4 – 6 April 2018: Gregor Lersch at the Paris School of Florists by Agathe BP11

Gregor Lersch is a German florist who travels around the world to learn and show his knowledge and his techniques in the art of floristry.

On Tuesday 3 April 2018, Gregor and his floral assistant arrived from Germany at the school to prepare with a team from Paris all the structures for the scheduled demonstrations on Wednesday.

On 4 April, Gregor gave a demonstration before those who were interested in seeing how he executed his floral work, during which time, he blossomed at least 5 structures. There were some structures that had already been flowered, so the audience was shown how they were carried out, and there were others on display in the hall and in the cafeteria areas. Every structure was made with iron wire. Some parts of the wire were painted, some were left natural, and others were annealed.

 

The first structure was made with wide iron covered and secured with raffia. For the flowering, Gregor  used muscaris, scabiosas, buttercups,  and agapanthes.

 

The second structure had already been made for the demonstration. They were old glass tubes placed on a wooden board. Many different flowers such as buttercups, poppies, roses, in addition to corkscrew hazel branches were used in this structure.

 

This last picture is of a spiral structured bouquet, made with iron wire and some garland of wool squares. It was ornamented with peonies, buttercups, roses, and beargrass.

On Tuesday 5 April, Gregor and his team were in Vincennes at the Floral Parc for two masterclasses with the CAP class in the morning and the BP class in the afternoon. With the CAP class, Gregor taught them how to make a structured cascade wedding bouquet, and in the afternoon, he taught the BP class how to make a cascading flowered candelabra.

And finally, on the last day of his visit, Friday 6 April, Gregor gave a masterclass to the teachers of the school, some high profile florists, and even to some of the Best Workers in France (MOF).

Seeing this master florist’s work and getting an insight into his knowledge was mesmerizing. He is a very accessible and kind person. We can see that his work is also his passion through his way of working and talking about what he does.

Masterclass with Gregor Lersch! By Léna C. and Juliette BP11

In April we went to the Parc Floral in Paris for a very special event in our school … a masterclass with one of the best florists in the world, Gregor Lersch!!!!

During this masterclass, we realized a candelabra. We were placed into teams of two students to work on this project.

Gregor taught us many techniques for using wire in our structures and for using different blooms such as hydrangeas, roses, and muscaris. Gregor is also famous as a colorist in floristry, being that he has his unique way of matching colors in his floral art.

It was really instructive and also a great opportunity to be able to observe one of the most brilliant florists in the works. Gregor was very easy to talk to and very responsive and willing to help us in improving our floral work.

 

                                                                                                                           

 

An Imagined Email Conversation with a Wedding Florist by Laura Willcox, a writer, actress, improviser living in New York City

Updated 12/18/16 1:00pmFiled to: WEDDING BUDGETS

10/23/16, 11:14 a.m.

Hi Susan–

My name is Katie and I am planning my wedding for this upcoming May. I found your info on the wedding website “Color Me Rustic” under their favored florist vendors list and I loved your portfolio!

Right now just hoping to get a sense of your pricing for small, simple centerpieces and bridal bouquets to make sure it’s within our budget.

Thanks so much!

Katie

 

10/23/16, 4:30 p.m.

Hi Katie,

Thanks so much for reaching out to us at Blossoming Bride! May is such a wonderful time of year for flowers, you chose well!

As far as pricing, it would be impossible to quote any prices without first knowing a few more things about you:

How many centerpieces? How many bridesmaids bouquets/boutonnières? Color scheme? Favorite flowers? Are you Jewish? When’s the last time you cried? What’s 13+46—to you? In your husband’s cosmological framework, where do dogs go when they die? How many fingers am I holding up? Just guess, it’s fun!

And lastly: do you have a wedding Pinterest page? If you don’t, I’m afraid we can’t work together.

Thanks! I look forward to hearing from you soon.

Best,

Susan

 

10/24/16, 10:48 a.m.

Hi Susan–

Thanks for getting back to me. Even if you have a broad range of prices it would be really helpful to know, just to get an idea. But answers to your questions below!

15, 5/7, mint green/ice white, half, about five minutes ago, 59, their souls become one with the earth, four fingers and a thumb, and yes, I have a Pinterest page but I haven’t pinned anything, does that count?

Thx!

Katie

 

10/24/16, 12:04 p.m.

Hi Katie,

Thanks for answering those questions, it’s incredibly helpful.

So as for pricing, we start at a minimum of $15K for all events, which would cover everything you’d need to make your wedding spectacular (Please note: we can only guarantee spectacular flowers. We have no control over the quality of the food, groom, or weather.)

From your answers, I can tell you are someone who would love a rustic and natural arrangement of peonies, anemones, succulents, and ranunculus at each table. Something simple and elegant – just like you!

I’d love to get together soon to talk in more detail about options. Looking forward to it!

Susan

 

10/24/16, 12:15 p.m.

Hi Susan –

Wow – unfortunately $15K is way outside of our budget – we were hoping to spend closer to $2K. Can I ask what all the $15K covers? Forgive me, it just seems like an exorbitant amount of money.

But you’re actually right, once I Googled all those names those are flowers I absolutely love and now cannot imagine my wedding day without.

Thanks,

Katie

 

10/24/16, 3:13 p.m.

Hi Katie,

I understand. $15K may seem high but it’s pretty standard for most wedding florists. That price includes the cost of all flower arrangements, the air between the flowers, all the dirt (flowers require a LOT of dirt), as well as the setup and delivery.

We at Blossoming Bride pride ourselves in having the highest quality flowers imaginable by having them sung to on a daily basis. This is much more effective than simply talking to them. Remember Charlotte Church? She was a child opera singer who was big in the 90s? She’s exclusively our in-house flower-singer now. We find that the flowers really prefer her voice and she helps them bloom more fully. So that price also covers her services, her meals, transportation, and of course flowers for her studio. We are the only florist to provide this kind of service in the whole world!

We have found that our brides really appreciate the extra level of detail we put into our work, and that is what makes us stand out from all the other bad, stinky, stupid wedding florists out there.

Let me know if you have any further questions and I will be meeting you soon. It is foretold.

Warmly,

Susan

 

10/25/16, 9:50 a.m.

Hi Susan –

Thanks for clarifying. Your flowers really are amazing and I love the fact that they’re happy, cultured flowers with an appreciation for music. That’s so important to me now that I know that that even exists.

The price is still just a bit too high but I’d love to figure out a way to work with you. Is there anything else you can throw in for us? That might make that sum easier to stomach.

Sorry to be a pain!

Katie

 

10/25/16, 11:28 a.m.

Hi Katie –

I completely understand. Although you are being a total pain, I appreciate your apology.

Here’s what I can do for you: I can waive the fee for our Gift Protection Policy, which is an insurance policy we offer that protects you from having your wedding gifts stolen by me or my associates on the night of your wedding if we happen to be stricken by a case of mischievousness. Normally we charge an extra $700 per guest for this policy but I am willing to give that to you free of charge! We highly recommend this policy to all our clients because we’ve found that we rob up to 85% of the weddings that don’t purchase this protection.

Let me know how that sounds! And for what it’s worth, all of our brides agree that the look of jealousy on their guests’ faces when they see the unparalleled flower work we do is worth so much more than $15K. But you already know that.

Do the right thing.

Talk soon!

Susan

 

10/26/16, 9:08AM

Susan –

I discussed it with my fiancé and we agree we can just sell his guitar collection and move to a shittier neighborhood. We’ve realized the flowers are by far the most important aspect of the day so the price is well worth it.

Looking forward to working with you! Excited!

Katie

 

10/26/16, 6:06 p.m.

Katie, I knew you’d come around. They always do.

I will start putting together a vision board for your wedding today! And I’ll need that 50% deposit ASAP to hold the date. I only accept payment in the form of Alaskan Airlines miles.

MUUUAAHAHAHAHA!!!

Susan

 

Laura is a writer/actress/improviser living in New York City. She performs weekly at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theater and has appeared on MTV’s Hey Girl, Comedy Central’s Inside Amy Schumer, and has written for Girl Code, Cosmopolitan, The Date Report, and Nerve. She does all her tweeting via @Laura Willcox on Twitter.com.

Image via AP.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wedding time in flower shops by Coline BP21

Florists are solicited throughout the lives of their customers from birth with traditional bunches of congratulations and well wishes sent to their mothers, then by perhaps going through their own weddings filled with romantic floral decor, and finally on the day of their last goodbyes with the very melancholy mourning pieces.

For now, let’s go to the joyful topic of the happiest day of a newlywed’s life.

All florists will have to, at least once in his/her career, cater to the needs of a young, worried, future bride who will be anxious about not missing a beat.

Indeed the bridal bouquet has become over time an essential element of one’s wedding.

For this exceptional day, it will be the keepsake of the young woman, who will not let it go until the traditional bouquet throwing to the maidens-a-waiting among the guests.

So, the bouquet is extremely important!

As professional florists, it is we who will advise the bride on the choice of flowers, colors, or fragrances. We also ensure that the bouquet matches the body shape of the bride along with her chosen dress.

The budget must be taken into account when realizing the bouquet which will best correspond. The cost will vary a little according to the choice of greens and flowers, although the estimated average is between €50 and €100.

For an agreed price, the bride and groom will be able to hold hands and put on view this timeless symbol of coming together.

The groom is also ornamented in his suit’s buttonhole, which is worn on his heart and often matches the colors and the main flower of his bride’s bouquet.

Bridesmaids are also adorned with small bouquets, bracelets, or head crowns.

The venues also are privileged with decor, as indeed many other ornaments can be realized in order to embelilish the wedding sites and settings.

Places of worship for Jewish, Christian, or Muslim weddings are often decorated at the request of the couple.

Compositions, arches, chandeliers, and decoration of the central aisle and benches are realized.

The reception hall is the culmination of the wedding dinner and the evening that will mark the spirit of the guests.

The florist again goes into action and realizes centerpieces, buffets, compositions, and so on. All these decorations are intended to plunge the guest into the spirit and the mood desired by the bride.

The overall cost of a wedding will vary according to the couple’s budget and it can be €50 for a simple bunch to tens of thousands of euros for something very elaborate.

 

Open House by Justine and Virginie of BP 22

Last month we held an Open House Day at the Florist’s School of Paris. Our class, BP 22, was selected to make different compositions to decorate the entire school. We were divided into five groups of four or five people with each group having to make one composition.

Our group was assigned to decorating the ramp with white flowers in a wedding style. We had a lot of flowers: 200 hydrangeas, 200 roses, and some phalaenopsis orchids. It was done quite quickly since we were made up of five organized and competent florists. Within two hours, we were done and the result was magnificent.

To do such a good job, we had around 10 floral foam blocks that we had put into containers on the ramp, and we started to put the hydrangeas into the foam, then the roses and lastly the orchids. In order to prevent the composition from being uneven, we changed places instead of making each person do one part of the decor because that would have been noticeable being that we didn’t all have the same working style: some would work in a more strict style than others for example.

 

Closed House by Manuela Benitez – BP22

A few weeks ago we were working on the school’s Open House Day, in which we had to work on four different creations. My group was in charge of realizing a kind of a romantic classic piece: a flowered stair ramp in a wedding style. For that, we had to prick lots of white hortensias, among other flowers, into floral foam. It was really fun, our group worked quickly and we laughed a lot.

The problem: we did it in advance, two days earlier, and the hortensias consumed all the water in the floral foam… It was drooping, literally sulking.

We had to water them again, and to do that we took out the drooping ones, put them into water, and then a teacher advised us to soak them in cold water… So we followed the advice, and then we got yelled at! It was another teacher telling us to put them in hot water. So heeere we go again is the feeling we had (as sung by Ray Charles), running for hot water. Then the first teacher crossed our way again and advised us to put them back into the refreshing water. We entered into a classroom and filled the bucket as we were told… And then we got yelled at again. A third teacher asked us what had happened to those poor hortensias, and told us to use “quick dip”. What in the world was that? I mean, was it that obvious that that thing existed? Did it talk?

Well after that experience, I think teachers should get into CONCERT 🙂 or just admit that it can be done in many ways without having to YELL! AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH !!! Was that a nice read? Now imagine it in vocals. And now imagine all the people living for today (this time it was John Lennon who captured our feelings )…

 

 

 

 

Open House at the Paris School of Florists on March 03, 2018 by Lucie, Sandra and Amandine BP22

For the Open House Day, we were entrusted with the mission of creating a green wall spread out over three frames.

For this, we had wooden sticks, nails, wire, and floral foam.

 

We made our structure by assembling the four wooden sticks together, and then placed the floral foam in the middle.

Then we nailed a grid on each side and performed these steps three times to realize three frames. This preparation was done a few days before the Open House to be fully available for flowering and to welcome everyone who took an interest in our work.

On the day we received the flowers, roses, spray roses, thistles, natural moss, eucalyptus, lady’s slipper orchids, we started to reproduce the logo of the school by using all these plants.

While being focused on our work, we introduced the school and the profession of florists to the public, and through this wall plant work, we demonstrated different techniques. It was a good day that took place in a good atmosphere.