submerged flower centerpieces

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rewolf said:
Mocha - out of curiousity, what are you charging for these cylinders may I ask? What kind of labor do you anticipate in prep and on site? My brides are pretty traditional and it's one floral centerpiece after another. This is unchartered water (sorry for the pun) for me...
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Sorry, I must have missed this when you posted. These are a fairly affordable centerpiece for the most part since they are only using 1-3 stems and rent the vases.

When I price them, I charge a rental for the vase, stones, et.

Then I do a 3.5-5x (5x for cheaper flowers and 3.5x for pricey options like cyms) markup on the flower and add 40-50% labor on the arrangement. This is to accommodate the extra labor on site. Depending on the site, there may also be additional set up charges if we have limited time/ resources and have to bring in more people.

Oh and the 2.5 markup on candles, wire, etc.

Like I said, I've done more of these than I'd like so they are somewhat of a science to me. Next 4 weddings on the books are all submerged...:(
 
wildflowerschicago said:
My caution...I was trying to be overly efficient and was carrying 3 of the tallest cylinders full from the kitchen of the banquet hall, and I gracefully tripped (Keep in mind that this was the last stop of my 3 weddings Saturday, and the remnants of Ike had made his way to Chicago, so I was wet and exhausted). Anyway, I managed not to completely fall and break glass all over the dining room, but I did spill what felt like a gallon of water down the entire right side of my body. There I was, in my white polo shirt, drenched from shoulder to knee. Naturally, I had to make my back out to the van (through a vestibule full of people from an earlier wedding) for at least 3 more trips. Nothing like your florist having their own little wet t-shirt contest at your wedding...can you say CLASSY?!?!?!?
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Is it appropiate to laugh a bit here? haha!

Glad everything went well for you! Rather than carrying each vase to the sink, I grab a cart from the reception site as soon as I get there and fill up at least two buckets with water. I just wheel the buckets around to each table and fill the vases at each table with pitchers. I'm the world's biggest klutz so I can't imagine trying to carry 3 vases filled with water! I'd be such a mess!
 
Mocha Rose said:
Rather than carrying each vase to the sink, I grab a cart from the reception site as soon as I get there and fill up at least two buckets with water. I just wheel the buckets around to each table and fill the vases at each table with pitchers. I'm the world's biggest klutz so I can't imagine trying to carry 3 vases filled with water! I'd be such a mess!
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This would have been ideal, if they had a cart to offer me. I have (and bring) my own cart, however I am not allowed to bring it into this venue because they smoosh the tables too close together.

I admit I was taking the lazy man's load!! I was laughing when it happened, so feel free to laugh at my gracefullness!
 
So guys do you think brides do this cause they think they're saving $$$? Or do they like "building" something; picking the flowers, the lights, the stone colors...?

I know a florist who sells these types of arrangements aggressively for the very (first) reason above. Budget conscious brides are looking for alternatives but she sells them all these extras and it ends up being quite a bit. I think she also does it cause she never delivers them, she has an army of semi-experienced helpers to do all the grunt work.
 
wildflowerschicago said:
Ok, the wedding is over, and despite delivering in the pouring rain, it all turned out very well. The overall look was very pretty!

The centerpieces were SO easy to make!!!! I used Robin's idea of wiring some washers to the stems with copper bullion thread. The orchid and hydrangea were wired through the flower bracht and the roses were just wired around the stem and pinned upward with a bout pin. I made the centerpieces on Wednesday and kept them in the cooler (filled only to the base of the flower) and filled them the rest of the way on site.

I thought these would be SO labor intensive, but I was wrong as usual!!!! I will be showing them again to budget minded brides, as they give a nice impact without being too expensive.

My caution...I was trying to be overly efficient and was carrying 3 of the tallest cylinders full from the kitchen of the banquet hall, and I gracefully tripped (Keep in mind that this was the last stop of my 3 weddings Saturday, and the remnants of Ike had made his way to Chicago, so I was wet and exhausted). Anyway, I managed not to completely fall and break glass all over the dining room, but I did spill what felt like a gallon of water down the entire right side of my body. There I was, in my white polo shirt, drenched from shoulder to knee. Naturally, I had to make my back out to the van (through a vestibule full of people from an earlier wedding) for at least 3 more trips. Nothing like your florist having their own little wet t-shirt contest at your wedding...can you say CLASSY?!?!?!?
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Very pretty Amy.. Great job.

I wish your bride had chosen nicer linens, your flowers would have looked so much nicer with deep rich colored linens. I'm sure she didn't have the money, but man, it would have made such a difference.

Really really nice Amy. Hope you didn't hurt anything when you fell.
 
Hello,
In the past I have used fishing weights wired to the stem or bloom, you can hide the weights with leaf or stones. The weights come in many sizes etc, also readily available in your husbands tackle box!!
 
Bravo BJ, Bravo !! Very cool, interesting and innovative. I will be in Denver this weekend and may drop by if time allows. Where exactly are you located.
Barry
PC Floral Designs
 
Ok, here is what we used for this weekend's wedding. We partially submerged the orchids with some sticking out the top. We prepared everything the night before by using wire and a washer to anchor the flower, putting the marbles in and putting just enough water in to cover the marbles and for the flower. Then we simply filled the rest up at the restaurant. They were a hit.
 

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they are lovely inferno, I havent done partially submerged before, I usually do all or nothing, but I see it work well with orchids anyway, simple and effective, :thumbsup
 
I have successfully used California Crystals. You have to "layer" the flowers in between the layers of crystal, not pour all the crystal in and then try to shove the flowers down into the crystal. Once they are positioned where you want them to be, carefully scoop more crystal ontop and around the flowers. When finished, add the water. The more water you use, the more transparent the crystal becomes so it looks as if the flowers are suspended in water, without the sloshing. You can "top off" the containers at the venue site to avoid more spillage.

Deb Di Bella AIFD
 
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LoDo

PCfloraldesigns said:
Bravo BJ, Bravo !! Very cool, interesting and innovative. I will be in Denver this weekend and may drop by if time allows. Where exactly are you located.
Barry
PC Floral Designs
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Come see me! We're in Downtown Denver in an area called LoDo (Lower Downtown) at 15th Street and Wazee. We're one block off the free 16th Street Mall Shuttle, so we're easy to get to.
 
Another option

We did a wedding with vases where we submerged a single gloriosa lily in each vase. Because of the LOOK they wanted, we used a stone in each vase. The overall concept was great and very well received.
 

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inferno63 said:
I wish I knew. I can't find the lamp kit either. Anyone?
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Absolutely! I have rented from Fancy Faces for about 5 years. Love them.
www.fancyfaces.com
Click on the picture that says "special events". This is the rental and/or
purchase section. They have 2 shapes available now. They rent to florists for
$32.50 each. Or you can also rent their tall glass vases with them for additional charge. I always figure about 20-30% shipping (round trip). Charge my brides $60 rental, since we do have to unpack them, put together and repack them for FedEx pickup. They always come with fresh batteries installed.
You can't order them online....just give them a call on their toll free #

Vicki
www.branchingouteventflorist.com
 
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Nashvillegirl said:
Absolutely! I have rented from Fancy Faces for about 5 years. Love them.
www.fancyfaces.com
Click on the picture that says "special events". This is the rental and/or
purchase section. They have 2 shapes available now. They rent to florists for
$32.50 each. Or you can also rent their tall glass vases with them for additional charge. I always figure about 20-30% shipping (round trip). Charge my brides $60 rental, since we do have to unpack them, put together and repack them for FedEx pickup. They always come with fresh batteries installed.
You can't order them online....just give them a call on their toll free #

Vicki
www.branchingouteventflorist.com
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THANK YOU THANK YOU! I have a wedding they would be perfect for, and I have been wondering about them. I went to that website and for some reason I couldn't find them.

BJ I like the glorisoas with the rock. Looks beautiful.
 
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