Flowers for me were a complete DIY project for several reasons.

1. Florists are expensive!

2. I'm a type A personality and really wanted to minimize my vendor list.

3. I like arranging flowers.

However, I'm not crazy, and knew I wanted to go the fake flower route so I could make things in advance and not kill myself with arrangements the night before and morning of the wedding. 

Stats in Pasadena (Located a couple places in SoCal) is a great place to get crafty stuff.  I went in there and abolutely fell in love with their soft touch orange orchids.  I knew in a second this would be my main flower.  All the other flower stuff I got from Michaels.

Orange Orchids

My flower to do list was huge it included:

• My bouquet
• Toss Bouquet
• 3 Bridesmaid Arrangements
• 1 Jr Bridesmaid Pomander
• 16 Bouts
• 3 Wrist Corsages
• 12 Centerpieces
• 6 Pew Arrangements
• 3 Barrettes
• Extra Flowers for the Gazebo

Making the Bride's Cascade Bouquet - Looking in various flower arrangement books, I fell in love with the photo to the left.  I loved the use of orchids and how it was so dramatic.  The photo on the right was my efforts and included a little bit of dogwood mixed in amongst the orchids.

Bridesmaid Purse Bouquets - I was completely inspired by the photo on the left and thought, what it was an adorable way for the girls to cary their purses.  Plus, after the wedding, the flowers could be removed and the purses used with the dress for future use.  The photo on the right is my version.

Jr. Bridesmaid Pomander.  - It's the one and only pomander I made, slightly longer to put together, but worth it.

Mother's Corsages - These were wrist corsages that I created for them using a bit of black elastic for the wrist and a bunch of patience.

Flower Girl Barrettes - I also created some barette arrangements to go in the FG and Jr. Bridesmaid's hair.  Also, I made some flower pins to go on the sashes of the FG Dresses

Bouts - These were the easiest to make.  A single corsage with a few rose leaves and some bear grass.  Chinese takeout boxes were a great way to store them!

Pew Arrangements - These were relatively small and simply tied to the sides of the chairs on the 1st, 3rd and 5th row.

Decorating the Gazebo - In the morning, we wrapped the pillars in the same fabric we used to make the aisle runner.  We then pinned orchids to the fabric.  Two centerpieces also were on either side of the gazebo.

Centerpieces!!! - This was probalby the most complex project.  The first photo is my inspiration photo.  I loved it so much, but I knew if I went to a pro to get it done, I'd be chared at least $65 or more per centerpiece.  So, I chose to make my own. 

Pots were bought from Stats.  A round styrofoam disc was glued in the middle and then plaster of Paris added to weigh it down.  Pots were also painted and decorated in our wedding colors, along with having our name and date on the bottom.  Curly willow tips came from Whole Foods and dried out a few days.  They were then inserted into the styrofoam and glued in.  Base was covered in moss and then decorated with orchids and a few river rocks on which we had painted key words about what being married meant to us... including "Love", "Trust", "Honor", "Friendship", "Cherish".  Flowers were then wired onto the branches.