Frenetically Floral Friday

Got to the church office this morning and unloaded all my stuff [and apologised to Susan, our Premises Manager for making such a mess!]

I had been out first to buy all the flowers, which I carried in my lovely Columbia Road Market Flower Carrier, which Steph got me about six years ago. It's huge, and has long, rigid handles - brilliant for carrying sheaves of flowers without damaging them.

Tomorrow is Nic and Fran's Wedding. Bob is conducting the ceremony [also playing guitar in the Music Group] and my contribution is arranging the flowers. One arrangement for the Apse Shelf, two pedestals and twenty Pew end Arrangements.

You can see Linda practising on the organ - it was lovely to have music whilst I worked!

Must get to church early tomorrow and clear all that stuff off the window sill before the guests arrive!

The pew end arrangements are really quite fiddly to prepare.

I have developed a system for doing them now, though

First, I soaked the Oasis, put it in the holders and wrapped it in cling film. [This holds it in place and protects the pews.]

Then I put the ribbons on, and hung all the arrangements along the coat hooks in the corridor.

I poked holes in the film with a meat skewer and began by inserting the greenery.

This green and red looks rather Christmassy, don't you think?

Once all the flowers were in place, the arrangements could be taken through into the chapel and hung on the end of the pews.

The red ribbon is the exact colour of the bridesmaids' dresses.

Finally the whole church was full of flowers

It took all day, but I finished at 5pm then Bob and I went to collect Steph from the station. There were one or two little hitches - like Oasis** disintegrating and scattering the whole arrangement on the floor...and realising I had cut ribbon too short and having to improvise with sellotape...and worrying the lilies will not open properly...but on the whole I was fairly pleased with the results, and hope the bride is too. Actually, I believe most brides are too busy to even notice the flowers!

This evening, after we had eaten, Steph came with me to the supermarket to buy food, as we seemed to have very little in the house. And at last I can relax. The heavy rain we had earlier seems to have passed- let us pray it is bright and sunny tomorrow!

[**N.B. Oasis in this context is the brand name for a spongy phenolic foam used for flower arranging- not the rock band from Manchester!]