Archive for the ‘Flowers’ Category

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Arum Lily is an elegant and beautiful flower. It is highly effective in creating modern and beautiful arrangements. The drawback is that in South African coloured Arum Lilies are scarce and it is often difficult to guarantee that a bride would be able to source Arum Lilies in any other colour but the traditional white and green.

This often limits its use for the brides with other colour schemes, but I have a perfect solution to this problem:

By using beads and crystals you can colour co-ordinate this gorgeous flower to suit your wedding colour scheme.

I was reading an international blog by a fellow florist this weekend I was quite surprised that by the suggested amounts spent in the USA on flowers alone. It seems like a majority of budget for floral arrangements and decor was around  $15 000 ( about R112 500)  prior to the recession, but the couples are slashing their budgets to around $5 000 (about R35 500). Now, I do not know the costs of flowers in the USA, nor the labour costs or other levies, however I do know that in South Africa most couples will not spend anything close to R35 000 on their wedding blooms. Read the rest of this entry »

I  was visiting mom’s vegetable garden and spotted her chernobyl spring onions overgrowing in the far corner. Out came the scissors and I happily snipped the ball-shaped buds of these unusually large species. On the way in I passed by the lavender bush and out came the scissors again.

I made this arrangement in minutes (without prior flower-arrangement knowledge), so I’m thinking: maybe this kitchen garden look could go with my Mad Hatter’s Tea Party theme?

Those of you who have been paying attention will know that I  started my own wedding photography business, Kat Forsyth Photography, this year. A few weeks ago Mrz Splendid’s company, Splendid Affairs, did the decor for Toadbury Hall’s part in the ‘Rock around the Cradle’ event, and she asked me to come along and take photos. Do I ever say no to that sort of thing? Um…no. :-)

Mrz Splendid does such beautiful flowers! Here are a few of my favourites. You can see more on my blog.

Read the rest of this entry »

Just a quick note to let you know that the annual Spring Fair at Rhodes Park in Kensington is taking place this Sunday, 6th September. I love these flea markets where you can browse through other people’s junk and many surprisingly grotesque wares. But as a bride-to-be, I am hoping to find some cheap ceramic pieces for my Alice-in-Wonderland décor. I saw this idea on Realsimple.com of using an old soup tureen for the flowers, and I just love it! I’m also going to be on the look-out for old teacups and saucers… Why not go have a browse yourself?

Soup tureen for the flowers

Take a look:  http://www.kensington.org.za/spring_fair_kensington.htm

With time running out, decisions had to be made once and for all.  With the help of a friend, I finally decided the decor which is really easy to do with guidance from a professional.  Often you see what you would like but have no clue what items and lighting is used to get the effect.  Whatever you do, don’t try do it yourself unless you have experience.  You will waste money buying the wrong DIY items as well as alot of time.  I have been dealing with a great decor company – SA Event Decor www.saeventdecor.co.za, with their sub division SA Wedding Decor www.saweddingdecor.co.za contact Amanda amanda@saweddingdecor.co.za.  I have received great service and their prices are extremely competitive.

Another great supplier I have come across is Lyn at Expressions Floral Design www.expressionsfloral.co.za or email lyn@expressionsfloral.co.za.  The price she has quoted for my bouquet and my two bridesmaids bouquets are so reasonable I actually didn’t believe the quote when I first got it.  All three are costing me R665 which includes diamante finishes and accessories.

Planning a wedding in Durban? The new Durban Wedding Directory – Durban Bride launched last year has seen a surge in suppliers registering with them since their relaunch in June 2009!

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Choosing the colour for the wedding proved to be more difficult than I had originally anticipated. I have always loved the colour of the ocean on a stormy day have been heard to sigh “I would love a dress that colour.”
Of course, I had no real hope of finding the purpley-blue-gunmetal colour I have sighed over and had therefore resigned myself to a rather plainer shade of violet.

Blow me down, however, when I walked into Bridal Centre (yes, the very same bridal emporium which I initially refused to enter and ended up finding my dream wedding dress) to find material in the perfect shade, at R30 a metre! I am quite beside myself with joy. And, no, the irony of my inital reluctance to shop at Bridal Centre only to find two of my most important elements there has not escaped me. And how’s this for shivery? The same sales lady – there are about 20 - sold me the dress and the material! Cleary Mizz Diva + Bridal Centre = meant to be…

I have now got all excited about using this sophisticated palette and turned to Polyvore to try and express my vision. Here it is:
Purple and Lace Wedding by CandiceBotha on Polyvore.com

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One thing that I have come to absolutely love is surfing the net for inspirational blogs, sites and pics of wedding themes and ideas.  I came across Google’s Picasa free download which is the best tool I’ve ever come across!  It sorts your pics and images on your computer, you can tag the pics to search for them at anytime, create movies, download to cd’s as gifts, create a picture collage and so much more. It comes in very handy with the wedding images you download to form collages according to colour scheme, theme or whatever you choose to do.  Here are some beautiful rustic, natural and earthy themes I came across on www.stylemepretty.com.

The most important thing to remember about looking at these types of inspirational images (or collages) is not necessarily copying the exact style for your wedding (unless you really love the ideas), but more about colour schemes, textures and unique ideas. 

Most of the time we know what colour scheme we want but have no idea how to get the final result.  You’re never sure of what colours match or don’t match or what illusions you can create without spending alot of money.  Use the images more to inspire your own ideas – you’ll surprise yourself with what you can come up with!