I DREAM OF FLOWERS, PART 3

Last week, Mr. Latte flew into town (yay!) for his spring break. But the poor sucka was fooled (muhahaha) as there wasn't a beach or pina colada in sight. Instead, he found himself in the windy and (still) chilly east coast weather, being dragged from location to location and city to city to get some wedding stuff done. Poor guy.

Our first stop? To visit Jeannie our florist and (finally!) see a mock-up of our centerpieces! You've patiently followed along with me (part 1, part 2) and my emotional roller-coaster ride through flower-land. And now you shall be rewarded with a sneak peek at the goods. Woohoo!

We are planning to have 16 tables (max!), half of which will feature tall centerpieces and the other half to feature low ones. I'm not a big fan of tall candlesticks, and those big floral arrangements that sit atop long, thin vases scare me (how do they not topple over?!?) so we had very few options to work with. Jeannie suggested using branches, orchids and hanging votives, which turned out beautifully!

And see the pink lovelies on the back table? That's an example of a table with the low centerpiece. Here's a close up:

I love the look of single flower arrangements and bouquets and opted for three smaller arrangements instead of one big one. I think it gives the table a sleeker, more modern feel, which is a nice contrast to the romantic feel of the branches. Both centerpieces will have pink petals scattered on the table to tie them together.

The low tables will have three vases of single flower blooms: hydrangeas (eh), roses (meh) and ranunculuses. UH, BACK UP. WHA??? Do mine eyes deceive me??? I distinctly remember feeling my heart breaking upon hearing that these lovely flowers wouldn't be available for the wedding...and here they are!!! I quickly shove that thought out of my head, keep my mouth shut and avert my eyes from the table for fear that Jeannie would realize this mistake and snatch the flowers up off the table and make them disappear. Instead, I nod my head and grin like a fool...and once in awhile, sneak quick glimpses over at my beautiful ranunculuses. Sigh.

The plan worked and the conversation moved on to the bouquets and boutonnieres. I tread very carefully into this conversation as thoughts swirled through my head. If I can get ranunculuses for the centerpieces, I should be able to get them for the bouquets, right? And if the ranunculus is an option...will (holding breath) my beloved peonies be available as well? Survey says? YES! Jeannie confirms that she'll be able to get me my favorite flower and I pinch myself to make sure I'm not dreaming while fighting the urge to jump onto the table and dance around in joy.

We decided on an all white peony bouquet for me (be still my heart!), pink and white orchid corsages for the moms (Mama Latte's pick) and all pink bouquets for the bridesmaids. I had a hard time deciding on the bridesmaids bouquets and Jeannie suggested four different single-flower bouquets: one of the ranunculus, one lisianthus, one hydrangea and one rose bouquet. This would be a fun way to highlight their different dress styles, and would continue the theme from the low centerpieces. Here's an example I found (sorry for the blurriness):

I was loving this idea but the doubts started creeping in as soon as I got home. Is it too crazy to have the ladies wear different dresses AND carry different flowers? Do I need something more cohesive? After sleeping on it, I think I'm leaning towards going with identical bouquets for the ladies.

What do you think, hive? Have you seen bridesmaids carry different types of flowers? Do you think different flowers AND different dresses would be too hectic?

(Oh, and for the guys...we went with a white ranunculus boutonniere for Mr. Latte, pink ranunculuses for the groomsmen and dads, and pink spray roses for the ring boys.)