The last High School Dance of my parenting career

My husband and I have reached a milestone:  Our five kids are “all grown up.” Here’s proof – our 18 year old son (the youngest) has registered to vote, registered for selective service, will graduate from high school in a few weeks, and recently attended his last prom ever.

Facing this reality head-on, here is what we did.  We opted out of a fun couples’ weekend in Vegas, allowing our son and his friends to use our home as their rendezvous spot.  And then I fussed over their prom flowers.

Let me say the teens were amazing, and so gracious about me wanting to get pictures of them, and of all the flowers – I’ll never get another chance, right??

Here is the group photo:  Our son, Ian, is in the back row wearing grey and teal.

Here are some detail shots of the prom flowers:

Yellow ranunculus, white hyacinth, black ribbon and gold art wire.

 Miniature cymbidium orchids, hyacinth, a pearl beaded wristlet and corsage
constructed in a soft gold ribbon rosette.  Boutonniere finished with
ribbon and art wire.

 Beaded wristlet with hot pink ribbon, laser leaves, orchid and hyacinth.
A rhinestone butterfly is hiding in there somewhere.

 Similar boutonniere made of three white hyacinth blossoms, hot pink ribbon
laser leaves, a rhinestone butterfly and art wire.

 Yellow ranunculus, white miniature cymbidium orchids, hot pink boronia
flower, ivory ribbon, and pearl-beaded art wire.

White hyacinth and orchids finished with ostrich fluff, bling flowers and
white ribbon.  The corsage was on a teal bracelet.

Julia Miller

Julia's Floral

Edgewood, WA

All images are copyrighted and owned by Julia's Floral

How NOT to Order Perfect Prom Flowers

Connor’s mom calls me to order a corsage and boutonniere for prom.  All she knows is that he and his date are both wearing ivory:  Her dress -- solid ivory.  His tux – ivory with a black vest.  And he wants her to have a gold bracelet. 

My custom creations are below.  The bracelet is completely hand made with various types of gold art-wire, and ivory pearl beads.  I’m elated and sure they will love them!

Connor is one of my son’s best friends, and the plan is to have the group meet at our home before heading out to dinner. 

Upon their arrival, his date steps out of the truck wearing hot pink heels, a hot pink silk lily in her hair, and carrying a hot pink clutch.  Oh.  No!  These, as gorgeous as they are, don’t match the outfit.  Yikes!

Florist-Mom flies into action.  I take the flowers back to my work table and bring out Boronia flowers, hot pink corsage pins, and cold glue (floral adhesive).

Below is the exciting and perfect transformation:

Four Tips for ordering perfect prom flowers:

1).  Tell your florist the obvious.  What colors are you and your date wearing?
2).  Tell him or her about all of the accessories:  Shoes, Jewelry, Handbag, Hair Flowers, and is there any metallic in the outfit – gold or silver?

3).  Coordinate with your date to order your prom flowers as a set, so that they will match each other.

4).  If possible, provide a color swatch.  A paint chip from a home decorating center would work perfectly!

And there’s one more tip:  Find a good florist who knows the art of cold-glue corsage construction.  How do you do that?  Simply call your local floral shops and ask them.

Julia Miller

Julia's Floral

Edgewood, WA

All images are copyrighted and owned by Julia's Floral