Melissa selected our flowers from Trader Joe's which had a great selection. She also likes local Nashville favorites like Import Flowers and more widely found vendors, like Kroger and Costco. She said paying about $1 a stem (for the flowers, not fillers) is reasonable when making a purchase for most basic flowers.
Flowers and fillers included sunflowers, hypericum, the daisy-looking flower that I can't remember the name of, eucalyptus, bear grass, salal, etc...
My friend Kelly drawing "placemats" on butcher paper...
...that held the aprons I made for guests from IKEA tea towels and grosgrain ribbons as well as a pair of IKEA kitchen shears for cutting stems...
Our containers were large mason jars that a lot of people have lying around (Barilla's jarred pasta sauce comes in these, BTW!).
Melissa's arrangement for the snack table...
Melissa and Julie modeling the tea towel aprons while showing how to properly cut stems...
A finished bouquet
Helpful hints:
- Have plenty of trash cans around to catch the discarded leaves and cut stems.
- Only order as many flowers as you absolutely need and allow for no-shows.
- Stick with a theme or a color scheme to make it easy.
- Pre-fill the vases with water (way less mess) before guests arrive.
- Have a knowledgeable floral designer (like Melissa) do the teaching.
- Use a long wide table if possible and use butcher paper to protect it. That makes cleaning a snap!
Our party was inspired by this one at Scott Clark Photography.
Food post here.
