Lush

Melanie and Kris: August 6, 2011

2012-02-07T09:48:00.000-08:00

Not only do Melanie and I share a fantastic namesake but we also share a love for bold colour in florals. Melanie's jade/aqua bridesmaids dresses were the stepping stone to a plethera of jewel toned hues with pops of yellow.

Melanie and Kris were married at St. Kevin's church in Welland followed by an elegant reception at John Michaels The images were captured by their friend, the very talented Brian Caporicci.

Melanie's bridal bouquet consisted of Dahlia, trachelium, lisianthus, brain celosia, green hydrangea and yellow billy balls. The groom wore a dahlia boutonniere in a co-ordinating hot pink

For the ceremony tall cylinder vases were topped with bold coloured blooms mixed with white and curly willow

The centerpieces consisted of purple kale, pink roses, curly willow, green and white hydrangea, purple carnations and green spider mums.

Thanks Mel and Kris! You were a joy to work with and we here at Lush wish you all the best!

Janelle and Chris Dec 10, 2011

2012-01-30T20:16:00.000-08:00

Janelle and Chris during their Korean Ceremony

When I first met Janelle and Chris I was impressed by what a clear vision Janelle had for her day. Tons of inspirational pictures and endless descriptions. When she first told me that she wanted roses and babies breath I had a bad flashback image (circa 1980), but it's all about how you use these flowers. So we took a modern twist on the classics. For their ceremony and reception at Queens Landing we used a neutral pallette of white and soft pink. Janelle chose a mix of regular and spray roses for her bouquet which was finished with a massed ring of babies breath.

For her groom a simple rose and baby's breath massing

The bridesmaids carried a bouquet of baby's breath and the groomsmen wore a mound of the same.

A huge thanks to Bard of Living Face Photography for all of the wedding party pictures above.

We also worked hand in hand with one of our fav's on this wedding: Gala Decor We LOVED the head table backdrop and the gold guest table linens made the centerpieces pop.

Baby's breath is the perfect representation of snow for a winter wedding. So we went all out! It was in the ceremony arrangements along with white branches and hanging candles

As well as in the centerpieces:

The head table was decked out in mounded arrangements of baby's breath, hydrangea and spray roses as well as white branches for accent.

The receiving table was accented with an arrangement of branches and hanging crystals

Huge thanks and Congrats to Janelle and Chris! We had such an amazing time creatng your winter wonderland.

Anna and Kevin October 8, 2011

2011-12-17T14:05:00.000-08:00

I got to know Anna very quickly when she contacted me shortly before her wedding and asked me to be her florist. She had a hard time narrowing down her colour scheme but in the end she went back to what she had loved from the start: a black, white and grey colour scheme. Anna loved the moonvista carnations I used in many bouquets because "they look black" she told me. Along with the carnations I added very dark burgundy dahlia, grey dusty miller and echiveria and finally white spray roses.
Thanks to Christopher Porto for capturing the day!

For the maid of honor we used smaller versions of the echiveria used in Anna's bouquet

For the groom Anna wanted to use the carnations again along with silver berzillia berries and dusty miller

For the Flower girl (and Anna's beautiful daughter) we used a massing of moonvista carnations and dusty miller foliage

The ceremony arrangements were a massing and mounding of commercial (football) mums, spray roses, dahlia, carnations, berzillia berries, rhamnas berries, dusty miller and diablo ninebark foliage

Thanks for allowing Lush to be a part of your special day Anna and Kevin!

Jess and Rob July 31, 2011

2011-12-17T12:31:00.000-08:00

The first time I met Rob Tyndall he was expertly sliding down a curling sheet...I think that's what they call it....
I however was looking anything but graceful as I clumsily slid down the sheet (of ice) on my knees.
I was a student at the Niagara Parks School of Horticulture and he was my Entomology teachers son. You can imagine how old I felt when a few years later little Rob Tyndal met me at the bridal show with his lovely fiance Jessica Button.
Jess and Rob are huge foodies and decided to host their reception at the Benchmark Restaurant on the Niagara College campus. The grounds of the school provided a great space for an outdoor ceremony as well. All images taken by Joshua Kraemer .

The colour scheme for the wedding was black, white, lime green and hot pink for the bride we used white calla lilies, green fuji mums, green hypericum berries, white hydrangea, clematis seed heads, brain celosia and diablo ninebark foliage (for the touch of black)

Crisp and clean calla lily with hypericum, foliage and a ribbon wrap

The beautiful flower girl and her celosia and hypericum fairy wand

The centerpieces were kept very minimal but striking and complimented the burst of pink in the napkins perfectly. A black band of ribbon was added to each vase to bring the final wedding colour in.

Lush does not do cakes but I had to include these pictures as I think this is one of the most amazing cake flowers I have ever seen....so like the real fuji mums in Jess's bouquets! It was created by the talent at Benchmark Restaurant as well!

It's begining to look festive here at Lush!

2011-12-14T09:49:00.000-08:00

I know it's holiday time when my hands are covered in sticky sap splotches, friends are picking needles out of my hair saying "see you have been working today" and what's that in my eye?....yep sparkles. Hazard of the job I guess and I would not change it for a thing.

We have been hosting urn workshops for gatherings big and small, working on custom orders for clients and dressing up business fascades. Here is just a sampling:

We dressed up the fascade of Chakra Spa in Ridgeway with lime and silver urns. These fantastic branches are corkscrew hazel. Douglas Fir and White pine were grouped to give a more modern feel . Lime green mesh, silver balls and silver containers brought the look together.

Copper, brown and birch...perfect combo

Have You Finished All Of Your Shopping Yet?

If not Lush can create you a stunning arrangement that anyone would love. We can even deliver this stunning arrangement up until Christmas eve! We accept cash, debit, Mastercard or Visa. Here is a small sampling of some of our favorite arrangements.

Holly berries, cotton, moss and festive greens

Say Merry Christmas with some Kale!

Amaryllis...My fav!

For the nature lover

Merry Christmas to all from Lush Florals!

Better late than never...The Niagara Fall Wedding Show!

2011-12-03T10:04:00.000-08:00

This past October Lush exhibited at the Niagara Fall Wedding Show with the Niagara Wedding Center. In one location brides have access to Liquid Entertainment, Gala Decor and Dynasty Limousine and Lush! We had a fabulous time meeting new brides for 2012 and beyond.

The Niagara Wedding Center crew

(that's a mirrored pedestal reflecting the carpet just incase you were wondering)

The Niagara Wedding Center will be exhibiting at the Hamilton/ Halton Spring Wedding Show on Jan 7 and 8 at the Hamilton Convention Center as well as the Niagara Spring Wedding Show Jan 15 and 16 at the Holiday Inn St. Catharines

Sarah and Dan October 15, 2011

2011-11-10T10:51:00.000-08:00

Sarah came to Lush with a fiery fall colour scheme and a precisie vision of her wedding bouquets. We ran with that idea and helped tie in her reception at Legends Golf Course. Amanda Lachapelle captured all of the beautiful images of the day, thanks so much!!

Sarah's bouquet consisted of calla lilies, orange dahlia, red gerbera, orange protea, green bells of ireland, safari sunset leucadendron and red hypericum berries.

The guys opted for simple boutonnieres of calla lilies, hypericum berries all wrapped in chocolate ribbon with a copper wire accent

Sarah's centerpieces were submerged mokara orchids wired onto curly willow branches. Floating cranberries finished the arrangement.

Sarah's ceremony/reception arrangements (no this picture is NOT taken by Amanda : )

The Sister Biz

2011-11-10T10:15:00.000-08:00

If you haven't heard me mention it already (fat chance) my sister is a creative genius. She has the voice of an angel: check it out, I'm not kidding Valery Gore AND she takes amazing pictures Kings + Queens. So it only makes sence that we combine our creativity for a couple of stylized shoots this past year. I have combined all three into an ode to the Gore girls Enjoy!

This series of pictures was shot in Valery's veggie garden as we wanted a very organic feel to them. My cousin Kim was our lovely model. Kim's bouquet was a mix of grey echiveria, brunnia and begonia foliage, yellow craspedia clematis seed heads and asclepias.

The next shoot was our picnic inspired theme. Val shot my fav new Lush image for our brand seen above.
We shot this series of pictures down on the waterfront in Toronto. Our good friends Linda and Jordan were our wonderful models.

Jordans boutonniere was a mix of crabapples, elderberry, echiveria blooms and dusty miller foliage. Linda's bouquet was created using elderberries, piano garden roses, red brain celosia, echiveria blooms, dusty miller and heuchera foliage and finished with tulle in turquise and aqua.

I had to re-post the following images as well as some new additions of a shoot we did in the early spring. We chose a retro literature theme filled with bold colours.

Jessica's bouquet was filled with poppies, craspedia, hellebores, ranunculus, kangaroo paw and podophyllum foliage.
All cakes and cupcakes were provided by The Happy Baker

Victoria and Chris Sept 1, 2011

2011-11-10T08:53:00.000-08:00

I always love a challenge and when I first met Victoria and Chris they presented me with one for their wedding flowers: All local flowers, no exceptions. Luckily Southern Ontario has quite a diverse availability list of flowers and the Lush cutting garden also provided lot's of help. Victoria wanted a green, white and orange colour scheme for her Balls Falls wedding and reception which complimented the barn perfectly.

For her bouquets we used gerbera daisies in white and orange, kermit mums, white football mums, green annabelle hydrangea, orange lilies, false indigo foliage and miscanthus grass loops.

The bridal party did a great job decorating the barn with large paper lanterns which made the room pop. Lush added wild centerpieces in mason jars to compliment the colour scheme. We echo'd many flowers in the bridal bouquets but added snapdragons (a favorite of the bride), flat white chrysanthemums and victoria salvia.

For the ceremony we incorporated birch poles for height and created a very natural and wild arrangement in a birch container.
A huge thanks to Kathy Demerchant Photography for all the great pics!

Shannon and Jeff September 24, 2011

2011-10-17T19:21:00.000-07:00

I am just too excited about this wedding to wait to post it! Shannon and Jeff are competing on Four Weddings Canada and I was determined to have them win that honeymoon! I am an avid watcher of all things bridal (as you can tell by the Deanna and Jamie wedding!) so when Shannon told me that she was going to be filmed for Four weddings I was ecstatic! Her ceremony and reception were held at Hernder Winery which provided the perfect backdrop for her very natural floral choices. Thanks to Kathy Demerchant Photography for the wonderful pictures.
Shannons wedding was anything but typical. Shannons ceremony began to the sound of bagpipes which set the perfect tone as her father walked her down the aisle to (tear) Marry Me by Train. If anyone helped to win this honeymoon for Shannon it was her priest. He was cracking jokes the entire time and was so personal, I just loved listening to him speak.

Then there were...the flowers! We decorated the aisle with sheppherds hooks and hanging mason jars which became the centerpieces! Large ceremony arrangements helped frame the couple and rose petals finished the look.

Centerpieces/aisle markers

Shannon and her girls with bouquets of dahlia, calla lilies, spray roses, garden roses, snowberry, hydrangea and regular roses

I will leave you with this beautiful picture of the happy couple. Thanks guys for letting Lush create your wedding blooms. I cannot wait to watch them in action in January on Slice!!

Jamie and Deanna August 20 wedding

2011-10-17T18:37:00.000-07:00

I realize there is about a month missing in my blogging, I am waiting to show you lovely pictures taken by photographers and not just my phone, so stay tuned for the missing!
Luckily I got some great images from Stacy's Creations Photography for you to enjoy for the wedding of Deanna and Jamie.

To begin.....I had so much fun with this wedding! I first met Deanna when she made a cake for a benefit event we both participated in a few years back. We ran into each other again at the Niagara Spring bridal show and the rest was history. This was truly a girl after my own heart....she bought her dress at Klienfelds...KLIENFELDS!.... like with Randy and Keasha! Okay my TLC moment is over.
Deanna also got married at the willow pond at the Niagara Parks Botanical Gardens Willow Pond which is extremely personal for me as I spent 3 years of my life working on the botanica; gardens as a student.
For her ceremony Deanna opted for birch filled cylinder vases as well as birch pedestals. Orange and white flowers as well as the natural element of curly willow were the finishing touches.

Ceremony arrangement

Deanna was inspired by the bouquets I created for my sisters wedding and so we changed a few things up and made them perfectly her. Orange protea, lilies, calla lilies, dahlia and roses as well as caramel antique garden roses and hydrangea.

The groom had a simple bout of a mango calla with a copper wire ball accent

Now onto the reception at Casablanca Winery Inn . Deanna loved the look of submerged orchids so she went with Mokara orchids for half of her centerpieces and massed orange roses for the other half. I am a huge fan of this as it creates interest in a room full of tables. All of the lovely linens and decor was done by Gala Decor who knocked it out of the park!

Mokara centerpiece

Did I mention Gala Decor is amazing, Love them!

The final pic is the beautiful work of the bride and her cake decorating skills, my topper is so lucky to sit upon such art : )

Thank you Deanna and Jamie! You were so much fun to work with and I wish you wonderful things as you begin your new marriage

Amanda and Matt: July 23, 2011

2011-08-30T11:43:00.000-07:00

Amanda and Matt were married at the Grand Olympia in the beautiful garden. They are such a fun and vibrant couple who wanted a splash of contrasting colour in their personal flowers. We opted for lime green and dark eggplant purple which made the bouquets and boutonnieres pop.
A special thanks to Serena Swan of Serena Swan Photography for the lovely images of the wedding.

The bridal bouquet consisted of green trick dianthus, green cymbidium orchids, purple stock, moonvista carnations, green fuji mums and rolled dark purple aspidistra leaves.

For the guys we opted for simple lime green kermit mums with a shot of purple ribbon wrap

Congrats to the newly married couple!

Heidi and Chris

2011-08-26T04:12:00.000-07:00

The wedding of Heidi and Chris was extra special for me. Heidi grew up with my younger sister so we go waaaaaaaay back. She also wanted a yellow colour scheme which I don't often get to work with, so that was exciting!! Heidi was married at the Sherkston shores chapel which is this little amazing old church. Her wedding was a mix of white and yellow with turquise accents which popped. Here are a few images from the day thanks to Afterglow Images

Heidi opted for simple centerpieces of yellow spider mums and helictotrichon grass. She added ribbon to vases to add a splash of colour.

Heidi's bouquet was a blend of yellow button mums, white freesia, yellow commercial mums and Cirrus dusty miller foliage. Cascading ribbon in turquoise and pewter finished the bouquet

The bridesmaids bouquets were a massing of commercial mums and turquoise flat wire along with green pittisporum and yellow itea foliage

Chris's boutonniere of freesia, button mums and flat wire

Sharon and Joshua July 9th, 2011

2011-08-25T16:26:00.000-07:00

Sharon and joshua were married in the Pillar and Post rose garden on a beautiful, and hot July afternoon. Sharons father walked her down the aisle and then became their minister and married them!
I thought that was so sweet and special. Sharon and Joshua wanted a soft pallette of cream, mauve and purple for their florals, here are the results! Watermarked photo's are courtesy of Shawn Taylor Photography

Sharon and Joshua

Sharons bridal bouquet of Vitality garden roses, purple freesia and lisianthus, mauve roses and heuchera leaves as well as some pretty amazing shoes.

Boutonnieres of freesia and heuchera leves (we added hydrangea to the grooms as well)

The centerpieces perfectly matched the table numbers!

The bridesmaids bouquet consited of hydrangea, moonvista carnations, freesia, mauve roses and heuchera leaves.

Ceremony peices with hydrangea, delphinium, freesia and carnations as well as curly willow for height

Thanks Sharon and Joshua for allowing us to be a part of your day!

Karen and Carlo June 25th, 2011

2011-06-28T18:03:00.000-07:00

My first meeting with Karen went something like this: I want a green and blue colour scheme, with a garden feel, oh and I like this blue flower so if that could be in there great........GO! I love brides like this. Open to different flowers and options, it is so much fun to have creative movement in a wedding.
The blue flower that Karen loved? Salvia farinacea 'Victoria Blue.' (for you plant geeks like me : ) Lush grows Salvia in our cutting garden, otherwise it's pretty much unavailable as a cut flower.
Karens Bouquets were also filled with green hydrangea, pink astilbe and blue hosta from the Lush cutting garden.
Karen and Carlo were married at the family vineyard with the reception taking place at Queenston Height Park.
Did I mention I love Afterglow Images ! I have now done 2 weddings in a row with this lovely pair and I hope this trend will continue!

Bridal bouquet of fugi mums, garden roses, delphinium, hydrangea, hypericum, astilbe, hosta and pittisporum

Boutonnieres of salvia and dusty miller foliage, all from the Lush cutting garden!

Congrats Karen and Carlo! Thanks for allowing Lush to be a part of your day!

Andrea and Jeremy June 11th, 2011

2011-06-17T18:49:00.000-07:00

Planning the florals for Andrea and Jeremy's wedding was so much fun. Andrea is as passionate about wedding blogs as I am and was always trying to figure out how to put a memorable and personal stamp on her flowers. She wanted a vintage inspired but modern take on a white, purple and yellow colour scheme...with some turquoise accents.
The lovely photography was by Kirk and Angela of Afterglow Images
The venue was the spectacular Ancaster Mill

Grooms boutonniere of echiveria and craspedia

The reveal

Bridal bouquet of peonies, garden roses, craspedia, dusty miller foliage, echiveria and carnations

bridesmaids bouquets

Ceremony pieces and aisle markers

Signing table arrangement

Centerpieces

I am sure everyone is wondering if those huge yellow ball of petals is a peony, not so much! Garden roses are the perfect alternative to peonies as they open to look much the same and have a MUCH larger window of availability.

I wish you all the best Andrea and Jeremy!

June 3 and 4th events

2011-06-04T19:07:00.000-07:00

Rebecca and Tim's wedding certainly had a pop of pink. It was surely needed to brighten what was otherwise a dark and stormy day in Port Colborne. I dodged lightning (okay a little over dramatic) to deliver these bouquets and pomander balls.

Bridal bouquet of peonies (the brides favorite)

Flower girl bouquet

Hot pink pomander balls of carnations for the bridesmaids

My second event of the weekend was Fort Erie High School's senior prom. The planning committee wanted submerged orchid centerpieces in every colour of the rainbow. I elected to acheive that with white dendrobium orchids pinned in curly willow branches and coloured water. Here are a few of the colour selections:

Add caption

Reddy Wedding May 21, 2011

2011-06-04T18:34:00.000-07:00

This wedding was truly a different experience for me. I am used to discussing all floral options in long meetings with brides, their mothers or even the wedding party. I rarely meet the groom until the wedding day. However Arun Reddy planned the entire wedding by himself, and he did an amazing job!
This intimate wedding was held at the Pillar and Post in the rose garden with the reception in the library. I was given a traditional blue and white theme as well as the hint that the bride loved lilies. These had to be the most fragrant bouquets I have ever made; peonies and lilies with hyacinth.

Bridal bouquet of blue hydrangea, blue delphinium, blue hyacinth, white peonies and white lilies

Bridesmaids bouquet

Centerpieces

Ceremony arrangements

Colour Blocking

2011-05-20T17:35:00.000-07:00

Apparently colour blocking is the latest trend in fashion for the spring of 2011. How do I know? Well the Today show told me, so it must be true.
Why not take your favorite colour and make a bold statement (sorry no all white bouquets here ladies).
I am a huge fan of colour at weddings, especially since most brides are in white or ivory and a popular bridesmaids choice these days is black.
I recently did a photoshoot with Enchantment makeup artistry http://enchantmentmakeup.com/ and Jesse James photography http://jessejamesphotography.ca/ where I got to colour block till my hearts content. Have a look at my latest wedding fashion statement!

All the pretty ladies and Meghan of Enchantment Makeup artistry

Light Pink Bouquet: tulips, peonies, hellebores and grevillia foliage
Bright Pink Bouquet: astilbe, calla lilies and begonia foliage
Yellow Bouquet: tulips, craspedia and maple flowers/foliage
Green Bouquet: protea, leucadendron and green trick dianthus
Purple Bouquet: tulips, hellebores and carnations
Blue Bouquet: muscari and helictotrichon foliage

Retro literature themed wedding shoot

2011-04-21T16:03:00.000-07:00

A few weeks back "The Gore girls" (my sister and I) got together for a meshing of our creative talents on a wedding photo shoot. We decided to feature a 1970's retro literature theme complete with flowers and fashion photography.

My sister has this fantastic ability to capture emotion and depth in photographs (perfect for weddings). I can't tell you how excited I am that she has found a place in the wedding industry, it means that we may be able to work together more often in the future! You can see samples of her weddings here: http://www.kingsqueens.ca/

What is a wedding without cake? The Happy Baker provided all of the cake and cupcakes for the shoot. She is amazing to work with and so talented! Have a look at her work on her facebook page under The Happy Baker: http://www.facebook.com/#!/group.php?gid=36219571775

The bridal bouquet was created with poppies (a good reason to schedule a March wedding in my books), red kangaroo paw, yellow craspedia, yellow ranuncululs, purple hellebores and podophyllum foliage.
A huge thanks to our model Jess, she is alot of fun to work with.

Blue Skies, Bouquets and Boutonniers

2011-04-20T18:58:00.000-07:00

Bridal bouquet of hydrangea, calla lilies, delphinium and seeded eucalyptus

Last Friday I had the joy of creating beautiful blue and white bouquets, for a lovely wedding party of sisters. There are only a few options as far as blue flowers go (and we are not talking dyed here), and delphinium and hydrangea are 2 of my favorite.

Bridesmaids bouquet of roses, hydrangea and seeded eucalyptus

Delphinium boutonnieres

Congrats Karlie and Christian! Thanks for letting us be a part of your day.

Monsoon weddings

2011-04-18T17:08:00.000-07:00

A little rain on your wedding day is good luck right? Well these couples should go buy a few lottery tickets. I have never delivered flowers in such heavy rain.....and wind!

My first couple came all the way from Australia for their nuptials at the Doubletree in Niagara Falls. I absolutley loved the planning process with this family. Emily (originally from Welland) had adopted the Australia accent and her English mother completed the lovely sound to the conversation. (I am a sucker for accents).

The new Mr. and Mrs. Hall. Emily's bouquet consisted of Picasso Calla lilies, purple and 'Black beauty' dendrobium orchids, white tulips and white hydrangea

Emily loved the look of "purple" (again more of a pink) dendrobium orchids. So we submerged them for her centerpieces, massed them for her cake topper and allowed them to be the accent in her bouquets. The black and white with silver accents of her reception played the perfect backdrop to the "purple" orchids.

Ceremony Decor of dendrobium orchids and submerged rose petals

Submerged orchid centerpieces

Jen and Dan were my second couple of the day. Jen decided to have her bouquet walked up the aisle stem by stem by her neices and nephews. Her and Dan's mother assembled the bouquet which was later handed to the bride. I had never heard of this but thought it was a very cute idea. I suggested using hydrangea as it provides the perfect framework to hold other flowers. Jen chose purple tulips and green hypericum berries to finish the bouquet off.

Ceremony Arrangements

Centerpiece of tuliups (with bulbs) and curly willow

Congrats Jen and Dan!

Chilly march wedding and a little young love

2011-03-28T16:47:00.000-07:00

What a great freezing cold weekend to get these rusty joints of mine back in the swing of things. I almost need to teach my fingers to move again after a long winter hibernation.
I had the pleasure of working on the wedding of Teresa and Ryan. Teresa loves gerbera and purple, like many brides I had to inform her that her favorite bloom really doesn't come in purple (well some people would call it purple, I call them liars....it's pink!). So I told her that she should accent white gerbera with a deep purple flower. For anyone familiar with my work they would not be surprised to see moonvista carnations in her bouquet. The groomsmen also had corsages of purple carns with greens (sorry for the lack of picture, I forgot about those beauties sitting in my cooler!)

bridal bouquet of gerbera and carnations

bridesmaids bouquets and bridal bouquet

Teresa loved an arrangement of gerbera posted on my website, so I re-created them with a different colour scheme!

Centerpieces

YOUNG LOVE!
Last week I received one of the best phone calls ever. I picked up the phone to hear "can you make me flowers for my girlfriend Sonya?" and after some promting "I love you auntie Melanie".
One of my besties had her 3 year old son call to ask for a corsage for his girlfriends birthday party. How could I pass that up? I made her the smallest corsage I could out of mini gerbera and purple ribbon (the theme of the weekend!
Apparently she loved it so much she wouldn't put it on "it will get bwoken!", instead she said she would wear it at home. Ahhh young love. So here is a pic of her special present from Brandon.

Niagara Spring Bridal Show

2011-03-10T15:16:00.000-08:00

Back in February, in the heart of a snow storm I sat cozy at my bridal show booth at Club Italia. For those who didn't throw on the parka to come for a visit, here are a few pictures from our booth.
Many thanks go out to Eva Derrick of Avenue Studios who graciously shot all of the beautiful pics for me. The rest of Eva's work can be seen on her website: http://www.avenuestudios.ca/

The bridal bouquet consists of green trick dianthus, purple trachelium, delphinium, anemone and loops of lily grass. I decided to pair it with a ceremony arrangement to get brides thinking out of the box. Who says that wedding arrangements have to be expensive with massing of pricey blooms. I used lily grass to create large "flowers" accented with delphinium and funky fasciated willow.

This jewel toned bridal bouquet is packed full of vibrant colour and texture. Lime green hydrangea, green trick dianthus, pink alstromeria, hot pink roses. moonvista carnation and purple tulips are hand tied with purple ribbon and a teal blue accent.

A simple option for a bride or bridesmaid is the pairing of berzillia berries, roses and lime green anthurium to culr around the blooms. Again I wanted to creat a ceremony arrangement that was simple but made a huge statement. A framework of branches held this arrangement above a cube of cat grass with roots exposed in the vase.

At most weddings a guest at each table is rewarded with the privilage to take home the centerpiece (unless it's a rental and that just has the family on alert making sure that none walk out the door). Why not eliminate rental vase worry! You could offer each couple at the table their own cone of flowers to take home with them. These cones are filled with pink alstomeria and eucalyptus. Moss and a green hydrangea hold the cones in perfect position in a rental vase!

I have a love affair with "black" calla lilies, which aren't really black but about as close as those plant geneticists can get. I paired it with a few lighter mauve blooms and then threw in some navy blue viburnum for good measure. Seems like a successful recipe. What you cannot see is the funky purple yarn I used to wrap the handle. Why not let the yarn aisle inspire, I cannot knit but I sure can wrap bouquet handles.

The full Lush experience! A huge thanks to Gotcha Covered for providing beautiful linens. http://www.gotchacovered.ca/

That is the end to bridal show season, we will see you all again in October!!

Melanie

I'm Bringing Back the Carnation!

2011-03-08T10:04:00.000-08:00

The word carnation has such a negative stereotype associated with it, especially in the bridal world. When you mention the carnation during a bridal consultation you usually quickly see the look of disgust or shock come over the bride. I remember being that person not so long ago and I have come to believe that the reason I hated the carnation so much in the past was due to the way it was used (think a dozen carnations with babies breath...yuck!). Why do I love them now? They add texture, are available in a stunning array of colours and are easy on the pocketbook.

If I feel that the use of a carnation in a ceremony arrangement would be a good way to add a punch of colour without breaking the bank, I usually pull up pictures of my work which contain the "dreaded" bloom. Most of the time brides can't even believe there is a carnation hiding in that arrangement. Here are a few examples:

Massing of moonvista carnations, bells of Ireland and curly willow

Carnations make excellent pomander balls. Use them for the flower girl, hanging on sheppherds hooks down the aisle, or create a statement in your ceremony arrangements!

Don't get me wrong, carnations aren't just for centerpieces or ceremony arrangements either. Here they are front and center in (gasp) the bridal bouquet:

Same dark purple moonvista carnation, completely different bouquets

Next time I will bring you the story of the commercial mum (I hear florists groaning everywhere).

Melanie

A touch of spring

2011-03-04T09:23:00.000-08:00

Lately this snowy weather mixed with a teasing of mild temperatures has got me counting the days until I can get back in the garden, play outside with my son and especially assemble the perfect wedding bouquet.
I needed a fix, so Elliott and I headed to the Niagara Parks Floral Showhouse for a taste of spring.

This place is so beautiful, if you haven't been you really need to check it out! I highly recommend the hydrangea show. http://www.niagaraparks.com/garden-trail/floral-showhouse.html

On another note I caught my first glimpse of emerging tulips this morning in the Lush Florals cutting garden, another sign that spring is on it's way.
Speaking of our cutting garden, that will be another large project that I will be expanding upon this summer.
We already offer many exciting cut flowers and foliage and branches for our brides, especially those wanting locally grown and pesticide free material. I am sure much to my husbands delight more lawn is being removed to make way for more garden. I am not sure if it is the florist part of me or the gardener part of me that is more giddy about the endeavor.

Niagara Spring Wedding Show

2011-01-17T10:23:00.000-08:00

Lush had a fantastic weekend at the Niagara Spring Wedding show! We met alot of great brides and grooms as well as some fantastic vendors. Again I had a really hard time narrowing it down to one colour scheme or theme so I had 3 completely different styles to offer. I think it might be because there is a little bit of earthy, a little bit of flashy and colourful, and a little bit of classic vintage in me.

Bridal bouquet of cymbidium orchids, echiveria, sea holly,
viburnum berry, green trick dianthus, leucadendron
and river rocks!

Echiveria, viburnum berry and copper wire boutonniere

Earthy ceremony arrangement as well as 3 terrarium style centerpieces

Orange cymbidium orchids, pink roses, orange protea, yellow craspedia and berzillia. Bridal bouquet
is hand tied with pink and orange ribbon and pink wire

Boutonniere of craspedia and kangaroo paw as well as a ceremony arrangement of a hanging carnation pomander and mounding of bright blooms at the base of a kangaroo paw "tree"

Bridal bouquet of white and black anemone, black calla lilies, purple tulips and white parrot tulips. The bridal bouquet is hand tied with a layering of black and white ribbon

Day one for the vintage boutonniere found a black calla with a white anemone wrapped in literature. Day two swapped out the anemone for a white branch with black bead accents.

Centerpiece of amaryllis and black poppy pods in paper wrapped vases sitting upon vintage books with purple echiveria.

Our Booth! Thanks to Gotcha Covered for the fantastic linens.

Lush Florals Featured on the cover of Toronto Life Wedding Magazine!

2010-12-17T06:13:00.000-08:00

We here at Lush are so excited about the 2011 issue of Toronto life wedding magazine........because we made the cover!!
Toronto life featured the work of Boyfriend/Girlfriend photography from my sister wedding. I was lucky enough to create Valery and Joel's wedding bouquets and boutonniere for the big day. Inside the mag is a 2 page spread on their amazing wedding. I am sure it was chosen because of all the creative touches my sister and Joel put into their day (as well as the outstanding photography!) so have a look and get inspired!

Christas Seminars, centerpieces and urns..........oh my!

2010-11-11T18:49:00.000-08:00

Lush is getting into the holiday spirit and scheduling Christmas urn seminars as we speak, or rather....type. Due to our smaller class sizes we schedule many classes throughout the season. We also can book parties, so get your ladies together for a girls night and come home with something beautiful!

Lovely Lisa at one of Lush's urn seminars

Not feeling so crafty? Let Lush create your perfect winter display to match your homes exterior. This isn't limited to urns either, wreaths, swags and tree's are also available.

Peacock colour scheme

Natural birch bark

Lush will also be running a special promotion until November 30th. Pre-order your Christmas centerpieces and receive 10% off your total. If you are interested in creating your own centerpiece in a seminar format with friends please contact Melanie and we can schedule a party!

What a great wedding season!

2010-11-11T18:16:00.000-08:00

The dust has settled at Lush and I finally have a moment to reflect on what an amazing season this has been for us. This is the year that I decided to take my part time dream to a full time reality, and I will never look back.
I want to thank every bride from 2010 for allowing me to make your vision a reality. I loved to travel the planning journey with you, then see it all come together on your day.

I want to let everyone know that even though we specialize in wedding and event florals, Lush can create arrangements for you for holidays, sympathy and every day. Just give us a call to place your order!

Melanie

A recent arrangement we did for the arrival of a baby boy.

Annie and Patrick October 23, 2010

2010-11-01T18:20:00.000-07:00

Annie came to me with a bold colour scheme of red, deep purple, lime green and blue for her wedding. She loved a piece from both our modern styles (centerpiece) and natural styles (birch bark handle) at a bridal show last year. We found a way to use both pieces and have them work in perfect harmony.
For Annie's bridal bouquet I used red freedom roses, moonvista carnations, purple lisianthus, green hypericum berries, sea holly and bupleurum. The bouquet was finished with a wrapping of birch bark on the handle.

For her bridesmaids we opted for red roses, red gerbera daisies, green hypericum, moonvista carnations, sea holly, bupleurum and salal greens.

I had alot of fun doing the flower girls "fairy wand". This was a first for me, but I think it is a great idea for young flower girls that will probably destroy a pomander ball before it makes it down the aisle.

Flower Girl Fairy wand and toss bouquet

I have a huge love for this amazing carnation (moonvista) that was used in the centerpieces and bouquets at Annie and Patricks wedding. I am a firm believer that if used the proper way, a carnation can be as lovely as any dahlia or calla.............it's all about presentation.

A massing of moonvista carnations with bells of ireland and looped curly willow accent. Red ribbon adds the final punch of colour and ties it into the wedding bouquets.

The final element were the 2 large ceremony arrangements placed upon tall ornamental vases. Crystals hung from the curly willow above a massing of red, blue, purple and green blooms. These were later transfered to the hall to serve a dual purpose.

Kristine and Dave, October 30, 2010

2010-11-01T12:36:00.000-07:00

For Kristine and Dave's Queenston Heights wedding we chose to use the colours of the season with orangey red and yellow roses. Red hypericum berries accented the bridal bouquet.
Congrats Kristine and Dave!

Bridesmaids Bouquet

Bridal Bouquet

Amie and Jeremy October 30, 2010

2010-11-01T12:30:00.000-07:00

Amie and Jeremy were planning a halloween themed wedding reception in shades of orange and brown. We selected the brides favorite: orange and burgundy gerbera for the bride and orange gerbera for the bridesmaids. Brown wheat accents were added to both bouquets and the mini gerbera boutonnieres.
Congrats Amie and Jeremy!

Bridesmaids Bouquet

Bridal Bouquet

Stefanie and Jeff October 16th, 2010

2010-11-01T09:29:00.000-07:00

When Stefanie came to me with idea's for her wedding there was a re-occuring theme in all of the pictures...Orange mokara orchids. She loved these blooms and I don't blame her. These orchids aren't used alot on our area and come in some pretty amazing colours that a dendrobium of cymbidium cannot achieve. The crazy part about this orchid is that it is grown in Thailand! I cannot believe how far some of these flowers travel before they are placed into a bridal bouquet.
For Stefanie's bouquet we decided to used an orange, green and white pallette. Orange morkara orchids, orange roses and orange dahlia's along with green spider mums, green hydrangea and green pepperberry made up her bouquet. Accents of pinky/peach pepperberry, white commercial mums and looped curly willow were also added.

Bridal Bouquet

The Bridesmaids Bouquets contained all green and orange flowers. Again Mokara orchids were the highlight. They were accompanied by orange protea, green spider mums, green berzillia berries, orange dahlia and orange roses. All bouquet handles were also wrapped in birch bark, a theme which continued onto the couples wedding cake!

Bridesmaids bouquet

Diana and Adam October 9th, 2010

2010-10-16T17:29:00.000-07:00

Diana and Adam wanted to incorporate a red, black and white colour scheme into their vintage themed wedding. We went with a classic calla lily for the bride but added a twist with the black colour and red kangaroo paw. I used white commercials for the bridesmaids which has a pretty vintage feel to it, the looped lily grass added a unique twist.

Bridal Bouquet

Bridesmaids bouquet

Grooms Boutonniere

Congrats Diana and Adam!

Niagara Fall Bridal Show

2010-10-16T12:19:00.000-07:00

Lush had a booth at the Niagara fall bridal show this past weekend. I got to try out some interesting idea's I have had lately and meet loads of brides. I focused on 3 main themes at the bridal show: vintage, funky/contemporary, natural (with an edge). Hope you like them!

Vintage Theme

Flower girl bouquet with button accents

Bridal bouquet of 'Esperence' roses, pink spray roses, brain celosia, berzillia and dusty miller foliage

Natural bridal bouquet and bridesmaids bouquet

The bridal bouquet contained green hydrangea, leucadendron, berzillia, green trick dianthus, coffee foliage, spider mums and clematis seed heads. The yellow balls (craspedia) add whimsical accent.
The bridesmaids bouquet is berzillia, craspedia and looped lily grass. The bouquet is finished with a birch bark handle.

Large ceremony arrangement

This large arrangement contains masses of antique green hydrangea, craspedia, bells of ireland, green trick dianthus, fasciated willow, clematis seed heads and berzillia. The pillars of birch poles and chains of yellow dogwood add an unexpected twist.

Aleasha and William Oct.2, 2010

2010-10-07T04:51:00.000-07:00

Aleasha was a girl after my own heart......she wanted colour, lot's of colour. Nothing pops like lime green, deep purple and hot pink. I think this may be my favorite colour combination.

Bridal bouquet of purple lisianthus, pink dahlia, pink roses, pink mini gerbera, green hydrangea and green hypericum. All finished with salal leaves and an eggplant ribbon accent.

The bridesmaids bouquets were very similar but contained my favorite dark purple: moonvista carnations

Bridesmaids bouquet

Grooms Boutonniere

Jill and Mike September 25th, 2010

2010-09-27T08:57:00.000-07:00

Jill and Mike wanted a peacock feather theme for their wedding at the balls falls conservation building. They focused on white and lime green with accents of blue.
The bridal bouquet was a wild mix of peacock feathers (of course), lime hydrangea, white stock, white star of bethlehem, lime cymbidium orchids, blue delphinium and rolled aspidistra leaves. The bouquet handle was wrapped with birch bark and brown ribbon.

Bridal Bouquet

The reception arrangement contained birch bark branches and bark curls as well as a mixture of white button mums, blue delphinium, green hydrangea, green spider mums and seeded eucalyptus

Reception Arrangement

Bridesmaids Bouquet

Megan and Vince Sept 25th, 2010

2010-09-27T08:48:00.000-07:00

Megan and Vince wanted to keep their wedding florals very simple. We went with a fresh green, white and yellow colour scheme for this balls falls wedding.
For the brides bouquet we chose white lisianthus, stock and spider mums. We accented with green hypericum and kermit mums.

Bridal Bouquet

The bridesmaids carried bouquets of white, yellow and green button mums. A single white spider mum tied them in with the bride.

Bridesmaids Bouquets

Flower Girl Bouquet

The groom and groomsmen wore green kermit mum "hand tied" boutonnieres with brown ribbon accent.

grooms Boutonniere

Pam and Ryan September 18th, 2010

2010-09-20T06:04:00.000-07:00

When Ryan and Pam came to meet me for their first consultation and told me they wanted completely local wedding flowers I was in a bit of shock. I am so used to designing based on other elements.....colours, theme, texture or price. But with Ryan working for the conservation authority it was very important to him that everything down to the foliage was grown in our area. thankfully I have a plentiful cutting garden at home and I live in the boonies to collect everything else!
I became completely immersed in searching for berries, pods and vines on my walks with my son leading up to this wedding and it paid off! My favorite "find" was clematis seed heads for the bouquets and boutonnieres, they are curly and crazy looking.....perfectly Lush.

Bridal Bouquet of local calla lilies, sunflowers, button mums, dahlia, goldenrod, clematis seed heads, Diablo Ninebark foliage, Itea foliage and wild grapevine.

Brdiesmaids Bouquet

<>Grooms Boutonniere

Flower Girls bouquet of a sunflower, Diablo Ninebark foliage and Red Baron Grass

Conrad Stewart Wedding September 4, 2010

2010-09-13T11:37:00.000-07:00

Jen Stewart wanted "punch" in her bouquets and centerpieces for her N-O-T-L wedding to Glenn Conrad. She loved an orange colour scheme and chose to accent it with greens, reds and a hint or purple. She was also huge on diversity in texture, which is always a fun way to design.

For her centerpieces I chose Antique green hydrangea (amazing), Voodoo roses (another recent favorite), orange protea and a purple moon series carnation (yes they are coming back people!). I added a grapevine ball and loops of curly willow for a rustic touch.

Centerpieces

Bridesmaids bouquets were a mix of orange protea, carnations, alstromeria, dahlia, hydrangea and loops of curly willow. For the flower girl I did a simple gathering of protea, carnations, hypericum and greens.

Bridesmaids Bouquet Photo by Valery Gore

Flower Girl Bouquet Photo by Valery Gore

For the bridal bouquet I used voodoo roses, brain celosia, carnations, mango calla lilies, safari sunset leucadendron, lime cymbidium orchids, orange protea, antique green hydrangea and loops of curly willow.

Bridal Bouquet Photo's by Valery Gore

Cocktail table arrangement Photo by Valery Gore

Head table arrangement

Ceremony Arrangements of the brides favorite

Jodi and Ivan August 21, 2010

2010-09-07T17:39:00.000-07:00

Jodi came to me with a picture of dyed blue dendrobium orchids and white lilies. This girl new exactly what she wanted and so that's what she got!

The bride and her lovely bridesmaids

Simple centerpiece of white dendrobium orchids and curly willow

Some of the highlights of 2010

2010-09-07T17:24:00.000-07:00

I started this blog a bit late in the season and I wanted to post some pictures of earlier weddings, Enjoy!

Shelley and Dennis April 10th

Bridal Bouquet of hydrangea, hypericum and aspidistra leaves
Photo's by Damien D photography http://www.damiendphotography.com/

Raakel and Matt June 5th

Raakel's bouquet was simply green cymbidium orchids and white peonies as well as wild flowering salal

The grooms boutonniere was a green cymbidium, hypericum, blue sea holly and copper
leaves made by the bride

Bridesmaids Bouquets contained green mini hydrangea, white peonies, green hypericum and curly willow loops

The bar arrangement

Jessica and Jay

Bridal Bouquet of Calla lilies...simple and elegant
Photo's by April Jeff's www.apriljeffsstudio.com

Submerged calla lily centerpieces

Emily and Graham

Bridal bouquet of red and orange mokara orchids

Ceremony arrangements of mokara orchids, orange protea, orange calla lilies, red lilies,
orange roses and red gerbera

table arrangements of berzillia, roses, protea, calla lilies, red lilies, mokara orchids and red gerbera

Reniewick Jervis wedding August 28th 2010

2010-09-02T06:17:00.000-07:00

Julie Jervis and John Reniewick wanted a fall colour scheme for their wedding in a quiet Welland park.

Julie's bridesmaids bouquets were filled with gerbera daisies and roses and her's was accented with leucadendron and hypericum berries. The fall colour scheme was a bit surprising in the dead of summer but it matched the blazing temperatures!

Bridesmaids Bouquet

Bridal Bouquet

Clare Day wedding August 28th 2010

2010-09-02T06:08:00.000-07:00

Angie Day and Matt Clare chose a white, blue and burgundy colour scheme for their wedding flowers. I chose to use white lilies, white roses, blue delphinium and burgundy gerbera. Angie chose a traditional cascade bouquet for her Niagara parks botanical gardens ceremony.

*As a side note I have to mention how much I love this ceremony venue. As a graduate of the Niagara Parks School of Horticulture I have fond memories of the willow pond, I am so proud that my work get's to be on display in such as amazing setting.

Bridal bouquet packed up and ready to go!

Robert and Semley Wedding 21.08.2010

2010-09-02T05:38:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I got to work with the most fabulous bride...and most fabulous colour scheme.

Purple is such a huge colour this summer and I love it! But when you layer in burgundy, deep pink and grey you have an increadible saturation of colour that pops.

Jenn opted for a mix of "black" calla lilies, burgundy dahlia, purple lisianthus, stock and 'wanted' roses in her bouquets. Centerpieces were a mix of dahlia, hydrangea and stock.

Jenn and Michaels wedding took place at Central United Church in Port colbourne with the reception at Queens Landing

N-O-T-L.

An Oldie But a Goodie: Valery and Joel 10.07.2010

2010-08-24T17:35:00.000-07:00

My sister married the most amazing man this past July and I was lucky enough to be their maid of honour, as well as create their wedding bouquets. The wedding had a very vintage vibe and my sister wanted a very full opulent bouquet that was typical of the 40's and 50's. She chose a peach/orange/white/yellow colour scheme and I went nuts selecting some of my favorites for her special day.

The highlights had to be the amazing garden rose 'Caramel Antique', the import yellow celosia that were the largest I had ever seen and the yellow kangaroo paw.

The flowers were only a small part of an amazing wedding with so many personal touches, Val had thought of everything.

Bride, Bridesmaids and Maid of Honour Bouquets

The Beautiful Bride Valery Gore