Shaffer & Shaffer, Ltd. - Wedding Blog

I know it sounds weird but its perfectly normal for Brides to put fresh flowers on their cake.  The addition of flowers creates a beautiful centerpiece for your reception area and a conversation piece for your guests for years to come.  I forgot to mention, the cake will be in alot of your professional photographs, especially when you and the groom are cutting the cake.  Don’t worry about your guests eating the flowers because the flowers are strategically removed by the reception hall personnel or caterer before the cake is served to your guests.  Make sure when your talking with your florist about decorating the cake that you ask them what flowers are safe to use on food.  Most flowers that are frequently used by brides are safe.  There is definitely one flower,  that I am aware of that should not go on a cake and it is the Poinsettia.  If you want to use Poinsettias, I would recommend going SILK or having your baker do sugar flowers. 

After knowing what flowers you should not use on the cake,  the only thing holding you back is your imagination.  The best way to make sure that the cake will be the way you want it to be is to find pictures of cakes that are decorated the way you like and give them to your florist.  Have a good time with this.  This is your masterpiece!

Feel free to ask me questions or leave comments.

Take Care,

Lynda Shaffer

Author of “Wedding Flowers & Decorations CD” 

The question “Should I go simple or extravagant on the centerpieces?” is only answered by you.  It is ultimately based on what it is that you like and what your budget will allow for. I know your shocked because everyone wants to give you their opinion and I am saying “Your the Bride and its your day!” You should have whatever centerpiece you like.  That being said, I can give you some tips on how to choose if your having trouble deciding.  First, take into account what your reception hall looks like.  If you have a very large ballroom with high ceilings, tall centerpieces will look extravagant and beautiful.  Do not worry about your guests being able to see around the centerpiece because the DJ or band will be playing music the whole evening and your guests will not be able to hear each other across the table.  Each guest will speak to the person next to them or get up and go to the other side to communicate with others. 

If your reception area is smaller and the ceilings are low, choosing a smaller petite centerpiece is best.  If your tables are larger in diameter, a tall or bigger centerpiece will work out too.  If the room is decorated very elaborate, a simple centerpiece will be an elegant addition.  If your reception area is not decorated and relatively plain, you may want to do tall or big elaborate centerpieces.  If you plan to decorate the room, hence making it elaborate, then go ahead and do simple centerpieces.  You see what I mean….”The choice is yours baby!”  One more tip for you……most reception halls will not allow open flame so make sure to talk with your hall coordinator before choosing your centerpiece.  They will sometimes only allow candles if they have a glass hurricane over them due to fire code.

Enjoy choosing your centerpieces and get creative.  The best centerpieces are those that are unusual and  have never been seen before.

Feel free to leave questions or comments for me.

Take Care,

Lynda Shaffer

Author of “Wedding Flowers & Decorations CD”

I think its perfectly wonderful for you to get your mom and mother-in-law the traditional corsage.  I would definitely ask them if they prefer a pin-on or wrist corsage.  Most mothers have a preference.  Some mothers would prefer to wait until they purchase the gown that they will be wearing for your wedding day.  This is the smartest thing to do because the gown will dictate whether they can do a pin-on or not.

Even though the corsage is still the most popular choice, I think its very unusual and attractive to see a mother carry a small arm bouquet.  The stems can be wrapped fully in satin ribbon with a bow, leaving strands of ribbon hanging. I placed a photo with this article so you can see what I am referring to.  Some mothers love this option because they can lay the bouquet down and don’t have pin holes in their dress.  Alot of mothers are choosing an arm bouquet because they are wearing strapless dresses and do not have anywhere to pin-on a corsage.  Some mothers simply do not like wrist corsages because they roll on their arm or the elastic digs into their arm.  As you can tell by this article, your best choice is to leave it up to them.  Thats the best solution to this question.

Good Luck with your plans.

Sincerely,

Lynda Shaffer

Author of “Wedding Flowers & Decorations CD” 

Picking a bouquet is probably one of the hardest choices outside of picking your dress.  The reason I say this is because everyone has an opinion, including your Mom,  as to what type of bouquet a bride should have. The traditional bride carried a cascade bouquet and it usually had white flowers in it. Most mothers invision their daughter walking down the aisle with that traditional dress and cascade bouquet.  Sometimes it becomes a fight and hours of convincing her that you want to carry a more modern bouquet….maybe an all Black Magic Red Rose handheld bouquet with the stems showing. What I tell each bride is don’t worry about convincing mom just tell the florist in advance and she will help convince your mom that this is the latest and greatest trend.  Back to “How do I pick a bouquet?”  Well, start by deciding what your favorite flower is. Then find out what colors that flower comes in and if they are in season for your wedding.  The next thing I would advise is to determine if this type of flower will hold up for long periods of time outside of water.  Most florists can recommend options in how to keep your flowers in the best condition for most of your wedding day.  When brides choose handheld bouquets, I personally would keep the stems in water until the very last minute before they were ready to walk down the aisle.  I would then dry the stems completely off and send the bride with a beautiful fresh bouquet for pictures.  If you like the stems fully wrapped in satin, the florist can wait until the morning of the ceremony and you will still have fresh flowers. 

If you decide to have a cascade bouquet, ask your florist to please arrange this the night before and make sure it is in wet foam.  The day of the wedding, you can mist the bouquet with a bottle of water keeping it fresh as the day goes on.   I find that most flowers will look beautiful all day long if they are prepared the night before.

Good luck with choosing your bouquet and I hope you have a beautiful wedding.  Please don’t hesitate to send me a question or comment regarding this article.

Take Care,

Lynda Shaffer

Author, Wedding Flowers & Decorations CD 

I have been getting alot of questions lately regarding what is etiquette when it comes to buying flowers for your wedding? I will tell you, in my experience, most Aunts and Uncles are not expecting you to buy them corsages and boutonnieres.  In fact, most men do not like to wear the boutonniere and probably take it off immediately after they leave your ceremony. Aunts, on the other hand, love flowers but do not expect it.  If you are working on a tight budget but still want to get your Aunts something, you can simply have your florist or someone from your wedding party hand each aunt a long stem rose or other flower as they enter your ceremony location.  This option is significantly cheaper than buying each one a corsage and they will absolutely love it, you’ll see.

Feel free to leave comments or questions for me.

Sincerely,

Lynda Shaffer

Author of “Wedding Flowers & Decorations CD”