Fresh Flower Picks

Labels: Best Florist in Charleston, delivery, Tiger Lily Florist, weddings

Something Borrowed, Something Blue, 

and Something You've Never Seen Before

Here you can see the chuppah and the gorgeous isle covered in rose petals. How many roses did it take?  300!

Some of the rose petals

Our containers are unusual sometimes too. If it can hold water, we'll put flowers in it! Designer Robin used the largest Blue Sapphire gin bottles any one had ever seen in arrangements for an event this week. 

The unique 'vases' gave these arrangements something extra

More unique creations to come!

Labels: Best Florist in Charleston, delivery, kiawah, Kiawah Island Sanctuary, Tiger Lily Florist, weddings, Wild Dunes

Tiger Lily goes Legally Blonde

One of the centerpieces being worked on for the party

Vanessa Moyen and La Mein as Elle Woods and Bruiser!

Labels: charleston, Charleston Stage, delivery, flowers, Legally Blonde, Tiger Lily Florist, weddings

Tiger Lily's 2012 Summer Staff Party

Stephanie shows off her 'Shark Week' inspired masterpiece

Labels: Best Florist in Charleston, flowers, Tiger Lily Florist, weddings, Wine and Design

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Weekend Wedding at Lowndes Grove

Gayla and Alphia decorating the Chuppah

The finished product

Lowndes Grove Plantation provided a scenic backdrop for both the ceremony and the reception. The historic main house was built in 1786 and is just as beautiful inside as out. With it behind them and the Ashley river infront, guests had almost stepped back in time.

Alphia scattering rose petals down the isle

A reception right on the river, the dried lavender centerpieces smelled wonderful

Labels: Best Florist in Charleston, delivery, flowers, Lowndes Grove, Patrick Properties Hospitality Group, Tiger Lily Florist, weddings

Weekend Wedding at Lowndes Grove

Gayla and Alphia decorating the Chuppah

The finished product

Lowndes Grove Plantation provided a scenic backdrop for both the ceremony and the reception. The historic main house was built in 1786 and is just as beautiful inside as out. With it behind them and the Ashley river infront, guests had almost stepped back in time.

Alphia scattering rose petals down the isle

A reception right on the river, the dried lavender centerpieces smelled wonderful

Labels: Best Florist in Charleston, delivery, flowers, Lowndes Grove, Patrick Properties Hospitality Group, Tiger Lily Florist, weddings

Tiger Lily Gets Published!

Labels: A Lowcountry Wedding, Best Florist in Charleston, delivery, Love Toast, Southern Weddings Tiger Lily Florist, Style Me Pretty, The Local Palate, The Wedding Row, weddings

Flowers You Can Give to a Guy

Though Orchids are usually equated with being high maintenance, they are actually rather simple to care for, as they are best watered twice a week and then left alone, making this low maintenance flower perfect for forgetful men, or any one who wants a beautiful plant that's easy to care for.

Labels: Best Florist in Charleston, delivery, flowers, Orchids, Tiger Lily Florist, weddings

Some Exceptional Tiger Lily Requests

Labels: beachside, Best Florist in Charleston, delivery, kiawah, proposal, the sanctuary, Tiger Lily Florist, weddings

Tiger Lily Chuppah: The Final Product

Labels: Best Florist in Charleston, chuppah, delivery, flowers, kiawah, Kiawah Island Sanctuary, Tiger Lily Florist, weddings

Labels: Best Florist in Charleston, delivery, Tiger Lily Florist, weddings

Chuppah Project Update

Labels: Best Florist in Charleston, chuppah, delivery, flowers, Tiger Lily Florist, weddings

Tiger Lily Chuppah: A  New Take On An Old Tradition

Labels: bamboo, Best Florist in Charleston, chuppah, delivery, flowers, Tiger Lily Florist, weddings

Labels: Best Florist in Charleston, charleston, Charleston Visitors Bureau, Charleston Wedding Guide, Charleston Wedding Magazine, delivery, flowers, weddings

Just returned from the Society Of American Florist' Annual Convention in Phoenix. SAF packed the agenda with a lot of great seminars , but as usual the best part of the show were the attendees.

I left with that familar feeling of depression and inspiration I get when I'm around awesome people. Depression that I'm not doing some of the things they're doing, inspiration because I know we will. We have a great thing going at Tiger Lily, and I realize I'm comparing us with the best florists in the country . I'm not ready to jump off a cliff or anything, but still....I want to get better.

I could go on and on about who I met and what they're doing, but let's just say I have a lot of items on the "to do" list. I am happy to say that those awesome people are focusing on solid business practice like quality and service. We can all get better at those critical items, everyday. Sure, social networking was the topic du jour, and Twitter and Facebook is important. They are not a foundation for a successful business, however, more like crown moulding.

Above is a shot of the New Varieties floral room. There were some killer flowers in that ballroom, and our purchaser DD Parks is already tracking them down. We hope to have them in starting next week.

I also pictured the motorcycle I rented instead of a car. Renting a compact car was almost $600 for three days! The bike was less than half that and ten times the fun. Nothing like cruising through the Arizona desert at 80 mph with the sun setting behind the mountains! I saw two wild mustangs, two jack rabbits and a coyote.

I know some other florists read this blog. I want to HIGHLY recommend going to the SAF Conference next year in Orlando. I've attended five conferences so far, and have even spoken at two of them. I have never met anyone else from Charleston. It really gives a big advantage to see and hear firsthand the latest trends, ideas, flowers and designs. Now more than ever we have to be at our best. I'm excited about 2010, because I know Tiger Lily will be better than ever.

Labels: arizona, events, flowers, motorcycle, phoenix, SAF, society of american florists, weddings

One of my favorite aspects of what we do is where we do it. We're lucky to live in a town that has ancient plantations, beaches, historic churches, mansions, 5-star hotels and more. Between daily flower deliveries, wedding set-ups and event pick-ups we get to be in some pretty unique places.

Above is a photo of a wedding we recently did on a working shrimp boat. Designer Hayley Crislip set it up. It wasn't an extensive wedding flower-wise, but it sure was cool. The ship was moored at the famous Shem Creek in Mt Pleasant. While we were setting up, all kind of boats were cruising past giving us shout-outs. From 80 foot+ (and multi-million dollar) sportfishing yachts to paddlers in kayaks, they were all enjoying the water on a beautiful Friday afternoon.

The bride knew the shrimping family, and they thought the idea of hosting the wedding on the shrimp boat was brilliant. In typical lowcountry hospitality fashion, the shrimpers painted the entire boat just for the occassion! In fact the entire vessel was spotless and shrimp odor free. For outsiders, hosting a shrimp boat wedding may seem strange, but down here it is the ultimate local luxury. Call it "old school", "keeping it real", "on the down low" or whatever you want, you have to be real lucky to have the opportunity.

Other different places I've been: under a haunted oak tree on a plantation at midnight, behind the altar at just about every famous church in Charleston, wading in the surf under a full moon looking for a chuppa frame (lost it to the tide), several roof tops, cemeteries, restaurant kitchens, and crematoriums. Last month I was in the Injured Sea Turtle Rehab Center at the SC Aquarium...that was awesome.

After I took these photos, I stopped at the shrimp shack, bought two pounds large-"heads off", and grilled them up for my famous shrimp tacos family feast. Lowcountry Living indeed.

Labels: lowcountry, lowcountry food bank, shem creek wedding, shrimp, weddings

Bride's Magazine gave us a national "shout out" for a bouquet inspired by a wedding we did last fall for a wedding at The Sanctuary. Click on the pic for a closer look. It's in the current issue (May/June 2009), where they featured "Inspired by Sea Shells" as a theme. Our bride wanted an all sea shell bouquet, which we were happy to design. I featured it in an earlier blog ( I think if you type "Sea Shell" in this blog's search box it pops right up). She loved it and somehow the photo got on the internet.

Bride's Magazine found it, and called us to see if we could re-create it and ship it to them. We were real busy, but when Bride's calls, you don't refuse. Each shell is hand selected, cleaned, glued to a heavy gauge wire, then arranged. The mechanics aren't difficult, just time consuming. Each shell takes about 5 minutes, and there were over 150 shells in the bouquet so you can figure out the design time. Also, you'd be surprised how few shells make the quality cut. We went through at least a thousand shells to find these. Some were too small, cracked, too big, or just too plain.

So we were working on it, when Bride's call back to say they needed it a week earlier due to a change in the shooting schedule. We put three folks on it and finished it that afternoon. At the last minute we added a seashell arm bouquet I had been kicking around in mind. It was made of larger shells presented in a palmetto tree frond husk. I loved it but I was the only one in the shop who did. Oh well. We shipped it to Manhattan overnight Fed Ex, and waited. There was no guarantee they were even going to use it, so all we could do was hope they liked it.

About a week later, Bride's called and said it was perfect, but they needed more Spanish Moss overnighted to them. I guess it got kicked around a little in shipping and a couple small gaps developed. We grabbed a couple handfuls of moss, stuffed it into a legal size envelope and shipped it. It cost $49 to ship $2 worth of moss! That was a bummer. I mean we could have called a florist in Manhattan and had it delivered for much less. Live and learn.

We didn't know it made the magazine until we started getting emails from folks around the country wanting more info on it. Three brides wanted us to make and ship it them, but we recommended they use a local florist due to the shipping damage that might occur. Funny, those bride's weren't near the coast at all. I really liked the seashell boutonniere in the photo next to our pic. We create those too, but Rosenow Floral got it just right.

So that was a fun experience. Last week while waiting at the grocery check-out line I picked up a copy of the magazine, flipped it to page 154 and felt like a big shot. Until my kids starting arguing over a pack of gum. Then I just felt like a regular guy again.

Labels: beachside, bridal bouquet, Bride's magazine, kiawah, seashell bouquet, the sanctuary, wedding arch, weddings

It's not always fairies and unicorns, even the "glamorous" life of a florist! Folks in love, love to get married in Charleston. Often, they plan outdoor weddings beachside, at a plantation, country club or even rooftop. The vision is perfect, but the lingering thought is "What if the weather turns bad?"

Relax. In the 13 years we've been in the floral and wedding biz, we've only had two weekends lost because of hurricanes. On one of those cancelled weekends the weather turned out to be terrific. We've had rain, but it doesn't ruin the event unless you let it. It may sound easy for us to say...let's face it we're not the ones getting married. Believe me, we live and die with every event as if it were ours. Let me tell you about a secret dynamic I've observed over the years: Bad weather MAKES a great party!

I've seen it happen many times, going back to my hotel career. Something special happens when a storm comes rolling in during an event. People get excited, there's electricity in the air (no, not lightening). Folks go into disaster mode and pitch in moving furniture, gathering the kids, saving the cake. Heroes are made! If the bride and groom can keep their poise and go with the flow, all goes great.

Now I'm not saying to stand on the beach and exchange your vows during a torrential downpour. That would be silly and dangerous. Tweek your event around the storm. Wait 30 minutes for the rain to pass. Or exchange your vows in the tent and have your first dance on the beach. Relax, react, and enjoy.

The photos above are from an event on Kiawah Island that was planned to be on the Sanctuary's Grand Lawn. 30 minutes before the event, a storm blew in out of nowhere and we moved everything inside. The hydrangea topiary on top was one of two used to frame the bride and groom during thier vows. The rose petal aisle was moved from the lawn to a ballroom. The dining tables were as well. Now, we took those photos in a hurry, soaking wet, just before we left. Admittedly, they are not going to be on the cover of Modern Bride Magazine. But use your imagination for a minute, because this turned out to be a great wedding ceremony and event.

Look closely at the photo of the rose petal aisle and the dining table. You'll see clear vases with candles. A lot of candles.

Now imagine the rain beating down on the roof, thunder shaking the walls and lightning flashing through the windows showing the surf pounding on the beach. The bride and groom, family, and guests are safe and snug in the ballroom. The lights are dimmed, candle light flickering and the soft music of a harpist playing "Here Comes the Bride". Later, the bar opens, the dining is extraordinary, and the power of the storm seems to have energized the entire event. I've seen it happen many times.

A couple years ago this happened on a private plantation in Mt Pleasant. It was an awesome event, took a LOT of planning. The fine event planners at WED did a great job. It was 300 people in a tent. Since it was a private plantation there was no indoor alternative; they were committed to the tent. It rained as hard as it possibly could. Part of the tent began to collapse and when the lightning fried an amp, enough was enough. The wedding reception was cancelled just a few dances after the dinner. The entire party squeezed into the rambling old home, in the kitchen, the garage, anywhere they could fit.

I went the next morning to pick up our rental items. I never saw anything like it. Tables were flipped over, half the dance floor floated away, champagne glasses were filled to the rim with rain water. As I was gathering our rental items, feeling terrible for the event gone bad, an elderly couple crossed the lawn. I think they were the aunt and uncle of the groom. They walked over to me and I said something about feeling bad about the weather and all. The woman said "Child, that was the best wedding I ever went to! So much excitement!" The man agreed, and then a few more guests showed up to survey the storm damage. They all had a great time, and said they wouldn't have changed a thing. They all mentioned how nothing seemed to fluster the bride, and when they saw she was having fun they just joined in. That was the important lesson for me.

If you're planning an outdoor event, I hope it is exactly what you envision. But remember, if it starts to blow hard or rain, stay flexible, relax, react and enjoy!

Labels: bad weather, cancellation, hurricanes, rain out, storms, weddings

Labels: beachside, beachside., kiawah, sanctuary, Terrace Ballroom, Terrace lawn, wedding arch, wedding ceremony, weddings