June 01, 2016
How Panic Turned to Profit with this Tropical Bridal Bouquet
Most Inspirational Wedding II Floral Design
Traveling to a destination wedding with fresh flowers can get complicated, as OASIS Floral Products INSPIRE Showcase finalist Karen McIntosh of Flowers by Karen discovered.
Karen’s moment of ‘Florist’s Panic’ came while she was driving from her shop in Monroe, Washington, to a resort in Santa Cruz, California, for the wedding of her daughter-in-law’s sister. The orchids she had purchased for the bridal bouquet were going down fast.
“We have lots of beautiful flowers available to us that are grown in our area. That is an important purchasing point for some of my customers.”
A change in plans
Karen saw the sign of a local botanical garden. She knocked on the door of the garden office and asked if she could buy some orchids. When she found that Cattleya orchids were unavailable, she simply changed her design plans, as seasoned florists often do. “The bride was an interior designer, very creative and with a love of unique design,” Karen explains. “She’s a redhead with a vivacious personality. I needed flowers that were vivid and bold to match her energetic vibe.” The event would take place at a resort overlooking the ocean. A coral reef theme, with a beach and seashell motif, meant the bride needed a tropical look for her bouquet. “Texture, color, function and form—I knew I wanted to incorporate all those elements into her bouquet,” Karen says.A perfect solution
Karen found gorgeous purple phalaenopsis and green dendrobiums that worked perfectly with the pincushion protea, Australian fern and lily grass she had brought along to use in the sumptuous bouquet. Using an Extra-Large LOMEY® Bouquet Holder with OASIS Floral Foam, she created a cascading bouquet. She turned the bouquet handle upside down to cantilever the weight, making the cascade seem less heavy as the bride carried it. She used FLORALOCK™ Plus Stem Adhesive to help secure the flowers into the floral foam of the bouquet holder.
An inspirational idea
The bride loved her bouquet. Karen submitted a photo to the OASIS Floral Products INSPIRE Floral Design Showcase 2015 and her design was chosen as the Most Inspirational Wedding Floral Design. Smithers-Oasis Design Director Frank Feysa AIFD, PFCI recreated the INSPIRE Tropical Bouquet for an ad featuring Karen’s bouquet. He offered creative ideas for other tropical styles, as well. Click the link and you can see the resulting advertisement.An evolving design style
Karen is always ready to try new ideas. She began as a shop driver in 1976, worked as a designer and has now owned her own florist for 10 years. “I want to be on the cutting edge of design, not following the pack or getting into a rut,” she said. “Designing something exceptional attracts clients who want an original look and are willing to invest more in personalized designs.” “I am inspired by people who create great design. I follow people in the U.S. and Europe who are online, in magazines or doing local presentations. I admire people who are going places, doing fun things and bringing back new ideas. I study their work and use those techniques in my own design.” “I have clients who call asking for my ‘weird flowers’ for their special occasions … upscale flowers that aren’t your typical flower shop fare,” Karen shared with a laugh. “At the same time, for my everyday floral work, I try to use locally grown flowers whenever possible.”
“We have lots of beautiful flowers available to us that are grown in our area. That is an important purchasing point for some of my customers.”