roses and portugese tarts

Sometimes the best laid plans don't quite come off for weddings, and I always experience a weird feeling of foreboding mixed with impatience, when I am waiting for a flower delivery...until it's arrived and unpacked I am never quite confident that everything will be there, in the correct quantities and colours. Sometimes I over order - on purpose, in order to have spares and extras and options to be able to make the bouquets just so on the day. This is something which I suspect not many people realise and which contributes to the price of wedding flowers, not just your average walk-in bunch of flowers.


This week my heart sank when not one, or two, but three trusted suppliers were unable to fill an order for a specific variety of rose, requested by the bride for sentimental reasons (which is sorta what weddings are all about!). When I was ready to call the bride with the bad news, the fourth on my list confirmed that they could provide the said rose...beautiful aren't they?

 $165.00 this lot cost me...

Sometimes I over hear people complaining that wedding providers (florists, photographers, cake makers etc) take advantage of brides and overcharge just because its a wedding. For the record, I think this is a bit mean and unjustified. The extra cost is to cover situations like this one - additional flowers (to pick through and get the best ones), back up flowers (in the brides second choice), additional suppliers, phone call orders, reminder phone calls, confirmation phone calls...and the stress! Just so I can deliver what I promised!

Anyways, deliver I did and I think the bouquets turned out beautifully! They also included David Austin roses, Ranunculas, Freesias, Waxflower, Pieris and twists of vine.

The bride stayed at a really lovely guesthouse, Redbrow Gardens out of Hall. 

http://www.canberraguesthouse.com.au/

I snuck some pictures while I was wandering around - trees, plantings and some of the rustic farm gear dotted all over the place.

 

And never one to miss the opportunity of a decent coffee, I stopped in to Poachers Pantry  http://www.poacherspantry.com.au/smokehouse-cafe which is a reasonably close neighbour. This portugese tart was the best I have EVER tasted, hands down. A great end to this particular wedding adventure.

 So...the moral of the story is...

Feed me a portugese tart at the end of the day and I will happily fork out $165 for a few bunches of roses.

XNP