Thursday, April 29, 2010

The Making of a Long-Distance Wedding



DSC06527_0616 Three boxes of California Flowers

We got the big news from Houston, TX in January: he proposed and she said yes. I offered to help with the flowers and she accepted. She wanted something simple; there wouldn't be much time for planning and it was a second wedding for both. Hence the family wedding machine starts up.

We needed a theme or color scheme. I floated some ideas and photos by the bride and groom; Constance at Rochambeau even helped develop one idea. Thank you, Constance! The bride was intrigued with the idea of Ken Marten's floating bouquets and the groom loves tulips. Thank you Ken! The bride selected exquisite linens to match the invitations in black and white with a splash of Tiffany blue.

For the next few weeks, while we were creating and designing our entry for the student competition at Bouquets to Art (stay tuned for that post), Tracy and I came up with some prototypes. Once the designs were agreed upon, the logistics for a long-distance event was to be worked out.

I ordered all the containers from the wonderful staff in the Dallas office of Floral Supply Syndicate. A pallet of vases will arrive in Houston one week prior to the wedding. Craig at Brannan Street Wholesale arranged for me to meet the flowers on Wednesday at the Houston International cargo area.

I was delighted to learn that the flowers were stored in the cargo refrigerator in this cavernous warehouse while I was still in the air.

DSC06526_0615 Houston Continental Cargo

I was amazed that all the flowers, including one thousand white tulips, fit in only three boxes.

DSC06528_0617 Houston Continental Cargo

Though they are rather large boxes that spanned across the width of my rental van.

DSC06529_0618 Three boxes California Flowres

I was over the moon when I learned from Karina at Taylor Wholesale Flowers that they rent out their back room for floral designers. It's a good thing that Karina and I had a friendly chat in Dutch so that I could discover this service. Proprietor Keith Taylor kindly stayed late so that we could roll the flowers into the walk-in refrigerator. The next morning Karina gave me invaluable advice on how to condition the flowers.

DSC06541_0609 Taylor Wholesale Flowers walk-in refrigerator

The greatest gift of the week was Lee Capetillo of Tah Dah Events and Creative Services, who worked his magic with the flowers:

DSC06546_0594 Lee Capatillo at Taylor Wholesale

DSC06547_0595 Tulips

I can not thank him enough for rescuing me from all my foibles. If you ever need any creative services in the Houston area, call Lee - he is a master!

Unbelievably, Keith Taylor made one of his delivery trucks and his driver Abel available to us to deliver all the flowers to the hotel the morning of the event. Keith Taylor is a class act! Working at Taylor Wholesale Flowers was a most pleasant experience and I was extremely impressed with the level of professionalism of the entire staff he assembled and felt embraced by their welcoming arms.

Next post - the big event!

13 comments:

Susan said...

You rock, girlfriend! See all the appropriate gushing at the wedding post! Awesome job!

~✽Mumsy✽~ said...

Beautiful white tulips, and wonderful process..You did awesome.

Ruth said...

Having worked with my talented sister on a few weddings, I know how the logistics can make or break the flowers. It must have been quite a challenge to work in a different city where you had to create a new network.

Is there anything more elegant than white tulips? Even seeing them there in front of Lee on the work table just sends me.

Dutchbaby said...

Dear Susan,
You are so good for the ego...and the soul :) Thank you, my dear!

Dutchbaby said...

Dear Mumsy,
Thank you, it was quite a convoluted process but I'm glad it all worked out in the end.

Dutchbaby said...

Dear Ruth,
I see you understand the challenges we faced. Everything came together at the last minute when the bride found Lee and I found Taylor Wholesale. Were it not for them, I would not have wanted to post about the wedding because it would have looked very sad.

rochambeau said...

Only a Dutchbaby would have the chutzpa to buy one thousand white tulips and know by faith that she could weave the magic for her loved ones. What A FEAT!!
Not even on your home turf!!

You go you Dutch girl!

xox
Constance

Lee said...

You are amazing!!! Thank you for the chance to work together and you are an absolute joy to be around!

Miss you already,
Lee Capetillo,Jr

Dutchbaby said...

Dear Constance,
Thanks for being such an enthusiastic cheerleader!

Dear Lee,
You and I both know that this wedding would have looked very different if I didn't have your help. You were indispensable and a true joy to work with. Good luck with this weekend's wedding! I can't wait to see the photos!

Relyn Lawson said...

I love the juxtaposition of his Goonies shirt and those lush white tulips.

Dutchbaby said...

Dear Relyn,
LOL! I had to look up who the Goonies were after you left this comment.

I just had to bust out the camera after we made that glorious pile of tulips.

Unknown said...

What all you are into, Dutchbaby! My own wedding was a long distance one -but after Dutch tradition we fortunately had a great master of ceremonies who took care of all the long-distance arrangements. Love the white tulips!

Dutchbaby said...

Dear Emille,
The use of Wedding Masters of Ceremonies is gaining popularity here in the US. I know that they are often used in Canada - must be a European tradition.

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...
Bookmark and Share