Flowers are a lot of Fun

When I started the process of planning my wedding, flowers were at the bottom of my list. Bouquets did not seem nearly as interesting as stuff like music and food. Well, I stand corrected. After spending the last few weeks scouring the Internet for florists and examining pictures of bouquets, I have to admit, flowers are a lot of fun.

What's more, I just got back from a great meeting with Ellen, one of the florists from Local Color Flowers. Ellen and I hit it off right away (she likes Haruki Murakami!!) and had a great conversation about the flowers for my wedding. I plan to make my own center pieces, so I really only need a florist for bouquets, corsages, and boutonnieres. I found the above image on Local Color Flowers website and talked with Ellen about doing all the pieces in that color scheme (the bouquet on the right). As you can probably guess from the name, Local Color Flowers uses only locally grown flowers, which I think is pretty cool. Ellen said they buy from growers within and 100 mile radius, but a lot of the flowers come from growers in Baltimore City. I had never thought about growing that many flowers in a city! The only down side to Local Color Flowers is that they charge a pretty steep delivery fee. Alternatively you can have a friend or family member pick up the flowers for you. While the workshop is pretty close to the Gramercy Mansion, it still might be inconvenient have to worry about flower pick-up that morning. I'm planning to meet with at least one more florist to make a comparison.

On the note of center pieces, it just occurred to me that I haven't written about them. My plan is all about chrysanthemums. Each table will have five small terracotta pots of 'mums arranged on a leaf shaped place mat. I am keeping it simple but colorful. Guests will be able to take a plant home of they want. Plus, potted plants keep living after the wedding day unlike cut flowers. I've already talked to a representative at my local Lowes about ordering the chrysanthemums and it seems all pretty straight forward. I guess the real rush will be potting all of the 'mums the week of the wedding. Luckily, I have some great friends who have already volunteered to help.

Now that I'm less than 9 months away, I feel like my wedding planning is in full swing. Look for up coming posts about invitations, dress fittings, and who knows what else!