The Weekly Florists' Review ♦ 



JUNE 1, (899. 



June Weddings. 



June wedding decorations are a 

 matter for consideration to many, and 

 though there will be varied degrees of 

 elaborateness in these decorations, yet 

 the principle guiding a:l should be the 

 same. Of late years it has been the 

 custom to seed all manner of colored 

 flowers to funerals, until these sal 

 events (that is, with the absence o.' 

 the casket) look more like a birthday 

 party. On the other hand, the ma- 

 jority of "mamas" have steadfastly 

 persisted in having their daughters' 

 wedding decorations mostly white. 

 This is reversing the natural order of 

 things. With the advent of June, the 

 month of roses, with all its brillian y 

 of color, we can generally use any 

 kind of material, and the only serious 

 point to consider is the price; that's 

 the all important nut to crack, and it 

 is only too often a very hard one. 



There is so much competition these 

 days in all lines of business that esti- 

 mates are asked for on the smallest 

 pretense; these estimates are the 

 nightmares of the florists' business. 

 We have had considerable experience 

 in this matter and know that the flor- 

 ist who has a knowledge of available 

 materials and how to use them, and 

 is a good descriptive letter writer, has 

 a good chance to succeed; where a 

 case is doubtful, it is best to give a 

 sliding scale of prices and descrip- 

 tions, and it is seldom necessary 

 that you should do the work for noth- 

 ing. In all cases have your estimates 

 clean and business - like and carry 

 them out honestly. 



Now about style. June fashions per- 

 mit of a wide range of color; you can 

 use almost anything; it is not so much 

 the color; it is how you use it: and 

 as for material, it is abundant. If it 

 be a church affair, and you require 

 very tall palms and have none, you 

 can easily manufactuie them. Get a 

 lot of chamaerops, sabal. cocos or 

 any of the large wild palms of the 

 south; if you can get fibre for a stem, 

 all the better; if not, Florida moss or. 

 for that matter, any kind of green 

 'round a long piece of wood will do; 

 to this tie your leaves in natural 

 formation and be sure the whole is 



securely fastened on top or weighted 

 at the bottom. You can make it a 5 

 tall as you like, and the taller you 

 make it the more imposing it will ap- 

 pear down the church. Whilst this 

 grouping of southern palms will look 

 well if properly done, still it should 

 not be adopted if you can get green- 

 house grown stock cheap enough. 



To attempt any detailed descrip- 

 tions of decorations would require 

 more space than we can spare, and 

 we can only offer a few suggestions. 

 Loose bunches of any large flower, 

 such as flowering shrubs, paeonies, 

 lilies, roses, etc. (one color to a 

 bunch), tied at the ends of the center 

 aisle pews, will make a grand effect. 

 Ribbon bows are still used, but they 

 are not necessary if you have a spray 

 of green or flowers hang downwards. 

 Stout rubber bands are good to tie the 

 bunches on with; in no case use wire 

 or nails, for they not alone damage 

 the pews, but are a menace to clothes. 

 Most of the fashionable weddings 

 have a floral gate half way down the 

 church; this should be made to swing 

 very easy and should be of a color 

 harmonizing with the flowers on the 

 pews. 



Remember, the higher you can ar- 

 range all manner of decorations, espe- 

 cially where there is a throng, the 

 better they will look, but no part of 

 the decoration should appear isolated; 

 that is to say, if a cluster of flowers 

 or greens should be put in a high 

 place, unless it is of very special sig- 

 nificance it should be connected with 

 the rest of your work. Always make 

 it a point to have some portion of 

 your decoration stand out prominent- 

 ly from the rest. The place imme- 

 diately opposite the main entrance, or 

 the room in which the people remain 

 the longest, is where your best work 

 should be done, and it will be all th? 

 better if it does not appear too inten- 

 tional. You will have more latitude 

 in an old building than in a new one, 

 because modern architecture, in this 

 country is increasing in beauty all the 

 time, and you must not cover every- 

 thing with greens; show an intelli- 

 gent appreciation of whatever beauty 

 there may be in the permanent deco- 

 rations, and allow the best of them to 



show through yours. Vines hanging 

 gracefully from the cornice of a pillar 

 show better taste than ropes twisted 

 'round that pillar. Wheie there ar.' 

 plastic garlands, a light frieze of gresn 

 will show them up better. Sameness or 

 conventionality are often detrimental 

 to the best elements in true art. anl 

 consequently should be avoided. If 

 the room is square, make the corner 

 work different, and if the place be 

 round, have your best effort where the 

 eye can see it most. These rules ap- 

 ply to either house or church. 



If formal canopies are used, there is 

 a new one which is on four gaspip^ 

 stands and can be arranged any 

 height or placed in any location. It is 

 a great improvement on the old kind 

 which we used to tie, with lots of 

 misgivings, to the tops of mirrors. 

 Of course, canopies can be made very 

 beautiful, and when used should be 

 the most artistic and elaborately ar- 

 ranged of all. Sometimes they are 

 expensive, but with all the outdoor 

 flowers of this month they are easily 

 handled. The scarcity of wild smilax 

 and the prices of greenhous? vines 

 this year make extensive decorating 

 expensive if we are confined to such 

 material, but the majority of people 

 don't care what you use if they ara 

 sure your work will be well done. 

 Now the woods abound with all kinds 

 of splendid stuff we can use. and the 

 only cost is the gathering. We con- 

 sider evergreens not suitable for June 

 decorations, and there are lots of 

 foliage, such as catalpas, ailantus, 

 some maples, which either have too 

 soft a foliage or emit too strong 

 an odor, but oak branches, 

 especially the fine cut-leave.l 

 varieties, last for a long time 

 and are very beautiful. On some oc- 

 casions you can solidly arch door- 

 ways and alcoves and cover balconies 

 with them, and if the work be done 

 with care and neatness, will give the 

 effect the most expensive greens could 

 not. Wreaths and garlands can also 

 be made of them, and they are pre- 

 ferable to laurel or hemlock; the long 

 vine-like branches of Salix babylonica 

 are elegant for light touches, but it is 

 not safe to use it because of its mel- 

 ancholy name and associations. Pur- 

 ple beech, the red or purple varieties 

 of Japan maples, or Prunus Pissardi 

 make charming contrasting features, 

 but it is wise to confine their color to 

 one place; that is, if a room is done 

 in green, make the baywindow or 

 some nook all red or purple foliage, 

 but have it where there will be plenty 

 of light to illumine its beauty; if 

 flowers are used in connection, yellow 

 is best. 



It is best never to trust too much to 

 the safety of electric lights, but they 

 are perfectly safe when isinglass pro- 

 tectors are used, and green silk cov- 

 ers put over the globes will give your 

 green decorations a beautiful tone of 

 light. Colored flowers, particularly 

 dark pink and red. will be much used 

 in June decorations this year. Jacque 

 roses will be popular for all forms. If 



