seattle weddings ~ guest blogger ~ anne with floressence

anne with floressence is one of those gals that you would want to count among friends….easy going, easy to talk with and super sweet.  i hear from couples occasionally that they are not considering a florist, but instead are planning to just “hit up pike’s place for flowers on the morning of the wedding”.  the market is AWESOME for flowers, but there is a HUGE value in having the bouquet & centerpieces that you really want.  here’s a little insight below from anne on the subject…be sure to go check out her website and here are few of the brides that anne and i have shared over the years…

“There is no doubt about it: Pike Place Market is a seriously seductive spot in terms of flowers. All those amazing, huge, gorgeous bouquets, at those amazing, tiny, gorgeous prices. Whenever I walk through the Market, my eyes get so hungry, eating up the sight of all that floral beauty. I especially love watching the foot traffic in the immediate vicinity of the Market — seeing who bought flowers, and wondering where they will end up.

But as an event florist, it gives me little tremors of anxiety when a couple tells me they plan on getting Market bouquets for their wedding. Here’s why:  Those lovely bouquets are designed as wraps. They are stunning when you look down into the white paper collar that holds them, but they are not designed as vase arrangements. If you take the paper off and put that beauty in a vase, you’re going to see all the floral scuzz (ratty leaves, bruised buds, torn petals) that hangs out beneath the crown of flowers. And it’s going to be right at eye level for your guests as they dine. That “scuzz” is not a reflection of the vendors’ care or talent — it’s just a natural byproduct of working quickly and making aerial view arrangements.

Absolutely – yes – you can clean that stuff up, and you can cut the stems down so the arrangement fits your vase, and you can even dismantle the bouquet and make a new one out of it, one designed in the round. But that takes time, and it is so insanely important to be realistic about time on your wedding day. There’s just not enough of it!! (As any newlywed or wedding vendor will attest…)

Do buy flowers at Pike Place as often as you can – we all should! If you really want to put them in vases at your wedding, at the very least, commit yourself to a few practice runs beforehand. And if the whole thing is just a lot more headache than it is pleasure, or you’re not getting the look you had envisioned, know that there is a floral designer out there (like me!) who will do the dirty work for you – removing the ideas of “dirty” and “work” from the final product.”