Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Submerged Love: Part Uno

Okay, so confession time. I am absolutely obsessed with submerged flowers. I love them. There are literally not enough words to describe how much I love them. As a floral lover person normally, the submerged flowers just take it up a notch. Something about it just makes my eyes go wide and my heart swell. Just love love love love love!!!

I was reading up on them, and I've heard that they're not as expensive as normal floral arrangements. This makes sense, there's less flowers so you're paying for all of them. And, as a plus, hopefully people won't accuse you of being a cheap bride. The best part about these flowers is that they look expensive.

To get you drooling and wiggling your toes in anticipation of future submerged flowers, check out this photo from Actress Salma Hayek and billionaire François-Henri Pinault's wedding vow renewal in Venice. (image source)

From Playing with Flowers: "The magnificent vase arrangements in the background are super tall cylinder vases with ivory roses submerged under water. The roses are suspended on gold wire throughout the length of the vases. Submerged flowers are a very simple but effective look. The curved shape of the vase magnifies the flowers. Cymbidium orchids also work well in submerged arrangements. Waterproof lights or floating candles can also be placed in the vase to make the arrangement appear to glow."

Naturally, I wouldn't have as elaborate (or as expensive) vases & submerged flowers as Salma, but a girl can dream, right? :)

In case you want to fall in love too, feast your eyes on these babies from the Rachael Ray Mag. (image source)
I love tulips so much and submerging them just makes me happy :). And here's another one (from bridal buds) just in case you're not convinced. (image source)
If you're considering submerged flowers for your centerpieces, here are some tips. (I found the same tips at multiple places so I'm not sure of the exact source, but here is one - image from same source.)
1. In order for your flowers not to float to the top of your vase, you will need to a) attach the stems to the bottom of the vase with aquarium glue or b) use fishing weights. Fishing weights are small silver weights sold at hardware stores. Attach weights onto the flower with clear fishing wire and let it sink – cover up with decorative stones or c) for some flowers simply adding decorative stones or pebbles to the bottom of each vase around stems keep the flowers from floating to the top.
2. If you use regular tap water, bubbles may eventually begin to form on your flowers. Use distilled water to prevent bubbling.
3. Real flowers are recommended. If you use silk flowers, make sure you test them in water to prevent bleeding. I have heard that synthetic flowers work better than silk.
4. If your arrangement starts to look too heavy, try submerging only half of your flowers. I have been to a few events where they only submerged a portion of the flowers and they looked quite lovely.
5. In water, everything is magnified. A floating wire or fraying silk flower will show. Be sure that your pieces are well put together before adding water.
6. Depending on the flower you choose, the blooms can look nice up to a week submerged in water. The length of time your centerpiece will look fresh depends not only on the flower you choose, but also how much jostling will take place. This is something to think about if you are hauling a few of them to a wedding reception or other event.

Anybody attempting to DIY submerged flowers?


2 comments:

A. Marigold said...

Wow. The arrangements are really, really cool, and her dress is absolutely fabulous! I guess money helps. ;)

Razvan said...

Those flower arrangements look fabulous!