Floral Inspiration
Since our wedding time line has changed so that both the Hindu and Catholic ceremonies fall on one day, followed by a large reception, I want the color palettes to coordinate. How? I have no idea! We'll still have our rehearsal dinner on Friday, but with minimal decor, like candles and pretty lighting.
I originally wanted the Hindu ceremony to have a very warm and bright color scheme, but in order to make the most use of decor, I think the colors now need to coordinate better with the reception color scheme.
Hindu Ceremony Floral Inspiration
I think I'll still keep this color scheme vibrant, but take away the orange and yellow colors I was originally thinking.
I have to incorporate red, because of our attire. I like a fuschia and purple base with pops of red and dark pink.
Photos From Style Me Pretty.
I like the idea of similar arrangements on opposite ends of the aisle, and fabric draping down the aisle. Maybe we can do petals edging the aisle, and we'll probably do clustered floating candles in fluted glass vase cylinders decorated with dendrobium orchids.
~Post-Wedding Update~
For budget reasons, we ended up toning down the florals for both ceremonies. The florals consisted of spray roses attached to gold manzanita branches(Dhru tied and spray painted them! He's so proud of himself.) that flanked the aisle, mixed rose petals surrounding candles and our Ganesh statue and programs, and the floral garlands used during the ceremony. The manzanita branches were also supposed to have small clear glass oranaments attached throughout, giving the effect of irridescent bubbles, sort of like below. But our planner's team unfortunately couldn't get them to stay. We also had a couple decorative gold metal buckets filled with mixed rose petals that were brought around to guests at the end of the ceremony so they could shower us with petals. :)
For budget reasons, we ended up toning down the florals for both ceremonies. The florals consisted of spray roses attached to gold manzanita branches(Dhru tied and spray painted them! He's so proud of himself.) that flanked the aisle, mixed rose petals surrounding candles and our Ganesh statue and programs, and the floral garlands used during the ceremony. The manzanita branches were also supposed to have small clear glass oranaments attached throughout, giving the effect of irridescent bubbles, sort of like below. But our planner's team unfortunately couldn't get them to stay. We also had a couple decorative gold metal buckets filled with mixed rose petals that were brought around to guests at the end of the ceremony so they could shower us with petals. :)
Post-Wedding Pics
All in all the floral decor was pretty simplistic. The aisle manzanita branch decor was pretty, but would've been beautiful with the ornaments and crystals, and maybe something in the vase covering the very bottom of the the branches. I also wish we had a heavier carpet of petals to cover the ugly runner. The positive note is that the focus of the decor, the mandap, was breathtaking...That's what makes me happy, decor-wise. Our floral garlands were very traditional, but strung well and with fresh blooms.
Photos by Alain Martinez
Bridal Bouquet Inspiration
I'm a huge fan of this beautiful bouquet of roses, mini callas and cymbidiums, so this might be an option for me as well.
Photo credits(right, lower right): Gregory Paul Photography
Florist Credit: Gil Sosa
I also definitely plan to incorporate something meaningful into my bouquet either from my grandmother or mother, not as big as the one below, but you get the idea.
Post-Wedding Pics
The bouquet was pretty, and huge and heavy! The quality of the flowers was great, and it seemed to be wrapped well. I wasn't in love with the final bouquet as compared to my inspiration photos, and therefore didn't end up preserving it. My main issue were the buds. I don't think closed buds that are slightly green and with spiky green leaves have any business being in bouquets. They were a bit of an eye sore. And as my hero Preston Bailey recently has said, "It's very important that the flowers are fully open and strong on the actual day of the event...I feel like I'm cheating my clients of the beauty of flowers if I use them closed." Well said, sir. See more details on this in my reviews.
The brooch and rhinestone bands were purchased at David's Bridal and a jewelry store, respectively. I couldn't find anything of my mom's grandmother's that would fit appropriately on the bouquet stem, and was a little worried about losing it, anyways.
The brooch and rhinestone bands were purchased at David's Bridal and a jewelry store, respectively. I couldn't find anything of my mom's grandmother's that would fit appropriately on the bouquet stem, and was a little worried about losing it, anyways.
Photos(except upper right) by Alain Martinez
Bridesmaid Bouquet Inspiration
I love this option for bridesmaids' bouquets. I also really like the wrap!
Post-Wedding Pics
I sort of wish I told my bridesmaids to tilt their bouquets as far down as possible, or better yet just hold their arms our straight as they walk so everyone can see their bouquets head on. From the top, the bouquets looked pretty. But from the side, you could see drooping flowers, loose petals, and very poorly wrap jobs(and not what we discussed). I loved the crowning effect at the bottom of the bouquet above with the orchids, and we didn't get that either. I think if we got the crown of lighter orchids, the bouquets would have stood out a little nicer against the pink saris instead of blending in. And like with the bridal bouquet, they had closed white buds jumping out of them, which I didn't like. Were they pretty? Yes. Did they look like(or better than) my inspiration pic above? No. All in all they unfortunately just looked a little sloppy. I'll go more into this in Reviews under Daniel Events. Here are a few of photos that captured prettier views of the bouquets, though.
Photos by Alain Martinez
Flower Girl Pomanders
We'll have a floral pomander in coordinating colors.
Post-Wedding Pic
This was cute! We didn't discuss it too much, but I was happy with the result.
Bouts and Corsages
Depending on what flowers we're incorporating into our bouquets, I'm leaning towards a trio of dendrobiums or a mini calla for Dhru.
Maybe freesia and/or roses for the others?
I think carrying a few hand-tied mini callas is really elegant for the mothers, but I think my mom prefers a pin-on corsage. I'm thinking a trio of mini cymbidiums.
Post-Wedding Pics
Dhru's Bout: We had discussed during the initial meeting, that Dhru wasn't really a fan of big bouttonieres, and I was assured it wouldn't be too big. This is what he got. While I appreciate their willingness to give us a trio of dendrobiums AND a mini calla combined, we had wanted either/or. Unfortunately too big for our tastes, and despite hearing how great Daniel Events is with wrapping bouts, I wasn't impressed with ours. Also didn't like the greenery.
Photos by Alain Martinez
It was suggested to us not to go with roses for the groomsmen and fathers if we didn't want bulky bouts. Freesia was also not recommended. I thought they were going to do a smaller version of the groom's, or something that coordinated color-wise with the bms, but not a rose. So I'm not sure how or why, but the groomsmen ended up with roses. I didn't mind them that much, bc they did coordinate, but wasn't a fan of the greenery. And again, what was up with the grass green wraps?!
The ringbearer was also supposed to get a bout, but he wasn't wearing one. I'm not sure what happened there.
The ringbearer was also supposed to get a bout, but he wasn't wearing one. I'm not sure what happened there.
Photo by Alain Martinez
As stated above and discussed in planning, we were going to do a pin-on corsage with smaller cymbidiums, as pictured above in the planning photos. Our moms ended up with this monstrosity on their wrists. Sorry moms! I wished I noticed it on the wedding day so we could reduce the size, but there was just so much going on.
Photo by Alain Martinez
Reception Inspiration ~ Cocktail Hour
I love lotus flowers and elephants, and like the idea of incorporating various of these symbolic elements here and there.
~Post-Wedding Update~
So my precious floral elephants didn't work out. It was pretty disappointing given I so wanted to make that happen from the beginning. BUT we still incorporated elephants within the decor using statues like above. See pics under Lighting.
So my precious floral elephants didn't work out. It was pretty disappointing given I so wanted to make that happen from the beginning. BUT we still incorporated elephants within the decor using statues like above. See pics under Lighting.
Post-Wedding Pics
I was taking pics and changing into my reception outfit during cocktail hour, so unfortunately didn't see the set-up. From the few photos I saw, everything looked candle-lit and pretty, but definitely less flowers than I expected(unless they were just not captured on film).
Our place card/favor table centerpiece was pretty, but it was pretty much the same thing as the ballroom centerpieces, just a little less elaborate. It did sit on a pretty crystal candelabra which was nice.
Our place card/favor table centerpiece was pretty, but it was pretty much the same thing as the ballroom centerpieces, just a little less elaborate. It did sit on a pretty crystal candelabra which was nice.
Photo by Alain Martinez
We were supposed to have a "magnificent vase arrangement" for our sign-in table. I'm not sure if due to the crystal candelabra that I provided, they decided to make two smaller ones, but I thought they were too small. The table still looked great, though, just not what I expected. Wonder why the candles weren't lit?
Photo by Alain Martinez
I only saw one photo of a cocktail table, and there was just a loose cymbidium and a loose rose on it, surrounded by three of my votives. Hopefully that was just a fluke, and the rest had the glass cubes with floating cymbidiums or the square vases filled with lush pave of hydrangea and cymbidium orchids. :(
Reception Inspiration ~ Ballroom
Floral Trial
My trial with Daniel Events was a huge success. The flowers were breathtaking....the roses and other blooms were HUGE, and the whole thing just looked so romantic. I never really indicated the exact colors I wanted, so I wasn't sure if Benny was going to do predominately ivory flowers with touches of pink and lavender, or a more colorful centerpiece. But I love what he came up with...it has color, but not too bright for me! If peonies are available, he will be adding some of those in too, but we'll see!
We've requested that they add more cymbidiums, and place them more towards the bottom(they're hiding a bit right now), and I'm considering a spray of orchids, tulips and/or mini callas towards the bottom. Kind of like a collar similar to my inspiration pics.
We've requested that they add more cymbidiums, and place them more towards the bottom(they're hiding a bit right now), and I'm considering a spray of orchids, tulips and/or mini callas towards the bottom. Kind of like a collar similar to my inspiration pics.
Post-Wedding Pics
When I walked into the room with Dhru for the pre-reception reveal, I was blown away. The florals demanded notice in the room. They were so big and full and lush, filled with perfect flowers. And the day of I absolutely loved them so much, I was giddy. After the fact, in seeing the big ones we brought home, and the photos, I was a bit disappointed that we didn't get all that we had agreed to. If anything, there were less cymbidium orchids than the trial, less callas. They definitely cut corners here and there. More on this in my review for Daniel Events. But bottom-line, the floral centerpieces were so beautiful, and had I been ignorant of what they were supposed to be, I would have thought they were perfect.
Photography by Alain Martinez
The sweetheart table florals were pretty, but we couldn't see a thing past them! I also think the dark leaves on the inside of the vases were too dark for the sweetheart table. The flowers were really nice though (minus the closed buds). The flowers were super lush though...loved the huge roses!
Cake Florals Inspiration
I initially loved the florals to look like this, with a cascading look. But once we decided to do separated tiers using our invitation inspiration, we decided to have the florals in between the layers of the cake.
Post-Wedding Pics
So the cake looked really beautiful, and we were happy with it. Did we get what we were expecting? No. One thing that was really important to me was that the white columns in between the tiers were completely covered. And they weren't. I also expected to have the flowers in my inspiration picture be placed between the tiers in addition to hydrangea, in our colors, but the florist only put those flowers on the bottom, and less costly hydrangea in between the tiers. This was really disappointing, as it would have looked so much more beautiful the way I wanted and expected it. Again, this is where I felt the florist cut corners. See more in Reviews. At the end of the day, my mom loved the cake, and that's what's important to me.
Photography by Alain Martinez
Floral Inspiration
I'd like to have arrangements and decor that complement lavender roses, which were the first flowers Dhru ever gave me.
Specific Flower Options
