This was the first time I ever arranged flowers and it was a great experience. I wanted my husband to stay involved in the process so I asked what theme he wanted. Of course he didn't make it easy and said he wanted an underwater coral feel. I did a bit of online research and looked up some books on flower arrangements to get an idea of what I could do. Fiftyflowers provides very detailed directions as to how to care for their flowers so I was able to create lovely lasting looks (centerpieces lasted a good week after our wedding which was on the hottest weekend of the year). As an homage to his navy background I put the table numbers on monkey fists (it is a knot style). Then I just added some origami sea turtles and small glow lights and the centerpieces were complete. With the remaining flowers I made a simple boutonniere that matched my bouquet (we did not have a bridal party), 12 hanging vases, 8 small vases for the cocktail tables and a large vase for the ceremony room. I made all the centerpieces and vases on Thursday, made the bouquet on Friday and finished the boutonniere as well as a flower hair piece on Saturday morning (it's amazing what you can learn to do on with some online research). My husband and I went to the ceremony site on Saturday morning to place the centerpieces and put the flowers in the hanging vases (we along with some family members set up the tables and hung the vases on Friday). We got married that Saturday evening. The process was a bit time intensive and may not be the right choice for all couples but working with my husband and having both families help set up everything made the day just a bit more special.
