PUBLISHED: Steampunk Photo Shoot

Our steampunk photo shoot was published and I am just posting it now....(I know, I know, you can give me heck later).  You can view more images over at

Borrowed and Bleu 

where it was also one of the top ten blog posts for their 2012 year!

A close up detail shot of the bouquet which was created in a copper and pearl nest, with lace ruffle, purple velvet ribbon wrap, and stamped vintage keys.

I tried to incorporate a lot of steampunk details into my floral creations for this shoot which took place on the hottest day in May of 2012. It was absolutely sweltering and our poor models didn't complain once. Not once. I was trying to keep everyone hydrated including the flowers, but I was the only one who suffered from heat stroke that day! I didn't know you could drink too much water and flush all the electrolytes out of your system!!

 I incorporated copper, gears, keys, clocks, and peacock feathers into the designs. This is a little chapeau  I made for the bride.

Tuktu Paper Co. 

Provided all the lovely paper works.

Beauty Bride

Styled the shoot with vintage decor.

Ooh La La Cupcakes

Created this incredible cake.

 I created this garland on the vintage typewriter. I can't even begin to tell you how heavy this typewriter was...I could hardly lift it! It must have been seventy pounds!

 This I can say with complete surety is my most favourite boutonniere I have EVER created.

Deanna McCollum Photography

Last but not least our amazing, tireless photographer who captured all of these incredible images and who made this shoot possible for all of us.

Merridale Estate Cidery

The beautiful venue.

 A close up detail of the bouquet with keys, gears, a tiny bird cage and copper details. I really love purple with chartreuse. All of the iris were from the Bella Fiore gardens.

I would like to thank everyone who worked on this shoot what an experience! I now know how to prevent heat exhaustion ;)

The Lovely Australians!

The lovely Australians are getting married.
The first thing I do on a wedding day is deliver the personal flowers to the wedding party.

Close up detail of the bouquets.
After delivering the personal flowers and dressing the ceremony site if applicable, I dress the wedding cake and reception tables. Notice the cake topper is of two grooms.
Meet my lovely Australians Jim and David. They are getting married. Yes, this is a same sex marriage, and if you have a problem with same sex marriages, you probably should not read any further. No hard feelings.
They have a beautiful kind of love and they came all the way to Victoria, B.C. Canada to get married! Yup. It's true.
Instead of groomsmen they had groom's women. The lovely ladies were supposed to be in black cocktail dresses, but, alas, something went wrong as it can do when you are traveling from another country. They look lovely all the same!
I made two matching bouquets for the girls. Jim and I worked together to create something the girls would love. He loves orchids. The man has good taste!
The exchange of the rings. Yippee!
One of the centerpieces.
Beginning to dress the tables with mokara blooms scattered, submerged cymbidium orchids and floating candles, and matching bouquets.
I love the series of following photos that photographer Mark from www.marksphoto.ca shot and I thank him for sharing them with me.
Love.
More love.
The boys running through Victoria with bubble wands makes me so happy!
Married and so adorable! Congratulations Jim and David may you have a lifetime of love, joy, and happiness! What a pleasure it was to work on your wedding!

Wedding Bouquet Inspiration Victoria B.C.

Weddings we LOVE them!
Planning a wedding in Victoria, B.C.? We LOVE weddings and specialize in weddings of all styles! Consultations are complimentary and by appointment only.This enables us to give you our undivided attention to discuss all the details of your special day.
Some florists prefer to design in only one style. Not us! We love all styles and are able to execute beautiful designs from rustic to glam and all that falls between. We love working with you to make your vision a reality.
Whether you have planned a romantic garden wedding, or
a high styled dramatic evening,
from a rustic, vineyard
to feminine romance.....
We will work with you to incorporate any style your heart desires!
We have an excellent reputation but don't take our word for it! Read what our clients say about us here or here.


Want to see more of what we do?
You can view more wedding inspiration here in our wedding gallery.
Want to contact us about your wedding? You can send us a message here and our phone number is here as well.
We create beautiful one of a kind bouquets, for beautiful, one of a kind brides! That's what we do and we love it! So, let's start planning your wedding in Victoria!

A Beautiful Family :Tony and Nikki in Spring

Well, I'm finally getting around to blogging some of my weddings. I finally, have some time to sit down and blog! Blogger is doing something strange and not letting me see what the pictures are as I blog so I am blogging at the end of the pictures as opposed to my usual comments after each picture.
Tony and Nikki were married in May. I remember when they first came for their consultation and thinking to myself what a gorgeous family! Nikki was pregnant and I love pregnant brides. They always look like Goddesses and Nikki is certainly no exception! Also, their little daughter was so adorable and interested in everything I had in the studio. I had her draped in ribbons and playing with little birds. ADORABLE.
The flowers were bright and bold. I also made Nikki a custom hair flower for her hair that you can see in the picture where she is kissing her little daughter. I love that picture! All the professional photos were taken by Mary Jane Howland Photography and I thank her for sharing some of the images of their special day with me the rest are taken by yours truly.
Congratulations Nikki and Tony and your beautiful family!!

Diana and Victor One Beautiful Family!

Meet Diana and Victor...
...and their beautiful family.
All these photographs were taken by the very sweet Kim Kalyn. A brand new bride herself!
Look at Diana and that slit up her leg. Ooh la la!
I just think Diana looks beautiful in all these photos.I think Kim did a wonderful job catching her beauty and personality. I just love the bamboo.




Diana and her adorable girls.The sweetest flower girls!
Each Bridesmaid carried a different bouquet. If you want to see more of the floral details of this wedding look here. The floral details were simple and elegant. I really loved the cake. Make sure you have a peak.
The groomsmen had coordinating boutonnieres to the bridesmaids.
I love this image.The flower girls carried freesia bouquets.Diana's Mom's favorite flower.

See this little one here? I could have hugged her right up! In fact, I did. Poor little girl :)
Father and son share an embrace. I LOVE it. Victor and Victor. Beautiful.
Three of these boys are related. Can you tell which ones?
I love mix matched bouquets and dresses. So visually pleasing.
The girls bouquets. You can see more flowers from this wedding here.
Strolling.....
....into happily ever after.
Thank-you to Kim Kalyn Photography for sharing her photos with us. Diana, Victor and your two beautiful girls. I wish you all the best. Hugs all around. XO.

Floral Fashionista Fridays: Sarah Seven

Floral Fashionista Fridays presents the work of a young, talented, independent designer from Portland,Oregon. Her name is Sarah Seven. I think her designs are fabulous. She designs and sews all the dresses herself in her studio. Sarah takes custom orders which take about four weeks to produce.You can learn about all the details in her shop.
Each dress seems to tell a story. When I look at the dresses, I envision a certain style of wedding. This is so inspiring to me as a custom floral designer because it helps me to create a design that befits the bride and her dress. With so many wedding dresses being variations of the same basic style it is so refreshing to see something unique.
If I could have one wish for bridal styles to evolve. I would wish for coloured bridal dresses and shorter hems.....O.K. two wishes! I'm always kind of surprised when these young, hip brides come to see me and they describe their wedding dresses. I guess it surprises me that tradition still plays such a major part in wedding styles for the bride. I truly feel that a bride can hold true to wedding ideals and traditions but still wear a coloured and unique dress. Maybe, it's just me.....my daughter has said she is going to wear bright red on her wedding day! I can't wait! Well, actually I can!
I love the whimsy of this one for a bridesmaid dress. Yellow is a hot spring trend right now. I also just love the moodiness of the photograph. Kudos to the photographer.
O.K. I love, love this dress. Secret Agent Girl! I wish I had the legs to pull it off....sigh. But how cool would this dress be to put on after the reception? Jump on your new husbands motorbike and take off into the night. Again, way cool photograph. I must ask Sarah who the photographer is....
Too cute!
I love simple elegance. It is so great to accessorize with flowers.
I actually think this dress would be great to wear to a summer wedding.
Remember my wish regarding colour? The first bride who contacts me for a wedding consultation who is not wearing white, off white, diamond white,cream,taupe or any derivative of these colours will get 20 % off their bridal bouquet! Mention this blog post...so I remember.
Sarah donates 10% of her profits to charities. Book her while you can.... because the girl is in demand!

The Art of Holding Your Bridal Bouquet

I bet you didn't know there is an art to carrying your bridal bouquet. Well there is! I have had this pet peeve for a while now and am going to address it in this post. I look at a lot of wedding photos and it really disturbs me when I see a bride carrying her bouquet too high; usually she is carrying it under her chin somewhere and her elbows are tucked tightly into her sides like she's clutching something precious to her chest. While your wedding bouquet is precious it's not Frodo's ring!
Your wedding bouquet is an accessory like a nice pair of earrings, funky handbag or fabulous pair of shoes. It has been designed to compliment your wedding dress, your build, your colouring as well as fit into your wedding scheme. If you hold your bouquet too high it covers all the beautiful details and embellishments on the bodice of your dress. You know, those details you fretted about in the dress shop.....seed pearls or crystals, cap sleeves or strapless? What about that heirloom necklace your grandmother gave you to wear on your special day? What about that debate you had with your mother regarding showing your cleavage or not....you know..... the conversation you won to wear that plunging V neckline ? Forget about it because you won't see any of it if you hold your bouquet too high! Your poor groom when looking back at your wedding photos will sorely miss those cleavage shots that photographers so love to take! Sigh.Poor guy, I feel for him. Honest I do.
So, how do you hold your bouquet then? Hold your bouquet at your waist so that you elbows can touch the sides of your waist and then take your elbows out slightly so they are no longer touching your sides but have a nice curve in them. See above picture. Tilt the bouquet slightly forward so that the stems are pointing towards your stomach. The reason it is important to lift your elbows away from your sides is that it is flattering to your arms. It gives your arms tone.When your arms are mashed against your sides it makes them look large....even thin arms look larger when pressed tightly against your sides. Trust me it's true. Try it in the mirror. Tilting the bouquet slightly forward insures the bouquet can be seen by everyone including the photographer. A bouquet adds beauty,colour and gives lovely texture to photographs. Keep your bouquet with you for photographs; it is an important bridal accessory that you have put a lot of thought into. It is sad when you have put a lot of thought into your floral pieces for your wedding day and they are not represented well in your photographs. Not all photographers are details orientated. Ask your photographer to get some nice shots of your bridal party and close ups of their floral pieces, including your centerpieces, altar and cake flowers. You'll be happy you did. There are many details to think about when planning a wedding but thank goodness you now know how to hold your bouquet!