****The Floral Dilemma - Wedding Rant****

I've noticed a large influx of wedding advice since the big announcement.  Yes I have been doing my far amount of gushing and yes this does invite a certain level of past experience comments to be shared but the level of comparison in taste and outright "wedding must do's" has been quite unexpected and...quite rude. It started with the ring comparison and since we happen to be designing our own (and I'm not really sure exactly what I would like to have) so many of the recently wed or engaged in my circle (work acquaintances and such) have way to much to say.  

"Well I wanted a princess cut (like I know diamonds by name) with the side bezels and eternity band in platinum" 

or 

"The original ring he gave me was bloody awful so we went back and I got this one.  The center stone alone is 3 carats (show me the papers sweety..LOL)....how many carats is in the stone your looking at?"

or 

"Are you going to fuse your band to your engagement ring?  I definitely think I want to do that."

or

"You don't want a diamond??? Are you crazy, what girl doesn't want diamond?"  

Answering the last question was actually quite fun seeing as I did a research paper on the diamond industry and uncovered that diamonds were not always the go-to stone for those brave men looking to ask for their leading ladies hand in marriage.  Back in the late 1800s, South America revealed its wealth of diamonds and big ole De Beers managed to own many (if not all) the mines there leaking out a vast amount of ice into circulation.  Before then only the truly wealthy aka royal families were really able to afford such a pristine stone. More commonly used were rubies, emeralds and sapphires. Some traditions even including using a variety of stone to spell out a meaningful word. They did this by using the first word of each stone used to spell it out.....I'm pretty sure this is where those eternity bands came from that feature several different stones.  Nonetheless with so many diamonds now readily available for the majority, De Beers had to go ahead and convince us that we needed to put away those childish colored stones and adopt a timeless, everlasting classic. Taking it a step further they added that each diamond ring could then be passed down thru generations...another amazing marketing tactic to keep new diamond buyers from reselling it after a few years creating a second diamond market. Long story short, a colored stone is much more traditional that the diamond but hey, I can live with being called a non-traditional bride as long as I am wearing a ring with significance to me and Brian.

But the other main topic of extreme annoyance for me (just in case you couldn't tell that I was annoyed with the whole ring situation) is the flowers.  The annoyance starts with the flower orchid and ends with calla lilies.  No I have not done a paper on flowers so I can't definitely say exactly why they are so popular outside of their sheer beauty but I will tell you that when asked if I will be incorporating them and I tell them no I am not fond of the infamous flower and really would prefer other flowers in my bouquet the look is less than favorable.  

I'm still left wondering though, what flowers do I really want in my bouquet.  I love looking into the meaning of things. Back on the topic of rings, I love garnets and rubies which coincidentally signify devotion and passion so it got me thinking about what my flower choices say on a deeper level. 

• Anemone - Anticipation, Luck and protection against evil
• Camellias - Graciousness, Steadfastness, Excellence, Good luck gift for a man
• Chrysanthemum - A Wonderful Friend, Cheerfulness, Rest
• Dahlia - Good Taste, Pomp
• Fern - Magic, Fascination, Confidence, Shelter, Sincerity
• Gardenia - You're Lovely, Secret Love, Joy
• Heather - Admiration, Solitude
• Hydrangea - Frigidity, Heartlessness, Vanity, Thank You for Understanding
• Lilisianthus - Outgoing Nature
• Lotus - Mystery, Truth
• Orchid - Love, Beauty, Refinement, Beautiful Lady, Chinese Symbol for Many Children, Charm
• Peony - Healing, Happy Life, Happy Marriage
• Protea - Diversity, Courage
• Rose Leaves - You May Hope
• Garden Rose - 
• Pink Rose - Perfect Happiness, Please Believe Me
• Red Rose - Love, I Love You
• White Rose - Innocence, Purity, I am Worthy of You, You're Heavenly
• Yellow Rose - Decrease of Love, Jealousy, Try to Care
• Snapdragon - Deception and Graciousness
• Zinnia - Lasting Affection, Rememberance

Outside of that it's really important for a budgeting bride to know what flowers are in season for her wedding.   For my summer wedding I am on the fortunate side because many flowers are readily available despite being at the end of the growing season.  Some of the more prominent flowers are the..

• Lisianthus
• Peony
• Snapdragon
• Phlox
• Ranunculus

and the

• Garden Rose

So you probably had enough of this rant by now but I bet you won't look a those yellow roses the same way when your better half gives them too you, will you??  Now this doesn't me I'll dismiss hydrangeas (which I love) just because they happen to be a cold-hearted and vain flower but I kind of like knowing that camellias are sign of good luck for men and they might make a good option for the boutonnieres.  It may seem completely ridiculous to look this deeply into the whole wedding process but I'm sort of a thinker, in my own head kind of gal and I guess I just approach certain tasks this way.  

 

Anywho till the next wedding rant and thanks for listening :)