Flowers

[InLove5]

i know i want to do lillies...which i thought were called starburst lillies, but ive discovered tiger lillies as well, is there a difference??
also, how do u go about ordering em...call a place up tell them what your looking for and see what they say? or do u have to wait till theyre in season and if not is it more money. may seem like a dumb question but im so confused how this works. lol.

[Kfancii]

There are lots of different varieties of lilies out there. The stargazer is the white lily with a pink center, or you can find asiatic, oriental & hybrid lilies that come in white, oranges, yellows, purples, varigated yellow&rust, pinks, etc.

Most lilies that you get from the florist are green house grown these days and you can get them any time of the year from your local florist or green house. Prices tend to fluxuate and I have found that all flowers are more expensive around the holidays Valentines and Mother's Day.

Check with your local florist to see what they can get for you, or you could check with online florists too such as 1-800-flowers or proflowers.com to see what they have in stock. Also, Sam's Club and Costco sell flowers too and might be worth checking out.

[Jenna5366]

There are a ton of different kinds of lilies:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lily

[InLove5]

thanks, im actually stuck between picking yellow or pink...!! i feel better now. lol

[mitch]

Tiger Lillies were my mums favourite flower. But there is a slight caution with them if you own a cat.

The pollen that comes off the Anther. (The fluffy stalk bit inside. I had to look up the real name on google to look intelligent here LOL) is highly toxic to cats. If they get the pollen on their fur and do what cats normally do, and lick coz they like to be clean. The pollen is known to cause heart failure.

Not very nice i know. And maybe not something you need to read.

But as Michael Caine once said "Not a lot of people know that" :D

But back to the thread.

Lillies will look lovely. Ideal for a wedding either in a teardrop bouquet with other flowers you love or hand-tied as long stems with a ribbon in the colour you have chosen for your theme.

[InLove5]

what do u htink about fake ones? would that be the cheaper wya to go?

[Fireman'sgirl]

I am having fake blue lilies for my bouquet because there are no blue lilies and it is SO much cheaper. These are huge, like the stargazers, and then we got small white flowers to go around them. I haven't seen it all put together, but they were very pretty. In my opinion, most fake flowers look very nice anymore. Some (like some calla lilies) don't look too real sometimes, but shop around and you can definitely find some wonderful flowers if you really want them.

[AshAllen]

http://www.afloral.com/Silk-Flowers-Artificial-Flowers-Fake-Flowers/Iris

[Louann S.]

Hello, Everyone!

As Kfancii pointed out . . . lilies are classed by variety. Starburst is a common
name used to describe Oriental lilies (the most well known by brides is Stargazers - white with deep pink throats). Another well known variety popular for bridal bouquets is the Casa Blancas. Oriental lilies are very large and are known for their heavy fragrance. They will have a large head - 6" or more across.

The smaller headed lilies are Asiatics - these are commonly the variety that the orange "Tiger Lily" comes from. They are usually more 3" to 4" across. These are less expensive, but still make a beautiful addition to any bouquet. Just don't expect the fragrance with Asiatics or LA lilies (also known as hybrids).

Lilies come in every color under the sun - but in you plan to DIY - be sure to give your on-line bulk supplier your main preference - and at least one similar alternative. Different lilies have different growing seasons - so if you pick a less common one it may or may not be available. White Casas and the Pink Stargazers are usually available all year round (at least in the United States).

The most important thing of DIY bridal bouquets with lilies is to allow PLENTY OF TIME between delivery and your wedding day. Lilies are shipped with very tight buds and must be allowed time to open naturally. Having your order come in on a Wednesday for a Saturday wedding is just not long enough! (I had one DIY bride tell me this was her plan and I urged her to have them come in sooner!)

I've had Casas come in a week before the day I planned to start designing with them. (So if I want to work with them on a Thursday before the wedding on a Sat - I would have them delivered the PREVIOUS Thur). I know this seems like a long time - but it takes a while for all those buds to open fully.

Don't worry - Orientals have long staying power. As long as they are in a cooler room (airconditioned, basement, etc.) they will last 3 weeks or longer. (Be sure to buy from a reputable dealer - maintaining the "cold chain' - keeping the flowers cool from harvest to delivery is crucial. Reputable dealers are VERY strict about this. Other "middleman" brokers sometimes bid on older case lots that may have been left over and the cold chain is questionable. )

The thing about lilies is they have to be babied some. Cut the stems underwater and spread out the bunches among several buckets. (All lilies come 10 stems to a bunch). You want them to open without touching one another - so you don't get ugly "creases" or folds on the lily petals from being scrunched in together too tightly.

Be sure to remove pollen from every blossom as soon as it opens. Catch it soon enough and you'll avoid staining the blossoms. You do not want any pollon anywhere near your dresses or fingers on your wedding day - they do stain!! Remove while wearing plastic gloves or with a tissue to avoid staining your fingers.

This is what commonly causes allergies. It isn't always the fragrance as usually thought - rather the drifting pollen that is a trademark of every lily variety.

See the difference between Asiatics and Orientals at:
http://www.wedding-flowers-and-reception-ideas.com/asiatic-lily-wedding-bouquet.html

Blessings on your wedding day!

Louann
www.weddingflowersandreceptionideas.com