Wedding Blog
When I first stumbled upon Diane’s work I was amazed. I thought it would be cool and funky to have clay flowers, plus it was one less thing I would have to worry about. Having the flowers created and delivered before the wedding left out any surprises I may have gotten from a florist on our wedding day. So, it seemed unusual, safe, affordable, and a little offbeat. It wasn’t until Diane sent me photos of the flower mock-ups a few months ago that I really became excited. Blown away doesn’t even begin to describe how I feel about her work.
Well, with most of her summer weddings out of the way, Diane has begun work on the flowers for our wedding. She has been working all day everyday since Saturday and sending me photos to document her progress. Here is what she has accomplished so far:
First she made the tuberoses. Each of the 40 flowers has 21 little petals. The detail is truly amazing.
Next, she began work on 60 pearl-centered stephanotis flowers, a creamy white peony with a golden center for our cake topper, then peonies, champagne peach roses, and white/green ranunculus. For the photos, she decided to put them into a bouquet similar to what the final result will be.
The cake topper was a little bit of a late addition. After we picked out our wedding cake, I kept picturing a big white peony on top. So, I emailed Diane and she added it to our order. Left on her to do list for my bouquet are the copper colored roses, and then she can start the flowers for the five bridesmaid bouquets and nine corsages/boutonnieres. Whew…
Now that Mr. Pineapple and I are already married, I can safely say that this is the part of the wedding I am most excited about!
What part of your wedding are you looking forward to the most (other than marrying your significant other, of course)?
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if you didn’t tell me they were clay, i would have thought they’re real…that’s some amazing work!
You must b so excited about these! They are gorgeous… and you’ll get to have them forever- wow!
They look so beautiful! I’m looking forward to seeing the final product.
Those are truly amazing. I had read your previous posts on this, but thought of using these as a cake topper never occurred to me. If I had more than a week & a half left I would be swapping my sugar flowers for clay ones! Can’t wait to see the finished product 
This is SO cool. Thanks Mrs Pineapple!
Those flowers are absolutely breathtaking. I actually have two moments that I can’t wait for - the first time I see myself in the mirror with the dress, hair, makeup and bouquet in hand AND our first dance as husband and wife.
omg, that will be a fantaaastic cake topper! I think its better than sugar flowers since you can keep them!!
How much does something like this run? I’d imagine that its more than fresh flowers, but with the added bonus of having them for life!
They’re gorgeous! Will they be heavier than fresh flowers?
she does have some serious talent
@doctorgirl: well, when I stumbled upon her she had just finished taping an episode of Martha Stewart. since then her work load has increased dramatically. i am not sure if this has effected her prices any, but her clay flowers fit within my modest fresh flower budget. for some idea of her pricing for pre-made arrangements, you can visit her etsy shop: http://www.etsy.com/shop.php?user_id=5620819
@jtg: i’ve never actually held them, but i have heard from diane and others that they are actually much lighter, almost like paper.
It seems like her prices have gone up since being nationally exposed. A brides bouquet will run you approx. $350 according to a recent quote. I love the way they look, but don’t quite think I can afford that! I guess I’ll settle for regular flowers!
Yesterday, I ordered one of her clay hair flowers from her etsy shop… $15 is a great deal for that! I can’t wait to see it in person.
Soooooooo gorgeous. I’m in love. I just looked up her tutorial on the Martha Stewart show (it was April Fools Day of this year) and they made Hydrangeas– exactly what I want for my wedding! I looked at her Etsy shop, and she does such great work, but she probably IS over my budget. Am I crazy to want to try to manufacturing hydrangeas myself? We’ll see…it looks pretty intense for this crafting newbie, and I doubt my results would be as breath taking as hers…but has anyone tried this themself?
@termi: it also depends on what kind of flowers you would like to have and how big you would like the bouquets to be. i am also wrapping all the handles myself to save a little bit. i can imagine with the increase of orders she would have tin increase her prices to make working all day everyday worth it…
Those are truly beautiful - I’ve seen wood flowers before but nothing like this.
tabitha @ http://www.fromsingletomarried.com
@katie: I am willing to try pretty much any and everything crafting/DIY, but this one I am leaving up to the experts! I would probably spend twice as much in wasted clay and therapy afterward hehe
Wow, they look amazing!!! What an awesome idea, and so cool that you will always have them!
Do you think the cake topper will be too heavy and smoosh the icing? My cake baker told me in advance to avoid anything heavy to put on the top. It’s hard to imagine the weight of the peony by looking at the pictures!
@Miss Taffy: cake flowers are one of diane’s specialties because the clay is almost paper light
Hi All,
So, I wanted to clarify some things for all of you who are curious about clay flowers!
1. I handcraft all my flowers myself. I don’t use pasta machines to roll the petal shapes. Each petal is handformed by hand, by me. What you’re buying is a keepsake and a work of art.
2. I can work within your budget (assuming it’s reasonable). Many of the inquiries I get are not too detailed so the more detail you give me the more accurate I can quote you.
3. My bouquets run between $175-400. Again it depends on what you’re asking for. If you saw how much work goes into the flowers and the fact that you get to keep this bouquet LONG after your wedding and it becomes a beautiful arrangment for your home, you’ll see that it’s money well spent. Clay flowers are not for everyone, but more and more clients I’ve worked with are COMPLETELY HAPPY with the end result and are so glad they did a clay flower bouquet.
4. The flowers themselves are very light. It’s the clay covered wire stems that are the heaviest piece of the bouquet. I would say they are lighter than a fresh flower bouquet.
I hope that clears up some of the confusion and questions. If you are interested in discussing your bouquet/ideas/budget, please let me know.
Congratulations and Best Wishes to you all!
I am so in love! A little more flower research and you’ll be hearing from me Diane!
@DK Designs: thanks for helping me answer all the questions Diane, including your updated pricing! I can’t wait to get my hundreds of little sculptures (Secretly, I wish I could keep the bridesmaids bouquets for myself too.)
Maybe you can ask your sister to give it back to you or maybe you can have visitation rights! LOL…
BTW, bridesmaid bouquets range $65-200/each for those who are wondering.
Wow, I cannot believe how REAL they look. So cool!
Love them love them. My husband requested ages ago that I keep a list on google documents full of ideas for gifts - things I’d love to have. If he ever gets stumped for a birthday or whatever, he has that to go back to. I just added a request for a copy of my wedding bouquet that I could have forever…but with the elements I couldn’t pull off (more color varigation and the fern curls I couldn’t find). Seems like such a romantic gift to get from my husband Maybe someday I will!
I just picked up my red peony cake topper from Diane last weekend! She’s SO talented and SO nice! Your flowers are going to be gorgeous, Mrs. Pineapple!
They look great! I had an arrangement of flowers made in the same style (same thing, different etsy person) for my parents as their thank you gift for hosting our wedding. I was so amazed how lifelike they are in person and how light they were! I can’t wait to see the final project. I must say if I had heard of this before I booked my wedding florals I would have done it.
@Laura: it really would be! give me your hubby’s #, I’ll give him a call just kidding… sort of
i love love love these clay flowers. saw them a while ago on Etsy and just adored them. if i weren’t so worried about them breaking in transit from CA -> LA then back to CA, I so would have done this! Maybe I can have a replica bouquet made after the wedding … hmm…
These are so gorgeous! It is so nice that you will hae them forever:)
How fragile are these flowers? I am just curious as to how well they would hold up.
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Mrs. Pineapple, Pittsburgh
Age and Occupation: 24, Graphic Designer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Student Affairs Administration
Engagement Date: August 4, 2007
Wedding Date: October, 2008
Blogging Since: April 14, 2008
Venue: The Rivers Club
About Me: Being a transplant from sunny south Florida I am learning to live with all four seasons while playing with our cat collective, line dancing, and doing a ton of DIY projects for our wedding (seriously, like a thousand)!
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