Yellow and Green bouquet

Shot of the bouquet with Cumbaya valley in the background.  (Just outside of Quito, Ecudor….yep, I live in South America!)

Unfortuately my mini shopping spree did not go as I had planned.  My goal for the bouquet was to use White Delphinium, Solidago, Yellow Roses, and Craspedia.  I also wanted to pick up some White Hypericum Berries because that feels so wintery perfect!

First, no Delphinium! Bummer!  So I picked up some White Freesia that is not so similar in shape but has that delicate look.

Second, Solidago = success!

Yellow Roses = pseudo success, I got a bunch of roses, but they are mini roses (have smaller heads than normal)

Craspedia = fail!  So upsetting as that is a definite must!  But at least I know they are available here.  I didn’t get anything to replace it because well…what could replace Craspedias?  Plus the place didn’t have ANY pompoms!

White Hypericum = also fail!  At least this one wasn’t a must have.

So you can imagine I wasn’t too impressed with the place!  But well, seeing as this isn’t for the official event or anything, no reason to get my panties in a bunch!  I purchased the Mini Yellow Roses, Solidago, and White Freesia.  I also grabbed some Green Hypericum to see how it would look.

Here’s a close up:

Yellow and Green Bouquet2

As I was making the bouquet, the Green Hypericum didn’t really call out to me, so I just left it out.  I really like the bouquet!  Definitely simple (seeing as I have no background in floral arrangements…), but I like the combination of textures and colors!  I also think the size of the bouquet is nice.  You don’t want to have a huge bouquet that is going to drown you out and hide your dress!  But at the same time, the bouquet needs to be big enough to not look silly or out of place.  I don’t really think you’d have to worry about the flowers “matching” your dress (something that came up recently with my sister).  Honestly, the dress is beautiful and as long as the flowers are beatiful and in the colors you want, I think it’s all good!  Plus, it’s not like you are going to be carrying your flowers around all night at the reception…and you definitely aren’t going to be sitting around in your dress the rest of the week while you enjoy your bouquet (even though you may want to)!  Well, that’s my take on it anyway.

Yellow and Green Bouquet3

I had enough leftover flowers once I finished the bouquet, so I threw together a table “arrangment”….which for me is a loose bouquet haha!  I had all of that Green Hypericum, so I used it of course, and definitely liked the look!  Not sure why I wasn’t feeling them at the beginning.  I also love just having the 2 left over roses in the vase…a nice pop of color depening on what angle you’re looking at!

Yellow and Green table arrangement

Yellow and Green table arrangement2

(plus isn’t the light yellow vase just perfect!)

I hope you’ve enjoyed the resulsts of my first excursion!  I’m planning on doing at least one more practice bouquet while I’m here in Quito, and am coordinating with our Gammaflowers purchaser to get exactly what I want!  I’ll probably take another run by the wholesaler because what they have in stock varies from week to week, so maybe I’ll have better luck next time!  Either way, I’ll keep you updated!

Thanks for stopping by! Please feel free to leave any comments, ask any questions, give any recommendations!  Happy Friday!

Now, for my friend Elena, the wedding colors are the fantab combination of Yellow and Green.  I have to say I’m a bit partial to this combo because my gradeschool colors were Green and Gold!  Any other St. Ann Roughriders out there?  Plus, I absolutely love these colors for a winter wedding!  An awesome way to bring color and vivacity to the December event!

Elena saw my pictures from Emily’s bouquet and I told her I would love to help out in any way with her wedding flowers as well!  So Miss Elena sent me an email with some inspiration photos she found online.  Let’s take a look:

Elena Bouquet1

In this first bouquet (my favorite) you can see Yellow Roses (looks like a Garden Rose but I’m not sure which variety), Craspedia (the yellow balls), White Delphinium, and hiding in the center you can see just a bit of a Yellow Anastasia (Spider Mum).  I love Delphinium, and something about their texture and shape really appeals to me for a winter wedding! So pretty!!!

In bouquet #2…

Elena Bouquet2

…you can see Yellow Ranunculus, a Yellow Pompon (looks like Statesmen Button), Cream Freesia, Solidago/Goldenrod, a couple light blue/white (?) Veronicas, and Blue Hydrangeas.  This bouquet is much fuller.  I love the Solidago (have become a big fan recently), the Freesia gives a delicate touch as well. 

Now for the most dramatic option:

Elena Bouquet3

The huge Dahlias and Cacti/Succulents make this bouquet uber dramatic in my opinion.  I like the bouquet, but the muted colors kind of turn me off to be honest.  I love the light and brightness of the previous two bouquets.  But anywho, you can also see the Craspedias, more Cream/Yellow Ranunculus, and Yellow Roses.  One thing that you might have overlooked, but that I definitely love about this picture are the ribbons!  I love the use of Yellow and that Blue Grey, plus the ribbon looks satin-y but still a bit textured…love it!

And finally, let’s wrap this session up with inspiration pic #4

Elena Bouquet4

Here you can see Craspedias again (can you see a trend?), Yellow Ranunculus, and the big leafy yellow flower I’m not sure, on the left it looks like a Cymbidium Orchid, but on the top right it looks like a Lily.  You can also see one yellow/peachy Garden Rose tucked in there on the bottom, and to be honest I don’t know what that small orangey flower is!  This bouquet is a bit of a Yellow overload for me; I prefer the other options with a bit more diversity in color. 

With these pictures in mind, I made a trip to a local florist/wholesaler to pick up some flowers and see what I could do!  Craspedia is a must have.  You may have noticed that they appear in all of these photos (except #2 where there are Pompoms which look almost exactly like Craspedia).  Another must have which is “duh” for all of us who know and love Elena are Yellow Roses From there I had to suffice with what was available at the time.

So DUM DUM DUM!  Check back in later this week for pictures of my bouquet! 

Which inpiration picture is your favorite?  Any must-have flowers for your wedding bouquet?  Any recommendations?  Opinions and comments are much welcomed and appreciated!

Things here at Gamma have been going well, we love getting your calls and emails, so if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to contact us!

I’m a bit behind on the posts I wanted to do so far this year, so check back soon for another homemade bouquet entry!  Not only is my sister getting married in October, but one of my best friends is getting married in December!  So I “worked” on another bouquet, this time with a focus on Yellow and White! 

Congratulations to both of you special women! Love you tons and I’m so excited to help out with the flowers!!!

So stay tuned…photos to come!  Yellow Roses, White Freesia, Solidago and Hypericum Berries!

Kerio Yellow Rose

So go to Gammaflowers.com right now before you miss out!

Tinto Red Rose

ORDER VALENTINE’S DAY ROSES FOR YOUR LOVELY LADIES FROM GAMMAFLOWERS…NOW!!!

Hope that works   Of course you could always be super sweet and surprise your guy with some beautiful roses…make it a special first for him!  It’s kind of sad that guys get left out of the flower gifts, so how about spoiling his sweet romantic side this year?

Why does it have to be flowers?  Because they go hand in hand with romance! And everyone can remember the last time they got flowers, its a gift that will definitely leave a lasting impression!

Why does it have to be Gamma?  Because you can’t beat us in terms of quality and price!  We buy from only the very best farms in Ecuador providing you with the best quality out there.  What does that mean?  That means our roses have larger buds, stronger stems, more vibrant colors, and most importantly – a longer vase life! 

***Plus, I’m super friendly and will help you with every step of placing your order and preparing the flowers

Freedom Red Roses

Forever Red Roses

If you remember, a few months back I posted some pictures (here, here, and here) of flower combinations thinking of my sister’s wedding.  The date is set for October 1, 2011!  I’m pretty ahead of the game, but I couldn’t help but get excited!  I went home for Christmas and decided to order some flowers to attempt to recreate Emily’s favorite bouquet.  It was a lot of fun and I think my recreation turned out pretty good!  The colors aren’t exactly the same and we chose to ignore the Cymbidium Orchids but overall I am happy with how it turned out!

So first lets take a look at the inspiration photo, again from theknot.com.

In this beauty you can see Mokara Orchids (Red and Punnee – the yellow speckled one), Kangaroo Paw (the super dark red), Red Hypericum Berries, Mini Callas, Freedom rose, Leonidas rose, and some Cymbidium Orchids (the big ones with red and yellow).  Gammaflowers doesn’t currently offer Orchids, but I just loved this bouquet!  We are looking into expanding to orchids, but may limit our offerings to certain varieties…can you believe that Cymbidium Orchids start at $10 per stem!!!  Quite expensive there!  Well, when there is any update on availability, you’ll find it here!

The combination of the flowers in this bouquet is really nice.  You can see a blend of reds, oranges and yellow which makes it interesting, but red is still the dominant color.  Plus the varying textures of the Mokara orchids and the Kangaroo Paw combined with Roses is just really nice!  Finally another neat addition to this bouquet is the Leonidas rose.  Leonidas is considered a “brown” rose because it is a very dark, burnt orange color.  Seeing Leonidas mixed with reds is a unique idea, and it definitely pays off!

Ok, so now what you’ve been waiting for….my attempt to recreate the bouquet!  First, here are my raw materials:

The Flowers

We’ve got Freedom Roses, Hypericum Berries (a pinkish color here, but for the event we would have Dark Red), Leonidas Roses, Aranal and Orange Mango Mini Callas, and Red and Punnee Mokara Orchids.

And ta-da!

Our Bouquet

Our Bouquet

The finished bouquet!  I know, I know, by no means perfect but I was pretty darn happy with it!  The colors aren’t exactly the same as the inspiration photos because of the Hypericum, and I couldn’t get ahold of the exact variety of Mini Callas.  Plus, we decided not to use the Cymbidium Orchids.  So you can see that there are two Mini Callas, one Yellow/Red and another dark Red.  I like the colors here, but maybe next time around I would put fewer Orange Mango Minis (the yellow/orange ones), and fewer Punnee Mokaras (the yellow with spots), and instead put in a bit more of the red varieties of those flowers.  But that should be a pretty easy thing to manage next time around.

Also, the size of the bouquet was perfect for Emily’s body!  It’s important to consider the size of your bouquet because you don’t want it to overpower you and hide too much of your dress, but at the same time you want it to be substantial enough so that it looks like part of your ensemble.  So I’m gunna go ahead and pat myself on the back with this one, I think the size is perfect - not too small and not too big!

Bride-To-be

I’m so glad we took the time to make a sample order of the flowers!  Emily really liked them so at least we know we are set on that.  I liked my bouquet to be honest, and I was pretty surprised with myself!  We are thinking of hiring someone to help out so that I won’t have to be worrying about doing all the arrangements, plus who would set them up?  So we are definitely getting our flowers from Gamma (duh!) but we’ll have to figure out the details later of exactly how we are going to manage the creation and set-up of the arrangements.

I hope you enjoyed these photos!  And hey, if I can do it, anyone can!

Yay! The bouquet!

Remember, if you find a picture of a bouquet you just love, but you’re not sure how to make it, send me the picture and I’ll help you:

1. Figure out what flowers are in there,

2. Recommend any substitutions if you’re on a budget, and

3. Help you estimate how many flowers you’d need for your event!

Thanks again for looking us up!  Remember you can find us on Facebook, and of course visit Gammaflowers to see a complete list of the products we offer!

*If you don’t find what you need, shoot us an email – chances are we can get it for you!

Gammaflowers will be CLOSING SALES on SUNDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2010.  No no, don’t worry, we’re not closing for good, just for the holiday season! 

If you want flowers delivered between FRIDAY, DECEMBER 24, 2010 and TUESDAY, JANUARY 04, 2011 your order MUST be placed by SUNDAY, DECEMBER 19, 2010.  If you place an order after Sunday the 19th for delivery between December 24th and January 04th, your order WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED. 

Also! FedEx does NOT offer delivery for Wednesday, December 29th or Wednesday, January 05 due to the holidays.  Orders for delivery on these dates WILL NOT BE ACCEPTED.

So! Let’s be clear: Do you want flowers delivered between December 24th and January 04th?  Great!  Just make sure to place your order by Sunday, December 19th!

Do you want flowers delivered on Wednesday, December 29th?  Sorry! FedEx does not offer delivery for that date, so place your order for delivery on the 30th!

Do you want flowers delivered on Wednesday, Jaunary 5th?  Sorry!  FedEx does not offer delivery for that date, so place your order for delivery on the 6th!

Do you want flowers delivered on or any time after January 6th?  Great!  No problem!  Place your order at any time!

But let’s restart things here with a nice feedback update.  Thank you so much for all of your positive messages!  We’re always so glad to hear that everything worked out great with the flowers!  Plus, we appreciate your time and hope you take advantage of the 5% discount we send you in thanks for your response!

We had some great feedback from Peachy way back in June:

“Thank you Gammaflowers!!!! The flowers arrived on the exact date and time I requested. They were absolutely breath taking! I have never seen more beautiful Calla Lilies. The roses were the perfect color. The instructions for care were simply and easily done. My wedding was beautiful!! Thank you again Gammaflowers!”

And then were pleasantly surprised in the beginning of September with some photos from her wedding!

Peachy's Freedom Roses

Peachy ordered Freedom Roses and White Calla Lilies.  They look great!

Peachy's White Callas

We also got such a sweet email from Mrs. Pam G.:

“Gamma flowers, I thank you soooo much for the beautiful roses for my daughters wedding! You saved the very special day for us all. I had a different plan for decorations and my daughter wanted fresh flowers. It was impossible for other florists to get the flowers to me with such short notice, but Gamma came through for us. It was so convenient also that they were delivered right to my home. As soon as I got them we started on bouquets. I have had so many compliments on the wedding and I have another daughter that may be getting married in the future and I will definately order from you. I do have a friend that is going to get ahold of you also. Thank you so much for a wonderful memory for our family.”

Pam purchased Vendela and Green Tea!  We look forward to working with Pam again in the future! 

We worked with Sara M. on her wedding flowers as well and had a bit of a hick-up with her Pompons.  Thankfully we were able to work things out in time to get the flowers to her as scheduled!

“I just want to thank you for all the great customer service I received when ordering my flower from you for my wedding! Everyone I talked with where kind, concerned, and caring. They always kept me informed so I never needed to worry about my flowers. I want to thank you again for everything you have done for me. I have sent a picture of my bouquet to you to show you how beautiful the flowers turned out!”

Sara's Bridal Bouquet

Sara used Goldstrike, a pompon similar to Shock Dutch Novelty, Hypericum Berries, and Mini Callas.  Believe it or not we still do not have Mini Callas up on the website, but we can offer them!  Contact us for info!  Thank you Sara for your feedback and awesome photo!  Congrats!

We’ve received lots of great feedback from our clients, but I don’t want to bore you with all of them!  Read All Our Testimonials!

So let’s wrap things up with our very latest email from Mrs. Sherri L. who purchased Imagination Roses and Red Spray Roses.

“My experience with Gamma Flowers was very positive. We decided to do the flowers for my daughters wedding and chose Gamma as our vendor. They had excellent customer service and responded promptly to emails. They let me know one week in advance that they needed to make a substitution, giving us plenty of time to do that. The flowers were lovely and we received lots of compliments. We would definitely use Gamma again and recommend them to other Do-It-Yourselfers!”

If Sherri can do it, you can do it too!  Not sure where to start? Send us your inspiration photo and we’ll be happy to help you break down the flowers that are in the picture and help you personalize it to your needs!

Option5

Option 5

Bride: Zembla Cremon, Red Gerbera, Freedom, Green Hypericum, Voodoo.  Maids: Zembla Cremon, Green Hypericum and either Voodoo or Freedom with Red Gerbera.

Red Roses and Red Gerberas is a super classic combination, so I spiced it up a bit with the Voodoo!  The Zembla I would probably take out all together or replace with a smaller flower to get some white in the bouquet.  This option is nice though for variability with the bridesmaids bouquets.

Option 6

Option 6

Bride: Sunflowers, Freedom, Coffee Break, White Baby’s Breath.  Maids: Sunflowers, Red Spray Roses, White Baby’s Breath.

I know this one is pushing it color-wise, but you should know by now that I had to find a way to pull in Sunflowers!  I don’t think my sis really liked the yellow, but at least I had to try!

Option 7

Option 7

Bride: Iguana, Vendela, Circus, Red Spray Roses.  Maids: Iguana, Vendela, Red Spray Roses.

Ok, first off, I would definitely change the Bride’s bouquet to White Spray Roses and Freedom Red Roses.  Not sure what I was thinking then, but there should be Freedom roses to keep things focused on Red!  My inspiration for these bouquets was a photo from our Simple Fall Colors ideas.  I absolutely loved the full look of an all rose bouquet, so I had to throw that in as an option.

And that about wraps it up folks!  Do you agree with my sister and think Option 4 is the prettiest?  Which ones do you like?  What changes would you make?