Photo Credit: Kio Kreations
While fragrant flowers look beautiful and can fill the room with a sweet, perfumey scent, they also can give you a headache, cause an allergy attack or make your food less-appetizing. So before you order bunches of Stargazer lilies to fill your venue, think about their strong scent. You can still use them, but think about using smaller amounts of them in with non-fragrant flowers. Avoid using them in bouquets since those are usually closer to faces/noses for longer amounts of time.
Photo Credit: Kio Kreations
The above arrangement shows how to effectively use a strong-scented flower like Stargazer lilies in with subtle and no-fragrance blooms. The only other flower that has a scent in this altarpiece is the stock. Another ideal thing about this arrangement is it is an altarpiece, and therefore not on a guest table or being worn by the bridal party–so its scent won’t travel too far and it will likely not annoy guests in the least.
Most flowers do have some sort of fragrance, but the majority of them are subtle enough that they will not cause headaches, alter flavors or cause allergic reactions. I have compiled a list of fragrant, sorta fragrant and fragrant-less flowers below for your reference…
Usually people are more affected by the pungent (strong) fragrances that come out of these lovely blooms:
Oriental Lilies (most commonly used: Stargazer and Casablanca varieties)
Gardenias
Lily of the Valley
Lilac
Hyacinth
Herbs
Paperwhites
Christmas Greens
Eucalyptus
Photo Credit: Kio Kreations
I am a florist and even I am very allergic to Christmas greens and eucalyptus. Just being around the smell of them gives me a headache and eventually makes me sneeze or get a runny nose. I love the look of them, but they literally make me ill!!! While I do use these foliages, I try to avoid them whenever possible. In the above bouquet, I used boxwood instead of evergreens and I used seeded eucalyptus which I find less-offensive then spiral eucalyptus.
These lovelies are much less intense, but still fragrant:
Freesia
Stock
Peonies
Garden Roses
Sweet Pea
Some Rose, Sweetheart and Spray Rose Varieties
Dahlias
Stephanotis
Marigolds
Mums
Wax Flower
Photo Credit: Kio Kreations
This bouquet is the perfect example of having some mildly-fragrant blooms, like peonies and sweet pea, in with a bunch of non-fragrant ones like ranunculus and Billy balls.
And if you want to play it safe, these flowers have subtle/minimal-to-no fragrance:
Most roses
Hydrangea
Callas
Most Orchids
Ranunculus
Tulips
Lisianthus
Gerbera Daisies
Carnations
Iris
Amaranthus
Celosia
Billy Balls
Brunia
Gladioli
Kale
Larkspur
Asiatic Lilies
Snapdragons
Bells of Ireland
Anemones
Photo Credit: Kio Kreations
This bouquet combines non-fragrant kale, tulips, anemones, and lisianthus with lightly-fragrant sweet pea.
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Analogous colors are found next to each other on the color wheel. Analogous colors tend to create a soothing and elegant effect. These color combinations work best when they have a similar tint; this means your colors harmonize well if they are either all vibrant or all pastels, rather than mixing the two
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Caring for Your Dress
Photo credit: www.bride.ca
With all the hustle and bustle of planning your wedding, many brides forget the small details of your wedding day. Of course, I am talking about the small details that you may not consider while caught up in planning the invitations, seating arrangements, decor, favors etc. Caring for your wedding dress is one small detail that many brides forget about. Here are a few tips I picked up while planning my wedding for prepping your wedding dress for the big day:
• Make sure your wedding dress fits appropriately. Alterations are important, and some dresses take longer to alter then others. On average, wedding dresses take 3 alterations/fittings to be altered perfectly to your figure. Don’t leave it to the last minute.
Photo Credit: WeddingBellsBlog.com
• Sample and vintage dresses need some special love. If you are a lucky bride who purchased a dress off the rack or a vintage dress at a fraction of the actual price, spend a few more dollars caring for your dress. Sample/vintage usually need to be cleaned, altered and repaired. Check to see if there is any missing beading or rips in your dress and make sure that you leave ample time to repair any damage before your big day.
Photo Credit: ConceptsInBloom.Blogspot.com
• After alterations are completed, if you must store your wedding dress at your home, be sure to have enough space. Clear out a large portion of the closet, making sure that the floor of the closet is free of clutter. Hang your dress on a padded hanger; making sure it is out of its plastic garment bag. Shield the dress from dust and light by closing the closet door each time you open it.
Photo Credit: Dreamstime.com
• A week or two before the wedding, take your dress out of the closet, check to see if it has any wrinkles in it. If you feel the need to steam your wedding dress, you’ll still have time to get it done professionally. If the wrinkles are minimal, simply hang your wedding dress in your bathroom while the shower is running hot water. Make sure your dress is hung high and away from receiving any water damage. This will release some of the wrinkles without leaving any water spots or marks from a home steamer or iron.
Happy Planning