Painted Petals: A Wedding Horror Story

One Simple Question That Can Save Your Wedding Pictures

Hello brides! I hope your planning is going well. Flowers are such an important detail in most weddings, so I wanted to tell you a little story to help you avoid an unfortunate event that happened at a wedding I recently attended.

The bride looked so beautiful, and she had chosen gorgeous exotic flowers for her bouquet. After the ceremony, we went to a lake to take some photographs. About halfway through the shoot, I noticed some purple marks on her dress.  It only took a few minutes to figure out where the stains had come from, and the bride was horrified.

It turns out that her beautiful exotic flowers had been painted. The paint had started to peel off in the heat of the outdoors and had stained the front of her wedding dress. She had to go to her reception with purple stains on the front of her dress. Happily, I was able to edit the stains out her pictures, but the whole situation could have been avoided if only the bride had known to ask if the flowers were painted.

She, like most brides, had no idea that such a practice exists, but it is actually quite common. It is usually done in order to be able to provide exotic flowers in a variety of colors at a low cost. Many brides use these painted blooms with no issues, but others have unfortunate experiences such as the bride in my story.

Here are some tips to help you get the flowers that you want, but also know what you are really getting.

• Ask – This is the simplest advice on the matter. ASK YOUR FLORIST if the blooms are actually in the color that you want, or if they will be painted. It is not a bad idea to get it in writing.
• Second Choice – If it turns out that the only way to get the flowers that you want at a price you can afford is to have painted flowers then you might have to be willing to choose another type of flower. Other options include choosing a silk version of the flower or finding them at a floral wholesaler.
• Use Them – You can use painted flowers if you would like, but you should not use them for bouquets, corsages or boutonnieres because of the risk of stained clothes and flaked off paint getting all over. Instead, put them in floral arrangements and centerpieces. (Be sure to tell anyone who might handle them that they could stain or flake.)

Painting flowers is a common practice, but it is important that you know what you are getting. Be sure to add this to your list of questions for your florist, especially if you are choosing exotic, colorful blooms.

Until next time,

Karen