An arch, pew decorations and pool flowers

Ah, did I catch your attention with the mention of pool flowers? Yeah, you don't see it that often, but when you do -- wow! These pictures are from a friend who did not want to be identified, but she so happened to be at two weddings a few weekends ago and saw the flowers and just knew I would want pictures. The pictures were taken from her cell phone, but you can click on each photo for a bigger version.


The first wedding, by the way, was at Dove Canyon Country Club, a venue I have never had the pleasure of decorating. The area code on the website tells me its in south Orange County, and my friend says Rancho Santa Margarita. The second wedding was in Palos Verdes at a private home.



The arch was decorated with gorgeous red roses, lemon leaf, leather fern and what I just learned were Bells of Ireland. Heheh. My mom used them for years, and I always just assumed they were leaves -- they're actually flowers! For the longest time I always thought of them as the "sucker-looking greens." Silly me.


Here's a close up of the pew decorations. The florist used the same flowers from the arch, except with some pink snapdragons. It appears there were flowers only on the innermost seat of the first and last row on each side -- in other words, just four pews were decorated along the center aisle. It's a good way to save some money. Besides, it was a gorgeous venue, so I don't think it needed a lot of flowers to dress it up.


Here's where the Palos Verdes wedding pictures start. There was a table with the table cards/assignments decorated very simply, but nicely dressed up with a vase full of calla lilies. Remember what I wrote before about flowers for tall arrangements? The calla lily is also an ideal candidate for a tall arrangement, but don't forget to get that stout vase. A calla lily's stem is pretty thick and heavy (compared to other flowers). But this vase is weighed down by what looks like polished glass and black rocks, plus it looks like the weight of the vase is pretty evenly distributed. By the way, it surprises me that calla lilies are so popular in weddings now (it shouldn't surprise me, since they're so graceful looking) since I always thought they were the flower of death. But there are some who believe it symbolizes rebirth. So maybe I'm wrong. Who knows?


The guest tables seemed to have three centerpieces, all in square glass vases wrapped with burgundy (or brown) ribbon. The tallest, which looks to be about 8 inches tall, is all white and pink variegated roses. (By the way, roses aren't my favorite flower, but if I had to pick one, these would be it.) The second, half obscured by the candle in a hurricane, is a possibly 6-inch vase filled with what looks like mini calla lilies. The third is probably 4 inches tall and filled with pink hydrangeas, and all seem to be flanked by candles. Very pretty. Hopefully they got to light those candles.


Ah, the pièce de résistance. Flowers in the pool. I've only seen this done a few times -- once at Michael Cooper's wedding in Palm Springs a long time ago (that was awesome, but I have to admit, I didn't actually see him but was helping at a wedding I was told was his), and at my own birthday party! That's another story for another time. Anyway, this floating flower arrangement looks like mostly pink carnations and a line of red roses, plus a variety of six lit candles of different heights. They're probably floating on a mix of oasis (the foam that, when soaked, keeps the flowers in place and watered), possibly wood and possibly styrofoam brick, which floats, in a criss-cross formation to enable the whole thing to float. I'll definitely have to show off my 18th birthday party flowers later on.