Week 7

We started out this week with a lot more prep work for the Zachary wedding this Saturday. I spent the day cutting foam squares and taping them to plastic dishes that we use for a lot of the wedding arrangements we make. I made so many that I made a wall of Aquafoam with the extra pieces I had!

The Aquafoam Wall:

I also spent quite a while filling up a water bucket full of water tubes. It’s crazy we use that many water tubes for just one event!

So Many Water Tubes:

For the table structures with curly willow we needed bamboo to pull through the long pieces of curly willow to make them stable enough to load flowers and hang bubble bowls from them. Luckily our neighbors across the street just happen to have 15 foot bamboo bushes that needed some trimming. So I helped trim their bamboo and carry it back across the street to the studio. We got quite a few looks hauling that across the street. I think all people could see was bamboo with legs. We then trimmed down the bamboo shoots and threaded them through the curly willow.

In between all the prep work for the wedding we went to the Oxford Exchange and changed out the orchid cubes for the restaurant area. The Oxford Exchange has been open for about a week now and it is so busy. We were able to get a tour of the offices upstairs and it was just as amazing as the main floor. One of my favorite rooms was one of the largest meeting rooms. All of the walls were mostly exposed brick; the bricks are actually covered in horsehair tar! Apparently this building was originally an old stable, possibly the stable where Teddy Roosevelt’s horse used to stay. This place has so much character and it’s great to see the entire building and the design through the whole building.

Inside The Oxford Exchange:

I also went with Janet this week to deliver our weekly arrangements to the Sand Pearl Resort in Clearwater. This is another location that we use as a venue for Botanica weddings. The hotel is right next to the water and has some amazing views near the ocean.

Sand Pearl Resort:

The day before the wedding we were busy making all of the bouquets, boutonnieres, and reception arrangements. I got to make three boutonnieres for the fathers in the wedding and the groom’s boutonnieres.

Boutonnieres:

  

Once I finished with the boutonnieres Ian had me put together a sample centerpiece for a bride. The sample started with a Manzanita tree with orchid blooms scattered through the branches. For the base we draped orchid branches with some monstera leaves, and covered the rest of the exposed base with some sheet moss. It really looked great once it was finished. Ian has so many great ideas, I've got a lot to learn from him.

Sample Manzanita Tree:

Saturday everyone came into the studio and starting packing everything into the vans for the wedding! This is my first wedding setup that I’ve ever been to so I was really excited! The wedding reception was inside one of the gorgeous ballrooms at the Don CeSar in St. Pete. We made all of the curly willow structures on the side of the ballroom, and placed them on the tables when they were done. The next step was hanging the bubble bowls from the bamboo pieces. The ballroom was so large and the curly willow arrangements were the perfect scale to balance out the size of the room. For the finishing touch we placed rose petals on the steps the bride would go down for the main ceremony. There are so many details that went into the all the tables that ended up taking the most time. It’s really all the little things that can make the difference for these weddings.

I can’t wait for the rest of our weddings coming up in the next few months. Each one is going to be so different. It will be great to see all the different projects I end up getting to do in the next few weeks!

Zachary Wedding At The Don CeSar:

Making Mercury Glass

In the studio we have a lot of mercury glass that I am really in love with. So I did some research and I found out how you can make your own mercury glass containers for a lot less than buying them in a store. All you need is a glass vase, Krylon Looking Glass spray, and a water/vinegar mixture. So here are some pictures of my little experiment with making my own mercury glass vases.

Mercury Glass Experiment: