Wedding at the Lodge - Edelweiss Flower Boutique - Elizabeth Seiji AIFD

Reprinted with permission.
A wedding at the lodge

The epitome of a destination wedding, this featured event by Liz is situated at the Biltmore forest Country Club in Asheville, North Carolina.

The Groom is a Hollywood producer claiming many projects of note including the biographies of famous people.

The location is lush and green. The venue has a country lodge feel and since it was in the fall months, flowers chosen were of that color theme. 

The large fireplace in the main dining room had to be decorated with ladders and installing done on site. Tall johnson grass harvested in the fields add a whimsicle "fresh from the field" air to the design. The beautiful hunting lodge decor of the dining room with the imposing fireplace.

A lush display of flowers in a footed compote. Swirls of bittersweet add a forested autumnal feel for this entry guest book table.

A dramatic cake cascade of flowers flows onto an ocean of blossoms. Accent swirls are created by individual insertions of hypericum berries.

Elizabeth Seiji AIFD and

Edelweiss Flower Boutique

Success through Innovation, Internet and Involvement

Elizabeth Seiji AIFD can point to a handful of professional practices that she firmly believes have boosted the success of her shop in Santa Monica. The amazing thing is that her practices and philosophies are incredibly basic tricks of many trades and professions. To succeed, it sometimes seems, one needs to step outside the shop. Take Liz's belief that industry networking" is crucial to the success of the entrepreneurial florist-designer. Operating in a vacuum and ignoring industry opportunities. Her participation at a competitive level demonstrates another of her business success philosophies: Competition is good for the floral soul.

Elizabeth believes her broad network of florist friends, cultivated over 22 years of entering design contests and volunteering on floral event planning committees, has taught her, through the experiences of colleagues and herself, how to manage her floral business more efficiently. Being involved is a big key to continuous learning.

"Competition is what made me a better florist," she says. "It’s valuable experience; it’s fun and it doesn’t matter if you win or lose."

Although she has never won the top spot in a CSFA "Top Ten" contest, she did win Top Ten’s second place, the 1998 Carik Cup and several FTD competitions.

But perhaps the biggest competition Elizabeth experienced was when she dedicated herself to become a member of the American Institute of Floral Designers. It was a huge achievement for this former Hawaiian who majored in Bio-Chemistry and Plant Morphology at UCLA.

Posted by SouthWest Regional Chapter AIFD at

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Summer Flowers-Meet Helianthus Annuus, the Sunflower

Table of Citrus Theme Sunflower arrangements displayed
Robinson's Gardens Beverly Hills, CA.

A native of North America, the sunflower’s Latin botanical name is Helianthus Annuus.  The best known of these bold, cheery flowers grows as an annual and is a member of the largest floral family, the Asteraceae family which includes Daisies, Chrysanthemums, Gerberas, Asters, Cosmos, etc.  
                                                                                         The ancient Peruvian Incan sun worshippers attached it with meanings of "wishes & loyalty".   This flower was revered by many cultures, deriving its name from the Greek word heliosanthos, helios, meaning "sun," and anthos, meaning "flower.  


Homage and Devotion are other meanings of this flower.  It is known as the "3rd wedding anniversary flower" and the state flower of Kansas.

Sunflowers with bronze center
petals

Vase with "Teddy Bear"
Sunflowers

In the summer months sunflowers are abundant in California and other parts of the United States. California is the largest grower of fresh cut flowers in the country.  Our flower shop is so lucky to be located in California.  In the summer when sunflowers are at their seasonal peak, we have so many varieties of sunflowers available to our clients.  We have sunflowers with the traditional or common "black eyes" or centers. They can come with green centers, bronze petals, burgundy petals, bi-color yellow and bronze petals like the picture on the left.  We also have "Teddy Bear" sunflowers--are fun with lots of little golden yellow petals.  Our shop does carry the traditional sunflower with the black centers throughout most of the year.  



Vase life is from 7-14 days depending on variety. Remove bottom leaves if present, re-cut stems under water and place into a vase of warm water and fresh flower food provided by our flower shop. If no flower food is available, then place your sunflowers into a bleach solution (6-8 drops per quart) with a small amount of clear sweetened soda (seven-up works wonders).  Change water daily and re-cut your flowers for best results.  Keep any flowers you have in a cool place in your home or office.  Do not put any flowers next to a sunny hot window!  The best vase life is obtained in flower food solutions which should be provided with your purchase from a professional florist that cares about their product and clients.


Our shop, Edelweiss Flower Boutique, uses sunflowers in numerous floral designs.  Most feel sunflowers cannot be elegant, but as you can see elegance is not a problem.  The floral arrangement below can be used for a wedding, or as an accent decor for garden party or event.  

Elegant arrangement of sunflowers, roses and hydrangeas 

Colorful modern arrangement of sunflowers
burgundy dahlias, orange roses and orchids

Traditional sunflower arrangement

Sunflowers & mini gerberas
on a wedding cake

Sunflower Bridal Bouquet

Garland of sunflowers, roses & other
flowers

Your sunflower design can be modern and colorful or you can have a traditional pitcher of sunflowers.  We use sunflowers for bridal bouquets, to decorate wedding cakes and garlands... the possibilities are endless.