Made in Hong Kong

I spent most of my childhood living in Hong Kong so I make a point to visit annually. One of my favourite places in Hong Kong is the Flower Market. I enjoy going in the early morning to watch people unload buckets full of flowers that are not readily available in Toronto (oh the choices they have, it's incredible!)

Being a florist, I cannot help but to pick up a few bunches of flowers whenever I visit the market. However, unlike my home in Toronto, my parents' home (where I stay) does not have vases. Despite that, I still bring home flowers whenever I go to the market (nothing can stop me!). I simply use alternative vessels around the home to hold my flowers.

Here I used my parent's tea cups. These could make fabulous centerpieces for a brunch or lunch reception for a wedding or a bridal shower.

I wish there is Scratch n' Sniff for all of these!

These mini peony buds had to be put on hold. I awaited patiently for five days until they bloomed.

 

 The buds finally bloomed so I created a peony version of my first arrangement.

Test tube Baby Callas

I came across these oversized test tubes on a trip to Hong Kong and knew I wanted to use them in an arrangement. While being distracted from writing a history paper (I was a Master of Nursing student at the time), I became inspired and came up with a way to showcase the test tubes in a floral arrangement.

The pictures of the arrangement became an instant hit on facebook. And through facebook, the arrangement  helped me reconnect with my long-lost high school friend, Rowena. Rowena asked to purchase the arrangement for her new condo, since then, we have been keeping in touch.

This is another reason why I love to arrange flowers, not only is it fun and allows me to use my creativity, it is also a channel through which I can connect with people.

 I rarely use silk flowers in my designs but using silk flowers in home decor is a more economically-sound choice. This can be easily transformed into a fresh flower arrangement by subsituting the silk callas for fresh flowers.

So what was supposed to be a small break from writing my paper turned into hours of sketching fun.

Unconventional Rose Bouquet

Cream and white roses are undeniably one of the most popular flowers used for weddings because of what it symbolizes (purity, innocence, and happy love).  Because of this, most traditional brides I know ask to use white roses in their bridal bouquets. However, that does not mean that unconventional brides cannot use white roses simply for its elegance and fragrance (Vendela roses, a cream colored-rose, has the most delicate and incredible scent).  

Here I have made a mock-up of a white rose bouquet for an unconventional bride who wants to use white roses but want to break some bridal rules as well. To achieve that, I chose to use foliage in place of some flowers as well as using a black ribbon (gasp!). I finished the bouquet with a bow to soften the look of the black ribbon. I can’t decide whether it falls into the romantic or edgy category… perhaps both in this case.

Rich Purples

In my designs, I love to use flowers from different spectrums of the same color  because it creates depth and texture to the arrangement. Here I used goditia, campanula, and iris to create a vibrant purple arrangement that is bold yet simple.

Classic Ivory and Whites (+ bling!)

I was so honoured when my colleague and friend, Sandra, asked me to arrange for her wedding, and I was ecstatic when she told me about her color palette of ivory and whites with a touch of “blingage”. Many brides these days opt for brighter theme colors for their wedding. Though I love bright colors, I have an appreciation for this beautiful, classic, palette of ivory and whites... it’s just so timeless! And it is a total reflection of Sandra’s personal style.

That day, Sandra wore a fitted white dress with a heavily crystal-beaded sash and wore a crystal encrusted hair comb in her curls (she looked absolutely gorgeous!).  To go with her theme, every element of her wedding were adorned with crystals including her accessories, stationary, sashes on the bridesmaids' dresses, and the cake. Likewise, her floral arrangements needed to be sprinkled with crystals.

We did not want to go over-the-top with the “blingage” so we added just a right amount of bling with crystal adorned roses in the bridal bouquet, crystal brooches in the centerpieces, and  softly glowing LED lights in the centerpieces to add opulence to the arrangements and venue.

It was truly an amazing night. Amongst many touching moments, I was especially touched when Sandra cried (twice!) about the flowers, they were happy tears of course!

 Pearled top pins down the handle of the bouquet to mirror the buttons on the back of her gown.

 We thought we would give Ryan, the groom, at least one crystal. It was also his Big Day afterall.

 Before the LED lights were turned on.

LED lights on. The lights turned out to be quite the conversation piece, many guests were trying to figure out where the light was coming from.

Welcome to Ribbons!

We are glad to announce that Ribbons is officially up and running! Our friends say that it is like the birth our our baby, we say that it could be even more exciting than that as we have been working towards starting this business for years.

It all started when we started to come up with our wedding budget a couple years ago (we are tying the knot in April of next year!) and realized that there is a significant mark-up for wedding flowers. That was when we found the need for a florist whose prices are transparant. We could not find anyone in town who could meet our need so I started experimenting by making my own wedding floral arrangements. I fell in love with floral arrangement immediately and found myself spending most of my spare time arranging.

Once our friends learned of my new-found talent, they started asking us to design for their weddings. We found it so rewarding when we are able to help them create great designs at reasonable costs. We also love the fact that we are able to spend quality time together through working on weddings.

Since then, we have arranged for many wonderful couples in the GTA.  We look forward to being part of many more special events to come!