put out the fire

Today’s guest blogger is my favorite floral designer who specializes in weddings and events. She always has insight into what’s hot and what’s not in the wedding world. Take it away, Renee…


Unity Ceremonies aren't just for candles anymore!

You’ve all seen the traditional unity candle march. Moms come down the aisle, each mom lights a taper candle, then during the ceremony the bride and groom “unite” by using said taper candles to light a larger pillar candle. While this is a lovely notion, involving the moms and the “eternal flame of love”, it’s a little boring. Today’s brides are looking for the non-traditional spin on everything: “What’s everyone else doing? Now, how can I do it differently??”

As someone who speaks with brides regularly, I’ve pretty much heard it all. But every now and again I hear something new, something totally different and, I’ll admit it, I get excited all over again about this business we call weddings. Recently, one of my brides let me in on what she is doing for her unity ceremony which got me so excited, I decided to research some other alternatives in a quest to find out what else I might be missing! More on this bride and her ceremony in a minute.

First, here are some other unity ceremony ideas, sans the candle:

Rose Ceremony: There are lots of variations on this but it generally involves 2 single stem roses, each held by the bride and the groom. Then they exchange the roses and are unified! I’ve also seen the rose being exchanged between the families, which is very similar to the Sign of Peace rose exchange that is done in some church ceremonies.

Water Ceremony: The bride and groom each have a bottle of colored water. At the same time they pour their water into a larger vessel, creating a new color of water. Think back to grade school art class. Red and yellow make orange, blue and yellow make green, etc. Then this new bottle of water can be placed on the mantle to look at forever!

Sand Ceremony: This is essentially the same as the water ceremony; however, colored sand is used in place of the water. These both hearken to the fact that neither water particles, nor sand particles, can be easily separated. Leaving the bride and groom metaphorically united for all of time.

Breaking Bread Ceremony: This one involves food which is always a plus in my book. There is a small loaf of bread that acts as the unifier. The bride and groom each tear off a piece and eat it. This can also be done with the families to unify everyone.

There are some others which you can research in your spare time: Salt Ceremony, Garland/Lei Ceremony, Circling, Celtic Oathing Stone, Truce Bell or the very fun sounding Lasso Ceremony. But the one that I am so excited about, the reason I was compelled to guest blog about this all in the first place is the…

Wine Ceremony! The bride and groom both have a carafe of wine, one white and one red. They both pour the wine into a glass creating a blush wine, then take a sip! For a very small event this can be done so that each guest has a sip at the reception toast. Or that the bridal party members have a glass at the cocktail hour. I just love the idea of this; maybe it’s my love of wine, or the fact that I hate nick-knack clutter (see Sand/Water ceremony above).

Whatever unifies you, take a minute to customize it. Make it special for the bridal party and the guests. This small ceremony is a very important part of a much larger ceremony. Don’t overlook it!

less is more

…when it comes to centerpieces anyway.

I am a floral designer who is guest blogging for the perennial bridesmaid today to talk centerpieces with you. As it relates to the wedding flowers, only bouquets should play a larger role in the décor AND budget than centerpieces.

Did you know that etiquette says you should be spending the same amount on each centerpiece that you are spending per plate for your guest?

So if you are feeding each guest $125 Filet Mignon, then your pedestal centerpieces should cost you roughly $125 each! I’ve been helping brides plan their wedding flowers for almost 6 years now and trust me; almost no one follows this rule. The truth is, by the time the bride and her family have gotten to the flowers, they’ve maxed out on almost every other area and are already thinking, “I can cut back on the flowers to make up for it.” And that’s ok. There are lots of ways to do it! Let me tell you how…

One of the most popular centerpiece ideas I have been hearing about lately is the “composite” centerpiece. This is where you have several vases on each table, usually a different flower type in each vase, all in the same color scheme. While this style looks beautiful, simple and covers a lot of table space it is NOT budget friendly.

The vases that are used in these schemes are usually cylinders or cubes which are premium glassware. The flowers that are used in these vases, except for hydrangea, require a lot more stems than you would imagine to fill the opening of the vase. The labor to put them all together is multiplied by the number of vases. So if you’d like 3 vases on your table; one with white hydrangea, one with white roses and one with white orchids, you have 3 times the glassware, 3 times the flowers and 3 times the labor. And that all equals, you guessed it: expensive!!

If you’re into this look, do yourself a favor and supply the vases to your florist. Head to your local Home Goods, Tuesday Morning, your favorite second hand store, yard sales or better yet, IKEA and find yourself a collection of vases that sorta look the same. They don’t have to be exactly the same because who’s gonna notice? Plus, the different vases will add charm. This will cut back substantially on your bottom line.

Choose large headed flowers: hydrangea, alstromeria, ‘Moon Series’ carnations, gerbers, etc. to fill up the vase faster.

If you’re not totally attached to the composite idea, go ahead and embrace the less expensive “one vase” option. Lay it on a bed of moss for the organic look instead of the overdone mirror. Surround it with seashells for a beach theme. Scatter cork tops from wine bottles around it for the wine connoisseur couple.

Think outside the vase, I mean, box!

-Renee Tucci, floral designer
renee@pflorist.com

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