Two weeks ago Flower Duet was cre­at­ing solo for one of the largest wed­dings to date. My sis­ter was on the East Coast and my reg­u­lar helpers were oth­er­wise engaged, and the newest of vol­un­teers to give me a hand was get­ting mar­ried. This was her wedding.

So how does one go from over 1100 stems, to cre­ate 12 Bou­quets, 2 Hair Wreaths, 22 Bouts, 10 Cor­sages, 42 Cen­ter­pieces, 3 Kiss­ing Balls for a total of 91 Pieces and still make it fresh as pos­si­ble? A good plan, patience, and lots of workspace.

The plan -

  • Order flow­ers a week ahead.
  • Pick them up on Thurs­day before the Sat­ur­day wedding.
  • Con­di­tion them as soon as you can with your flower food and water and let them revive.

Have all your vas­es, sup­plies, corsage/bout box­es, and trans­port sys­tems ready, so you are not fuss­ing with those items when you should be pulling your best of the best for the bride. Have your check­list handy, set dead­lines, eat and breathe, and jump in. I pulled the best for the bridal par­ty first, then built the 42 cen­ter­pieces. They were 3 sets of cylin­der vas­es. Each vase has its own flower and col­or theme. No two tables were alike. Once they were done the rest was fine-tun­ing, cre­at­ing the bou­quets and then all the wire work. The wire work is best to do the night before, with a real­ly great movie on.

The cen­ter­piece deliv­ery was for Sat­ur­day morn­ing at 8 am, fol­lowed by head­ing in the oppo­site direc­tion to deliv­er the cer­e­mo­ny flow­ers, fol­lowed by a return trip to the recep­tion site with the last few items and the petal spread­ing, as well as with my 3 year old dressed appro­pri­ate­ly — as we were guests as well. My hus­band, who will also jump in to help, was pho­tograph­ing the wedding.

It is amaz­ing what one can do in less than 48 hours with over 1100 stems. The bride and groom were delight­ed and not one cen­ter­pe­ice was left at the recep­tion. A true sign of suc­cess. Here are some of the before and after shots. If you were think­ing of doing your own wedding.…you absolute­ly can. Make a plan, have the right tools and sup­plies and have fun!