It’s one of the most commonly asked questions when I meet with a couple.

“Will the flowers last?” And it’s usually asked along with a recounting of how the flowers of someone they knew wilted before the ceremony.

Under normal circumstances, the short answer is they absolutely should. The longer answer is that it depends on some many factors.

1. The weather - There is nothing that will save the most well prepared and hydrated a flower on an extremely hot or sub-zero degree day. This will be especially true of the flowers that are out of water, such as the boutonnieres and corsages. To give the flowers the best chance of looking their best, they should be in refrigeration until they are worn.
2. How the flowers are grown and cut before the florist takes them - A florist’s choice of grower and supplier are critical as the process to grow, harvest and prepare flowers for their sometimes long journey to their ultimate destination.
3. The florist’s process for caring for the flowers - Like people, flowers require certain types of food and require a particular kind of environment for them to be in their best condition. The time and effort that it requires is a large part of the service associated with the purchase of your flowers.

If well prepared and with good weather on your side, your flowers should not only look beautiful on your wedding day, they can be enjoyed in the days after by those who get to take them home!

One thing weddings are definitely not anymore is predictable.

And this was most wonderfully the case with Meagan and Michael’s wedding that took place this past weekend at the Steam Whistle Brewery in Downtown Toronto.

For their lovely Valentine’s Day wedding, they decided to dispense with the traditional notions of great formality and red roses.

Instead, they opted to be wed in a theme of white tropical flowers with a clean and modern twist to complement their choice of a lounge theme.

White callas and dendrobiums were water immersed in modern glass cylinders complete with floating candles and matches votives.

In the ceremony the bride and groom were flanked by tall glass vases in a similar themed encircled with candles.

Modern Candle-lit Ceremony Arrangements

Once  vows were said and done, the guests were treated to a room full of candlelight to complete the chosen furnishings of white leather lounge chairs, steel rimmed coffee tables and a blue back lit bar.

Candle-lit Centerpieces Fill The Steam Whistle Brewery

I was at the market picking up flowers for my Valentine’s wedding this weekend when I came across a flower that took my breath away and I gave into a temptation that I usually do a pretty good job of resisting and I bought it.

You would think that as often as I see flowers in every colour, shape and variety that there isn’t much that would really catch my attention, but when I saw this absolutely stunning stem of orange cymbidium orchids, I knew that I didn’t have a chance.

It was the colour that caught got me first. A rare of shade of an orange accented with a light cocoa colour that is only available for a few months during the winter and it had more blooms than I could count, I just had to have it.

Right now I have it placed on my hallway table and everytime I walk by it I can’t help but stop for a moment to enjoy.

It’s truly capitivating and has a light exotic sweet scent that only a flower of this nature could have.

 Just wanted to share.

Stem of Captivating Orange Cocoa Cymbidium Orchids

Most of my time in the early months of a year is spent meeting with couples who are planning their nuptials for either later in the year or early next.

When I started thinking about ideas for this post, I thought about the questions that are most frequently asked of me and one of the most commonly asked questions is one of seasonality.

While not knowing one’s flowers might just be an occasional inconvenience when you’re wanting to place an order for a bouquet to be delivered, it’s a puzzling impairment when a bride-to-be is trying to figure out what kind of flowers she likes and then has no idea whether she can get what she has just clipped from the magazine.

Every wedding season brings with favourite blooms and one of them is the peony.

Loved for the large luscious blooms that come in varying shades of white, cream, pink, hot pink and reds. It is a favourite among those getting married.

However, its season of availability is very limited. While typically classified as a late spring, early summer flower, it’s dependent on the weather as it is grown outdoors and once the rains come, the season is done.

For those who are heart set of this flowers, imported options are available and the costs with imported rise as well.

Hand-tied Bouquet of Creamy Pink Peonies Accented With White French lilac