Featured on Style Me Pretty — St. Augustine Wedding Florist
We’re so excited to be featured on Style Me pretty with this gorgeous St Augustine wedding with Jennifer Blair Photography.
Want to see more photos and see the whole blog post? Go here!
Category Archives: Media & Awards
10 Ways to Save on Wedding Flowers — FEATURED!
Susan Kass, owner of the A Fantasy in Flowers team, was recently approached to be apart of a news story about ways to save on wedding flowers. The article has been published and has been picked up by over 1,000 news outlets on the web and in print! We are super excited to be apart of it.
Here’s just a couple of them!
The Daytona Beach News Journal
Chicago Wedding and Party Resource
10 Ways to Save on Wedding Flowers
Style-savvy tips for cutting costs on all your floral accessories and décor
By: Anna Sachse CTW Features
Even budget brides want stunner personal flowers and impactful arrangements. Here are 10 expert tips for getting gorgeous blooms without breaking the bank.
1. Pick seasonal blooms
“As spring comes to an end, I realize I’ll miss tulips,” says Tess Kelbaugh, owner of Seattle-based July Floral Design. “They’re economical and there are countless varieties to work with – I love clustering them in groups, mixing contrasting colors or incorporating parrot tulips for extra texture.” Depending on your wedding’s location, elegant peonies are typically affordable in late spring; big, colorful dahlias are a pocketbook-friendly choice for summer; fluffy, cheery chrysanthemums and sunflowers are smart for fall; and graceful branches and berries are great for winter.
2. Include substantial stems
“Hydrangea, hydrangea, hydrangea,” says Susan Kass, owner of A Fantasy in Flowers, St. Augustine, Fla. Her shop uses these bushy blooms — typically blue, pink, purple or white — to augment bouquets and centerpieces for a lush, full look. Fewer stems are required, freeing up funds for pricier focal flowers, such as orchids or roses.
3. Go green
Beautiful greenery like sword fern, eucalyptus and tropical foliage can add to the size and style of your arrangements without adding a lot to the bill, says Kass.
4. Simplify
Kelbaugh suggests giving each bridesmaid a posy bouquet composed entirely of a different type of blossom – variety creates the interest, allowing you to go with low-cost options. Cheaper herbs and pods make for spare, masculine boutonnieres; save the big-ticket blooms for your bouquet and key centerpieces.
5. Seek the chic
Glass vases filled with gems and just one to three submerged blooms look sophisticated and modern while keeping your prices low, says Kass.
6. Stick with your florist’s containers
“A professional florist will build the rental cost into the price of the arrangement and not charge you as much labor, as they know exactly what they have to work with,” says Kass.
7. Multitask
Kelbaugh advises maximizing your florals by using them in the ceremony, and then transferring them to your reception and displaying them in a different fashion — arrangements down the sides of the aisle are placed atop cylinders for tall centerpieces.
8. Illuminate
In lieu of big floral alter décor or centerpieces, Kelbaugh recommends incorporating candles en masse – mix pillars, hurricanes, tapers, votives, Glassybabys, etc. to cast an elegant warmth.
9. Say thanks
“Have your guests take florals home as gifts!” says Kelbaugh. “You save on wedding favors and it’s a unique way for loved ones to remember your celebration.”
10. Trust your vendor
Once you’ve selected a florist, share the colors, style and budget you want and then let them do what they do best. “Floral designers are artists and work much better not being told exactly what to do,” says Kass. “When you tell them that you love their work and you trust them to come up with a look for you, they will go above and beyond to make your wedding day fantastic!”
Liz & Brett’s Serenata Wedding — Event Florist in North Florida
Liz & Brett had a gorgeous Monday morning wedding.
News 4 Jax features a slideshow and video in case you missed it.
We’ll post a blog up as soon as we get photos back from Pure Sugar Studios!
It was a REALLY great wedding.
The flowers were yellow roses, ivory stock, white Dendrobium Orchids and yellow Alstromeria. Her bouquet was stunning and had white mini callas, white roses, yellow roses, white stock. The style was very happy and bright, free flowing and very appropriate for a morning beach wedding
Here’s some of our behind the scene’s images from their big day and some of the feedback we’re already getting!
Bridget Armstrong: Absolutely STUNNING! You all outdid yourselves. Thank you for adding to the beauty of my best friends wedding day.
Margaret Maltby: I cannot say enough about “A Fantasy in Flowers” They went above and beyond our wildest dreams. The most beautiful flowers I’ve ever seen. Thank you so much Susan and Amy.
Debi Tillis: Just beautiful! I love how the centerpieces were designed where you could still see through them. Thank you for making my Liz’s wedding spectacular!
Wedding Giveaway: News 4 Jax
We were on News 4 Jax this week talking about flowers with our sweet couple Liz & Brett. They are getting married this coming Monday at the Serenata Beach Club!
(Our lovely Amy making a mock bouquet for the couple.)
This is the fifth annual contest and we are happy to be apart of it this year.
From Jacksonville Magazine’s website:
Since 2009 four lucky First Coast couples already have been treated to the wedding of their dreams. The search for couple number five started August 1, 2012. The Great Wedding Giveaway is a once-in-a-lifetime prize package that has become the most talked about contest extravaganza in all of Northeast Florida. Since 2009, Jacksonville Magazine has awarded more than $120,000 in wedding services and goods provided by the region’s leading bridal business professionals.
We’ll post photos from the wedding and the video from News 4 Jax as soon as we can!
We were on Junebug this week — North Florida Wedding Florist
Did you miss the announcement on our Facebook page? We were on Junebug Weddings this week!
We love working with a talented group of professionals and loved the article (click the link above) and all the photos!
One of the best parts of the article was where they asked the bride for her advice for other brides. We SOOOO agree!
What piece of advice would you give to a bride planning her wedding today? If you’re not a natural party planner and your budget allows it, get a wedding planner! I didn’t, but I think that’s my only regret from the whole process. My stress level was through the roof during much of the wedding process and I think the extra expense would have been completely worth it.
Such a beautiful ceremony! Loved the flowers in the metal tins lining the aisle way.
The Wedding Team:
Photographer: Brooke Images
Event Planner: Adair Currie at Dairing Events
Ceremony Venue: The Oldest House
Reception Venue: The White Room
Officiant: Bride’s brother
Florist: A Fantasy in Flowers
Cake: Kakes by Katie
Wedding Dress: Style 8502 by Justin Alexander
Bridal Accessories: Earrings and Bracelet- Nadri, Shrug- Chrochet Butterfly from Etsy.com
Bridesmaids’ Apparel & Accessories: Dresses and Cardigans- The Loft
Hair: Casey Powell of Casey Does Hair
Make-up: Jill Stonier
DJ: Carlton McGee of McGee Entertainment & Events, Inc.
Photobooth: Photo Magic of Florida
One of our own is on the news!
We are so proud to work with Amy, who owns Amelia Scott. She is one of our talented floral designers, but she also custom paints shoes (awesome for bridal parties), furniture, musical instruments and even wedding dresses!
Yesterday she was featured on News 4 Jax with Beth Sullivan, owner of Sei Bella Image Consulting. You can go see the video here: http://www.news4jax.com/news/Artistic-Heels/-/475880/19744562/-/14vgipa/-/index.html
She told News 4 Jax that each piece is done by hand and takes aprx. 20 hours to do! We are very proud of her and LOVE her work. If you are ever at our studio, you’ll see several of her custom painted furniture pieces there.
If you want your own work of art by Amelia Scott. Please contact her directly, and don’t wait, her shoes have gone viral and she has a waiting list of people wanting custom items!
Best of The Knot, 2013
Thank you to all of our past brides who took the time to go on sites like The Knot and Wedding Wire to review us honestly. Not only do you give us awesome feedback, but you also help new brides pick a florist!
If you are a recent bride who hasn’t left a review, PLEASE visit The Wedding Channel and Wedding Wire and leave a review, we would greatly appreciate it, thank you!
Some of our awesome recent reviews from our Fantasy Brides include:
Flowers Fit for a Queen posted 6/6/2012
I went to them with a vision of a royal wedding. We went with simply elegant for the church and grand for the reception venue. Everything was beautiful.The ladies are very easy to work with and will stay true to your budget. They also have an artist on the staff that created a royal crest for my husband and I. It is now hanging in our foyer! Love…
A Perfect Vintage Wedding posted 3/4/2012
A Fantasy in Flowers in St. Augustine did an amazing job for our wedding. Amy, our florist, captured everything I had envisioned. We did a vintage wedding and the flowers we chose were absolutely perfect!!! I could not have asked for anything more.
Amy was very nice to work with as well, as many of our meetings were over the phone and through email. I told her what I wanted and she said no worries. I also appreciated the fact that Amy was able to work with all of the things we provided. My mother and I collected tea pots, cups, bottles, and mason jars for our decor. We brought all of it to Amy and she put just the right flowers in just the right places. She also used the vintage books we brought and staged the tables just like we wanted.
When I walked in to our reception area I was in shock at how beautiful everything turned out. The flowers for the wedding party, parents, and grandparents were wonderful as well. I’m so glad we used A Fantasy in Flowers!!! They made our wedding that much more perfect and Amy’s expertise helped so much!
Nothing short of AMAZING posted 8/9/2012
OMG, Amy is absolutely amazing. She knows her flowers! I just “said” what I wanted and voila, it was reality! She was very patient and every time I made a change/added to my order, Susan was right on top of it to make sure Amy had it. I can’t say enough about them!
Above and beyond!! posted 7/6/2011
Amy D. from A Fantasy in Flowers is an absolute floral genius. But let me start from the beginning. I was torn between two florists after seeing them both at a wedding show. Admittedly I was leaning toward the other florist because we hit it off so well at the show, but when I began requesting estimates from both places, AFIF was a rockstar. Within 48 hours I had a mock invoice listing multiple items, the specific flowers envisioned, and estimated costs. And from there, the customer service got even better.
I started off with just the bouquets, boutonnieres, and two big outdoor arrangements because I was at the time certain that I’d be making my own centerpieces with candles and bulk-ordered online flowers because “I’d save money” and “they’d be original.” First of all, that is erroneous on both counts. After adding up all of the supplies for my original centerpieces, I was only saving about $5-10 per centerpiece, and the stress/work involved was NOT worth a savings of perhaps two or three hundred bucks. Trust me.
Secondly, and let me repeat, Amy at AFIF is a genius; plus, let’s be honest, yours (if you’re like me) will end up looking super amateur anyway. Don’t go all elegant/whimsy/wow-factor on every other detail of the wedding and then botch the flowers. Plus, I must have exchanged 2 dozen emails with Susan adding/changing/deleting things and she was always sweet and accommodating.
I did not go to them with specific flower demands like ONLY YELLOW PEONIES!! because that is a recipe for disaster. All I told Amy was the feel I was going for, and what my inspiration was, which was “Old Florida.” I may have even used the term “elegant … swamp.” Either way, she got the gist and ran with it and created the most stunning, unforgettable, rave-worthy bouquets, centerpieces, and fireplace mantle I have ever seen.
MANY guests came up to me with “that is the most beautiful bouquet/idea/arrangement I have ever seen.” Best of all, Amy new I was on a tight budget, and made it all happen by using affordable flowers and lots and lots of greenery. I had 12 centerpieces, two outdoor pieces, 1 smaller piece for sign-in table, 6 bouquets, a throw bouquet, 9 boutonnieres, 3 corsages, and a mantle for a little over $2k. AFIF is a bride’s dream.
Thank you to all of you lovely ladies for leaving your feedback!
While we no longer advertise on The Knot, you can see our (29 awesome) reviews on their sister site, The Wedding Channel.
We made the cover of San Marco Magazine — North Florida Florist
If you live in Jacksonville and are in the San Marco area, pick up a copy of the Spring issue of San Marco Magazine. One of our bouquets is featured on the cover!
And look for our new ad in that issue!
We made the best of The Knot!
Brides voted and we won! THANK YOU to all the brides who went onto the Knot’s website and put in your reviews and made us one of the best wedding florists in North Florida!
Best of on Wedding Wire — Wedding Florist in Jacksonville, Fla
Thank you to all of our brides, grooms and their parents for voting for A Fantasy in Flowers and making us a 2011 winner on Wedding Wire for one of the best wedding florists in the area.
