Wedding Blog
One of the advantages of having several married buddies is mooching off of their wedding mishaps and wisdom!!! I have probably had about ten good friends get married so far, and I have definitely paid attention. My friend and bridesmaid T was actually married only about a month ago and one of the things she did for her wedding was so wonderful that I am following her astute example!
It’s called Mums and Mimosas, people.
T got married in Buffalo, New York, where her family home is. Because T has lived in several states throughout her life, she had family and buds flying in from all over to attend. The whole weekend was wonderful—there is something distinctly different between going to an acquaintance’s wedding (say a co-worker you don’t know too well) and the wedding of one of your very good friends. We all stayed in the same hotel, and it was basically a slumber party with a wedding included—SO AMAZING AND FUN.
One of the best parts, though, was that on the wedding day, T had all of her girlyfriends over to her parents’ house to create the flower arrangements and to consume multiple mimosas, along with homemade breakfast yumminess. T has about 20 close girlfriends (she is a popular one!) so thank goodness her parents have a really big porch!
Now of course, what this really meant was that about four of the girls were actually arranging flowers… the rest of us had talk and giggle time while oohing and ahhing over the botanical creations. 
Anyway, the flowers turned out SO BEAUTIFULLY. We included gorgeous flowers from T’s mother’s garden and each bouquet was different. It took much longer than we thought it would, but that was probably because we did a lot of hanging out, at the expense of time. It was also so wonderful to hang out with girlfriends from New York, who I knew only through T’s stories. Everyone was in one place!
So, we plan on doing the same thing. We will be getting married on a Friday, so who knows who might be able to come, but I definitely want to do my own flowers now that I know it’s possible. I know the bridesmaids will be available!!!! 
Weddings are so much more meaningful when thought is put into the details, and this would be really special.
How do you plan to include all of the important people in your life in your wedding?
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I am doing my own flowers as well and plan to have a similar gathering the day before the wedding to do the centerpeices and flower petal pouches (bridesmaids, cousins, moms, aunts, etc). Then, the bridesmaids and I will make our own bouquets the morning of the wedding. I will definitely add the mimosas to the list of necessities, though!
To me, the lesson here is if you want labor from your friends and family, creating a party atmosphere makes it seem less like work. When I hear about bridesmaids being used as invitation-assemblers, favor-wrappers, etc, I always hope the bride at least made an effort to make it fun instead of a factory.
@Sarah: I definitely do not want labor. This is about bonding with your girlyfriends pre-ceremony, and for us, flowers and champagne were the perfect way to come together and chill before the actual wedding!
How did she ask you? You hear a lot about couples asking their friends for help, but I wonder how exactly they ask. Care to share?
@Miss Cheese: Well, the question went “Hey, want to come help me drink mimosas while I put together my bouquet?” She only had two bridesmaids, so with 20+ girls that morning, she really only needed the moral support. This is definitely not about soliciting labor - it’s about how to have special wedding time with your friends. We loved it! (tho we had to make sure we saved some champagne for later.)
Aww, That sounds like so much fun! I am tempted to try to make my own flowers (or at least SOME of them) because it seems like it’s doable… can you give us some details on DIYing your own flowers?
What I’m most curious about is when do you buy them and how do you keep them alive if you buy them a day or two before??
In our wedding we really spent the whole weekend with family and friends. Our ceremony was 12/15/07, so everyone was using the weekend as a christmas celebration too since they were all in the same city. We had people over Thursday night, a big group went to the st. louis arch on Friday afternoon, all the out of towners came to the rehearsal dinner, and hubby’s family even came over to the house on Sunday! (we left on monday for the honeymoon).
It was a whirlwind, but it made the festivities last longer, which was great!
@Nada122: I am getting my flowers the morning before the wedding at the LA Flower District. You will find that the flowers actually need a day or two to open before you arrange. I assume you are doing your own flowers for economical reasons, and the more open the flowers are (especially roses) the less stems you have to use. I thought about getting them a few days earlier, even, but decided to stick with the morning before because it will probably be a warm weekend (late May) which makes the opening process go a little faster. Also, be sure to cut the stems under water with a very sharp paring knife or scissors and if you don’t have that powder flower food, put a drop of bleach in the water you store them in (I know it doesn’t sound right, but I swear it works). Good luck!
when i read the title i totally thought this was going to be about MOMS and mimosas…which is also a great idea.
i love this, especially since i’m going to try to do my own flowers and will take any excuse for mimosas, haha. do you have pictures of these amazing creations and/or tips on doin your own flowers?
What a cute idea!
We’re also planning on having people around for pre- and post-wedding festivities, this sounds super fun.
@lilikoi: Moms and mimosas are always a hilarious combination. I was one of the mimosa-drinkers, rather than a bouquet-arranger. However, I will be conducting my own research (into flowers, not champagne) and I am sure there will be DIY arrangements in our future!
This is one my most favorite Bee ideas! I can’t wait to try it…all of my bridesmaids have been dying to help (I’m the first one to get married) and they are so excited to be a part of everything.
None of the girls are traveling, so it will be easy to arrange!
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Miss Snapdragon, Chicago
Age and Occupation: 30, Production Assistant for a Media Firm
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Education Administrator
Wedding Date: June, 2009
Blogging Since: November 14, 2008
Venue: The Hyatt Lodge
About Me: Vintage and crafting obsessed. Voracious reader of short stories, Russian literature, National Geographic and Cosmo. I am a GENIUS at spicing up Weight Watchers recipes and a pathological cheater at board games. A Texan transplanted to the snowy Midwest, I can't wait to marry my one and only. Is it June yet? ... What about now?
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