, they open way too quick and don't last well in the heat. If any of you have ever chosen lilies in your wedding bouquet and can't understand why they are such an expensive flower for bridal work, it is because we need to order two to three times more flowers than what you actually need in your bouquets to make sure enough flowers open in time. They are also a flower that usually needs to be wired for use in bouquets and wired flowers are more costly.

So I left the lily bouquets until last and just hoped for the best. These are what I came up with...

Bouquet 1: posy consisting of 40 cream roses and a frame of camellia leaves

Bouquet 2: posy consisting of 30 pink roses and 1 bunch of pink blushing brides, with a frame of vibernum leaves

Bouquet 3: posy consisting of 30 hot pink roses, 10 orange tulips, 1 bunch molucca balm and a frame of vibernum leaves

Bouquet 4: teardrop bouquet consisting of 30 white roses, 2 bunches white lisianthus, 2 stems white sinapore orchids and 1 bunch of dusty miller foliage

By the time I had done all of these I had a few more lilies open but not enough to fill the bouquets. I made up as much of them as I could and planned to wake up early hopefully to many more open lilies.

I woke up early and found that I had just enough flowers to finish off the bouquets. Phew - how lucky was that?!

Bouquet 5: wired posy of pink oriental lilies and magnolia foliage

Bouquet 6: I did this same one at the last expo and it was so popular amongst the brides that I decided to make it again for this expo. And again it got alot of special attention. This is a wired cascade bouquet of white oriental lilies, white singapore orchids and magnolia foliage

After only 4 hours of sleep and finishing off all the bouquets, it was time to head off to the expo. My poor hubby spent his day off work, helping me in my stall. He was such a great help, handing out my pamphlets and talking to people when I was already busy talking to other people. I was so proud of my gorgeous man and felt really lucky that he was there to help me out.

It was a great day. There was over 1200 people that came through and I got such a positive reaction to my stand. People were just so lovely and saying the nicest things. I've even had quite a few enquiries already!

Thanks to everyone that came in. You made the expo a great success.

I ended up giving away the natural stem bouquets which left me with the wired bouquets to take home. And can you imagine that when I looked at them today, 2 days after the expo, they still looked pretty good? Flowers love this cold weather. Take a look.....

Counting down to the next wedding expo

One week to go........ On Sunday 21st June 2009, I will be exhibiting at the Getting Hitched expo. The expo will be held in the showroom at Mingara Recreation Club from 10am until 3pm. There will be lots to look at and with over 100 vendors there will be plenty of people to see (but most importantly meeeeeeeee). Entry is free and there is plenty of parking available. Make sure you come and visit, and feel free to introduce yourself. I would be so happy to meet any supporters of my little business.

Bouquet Shapes: The Arm Sheaf

Oops. It's been a while since I started the 'bouquet shape' series. So to get back on track I am going to tell you about the Arm Sheaf. Arm Sheaf bouquets are usually long stem flowers that the bride can carry cradled in the nook of her arm. It can be extremely stylish by using just one variety of flower in a simple and neat manner, or it can be more elaborate and messy with more flowers and trailing bits spilling over the arm.

The most common flower used for an Arm Sheaf is the Arum or Calla Lily. It doesn't take many stems at all and gives such a stylish and contemporary appearance. Other long stem flowers that are suitable for this style of bouquet are roses, tulips, orchids, lillies, iris, heliconia, molucca balm, delphinium and gerberas.

The Arm Sheaf can also be held hanging downwards instead of across your arm, the same way as you would hold a teardrop style bouquet.

May: in photos

I was quite busy through the month of May.

I spent the first week working for my old boss at her shop through the busy Mother's Day period. It was fun to go back to the shop where I first started my floristry career, and I loved working with my old boss again. Mother's Day was very busy but somehow it felt so easy. None of us felt any pressure at all and were able to keep on top of the orders and have lots of fun along the way.

Then in the second week I had Jenny's wedding and the wedding expo, which you have already seen photos of.

And then in the final two weeks, I was working at another shop that I left six months ago. The boss was having two weeks off and I was happy to help out and fill in for her. I realised that I don't miss working in that shop whatsoever, but I do miss my dear old work mate Nerida.

Anyway, here is a small selection of what I got up to over the past two weeks:

Flower Of The Month

This month I am going to show you a gorgeous but unusual flower, that is not commonly used for weddings in Australia. I really hope that as more people get to know it, it will become more popular for wedding work.

Molucca Balm (also known as Bells of Ireland), have a tall stem with little green florets on it. I love using Molucca Balm for arrangements and big displays and especially love it's vibrant colour. Green is my favourite flower colour. It goes with everything and always stands out. It also adds a feeling of freshness to an arrangement.

Flower: Mollucca Balm, Bells of Ireland

Botanical Name: Molucella

Origin: Despite it's name, it does not come from Ireland. It is actually native to Syria

Season: It's available at most times of year, but is best in Winter and Spring

Colour/s: Green

Meaning: Good luck

I didn't do these wedding flowers, but I've always admired the simplicity of the bouquet and how great it looks against the black and white dresses:

and a couple more pics to give you an idea of how it can look in a bouquet and arrangement