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Wearable Florals for Weddings

January 16, 2017/in Blogroll, Weddings /by Engage24 Team

Wearable Florals for Weddings:

Wearable florals for women are becoming increasingly popular as an alternative or in addition to a bridal bouquet, or for the members of the bridal party. The current trends that are evolving include flower crowns, rings, necklaces, hair clips, earrings, belts and more. While it is still a trend that is emerging and hasn’t quite caught on yet in South Africa (people tend to still be quite conservative in this regard) it is definitely on the rise and provides a novel, creative and bold statement. Often seen incorporated in styled shoots, more and more brides are opting for floral alternatives to the typical bridal bouquet and boutonnières and corsages worn by their bridesmaids, groomsmen and family.

With the introduction of cold floral glue, floral artists have been given much more freedom when it comes to creating new and exciting wearable florals. The cold glue doesn’t damage the flowers in the way that hot glue does, is not as brittle and has more flexibility which lends it to being used for items that require movement. While it does take slightly longer to dry, once tacky it sticks well and once dried has incredible strength – a florist colleague mentioned she once used it to glue her daughter’s school shoe! Now, I’m talking on a topic that I have not yet ventured down the road of but I am so excited to try out putting together some of these new accessories. Have a look at some of these beautiful creations for inspiration…

*Image Credit Here

For more inspiration you can visit some of the sites featured above. We’ll certainly be experimenting soon with some of these delightful alternatives to traditional flower options and will keep you posted!

*Disclaimer: The pictures featured in this blog post are not exclusive to The Rose Cafe and have been collected from various sources. Please view the images and source links via our Pinterest board.

Wearable Florals for Weddings

Wedding Favours

January 13, 2017/in Blogroll, Weddings /by Engage24 Team

Our Top Ten Favourite Ideas for Wedding Favours:

When it comes to wedding favours, feelings about them are mixed and varied. I think the general feeling is that they not expected by your guests but if you’re going to give them something, make it worthwhile and do something your guests can use or enjoy after the wedding. Obviously the word ‘budget’ always pops up when considering favours as it is an additional, some feel unnecessary expense which when multiplied by your number of guests can get seemingly out of control. There are however clever ways of keeping costs down while also doing something really lovely but you need to plan ahead for this and leave time to DIY a few things.

Sourcing locally made produce from the area you are getting married is a perfect memoir of your special day and when bought in bulk can radically reduce the cost. You’ll need to do a recce when you visit your venue of what’s available in the area and leave yourself enough time to purchase the goodies and make the favours up.

Here are our top ten ideas for wedding favours:

Think of buying tubs of sweet farm honey and decanting into tiny glass jars with personalised labels as wedding favours for your guests. Visit here for some great bee-keeping initiatives in the city.

*Image Credit Here

Delicious herb infused olive oil, jam, lemonade or olives in condiment bottles are also usually easily sourced from local markets and manufacturers. Even though these are small they also add a lovely touch of colour and detail to the tables.

*Image Credit Here

If you’re wanting to do more gender specific wedding favours for men, what about a tiny bottle of home-made hot sauce with a spicy label.

*Image Credit Here

Locally produced Wedding Cake in a Jar is the best thing I have ever tasted and is a brilliant way of doubling up your dessert as wedding favours. Not many people eat dessert at a wedding but trust me they will want to when they taste this! Or they can take it home. Made in Hermanus by Azania and her team who are fabulous to deal with it’s a brilliant option. Contact them here.

*Image Credit Here

Tiny potted succulents or terrariums are so popular at the moment, they are low maintenance, super easy to assemble and are bound to please your guests. Opt for ceramic or terracotta pots for a more rustic feel or glass for a more contemporary or classic feel. The vases can be sourced from most glass wholesalers and if you propagate your own succulents you’re in for a cost-effective wedding favour. Round up your bridal party to assist in putting them together over a glass of bubbly and you have now also added a sweet, green accent to each table setting.

*Image Credit Here

A wedding soundtrack is such an awesome take home gift. With a compilation of all your favourite tunes from the playlist at your wedding it’s great way for everyone to remember the fun had at your celebration. Display at a collection point close to the entrance and don’t forget to remind your guests to grab one before they leave.

*Image Credit Here

One of my absolute favourites but possibly more for ladies than for gents is a candle in a jar. Scented, preferably in classic Vanilla for example to suit everyone’s taste. There are various candle factory shops around Cape Town that could assist you. Printables are easily available to download on Pinterest so make your own sticky labels and… voila, you have the perfect thank you touch.

*Image Credit Here

Next up is a scrumptious box or jar of homemade fudge. Who doesn’t love a piece of decadent fudge. Heart shaped is so sweet and with a personalised thank you it could double up as a place seating card.

*Image Credit Here

Another one of my favourites is a beautiful, personalised napkin. In linen, with your guests’ initials on, it can also be a fun and creative way of assisting them to find their seat once they’ve checked which table they’re at and something that can be used over again at home. Make sure to get one that is a practical size for day to day use though.

*Image Credit Here

And lastly but certainly not least, a sweetie table is a lovely addition to a wedding and very popular at the moment, but even better is providing your guests with gift bags, boxes or jars to fill with their favourite treats. A container that seals is ideal and you could print a thank you message on to each one or attach a thank you note. You really can go wild with your offering, from jellies and chocolates, to baked goodies like fudge, brownies, macaroons and nougat. Yum!

*Image Credit Here

We hope that you have found this helpful. To view all these ideas and more visit our Pinterest board here.

*Disclaimer: The pictures featured in this blog post are not exclusive to The Rose Cafe and have been collected from various sources. Please view the images and source links via our Pinterest board.

Our Top Ten Favourite Ideas for Wedding Favours

Wedding Flower Crowns

December 9, 2016/in Blogroll, Weddings /by Engage24 Team

Wedding Flower Crowns

One of the stunning additions to wedding flowers of the past few years has been the inclusion of wedding flower crowns for the bride, as well as for bridesmaids and flower girls. While newly in trend as wedding flower crowns, these fresh flower halos date back through the ages from numerous cultures, from Ancient Greece, Rome and China; Victorian Era; Ukraine; Polynesia and beyond. The styles of these beauties range so widely from petite and subtle wedding flower crowns to bold and elaborate ones. We’ve put together some of our favourite styles of wedding flower crowns for you.

Petite & Dainty Wedding Flower Crowns

Often made of Gypsophila (commonly known as Baby’s Breath) or other finer florals, these are a soft and romantic addition to the wedding look.

Boho Wedding Flower Crowns

For a hippie woodland feel, these crowns are usually more earthy in appearance with a wilder look, often including things like vines and berries to give it a ‘freshly picked from the garden’ feel. The also incorporate more textures and often more of a mix of colours than other styles.

Grouped Wedding Flower Crowns – To the Side, Low or High

These crowns usually cluster at one point and then taper gently towards the ends. They often have a focal group of larger blooms with smaller blooms and greenery arranged around this and thinning outwards. Depending on the hair style chosen they can either cluster on the one side of the head above the ear or and the back, tapering off around the sides of the head.

Foliage Wedding Flower Crowns

For a very simple and cost effective option, green crowns are a lovely alternative and can either have one single type of greenery used but often include more than one texture of greens.

Bold Statement Wedding Flower Crowns

Bolder flower crowns, very importantly, need to compliment the personality and style of the bride, because they are such a strong feature of her appearance on the day. This particular style of flower crown requires far more technical ability and thus you are likely to be quoted substantially more for a more elaborate crown. Because these crowns use far more flowers they can also be rather heavy to wear for an entire day and that should be taken into account.

Whimsical Wedding Flower Crowns

Whimsical flower crowns are of the daintier variety but are probably less symmetrical and looser in appearance, often using tapering blooms and tendrils to create a very soft, romantic look.

Summary

In closing, while flower crowns in appearance are mostly not heavy on the amount of flowers used, they require an enormous amount of technical skill to perfect and are fairly time consuming. SO… when your wedding florist quotes you an amount which seems ludicrous to you for the crown you have asked for, be forewarned. There is a LOT of work that goes into creating one of these beauties – to get the right shape and to make sure it can last… the whole day… out of water. You can find all of these gorgeous wedding flower crowns on our Pinterest board here.

Wedding Flower Crowns | By The Rose Cafe

For Her – Wedding Bouquets

September 22, 2016/in Blogroll, Weddings /by Engage24 Team

For Her – Wedding Bouquets:

Ahhh… the wedding bouquet. The first thoughts that come to mind for me are of a romantic, voluptuous handful of flawless blooms, arranged to perfection, beautifully scented, elegantly bound and captivatingly complimentary of the radiant bride… There are many and varied thoughts as to the origins of wedding bouquets. Needless to say, some of these left me reeling and my stomach turning.

It is believed by some that the bride’s bouquet incorporated scented flowers and herbs to disguise her body odour due to the infrequency of bathing in olden days. Yikes, can you imagine?! One would like to think that even if baths were rare back then that a bride-to-be would, at least, take her wedding day as a opportunity to invest some time in preparing herself for her groom, and that hopefully that would involve a good scrub. It is also thought by some that her bouquet was intended to ward off evil spirits. She was seen as the embodiment of good luck on her wedding day and this resulted in the guests at the wedding tearing bits of her dress off for use as talismans. Thankfully this horrendous tradition was left in the past and evolved in time into the more-fun-although-still-often-frowned-upon bouquet and garter toss, as a way of giving a bit of good luck away. Good grief! Thankfully, for all of us, times have changed!

Here are some of our favourite bouquet styles with a few pointers along the way…

Cascading Wedding Bouquets:

This style of bouquet is currently right on trend and lends itself to the boho-chic themed weddings we are seeing so much of at the moment. Often asymmetrical in appearance, these wedding bouquets have trailing greenery and blooms that add softness and fullness and are better suited to simpler dresses.

Tip: Not recommend for tossing, these wedding bouquets can be quite heavy as they require a lot of flowers to create this effect and can be tricky to hold for long periods so use light-weight greens such as asparagus fern to add volume and make sure you point it downwards when carrying it so it is viewed from the correct angle (otherwise it looks like you’ve gone fishing).

And a few more cascading wedding bouquets in soft pastel palettes…

Round Wedding Bouquets:

This is probably the most classic and stylised of all the bouquet styles. It requires the blooms to be wired, taped and very precisely arranged to create a very symmetrical, domed shape.

Tip: For this style, less is definitely more so opt for a single type bloom or colour.

Hand-Tie Wedding Bouquets:

For a looser, more garden-picked look or for something with a romantic softness this is the way to go. It incorporates more greenery into the design and other soft fillers around the feature blooms and while it has a less domed effect, it still allows for a lovely fullness.

Tip: Ask your florist to cut the bouquet nice and short so that the blooms get all the attention and not the long stems.

Nosegay Wedding Bouquets:

Traditionally known for its scented flowers, this is a smaller, compact posey of flowers that is usually perfectly suited for bridesmaid wedding bouquets.

Tip: This style can be done at a lower cost due to the addition of more greenery and is a great style to use for larger bridal parties or budget-conscious brides.

Pageant Wedding Bouquets:

A sheath of longer stemmed blooms held in the crook of a bride’s arm, this is a slightly more old-fashioned style of bridal bouquet and lends itself to blooms such as calla lilies that have a natural curve to their stem. These types of wedding bouquets are typically used for beauty queens due to their elegant appearance and can be as complex or simple as desired.

Tip: Better used for brides with height as it can overpower a shorter, more petite bride.

Wrist Wedding Bouquets:

A trailing garland of blooms attached either to a ribbon or plaited together to create a dainty, flexible strand that can be wound around the bride’s wrist or waist. A lovely, more contemporary option for the bride wanting to do something a little different.

Tip: This allows the bride to go hands-free which is a huge draw card for many who don’t like the thought of holding something throughout the day.

The above pic (LHS) is from a wedding we did for Mel & Paul. We created a soft and whimsical trailing wrist wedding bouquet for her special day. You can see more on their wedding here.

You can view all of these pics and more lovely wedding bouquet inspiration on our Pinterest Board here.

For Him – Wedding Boutonnieres

September 5, 2016/in Blogroll, Weddings /by Engage24 Team

For Him – Wedding Boutonnieres:

What is a boutonniere?

A boutonniere, or more commonly a buttonhole, is a small spray of flowers worn in a buttonhole, usually worn for more formal occasions such as a dinner, black-tie ball or wedding. Now whhhhhyyyy a boutonniere you may ask… Wedding boutonnieres are a way of distinguishing the bridal party and immediate family apart from the guests at a wedding celebration and are also a way of honouring those important to you, for example your grandparents, step-parents or godparents to name a few. Buttonholes are most commonly worn at weddings and florists have become far more creative over the years when it comes to their designs and the materials used in wedding boutonnieres.

Where and how to wear a boutonniere:

Traditionally, a boutonniere was worn pushed through the lapel buttonhole and the stem was held in place with a loop at the back of the lapel. Nowadays, most suits don’t come with a hole or loop for a boutonniere. So in order to pin it in place you need to:

hold the boutonniere in position at the top of the front of the left lapel, above the heart.
flap the lapel forwards and, using two pearl headed pins, push the pins through the lapel and into the binding of the boutonniere at an upwards angle with the tip of the pin pointing towards the lapel.
the top pin should be closer to the top of the binding to support the weight of the main bloom, especially if it is a larger single bloom such as a rose boutonniere, and the second pin should be at the same angle of the first pin but lower down so that it catches the bottom of the binding and prevents the boutonniere from moving.
the stem of the boutonniere should point downwards at the same angle of the lapel and be centred on the lapel, equidistant from the sides and the top of the lapel.
be careful not to push the pins all the way through so that the sharp end sticks out on the other side – your bride, and guests, will get a nasty prick when you embrace.

Some inspiration for wedding boutonnieres for grooms:

Here is a collection of pics of dainty and pretty styled buttonholes we found that are perfect for matching a pastel themed wedding, without being too feminine for the average groomsmen. It is important to remember to match the size of the boutonniere being applied to the size of the gentleman wearing it so that it is in proportion. Smaller is always safer as you will also avoid the risk of it being too heavy on the lapel and causing the suit to sag. The bound stems of the blooms used should taper neatly into a point and should be cleanly finished off, either with a covering of satin ribbon or twine.

Wedding Boutonnieres Inspiration & Ideas | The Rose Cafe | Grooms Buttonholes | Pastel Wedding Boutonnieres

If you’re looking for something alternative and modern, these floral pocket squares are great and have a more contemporary edge on the more old-fashioned style. They can either be clipped on to the lapel or pocket or attached to a sleeve that slides into the top pocket of the jacket but you’d need to check the style of the jackets used first as they can vary widely from some having no top pocket to some having a faux pocket that can’t have anything inserted into it.

Natural, with soft textured touches of grey and green is always a winner for a simple option and possibly for a more rustic themed wedding. I prefer to bind right to the bottom of the stems for a neater finish.

If none of those take your fancy, you could always go for a more alternative design that ties on with your overall theme such as a wine cork for a wine farm wedding, a tiny wreath for a Christmas wedding or a seashell for a seaside celebration.

For a fragrant and organic feel, herb wedding boutonnieres are lovely and will release the beautiful scents of the herbs with each embrace.

For more lovely inspiration for wedding boutonnieres, head over to our Pinterest board where we have more exciting options for grooms-to-be. Grooms today have far more of an opinion about what the they want to wear or not and being educated on what’s available can assist you to find the perfect wedding boutonniere for your special day so you don’t feel overlooked on all the details.

Image Credit: All images of wedding boutonnieres can be found on our Pinterest Board here.

Top 5 Wedding Trends For 2016 To 2017

June 10, 2016/in Blogroll, Weddings /by Engage24 Team

Our Top 5 Wedding Trends For 2016 to 2017:

We love weddings, and love the creativity and direction that wedding trends for 2016 to 2017 are taking. We have listed the top five wedding trends that we see growing and likely to be big this coming season. Below is a selection of our favourite pins from suppliers around the world. For credits for these pins please view our Pinterest board via the link at the bottom.

1. LOTS OF GREENERY

We’re not sure if it’s because people being far more budget conscious with the world economy the way it is (this would be a deception of sorts as this option can be more pricey) or if they’re just opting to go more green and be more environmentally aware, but there has been a huge increase in greenery being used in weddings. Tables swags and installations of layered textured greens, simple specimen vases with sculptural ferns and delicate trailing vines, kokedama’s, soft and abundant greens cascading from floral chandeliers to name but a few of the trends. But don’t be fooled… Often the amount of work and technical requirements that go into putting together these elaborate focals far outweighs the cost of simpler, flower-abundant creations. Our advice, consult with your florist to get a better idea of budget before you set your heart on a green wall.

2. HANGING CENTREPIECES

Whether just over the main table, hung from chandeliers over the dance floor, or throughout the ceremony, we’re definitely seeing an increase in these statement pieces. Suspended flower centrepieces relieve the tables, already groaning under the abundance of glassware and place setting details, of additional vases and flowers which can often obstruct and encroach on guests personal space a little too much for comfort, unless it is a balanced combination of the two. They also provide a canopy of loveliness, diminish an often enormous overhead space which creates a more intimate ambience and those with trailing detail draw the eye down to the table scape where, more of than not, smaller accent arrangements are placed, the intention of which is to draw out the hanging florals splendour and add a touch of softness in between the cutlery, favours, cruet sets and candle sticks. Hanging centrepieces do require substantial setup time so they can seem heavy on the budget in that respect but, in my humble opinion, it is money well spent and there are other clever ways of maximising the effect without maxing out the credit card.

3. MORE COLOUR

Brides are getting brave when it comes to colour and far more are opting for bold colour combinations in their flowers and décor. So while some are going totally green others are going down a somewhat unfamiliar path for many past brides of including brights and more dominant colours such as marsala. I’d suggest these bolder pantones need to be paired down with softer pastels of the same tonal variations and usually one complimentary colour to add pop. Now ‘complimentary’ may sounds deceiving as it sounds like the two colours would sit next to each other on the colour wheel and be best friends but a complimentary colour is actually one that sits opposite and offers the most amount of contrast to any given colour. Does opposites attract sound familiar? To give you an example I think part of the reason why the recent love of coral was so popular has to do with the fact that more often than not it was paired with blue greys or tones of lilac and cornflower blue, which even in the smallest proportion would serve to create a high level of contrast and cause the coral to pop out against it. I think that colour theory for weddings has to be quite carefully thought through so that is has the desired effect, otherwise is can become too much and overwhelm the eye.

4. METALLICS

Shimmering metallics uncluding gold, rose gold and copper are included in flowers, vases, candle holders, light fittings, table cloths, monograms, and more. The effect adds an incredible wow factor, whether matt or shiny, sparkly or glittery. The warmth of most metallic tones means it can work with a myriad of colours and more especially the warmer colours we’ve been seeing emerging more in wedding flowers of late but it also looks amazing with neutrals and soft pastels and plenty of brides are opting for this combo. Gold definitely has the effect of adding grandeur… and who doesn’t want their wedding to be remembered as grand?!

5. FLOWER ARCHES OR BACKDROPS WITH A DIFFERENCE

Some very creative ideas are emerging and developing from the use of a traditional arch into more conceptual arches or rather backdrops, something to stand in front of instead of under. With the laws no longer dictating that one needs to be standing ‘under’ a covering and only requires that the legal part of the ceremony happens indoors, this has freed people up to spread their wings in the ceremony focal department. Have a look at a few of these for some great ideas. Just take note though, that while some of these don’t appear particularly flower heavy, anything that requires climbing up a ladder for an extended period of time to hang floor length garlands of blooms is bound to rack up the setup bill. My suggestion, keep it simple. You can still have a trendy wedding on a budget, it just might not be the one you saw on Pinterest, dripping with orchids and peonies. And if budget’s not an issue, go wild!

A few more trends to feast your eyes on:

For some eye-candy on a few other wedding trends for 2016 to 2017, head over to our Pinterest board! See the sneak preview below.

Image Credit: Tasha Seccombe

Our Top 5 Wedding Trends For 2016 to 2017

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