Wedding flowers fell apart!!!!!

[lil_goldie]

I am SOOOOOOOO embarrassed. I recieved a call today from a bride. I did her consultation, but I'm not a designer. I am apprenticing and was learning on her wedding. I didn't do her bouquet or her BM's bouquets. I did pew bows, bouts, corsages and altar piece.
Her wedding was Saturday and when she came in to return a rental today she informed me that flowers were falling out of her bouquet and her BMs bouquets!!
We did them in a Lomey bouquet holder. they were white and purple mixed carns mixed in with oregonia and kangeroo paw. The brides bqt had 15 carns and the bm's had 11......
Can anyone think of why they would fall out??? The bride said when she bent over to adjust her dress some carns fell out. I just felt awful.
One of my senior designers did this. But a couple of years ago she did another wedding in a Bravo Hand tied bouquet holder and I went to the wedding and all the stems fell out of the bottom before the ceremony and as the bride was walking down the aisle leaves were falling off!!!
When I asked the senior designer she got really upset and said "Oh people are just much too rough with the flowers!!! Someone must have been flinging it around....."
I don't buy it


Any imput???

 

[concord]

Wow, that's awful! I've never had that problem but it sounds like maybe there were too many greens and flowers in the bouquet holder and the oasis broke apart. It's been a long time since I've even made anything in a holder since most of m bride's go for hand tied these days. I would definately let the boss know about the complaint and let her/him deal with the senior designer since it isn't your place .

 

[Rhonda]

1. if stems weren't "criss/crossed" in holder (like lacing in the hand) they may not hold - stems too short in other words.
2. if the "nodules" weren't trimmed to the size of the stem, the hole they make would be large and cause the stem to fall out.
3. if they were just carnations, they should have been hand tied - quicker and won't fall apart
4. suggest stem lock next time
5. with the "grande holder" glue, glue, glue, elastic and glue

that's my nickel

 

[lil_goldie]

I suggested the idea that there was too much stuff in the bouquet holder. Think about it, inserting stem after stem would create a huge hole and everything would just fall out. I brought this up with the designer and she said "no, the more stuff you put in the tighter it would be and it is less likely to fall out."
I don't know what to do. I'm not the boss, but I'm the boss' daughter. Neither of us are designers, that is why I'm learning. Our reputation is at stake so this is really important to me.
Rant over.

 

[lil_goldie]

2. if the "nodules" weren't trimmed to the size of the stem, the hole they make would be large and cause the stem to fall out.
l

Yes! of course!! Also, the bride brought in one that fell out and it was very very short.
I agreed with the handtied. I'm always afraid to speak up b/c I'm such a novice.

 

[shannonlovesflowers]

"senior designer" huh? AND This has happened before? sheesh-a maria!

#1 problem I see designers do when creating a bouquet in a holder, they pull the flowers out and adjust them. NO NO NO!!! you can not do that. you MUST commit to the insertion!
#2 problem I see is they don't stem lock their arrangements.

I have never EVER had a bouquet fall apart, and I make some big giant bouquets!
I use the biggest holder available every time. I used to not stem lock. My bouquets don't fall apart....BUT the older I get the bigger the chicken I have become. Why take the chance.

I think it's time for some design school girls!
If ya can't physically go---> flower school on ubloom is good to watch as is JTV on ubloom.

P.S. tell your Senior designer that the bouquets need to be "fling proof"!

 

[Sprout]

One shop I worked in I wasn't allowed to go home on a Saturday until all our brides walked down the aisle while we waited for problems to arise. The senior designer (who got to go home) booked all the weddings and made all the major elements - bouquets, corsages, church flowers - I was centerpiece girl.

Any how, senior designer had TONS of years of experience growing up in a shop, and could sell ice to Eskimos, but was SLOPPY. It seemed every week, we would get a call about flowers falling out of bouquets, wrist corsages breaking, not enough maids bouquets, bouquets the wrong color, etc. It was embarrassing.

Management would have near weekly meetings about this with us, but on her day off and never with her. He wanted the junior staff to vet her work before it went out the door. I can tell you how that went over. Ha!

Any how, they allowed her to get away with it and the rest of us resented it. Not a good situation for anyone. There's no reason for wedding work to be less than fastidious, whether it's 15 gardenias or 15 carnations.

You may not be the authority on design, but your are the authority on what's acceptable to go out of your shop. Shake those bouquets before they go out the door!

 

[Queen of Weddings]

Well as you have stated, you are the boss's child, and your reputation, well I would reccommend this get up off your arse, and say something now, because it is things like this that give great shops bad names, and not to be mean, but I would have tied those things, and holders do cost more, and they should have used sur-lock in them things, it is hard enough some days, have that chick make you a sample of what she did , and that will tell ya the problem with it. Sorry if I am offending in this post, but, I can't sugar coat things..

 

[lil_goldie]

No miss Queenie. I appreciate anything you can tell me. I've been selling flowers for 10 years, but I was a lowly teenager then. Now I'm in my mid twenties and I'm starting to see things for what they really are!!!
It's funny, a 3 week design course prepares you for nothing!

 

[RWK]

First of all - Stemlock glues - use'em, use'em, use'em.

Secondly - Carnations have to trimmed and cut PROPERLY to work in a bouquet holder. No question. Same thing can happen if you are using carnations in a big ols set peice.....like a sympathy heart.

 

[Tuberose]

I second, third and fourth the stem lock! I do many bridal bouquets in holders and have never had one fall apart. Next time she does a bouquet watch how she does it, tell her you're observing so you can learn (what not to do, heh). If she only has a 1/2 inch stem into the foam, it won't stay. Can't begin to tell you how many designers think they know it all, but don't do half the things the way they should. My first boss beat mechanics into my head, I still remember that and my most embarrasing thing is if my mechanics fail on a project or a flower wilts because of me.

Lots of training videos on Ubloom and on YouTube, you never stop learning new things, case in point is the AIFD Symposium going on now, lots of new ideas being presented, I'm sure.

trish

 

[Palms]

If it is trailing in a holder I wire all the trailing materials and also put them into a dry holder as i think these take the stems better. I then add glue to the base of any thicker stems, and this would include Carnations. Personally i would not use Carnations in a bridal bouquet anyway but that is a different discussion.

If it is a round bouquet i would handtie it every time, this negates this problem imho. I am scared of using holders for round ones because of this problem.

I would tell her this is unacceptable, why not send her on a course for advanced floristry? I know you shouldn't have to. And if this is the girl you are learning from, is it the right person.

Good luck, you will get there.:thumbsup

 

[lizzie ann]

I suggested the idea that there was too much stuff in the bouquet holder. Think about it, inserting stem after stem would create a huge hole and everything would just fall out. I brought this up with the designer and she said "no, the more stuff you put in the tighter it would be and it is less likely to fall out."
I don't know what to do. I'm not the boss, but I'm the boss' daughter. Neither of us are designers, that is why I'm learning. Our reputation is at stake so this is really important to me.
Rant over.

I hired a lady who touted herself as a senior designer....i.e. knew it all.Her mechanics SUCKED. If you don't know the proper way to put flowers into a bokay they will fall out even if you glue the dickens out of them. Stems to short,not cut in the right place,and over stuffed holders. Basic stuff,and you can tell her I said so.

 

[Toddxxx]

1. if stems weren't "criss/crossed" in holder (like lacing in the hand) they may not hold - stems too short in other words.
2. if the "nodules" weren't trimmed to the size of the stem, the hole they make would be large and cause the stem to fall out.
3. if they were just carnations, they should have been hand tied - quicker and won't fall apart
4. suggest stem lock next time
5. with the "grande holder" glue, glue, glue, elastic and glue

that's my nickel

Way down here in the antipodes a lot of the fancy shmancy tools you have are not available to us - like "stem lock" (from what I've read here I think this is some sort of glue you spray on the foam to help the stems stay in?). We wire our stems into the bouquet holder - long wires extend past the stem end which are tied to wires from other stems, or around the cage that holds the oasis. Sounds unattractive but a skilled florist can hide the mechanics.

When I got married we were chatting to the photographer - he said we would be shocked to see how many wedding bouquets fall apart, he's seen brides throw their bouquet away after the photo's were done because it wasn't worth the hassle of lugging around a disintegrating bunch of flowers. The bouquet I did for my wife was massive - huge Anthuriums, Oriental Lilliums and Dendrobium Orchids - I made it using the method above and not one stem came out. I'll try and dig up a pic to show you. (It was the last trailing style bouquet I made - it was so stressful I got neurotic about weddings and didn't want to touch a bouquet holder again)

 

[Victoria]

If her bouquets fall apart, she is NOT doing her job correctly.

I used to have nightmares about that kind of thing. I remember at Flowers Canada having to survive the "throw the bouquet" test... I learned my lessons well.

Your designer needs a refresher, period.

V

 

[TGDragonfly]

Todd, Floralock or stem lock comes in a arisol can with a thin tube that you insert into the finished bouquet's foam.

Carns are tricky. Not only are the stems shaped wrong (thin at the knuckle and wider towards the next) which doesn't allow for a good bite in the foam. They also have brittle knuckles which snap easily.

Yeah, I think people overload the little bouquet holders and expect them to endure two or three hours of flower hell.

Personally, I will never use them. I think they are an outdated piece of technology that cause more harm than good. It's either a clutch or it's wire and tape.

If your bouquets fall apart at a wedding, you are in essence demonstrating to 200 people that your work is amateur. Your twenty something, I remember and understand the age thing, I was 19 when I managed my first shop and the friction between the seniors is tough, but it sounds like you need to take the reins here and take over. Don't be afraid, remember to put yourself in the wedding shoes, it all reflects on you, not your senior designer.

 

[mvf]

Did the bride ask for a partial refund?? How was that handled??

Jennifer

 

[lori042499]

I will imagine that the stems were cut too short or that they were cut straight across and not at a sharp point....

Carns stems are smooth and should have a 2"cowee pick attached to the end to insure that it stays in the holder...although I have never had anything fall apart....since I was an amature anyway...I do not stem lock, but I do not over load my foam and I make sure each insertion is right and tight....If the flower is not right it will fall out....I think your designer needs to go for a refresher and if you are learning, you will be learning really bad habits from this one...

 

[BOSS]

If her bouquets fall apart, she is NOT doing her job correctly.

V

Or maybe.... seems like we're talking about foam holders here?

Funny side trip...my head designer took the last two weeks off to go to NC and do her sons wedding with all the trimmings including rehearsal dinner and all...everything went fine, until the Bride got 1/2 way down the isle... her bouquet fell totally apart all over the floor....the holder came apart, plastic, foam and all....

She returns to work today and we have 4 weddings this weekend... I made her a sign with the word Bouquet's on it with a red line and circle and left it over her station

 

[Victoria]

Wow Mark... that's terrible.

I always wired the cage to the base (to avoid that kind of scenario).

Stuff happens, yes... but, Lil Goldie's example in my opinion, was poor designpersonship.

Like Lori, I used cowee picks and prepared the stem the way I was taught.

V