orange calla lily

While summer is generally a slow time at the flower shop, it is not a slow time for weddings. When my father owned the shop, he hated dealing with weddings, in particular with mothers of the brides. He never wanted to be the one to actually service the wedding, that is to take the flowers there and make sure that the right person gets the right flowers pinned on them or in there hand. He used to send me from time to time. I always thought it was very fun until the day the mother of the bride thought that the roses in the brides bouquet were not peach but pink and she let me have it until I was on the verge of tears. It was the bride herself that came to my rescue and calmed her mother down. I can't tell you how fast I hightailed it out of there! I never serviced another wedding again.

Nowadays, we have a lovely British lady who does most of our wedding flowers. She doesn't actually work at our shop. She has her own little place behind her house, but she does come in to meet with the brides at our place if they want, otherwise we send them over to her. We make sure however that she gets the flowers she needs. It's a great arrangement because she makes the most beautiful bouquets and we get credit for sending our brides to her!

The only wedding flowers that we actually make at the shop are if it is just a small wedding say the bridal bouquet a few boutonnières, and a few corsages. What I love about the today's bridal bouquets are the fabulous colors that brides are going for. Back in the day, the bridal bouquets were usually white and the attendants bouquets had all the color. Now, the brides have taken back the color for themselves, and they are using more than the usual roses to do it. Orange calla lilies are a perfect example of this. They are small, delicate flowers that are also graceful. They have beautiful curves and they always make people stop and take a second look. The big white calla lilies used to be relegated as funeral flowers, but the small colorful callas have given this exquisite flower a new lease on life, a new beginning just like a wedding!