Home Holiday Decor

In addition to office decor, we also decorate homes for the holidays. This home's holiday decor was featured in the December 2004 edition of Seattle Homes and Lifestyles magazine. We decorated with promegranates, crabapples, pine cones and sugar cones for an elegant lodge feeling.

From tree lighting and decorating to an elegant wreath for the front door, we can make your holiday decor something special.

Holiday Wreath Decorating class

Graduates of our Wreath Decorating Class

We had our annual wreath decorating class on December 6. Students created their own holiday wreaths with pomegranates, apples, pine cones and ribbon. We had a lot of fun and some beautiful wreaths were created.

Holiday Office Decor

We offer decorating for the holidays for businesses in the Seattle area. Here is an office that we decorated in a holiday ice color theme to match their new logo. We finished the decor with matching wreaths for the elevator lobby and behind the reception desk.

Holiday Gift Ideas

We've got some great ideas for Holiday gifts for almost everyone on your list. All of our gifts can be hand-delivered to the desired recipient in the local area. We deliver all the way from Everett to Olympia and out as far East as Snoqualmie so your gift is sure to arrive on time.

For your out-of-town friends and relatives, we can work with our wire service to have a beautiful gift of flowers, plants or even a gift basket. Only the top florists are asked to join our exclusive network of fine florists so we can assure you that the gift will be put together with the same care that we would. Member florists all over the world can pers0nally deliver your gift of holiday cheer for you. Deliveries in the US begin at $75 plus tax. Deliveries out of the country begin at $125.


Wreaths
Our long-lasting evergreen wreaths are hand decorated with fresh and dried fruit and ribbon for a look that is pure luxury. Wreaths are available in a variety of sizes and begin at $125. Please allow a minimum of 48 hours for delivery.

Classes
Our floral design classes are a fun way to learn new skills and tricks of the trade for the creative person on your list. At the end of the evening, they will get to take home a floral creation valued at $125 that you have made. Gift certificates are available for our classes which are offered seven times a year. 2009 classes are $150 per person, including tax, but if you order a gift certificate by December 24th, you will pay this year's class price of $125.

Orchid Plants
We hand select our orchids plants, pot them up in premium pots and exquisitely dress them for a gift that is beautiful and last two months or more. Orchid plants begin at $80.

Amaryllis Plants
Amaryllis plants are a nice alternative to the ubiquitous poinsettia. They are easy to take care of and with minimal care can be encouraged to rebloom the next year. Available colors include white, pink and red. Amaryllis plants begin at $50.

Flowers by the Month
The gift for the person who has everything: flowers once a month for as long you like. Arrangements begin at $55. Purchase six months of arrangements valued at $75 or more and we will waive the delivery charge.




Gift Certificates
Still at a loss for what to give? We offer gift certificates in any denomination that you would like to offer. Let the recipient pick when they would like that special arrangement delivered. Order a gift certificate by December 24 and we will include an extra 10% in value. So if you buy a $100 gift certificate, we will make it out for $110; a $200 gift certificate for $220, etc..

Give us a call and we can help you find the perfect gift for just about anyone on your list.

Holiday Wreath Decorating Class

Last Year's Class

Space is still available in our holiday wreath decorating class on December 6. In this fun class, we will help you create your own holiday wreath to enjoy throughout the holidays. The class is $125 and lasts for three hours. Everything that you need is supplied.

Please call to reserve your space.

The Wedding Consultation Process

Here are some tips to help us work with you in planning flowers and decor for your wedding. Our process is three steps, which helps us to plan your perfect wedding.

The first step is to call for a phone consultation. We will ask questions about the size and location of your wedding: How many attendants, how many guests, where are the ceremony and reception to be held. We ask about favorite flowers, color themes and the feeling of your wedding. If you know what your budget is, that is helpful to us. We will use this information to give you a general range for our services with a minimum and maximum tailored to your wedding.

This information is then used to help us prepare for an in-person consultation.

Some things that are helpful to bring to your consultation are:

• Photos from magazines of what you like and don't like. Maybe you like the shape of a particular bouquet but want different colors, or you like the feeling of a particular centerpiece but not the flowers. We can learn as much from what you don't like as we do from what you do like.
  
• A photo of your wedding dress.
• A photo of your bridesmaid's dresses.
  
• Swatches from your bridesmaid's dresses.
• Contact information for the ceremony and reception sites.
• A photo of your wedding cake.
• A copy of your wedding invitation.
• Linen swatches.
  
• Anything that has been inspirational to you for style.
• Photos or swatches of the Mother's dresses.
  

We will show you photos of some of our past work to give you more inspiration. When we feel that we have a good idea of your personal style and ideas are, we will work on designing a perfect wedding for you. This process usually takes about two weeks.

Depending on the scale of your wedding, we may ask to meet in-person again so we can convey our ideas to you. Quite often we are able to email the proposal to you and go over our ideas by phone.

Should you decide to use Fiori Floral Design for your wedding, you can reserve the date with a deposit of 25% of the total for your wedding flowers, with the balance due two weeks prior.

As always, please feel free to call us with any questions. 206.329.3944.

Last Night's Floral Design Class

Our classes are a great introduction to the art of pavé floral design and a fun way to improve your floral design skills. We teach the basics of construction, how to group flowers together for maximum impact as well as tips for longer lasting florals. At the end of the evening you get to take home the floral arrangement that you have created.
Read what one of our students had to say about their class: Urban Hennery.
Our classes run from 6:00 to 9:00 and are held at our studio on Capitol Hill in Seattle. We limit our floral design classes to 10 students so we can give one-on-one assistance. Private classes are available for groups of six or more. Tuition is $125, including tax.
Our next floral design class on November 18 will feature holiday design. We are also offering a holiday wreath making class on December 6. Call us at 206.329.3944 for a brochure or to register. You may also email us by clicking here.

Seattle Area Rental Companies

It is the little details that stand out at weddings. You don't have to break the bank buying finishing touches to make your wedding or party special. Make your wedding look like a million bucks by renting the perfect details. Here is a list of best rental companies in the Seattle area.

Table Decor
For dishes and glassware that are anything but standard, look to Totally Tabletops for the coolest dinnerware around.

For unusual props, look no further than Rented Elegance. We especially love their metals trees as centerpieces.

Creative linen selection makes the table. We are experts at coordinating our florals with linens for our customers. Choice Linens is who we turn to most frequently for the best selection of elegant tablecloths and sheer overlays in Seattle.

Recognizing that not everyone is in the Seattle area, we suggest BBJ Linen as a source for linens. They offer linen rental nationwide as well as custom linens.

Tables and Chairs
Few things are worse than renting tables and chairs for your wedding and having them arrived with chipped paint or wobbly tops. Pedersens Rentals offers items that are not only beautiful, they meticulously paint their chairs twice a year and keep their rental equipment in top shape. In addition to tables and chairs, they offer a complete range of dishes and serving items.

Consistently rated the best rental company in Seattle by Seattle Bride magazine, AA Party Rentals has practically everything you need for a wedding or event.


Plant Rental
Need to soften the lines of a tent or add a tropical feeling to your event? Christian's Tree and Plant Rentals is the place to go. From ferns to 12 foot palm trees, they have lots of plants to choose from.

Trade Show Plant Rental has a wonderful selection of plants and offers free delivery and pick-up on orders over $200.


Tent Rental
Grand Event Rentals has everything you need to protect your guests from the elements.


To make your day go smoothly, we can handle all of the rentals for you, leaving you free to enjoy your day. We will make sure they arrive on time, are set up and picked up and returned to the rental company after your wedding or event is over.

When Life Gives You Lemons...

Lemon Centerpiece

...make a centerpiece!


The bride came in with only a photograph of a yellow, pink and white wedding cake. She didn't want an all pink wedding so we used the yellow as inspiration to plan the theme for this wedding at Seattle's Alexis Hotel. What better way to add yellow than with lemons? We paired them with Gold Strike, Sahara and Sweet Unique roses, butter yellow stock, hydrangeas, cymbidium orchids and scented geranium leaf to make centerpieces that were as fragrant as they are unique.

Buffet Floral With Lemons

The buffet piece was enhanced with eremurus and curly willow to give it more presence. Whole and half lemons were literally cascading down the table.














Bright yellow miniature calla lilies are the focus of the bridal bouquet. Sweet smelling stock filled in the bridesmaid's nosegay.
















The cake that inspired it all had roses tumbling down all three sections. It took over an hour to carefully place each rose.

Mother's Day 2008

UPDATE: WE REGRET THAT WE ARE NO LONGER ACCEPTING ORDERS FOR DELIVERY PRIOR TO MONDAY, MAY 12.

We have put together some beautiful florals to honor your mother on Mother's Day. In addition to mixed florals that begin at $50, we are offering these special arrangements. If you desire to send your mother something else, please give us a call to see how we can accommodate you.

Blue Ceramic Collection

Our florals in our blue ceramic collection include an assortment of delicate flowers sure to make mom feel special. Combinations include double purple tulips, hydrangeas, Queen Anne's lace, mint and cymbidium orchids.

• Small florals from $65 to $85
• Medium florals from $85 to $125 (SOLD OUT)
• Large florals begin at $135
  

Florals in silk Handbags

Orange and Pink Stripe
These cute silk handbags are offered with your choice of gerbera daisy mixed florals or peonies. Flower assortments include kalanchoe, hydrangea, cymbidium orchids, hypericum and mint.















Deco Print Handbag
The variety of flowers in this art deco print silk handbag includes roses, begonia, hydrangea, mint and cymbidium orchids.

Also available is an animal print silk handbag in pinks and white.

• Silk handbags with a mixed floral including pink gerbera daisies begin at $80
  
• With peonies, mixed florals begin at $100
  
• The art deco print handbag with roses begins at $100

Phaelenopsis orchid plants are also available, beginning at $75. See our prior post on orchids to assist you in placing your order.

Seattle's Only EnviroStars Rated Florist

On this Earth Day 2008, it is good to remember that our actions have an impact on the work we live in. Fiori Floral Design is proud to have been recognized by EnviroStars for our work in reducing waste and limiting our use of toxic chemicals. We are the only Seattle florist with an EnviroStars rating. With a few minor changes, we were able to increase our rating from three to four stars last year.
All of our green clippings are turned into compost by a local flower grower, preventing nearly 50 tons of waste per year entering our landfills. This grower then sells us flowers that were grown with the clippings we provided him.
We are also avid recyclers, producing less than one can of trash per week by recycling as much of our waste as possible. All soiled paper is put into our compost bags and returned to the earth. Wherever possible, we choose chemicals with the smallest possible impact on the environment. Instead of floral foam, which doesn't break down readily in a land fill, we design almost all of our florals in water which results in longer lasting florals.
We are constantly looking for ways to reduce our impact on the environment.

Administrative Professional's Day

Wednesday, April 23rd is Administrative Professional's Day. Honor your assistant with a beautiful floral from Fiori Floral Design. In addition to our traditional glass vased florals beginning at $50 we created three custom designs to help you express your appreciation.

This sweet mint julep cup floral begins at $75.

This limited edition floral includes a cute handbag made from eco-friendly grasses. This size floral begins at $75.

The larger version of the straw handbag begins at $125.

Wedding Cakes

Cakes are perhaps second only to the bridal bouquet in terms of memorable floral elements in a wedding. We have decorated dozens of wedding cakes for our clients. Here are a few of our favorites.













For a reception at Canlis restaurant in Seattle, we decorated between the layers of this cake with hydrangeas, red roses and cymbidium orchids with rose petals and orchids on the table.
Chocolate linens from Choice Linens.



For this three-tier wedding cake, we used Sahara roses, stock and cymbidium orchids for a cake that was as fragrant as it was delicious. The flowers were all selected from flowers used in the bride's bouquet.
















This ornate cake needed very little decoration so we merely accented it with cymbdium orchids and hydrangea. The color is extended by perching additional floral elements on a sandblasted manzanita branch.












Calla lilies, roses, cymbidium orchids and viburnum decorate this cake from Hoffman's Fine Pastries in Kirkland.


This cake, decorated with roses, hydrangea blossoms and cymbidium orchids is beautiful in it's simplicity, but what makes it truly special is the use of the cake topper from the brides grandparent's wedding cake.

Graduates of our March 27 Class

These are the proud graduates of a private floral design class. We offer private classes to groups of 6 or more.

Our classes run from 6:00 to 9:00 and are held at our studio on Capitol Hill in Seattle. We limit our floral design classes to 10 students so we can give one-on-one assistance. Tuition is $125, including tax.
Upcoming class dates are May 20 and July 15, 2008. Call us at 206.329.3944 for a brochure or to register. You may also email us by clicking here.

Blogs We Love

This is the first in a series of postings on resources to help make your event extraordinary. We hope you find these postings useful. If we have missed something you think is the best of the best, please let us know.

Blogs We Love
We get our ideas for extraordinary events from many sources. We wanted to share some of those places with you. Below is a list of blogs that we often refer to for ideas.

Preston Bailey is perhaps the world's premier event designer. Look to his site for ideas on how to make your wedding or event over the top gorgeous.

I don't think anyone has done as much as Martha Stewart to influence the look of todays weddings. For some great ideas to inspire your inner domestic diva, check out the blog of Darcy Miller, who is Martha's wedding expert at Martha Stewart Weddings.

Colin Cowie has great ideas for favors and decor ideas at his blog Luxurious Wedding Style Report.

Brassavolas Floral Couture, located in Southern California, has some great photographs for inspiration as well as links to resources.

For brides looking for a non-traditional wedding, OffbeatBride.com has a wealth of ideas as well as community forums to get inspiration from. It is also very funny and a great read.

Sheena Kelso at Totally Tabletops scours the US for new ideas in table decor. She buys the best of them and offers them for rent to make your event unique.

Nancy Liu Chin keeps on top of trends in her blog Brown Bag.

Bridal Bar has tips on hot sales, trends and celebrity weddings.

For great gifts for the wedding party, tips on sales or decor ideas look no further than Hostess Blog.

The newest ideas for favors, planning tools and tips are available at The Wedding Vendor Guide's blog.

What Flower Are You

We found this fun quiz that analyzes your answers to a few questions and matches a flower to your personality. Try it!

I am a Snapdragon What Flower Are You?

Be sure to come back after taking the quiz to tell us what kind of flower you are and if it resonates for you.

Floral Design Class

Graduatates of Last Night's Class

Our classes are a great introduction to the art of pavé floral design and a fun way to improve your floral design skills. We teach the basics of construction, how to group flowers together for maximum impact as well as tips for longer lasting florals. At the end of the evening you get to take home the floral arrangement that you have created.
Read what one of our students had to say about their class: Urban Hennery.
Our classes run from 6:00 to 9:00 and are held at our studio on Capitol Hill in Seattle. We limit our floral design classes to 10 students so we can give one-on-one assistance. Private classes are available for groups of six or more. Tuition is $125, including tax.
Upcoming class dates are May 20 and July 15, 2008. Call us at 206.329.3944 for a brochure or to register. You may also email us by clicking here.

A Guide to Ordering Orchid Plants

At Fiori Floral Design, we love orchids. They make a wonderful expression of gratitude or sympathy. Phaelenopsis orchids are long lasting and make a statement that is sure to impress. We always keep an assortment of premium orchids on hand for delivery. Our orchids are always immaculately dressed and in a premium pot. Here is a guide to ordering orchids from Fiori.















Single orchids are available beginning at $80.















We love to pair orchids with other plants. Here a statuesque purple phaelenopsis orchid is paired with a succulent called a turtle plant. We also love orchids combined with ferns, fibrous begonias or diffenbachia. Orchids with other plants begin at $100.















Two orchids plant together make an even bigger statement. Here we have paired them with miniature palms for $150. Two orchids alone begin at $135.

This miniature garden of orchids includes a purple phaelenopsis orchid, several fancy orchids with an assortment of ferns, fibrous begonias and succulents in a black ceramic bowl makes a fun statement that is constantly changing. Collections like this are available for $195.







For a really impressive statement, choose an assortment of phaelenopsis and lady slipper orchids for $275.






Orchids get a bad rap for being difficult to care for. The truth is that with a little attention, you can get these queens of the plant world to bloom for two or three months. For orchid care tips we recommend this guide.

Floral Design Class

Graduates of Last Night's Class

Our classes are a great introduction to the art of pavé floral design and a fun way to improve your floral design skills. We teach the basics of construction, how to group flowers together for maximum impact as well as tips for longer lasting florals. At the end of the evening you get to take home the floral arrangement that you have created.
Read what one of our students had to say about their class: Urban Hennery.
Our classes run from 6:00 to 9:00 and are held at our studio on Capitol Hill in Seattle. We limit our floral design classes to 10 students so we can give one-on-one assistance. Private classes are available for groups of six or more. Tuition is $125, including tax.
Upcoming class dates are March 11, May 20 and July 15, 2008. Call us at 206.329.3944 for a brochure or to register. You may also email us by clicking here.

A Poolside Dinner Party

The last week's sunny days have us dreaming of summer and reflecting on past events. This was one of our favorites and featured that quintessential summer flower: the dahlia.

For a summer dinner party at a waterfront home in Bellevue, we used dahlias to provide lots of color to accent the owner's extensive art collection. The theme began at the front door with dahlias floating in the pond.





We carried this theme out to the swimming pool by floating dahlias and candles, safely encased in glass bubble bowls. The current from the pool cleaner created a constantly changing pattern of clusters of flowers and candles reflecting off the pool surface.






Poolside bistro tables were the perfect spot to enjoy a drink. A simple combination of dahlias, kalanchoe blooms and mint were showcased in glass cube vases. Additional color was provided with sheer overlays from Choice Linens. We handled all of the linen, table and chair rentals for our client.




Dining tables were decorated with mixed florals of hydrangeas, dahlias, mint, millet, aspidistra and cymbidium orchids.




The dining table served as a buffet station for food. The long but narrow table was decorated with three complementary florals of varying sizes and sandblasted manzanita branches.







The powder room was decorated with a stem of cymbidium orchids and viburnum berries in the client's vase.









Dahlias and viburnum berries were used with candles to decorate the client's heirloom trays on the bar.

Our Northwest Flower and Garden Show Winner

This floral was our People's Choice Award winning entry in the 2004 Northwest Flower and Garden Show. We called it Morphology because the Green Goddess Calla lilies, viburnum and limes seems to be climbing out of the cocoon of it's cymbidium orchid filled vase. The equisetum reeds provide a pond-like frame for the vase.
We thought it would be interesting to show you how this floral translates into other settings.












This is how we translated Morphology for a client's dinner party in their home. Imagine their guest's surprise to find a floral standing three feet high greeting them as they entered the front door!
We replaced the limes of the original floral with Granny Smith apples and the equisetum with wheat grass.






This is another iteration of Morphology in a completely different color palette that we created for a wedding show. Notice how the floral elements all work together to provide a cohesive look from ceremony to reception.