FiftyFlowers Blog

Hot Pink Roses and Dark Pink Calla Lily Bouquets

Many a bride will relish the bright display of color of a hot pink bouquet. It will charm the guests and bring out the bright emotions of the day, reflecting the anticipation and drama. There is also the innocent exposure of a tender color.

The bridal bouquets pictured here are easy to make for a DIY bride, and material cost are minimal. For example, the Hot Pink Calla Lily bouquet cost $99.99 for 30 mini calla lilies including shipping. There are some minor incidental cost to acquire the bouquet pins and the ribbon. Once you have all the materials, this is a quick bouquet to make. You will already have the calla lilies trimmed, cleaned and in fresh cool water. Simple make the bouquet in your hands as you want it, use flower tape (a light green tape available at many stores including Michaels) to wrap the bouquet, put your ribbon on which can be secured with various types of fast drying glue, and then adorn the bouquet with pins. You’re done!

The Hot Pink Rose bouquet can be made in the same manner. The material cost of the bouquet is 25 stems of roses for $49.99, including shipping. Roses may take a few days to fully bloom after being received so be sure to order them to arrive several days in advance of your event. High quality roses will last for anywhere from 7 to 14 days.

FiftyFlowers offers Organic Roses in 33 Varieties

The green trend is reaching the fresh-cut flower industry with new standards for consumers. As a leader in flower diversity, FiftyFlowers provides certified organic roses straight from the farms that grow them at wholesale prices.

While evidence suggests that smelling and admiring conventional flowers does no harm, there are a growing number of consumers who favor sustainable development, and chemical-free choices. In recent years, the flower industry has answered this demand by adopting various standards, such as VeraFlora, Biodynamic, and Fair Trade Certified. All the sustainable standards have some merit and achievement, but the Certified Organic standard reaches the most consumers and carries the greatest appeal.

The organic rose programs consists of following international standards for avoidance of synthetic chemicals; use of farmland that has been free from chemicals for several years; keeping detailed production notes; and maintaining strict separation of flowers grown organically and non-certified productions. The organic roses for sale at FiftyFlowers.com are certified by BCS, a USDA accredited agency that operates under the standards set by USDA/NOP Final Rule.

The goal of the organic movement is to create sustainable ecosystems and healthy organisms from the simplest creatures in the soil to the most complex of creatures – human beings.

FiftyFlowers offers 33 types of organic roses, in varieties that include Anna, Black Magic and Forever Young - a diversified field of popular roses for weddings and special events.

“We are excited to be leading with positive change and sustainability in the fresh-cut flower industry. It’s the right thing to do.” - CEO, FiftyFlowers.com, Liza Roeser-Atwood

Top 10 Wedding Flowers to Use for an Outside Wedding

Not sure what flowers to use for an outside wedding? Planning for an outside wedding involves many considerations, especially when it comes to your wedding flowers. You want to make sure to opt for flowers that will stand the heat and will not wilt in high temperatures, but that also suit your needs and wishes.

The following list portrays the 10 top flowers to use when hosting an outside wedding:

1. Roses: these are very hearty flowers that will stand the heat and look gorgeous in an arrangement as well as part of your bouquet.

2. Carnations are very popular flowers which are sought for their look but also for their price, since they tend to be very cost effective.

3. A long vase life is a plus for Peruvian Lilies. These resistant flowers will add color and an exotic look for your arrangements.

4. Gerbera Daisies are not only great for centerpieces or bouquets, but they are also recommended to use as floating flowers due to their flat shape. This is also a great idea since the continuous supply of water will keep the flowers looking fresh.

5. Daisies will provide that “garden look” in an inexpensive way.

6. Cymbidium Orchids, one of the biggest orchids available, will look stunning in a submerged arrangement or in a tall arrangement intertwined with curly willow.

7. Hydrangeas, with a continuous supply of water, would look wonderful as a centerpiece.

8. Lilies, with their great scent, will make your garden wedding a hit.

9. Mums, including spiders, will add a touch of color and excitement to any outdoor wedding.

10. Hypericum Berries are great fillers for an outside wedding.

Another important thing to consider is to pick flowers that will compliment your venue and not compete with it. Sometimes is better to go for simple arrangements and decorations when your venue has an impressive garden or is full of flowers. However, if your venue is somewhat plain, you can choose to have fuller and more sophisticated arrangements. Always keep in mind though that an outside wedding is beautiful and romantic and that the perfect flowers can make a perfect day.

FiftyFlowers.com Makes Your Wedding Flowers

Wedding planning is a series of make it or break it choices: food buffet or seated dinner, disc jockey or live band, roses, calla lilies or peonies amid a myriad of other decisions that must be made. FiftyFlowers.com provides a vast selection of wedding flowers, and every fresh cut stem is available at wholesale price. The website relaunch makes the choices easier to navigate, and includes Made for You wedding flower packages. Brides can find, view in advance, and order the flowers they want for their special event by surfing on FiftyFlowers.com. They will see hundreds of varieities of roses, including the popular Black Magic, Akito, Forever Young and Spray Roses. In addition there are hundreds of flower types from the most exotic, such as orchids, to the most basic green filler flowers.

Liza Roeser Atwood, founder and chief executive officer, said “Fiftyflowers streamlines the process, making it easier for the do-it yourself bride to find the perfect flowers for her wedding and save money without going through a lot of hassle.”The website has seen increased traffic over the years as wedding costs have soared. The average cost of a wedding is $28,000, according to the Conde Nast Bridal Group, and far greater in many cities. With that in mind 50 flowers has expanded their special treatment and personalized consultations to brides who need help. The flowers are shipped overnight express from the flower farms, where they are fresh cut, processed, and placed in bulk bundles. The flowers are then transported by FedEx, or one of the many other international express shippers, and delivered directly to the doorstep of the bride, event planner or location. The cost of shipping is included in the wholesale prices so the bride does not have to make extra calculations with her budget. Flowers can be ordered in large or small quantities. FiftyFlowers also offers wedding packages for the busy bride.

And now it is even easier, FiftyFlowers is redesigning its web site making it easier for brides and event planners to fit the budget. The new home page eliminates much of the left hand navigation in favor of greater choice, providing visitors with a cleaner and enhanced interface. The new navigation provides a user-friendly look and the ability to find just the right flowers.Those design changes are joining a host of other improvements the company has undertaken in the last year to enhance user satisfaction. FiftyFlowers has made improvements
in Customer Service, product shipping and product packaging. FiftyFlowers is taking Internet flower purchasing to a whole new level.

Wedding Flower Trends 2007

There are many new wedding Flower Trends for 2007.  Wedding flower trends are based on budget, geographical location, and Socioeconomic Group.  Taking this in consideration, the major wedding flower trends for 2007 are categorized in flower colors, flower types, bouquet styles and flower supplies and props.  Popular wedding flower colors for this year include green, blues, browns with bright accents colors alike hot orange and pink.  Black is back in weddings, many brides are choosing white and black as the wedding party’s colors and using flowers as the accent color to add spice to a wedding.  Hot Wedding flowers types include orchids, hydrangea, peonies (always a brides favorite), garden roses, calla lilies and carnations.  The favorite wedding bouquet style is a simple handheld bouquet, put together loosely as if the bride picked flowers from her garden to make her wedding bouquet.  New flower supplies that are emerging in 2007 Wedding Flower Trends are pearls and crystals in accenting wedding colors, colorful floral wire, feathers and floralytes.  Floralytes (Link 1 ) are lights we can be submerged in water and light up.  They come in 9 different colors and will last up to 50 hours.  Another hot wedding flower accent is jewelry.  With such a wide range of wedding flower trends this wedding season, brides can create unique looks using some of the most popular floral items!

Valentine’s Day History

Many different legends on the origin of Valentine’s Day exist throughout history. Both ancient Roman and Christian tradition form the roots of this holiday of love. The ancient Roman celebration known as Lupercalia was celebrated on February 15^th, which according to their calendar, February was the first official month of spring. As a celebration of a new agricultural season, this fertility festival celebrated both the fertility of the land as well as the people. Young men would run throughout the street holding fresh goatskins and lashing the young women they encountered. These young women did not run from the lashings. In fact, they hoped to receive a gentle slap of the goat’s bloody hide for they believed that this interaction with nature would make them more fertile in the coming year. Another one of Lupercalia’s common rituals is the “lottery” system used to match up a man with a woman. The names of all the young maidens were placed into a large box. Each of the young men selected a name from this pot. This maiden then became his chosen woman for the following year, with the relationship often lasting longer and resulting in marriage. Lupercalia’s customs continued, even as ancient Rome converted into a more civilized, powerful empire.

Modern Valentine’s Day customs have evolved from both the Lupercalia festival and Christian legend. The Catholic Church recognizes at least three different saints named Valentine, yet confusion still exists as to who exactly St. Valentine was. Some scholars believe at least two of these martyred saints were the same person. Others believe that Valentine’s Day is celebrated in mid-February in an attempt to “Christianize” the pagan celebrations of Lupercalia. Whatever the motivation, and whoever St. Valentine was, several versions exist that all embody the romantic spirit of Valentine’s Day.

Valentine was a priest living in Rome around the year 270AD while the emperor Claudius the Cruel was in charge. Claudius had turned desperate after years of battle in an ongoing war. The Roman men began to refuse to fight, instead wishing to remain with their families or sweethearts. This infuriated Claudius. He ordered for new marriages to be outlawed and current marriages not be recognized. As can be expected, not many agreed with his actions, including the priest Valentine. He continued to perform marriages in secret for these young lovers. As word traveled about a priest named Valentine who befriended lovers longing to marry, word eventually reached Emperor Claudius. He ordered that Valentine be placed in a dungeon and sentenced to death.

Some believe that while Valentine was awaiting his death, he helped cure the jailer’s daughter of blindness. Others say that he simply fell in love with her. Either way, it is believed that prior to his beheading on the morning of February 14^th, he sent the jailer’s daughter a letter and signed it, “From your Valentine.”  This phrase continues to be used today.

Wedding Anniversary Gift Guide

Wedding anniversaries celebrate the union of a couple and the life they have shared over the years. Whether a couple is celebrating their 1^st year anniversary or their 50^th, each year is a milestone filled with love, understanding and triumph. The couple exchanges gifts to expresses their gratitude for one another. Sometimes friends and family provide gifts as well. This tradition dates back to medieval Europe, where friends and family would give the wife a silver wreath upon her twenty-fifth wedding anniversary, and a golden wreath to mark her fiftieth. Over the years both a traditional and more modern gift-giving list has been complied. A particular material is associated with each year of marriage. The material becomes more elaborate with each passing year. While this traditional list may seem simple and a bit boring, couples who choose to follow these romantic traditions have become quite creative! Take the first year anniversary for example. You would probably find yourself sleeping on the couch is you gave a ream of paper alone as a gift. But wrapping a dazzling bracelet in an origami paper box, or buying him (paper) tickets to his favorite sporting event is sure to be a hit! To jump-start the creative process, we have provided you with a list of the traditional wedding gift themes, the more modern list (which is already out-dated and may no longer seem “modern”) and the color associated with each passing year.

1^st         Paper                Clock                            Yellow

2^nd        Cotton               China                            Linen White

3^rd         Leather             Crystal, Glass                Fawn

4^th         Books               Appliances                    Green

5^th         Wood                Silverware                     Turquoise

6^th         Iron                   Wood                            White

7^th         Copper              Desk Accessories          Off-white

8^th         Electrical           Linen/Lace                    Bronze

9^th         Pottery              Leather                         Terracotta

10^th       Tin                    Diamond                       Silver

11^th       Steel                 Fashion jewelry              Turquoise

12^th       Silk                   Pearls                           Oyster white

13^th       Lace                 Textile/Furs                   White

14^th       Ivory                 Gold                             Ivory

15^th       Crystal              Watch                           Ruby red

16^th       -                       Silverware                     Silver

17^th       -                       Furniture                       Yellow

18^th       -                       Porcelain                       Blue

19^th       -                       Bronze                          Bronze

20^th       China                Platinum                       Emerald green

21^st       -                       Brass                            Orange

22^nd       -                       Nickel                           Green

23^rd       -                       Copper                          Silver

24^th       -                       Musical instrument         Lavender

25^th       Silver                Silver                            Silver

30^th       Pearl                 Diamond                       Green

35^th       Coral                 Jade                             Coral

40^th       Ruby                 Ruby                             Ruby red

45^th       Sapphire           Sapphire                       Sapphire red

50^th       Gold                 Gold                             Gold

55^th       Emerald            Emerald                        Emerald green

60^th       Diamond           Diamond                       Diamond

65^th +    Whatever your heart desires!

Wedding Bow Decorations

Decorative bows can are one of the most versatile wedding decorations available. They are also one of easiest to create. While at first bow-making can be a frustrating task, once you get a feel for it, it will not take long to make them in all sizes and styles. We suggest you first practice with basic ribbon before using wedding material. The thicker the material, the easier it will be to work with. Bridal ribbon usually comes with wired edges. Although it may cost a bit more, wired ribbon gives a do-it-yourself decorator the control to style the ribbon exactly as desired. It also takes the worry out of your bows losing their form. The steps below outline the basics for many types, styles and sizes of bows. Ones you master these simple steps, you will discover a cheap yet elegant way to decorate pews, entrances, fences, tables, hand-rails, and whatever else you can image!

Materials: ribbon, craft wire, wire cutters, scissors, a foam board (optional but your thumbs work equally as well).

Step 1: Forming the loops. Lay your ribbon out horizontally on a table. Find the middle, and from about 6-8” from the center, on both its left and right sides, pinch the ribbon and wrap it inwards toward the center. Firmly hold the center with your thumb and pointer finger (if you are right handed, it may be easier to hold the bow in your left hand while you use your right hand to work with the ribbon).

These first two loops will determine the width of your bow. To make loops of various sizes, simply make each set of loops slightly smaller than the previous. The amount of loops you want, as well as the length of the “tails” that will be left over on each end, will determine the length of ribbon needed. Tails can also be attached as a separate piece of ribbon by using a glue gun.

Another thing to note is that many ribbons have two sides, one side flat, the other shiny. Be sure that the shiny is always facing out as you make your loops. In order to do this, you will need to twist the ribbon as you gather it at the center.

Step 2: Securing the center. Now that you are holding the completed bow firmly between your fingers, you must use the craft wire to secure the center. Secure the center by twisting wire securely around the center. This wire must be very, very tight so that the loops do not move. Don’t panic! As you do this, the bow will be distorted. Simply shape the bow as desired once the wire has been attached.

Unless you are using attractive wire, you may want to consider adding beads, pearls or some other decorative piece to conceal the wire.

Step 3: Attaching the bow. Here, you have several options that work well. If you use a long piece of wire to secure the ribbon, the extra wire can be used to attach the bow to a pew, entrance or hand-rail. Another good option is to use a glue gun (and maybe a pin or two) to attach an additional piece of fabric to the backside of the bow. This fabric also serves as part of the decoration, so make sure it matches, but be careful that it does not distract from the bow itself!

Wedding Traditions around the World

The world is a small place. Love has no boundaries. Together, these two statements create many international romances. International love can add excitement and diversity to a relationship, but it can also create several problems, especially when it comes to weddings. Many couples find themselves pondering which cultural traditions to incorporate into the ceremony. With numerous wedding traditions throughout the world, ceremonies are more and more multicultural in nature. Even couples from the same country often look to other cultures for unique ceremony ideas. Described below are a few wedding traditions rooted in several Baltic countries.

Estonia

Similar in spirit to the bride tossing her bouquet, in Estonia the groom is blind-folded and spun in circles by all the single men. Dizzy and disoriented, the groom removes his hat places it on one of the men, of course naming him the next bachelor to be married.

Sweden

The Swedish couple incorporates pungent herbs into their attire in order to ward off bad spirits and trolls.

The Swedish bride receives three bands upon the exchange of vows. The first represents her engagement, the second her wedding, and the third her hopes for motherhood.

Latvia

The Latvian bride is often “kidnapped” by guests or members of her bridal party. To get her back, the groom must pay a ransom, usually a round of drinks for all!

The bride enjoys her wedding attire until the stroke of midnight, upon which other women at the reception remove her white dress and veil, where she then transitions from “bride” to “wife.”

Finland

In Finland, the groom’s mother takes part in a long-held superstition. She balances a china plate upon her head as the new couple takes the dance floor. When it falls – and we guarantee it will! – the number of broken pieces foretells the number of children the couple will have.

A common ritual for the Finnish bride, similar to that of the Estonian groom, is to remove her golden crown while blindfolded and place in on the head of one of the many girls dancing around her. This lucky lady will be the next to marry.

Lithuania

On the wedding day, the bride greets her parents in the early morning hours and formally says good-bye to her parents and her home. After the marriage takes place, the bride and groom return to her parent’s house, where her mom and dad no longer treat her as a member of the family, but rather as a welcomed guest.

The bride enters the church wearing a wreath of rue upon her head. Her bridesmaids remove this headpiece and replace it with another, more mature one. This tradition represents the bride’s transition for childhood to womanhood.

Iceland

Waiting is the key to healthy marriages. Most couples are engaged for at least 3 years before taking their vows. The couple surely is not rushed. Nor is the traditional wedding ceremony. The ceremony itself could last for well over a week, with the actually marriage occurring on a Sunday.

The Wedding Veil

Look for the veil and you identify the bride. Veils are as popular today as they were centuries ago. Sure, the styles and their intentions have changed, but brides within many cultures still incorporate this traditional accessory in their attire. Some brides now combine it with a stunning tiara so that the same hair-do can be used for the ceremony and the reception. But why wear a veil? Where and how did this custom come about? Let’s take a look to the past to see where this classic bridal tradition began.

Veils were initially used for different purposes depending upon the culture. Superstition played a large role in many societies. In fact, it is the underlying reason why we have many wedding traditions, including bridesmaids, the tossing of rice and of course the veil. For many cultures, the veil protected the bride from evil spirits. This disguise shielded her from all spirits that wished to prevent the marriage. Veils were not always white, which may not have been too important since the tradition of white dresses was not as common during this time. A simple piece of cloth was all that was needed to hide the bride from these spirits. This practice has of course changed over the years for a the veil no longer hides a bride, but rather distinguishes her.

Another one of the veil’s uses dates back to the times when marriages were arranged. Many of these arrangements took place without the bride and groom ever seeing each other. Not only was it considered back luck to see the bride prior to marrying her, it also served a functional purpose. The father hid his daughter until the wedding day in fear that the groom may refuse the proposal if he was not pleased with her looks. The groom would lift his bride’s veil during the ceremony to see her face for the very first time.

The veil later became a symbol of innocence and chastity during the nineteenth century, especially in Britain. In addition to the veil, the young bride would wear her hair long and flowing as a symbol of her modesty. This modest bride was to be given to the groom, who was to protect and care for her. To symbolize this, ceremony took place beneath a canopy to signify that she was now under his protection. The veil functions similarly. As the groom lifted the veil, he was uncovering her and placing her under his protection. It still remains a custom for the groom to unveil the bride, yet many couples now view this as a romantic gesture. It is also not uncommon to see a bride lift the veil herself or choose to wear a veil but letting it hang loose in the back rather than covering her face. My, how the times have changed!