Flower Fridays - The Lily

Flower Fridays are back!  Thanks to Kathy for requesting lilies, and with Easter only a week away, it's perfect timing. There are several types of lilies: Asiatic (shown above), Longiflorum (aka the Easter Lily shown below), and Oriental (shown at bottom of the page).  Lilies come in a range of colors, and are known for their strong smell.  If you want lilies in your wedding bouquet, ask your florist to remove the stamens, as they shed pollen that stains EVERYTHING!  Lilies can have up to 7 blooms per stem, and have a relatively long vase life!

Asiatic - These are the most affordable and attainable option; the blooms are also the smallest of the 3 types.  They are available year round, and come in a variety of colors, such as orange, yellow, pink and white.

Longiflorum or Easter Lily - This lily is only available for a short period of time around the Easter holiday.  The trumpet shaped white blooms face outward from the center, rather than upward like Asiatic.  This lily has strong religious ties - tradition has it that the beautiful white lilies sprung up where drops of Christ’s sweat fell to the ground in his final hours of sorrow and deep distress. Churches continue this tradition at Easter time by banking their altars and surrounding their crosses with masses of Easter Lilies, to commemorate His resurrection and hope of life everlasting.  The Easter Lily also has associations with the Virgin Mary.

Oriental - Oriental lilies have fewer blooms and are more expensive than Asiatic, but the blooms are bigger, so less is needed to make a big impact.  The white Casablanca lily is most commonly requested by brides.

Flower Fridays - The Peony

I chose the peony as the first featured flower because it is probably one of the most favored and least available flowers.  Peonies are available from late spring to early summer, and can sometimes be imported in the fall or winter.  What this means ladies is if you've always wanted a wedding overflowing with lush beautiful fragrant peonies, get married in May or June!  Peonies are relatively expensive ($$$), but their full fluffy blooms can take up a good amount of space once fully opened, so less stems may be needed for your centerpiece or bouquet.  They come in a variety of colors, including white, cream, peach, pink, and my personal favorite, blush.  If you are not getting married in May or June but still want the look of soft romantic fluffy flowers, some great substitutes are garden roses, roses, ranunculus, hydrangea, and dahlias.

All photos courtesy of http://www.theknot.com/.

Flower Fridays

I realized after meeting with several 2011 brides, that with all the bridal magazines, reality TV shows, and websites out there, there is still a lack of detailed flower information.  There are pictures of centerpieces and bouquets out there, but they don't always tell you what types of flowers were used, or the cost and availability of the flowers used.  This is why I am starting Flower Fridays!  Each Friday I will talk about one type of flower and give you all the juicy details you need to know!  Because exact prices can change, look for $ - $$$ on each post to portray the cost of each flower; $ being inexpensive to $$$ being expensive. If you have a flower you'd like to see featured, send me an email and I'll be sure to add it to the list!