Floral Inspirations

(photography by Simply Rose)

Onyx Harris of Amoda Flowers is on a mission.  Her mission is to create beautiful sustainable bridal bouquets for those couples looking to tread lightly on the earth.   Providing not only  bouquets, Amoda Flowers creates stunning and unique centrepieces and can help discerning couples with eco-friendly wedding favours such as herb plants, seedlings and seed packets.

(2 above photographs Simply Rose)

All floral arrangements shown here are creations of Amoda Flowers. 

“Picking flowers in season is always a good place to start. This way your flowers should be hold up well with the weather of your wedding day. Their travel has also been short therefore they are more sustainable and better quality. Here is just a sampling of the lovely seasonal flowers I’d suggest:

Spring : Peony, Iris, Anemone.
Summer: Allium, Calla Lily, Hydrangea, Delphinium, Scabiosa.
Fall: Kale, Dogwood, Solidago.
Winter: Tulips, Ranunculus, Cherry Blossom. Cymbidium Orchid.

Here are a few flowers that are available most of the year: Roses, Gerbera Daisies, Lily, Freesia, Chrysanthemum.”  Onyx Harris

(2 above photographs Snap Weddings)

Vintage inspired table setting.

We may be still in the dark of winter, but  with spring around the corner what better way to celebrate the blossoming of new life than a DIY vintage inspired table setting.

These gorgeous fair trade blooms are courtesty of Whole Foods Cambie Market.  We supplied the vintage bubble vase and the mason jar and the lovely ladies of the floral department created a display of subtle pinks and greens with a vintage flair in mind. 

The table runner is a handmade creation upcycled from an old wool blanket which was felted and cut into the shape of a giant leaf with green thread accenting the edging.

The wooden table numbers are created from recycled tree ends from a Christmas tree lot, with tiny holes drilled into the tops and recycled metal curled into a post to  hold the table card.

Green stemmed vintage wine glasses are accompanied by handmade ceramic dishware from eikcam .  Full dishware sets can be customed ordered from eikcam and make a great wedding gift.  Visit Grace at her studio at the Mergatroid Building on Vernon street in Vancouver.

Handmade paper hearts to decorate are made from reclaimed booksand handmade papers and stitched together with embroidery thread.  Holes are made through 6 sheets or more of paper with a awl and then pulled apart to create the 3D effect. 

Large mason jars work beautifully as vases and can be found at any second  hand store.

This vintage bubble vase was found at a second hand store for $2.00.

All of the vendors listed and the DIY ideas shown could be found at The Grassroots Wedding Fair.  More DIY and vendor spotlights will follow.

Photoshoot Contributors:

photography: sweet earth photographics

ceramic plates: eikcam

floral arrangements: Wholefoods Cambie Market

DIY elements:

paper hearts

felted leaf table runner

table number holder

Olla Urban Flower Project

It was a wet January day that I visited Olla Flowers to learn more about  this new florist on the edge of Gastown.  I was well rewarded for my visit and discovered much about the Flower Project that has very strong ties to the community around it.

The store sits in a very beautiful building at 235 Cambie Street with large windows and brick walls.  Everything I saw was for sale and the unique arrangements came in modern and vintage planters. From gorgeous terrariums to fair trade roses and flowers sourced locally,  Olla was alive with colour.

Megan Branson and Dionne Finch are set on urbanizing flower production and working with social enterprises through work with DTES community gardens, local flower lovers and even backyard growers.  They came to this new enterprise through their love of design and landscaping. One of their goals is to ‘bring the outside in’.

Their work within the community includes working with mature gardens for flower cultivation, working with individuals with land available to host a garden and share the crop, hiring locally and purchasing flowers grown in community gardens and then sharing the bounty from corporate events, such as work with Amnesty International with non-profits in the DTES.

For weddings they have everything an engaged couple would need.  Olla Flower Project promotes living wedding favours and centrepieces.  The creative skills of Megan and Dionne can create stunning bouquets and floral displays.  Their living arrangements can be purchased or rented for the big day.

Manifesto for Horticultural Wedding Design

“We are convinced that the bounding vibrancy and evolved design of living plants be at the center of wedding decor. We offer a pair of flowering viburnum bodnantense with an underplanting of snow drops to frame your winter vows, flowering lilac trees in spring, mixed perennial grasses with wild flowers in summer, and berry shrubs heavy with fruit for autumnal nuptials. These living containers will act as metaphors for the sustained love being celebrated. 

 

We support a wedding design movement that celebrates humans’ relationship to the plant world and gifts its clients with beautiful plants that will continue to grow and thrive long after the last dance draws to an end.”
 Olla Urban Flower Project

 

I was very grateful for the opportunity to spend an afternoon wandering the store and learning so much about this unique new florist hub.  This spring will find the shop blooming with new ideas and work in the community.  Megan and Dionne have (no pun intended)  their roots well planted in this neighbourhood and as they expand so will the gardening community around them.

Olla Flowers will be an exhibitor at The Grassroots Wedding Fair on February 12 at Heritage Hall.

Shona Dion

photography by sweet earth photographics