I got the opportunity to visit the San Francisco Flower Market with a florist friend on mine to select flowers for a wedding that weekend in July. This couple was getting married at Stinson Beach, so we were on a quest to find flowers that were reminiscent of the ocean floor. We also needed containers for it all which would complement too.
I had heard this place was pretty incredible, and it did not disappoint. One of my hobbies is gardening, so I am pretty familiar with a lot of plants and flowers. This place rocked! I spent an incredible amount of time just asking “What’s that?” So many varieties of flowers and greens I had never seen. Orchids were in abundance, and I was drooling over some of the lush house plants.
Just some of the assortment of flowers available. This was only the first of many at the market.
Loved the bright yellow with red pods. Very unusual.
This was so perfect for a Fall wedding!
Couldn’t resist the dog and monkey topiaries.
As we moseyed our way around, with only one request from the groom for his bride to include peonies, we started selecting an assortment of unusual flowers, or common ones in unusual colors. As it turned out, peonies were scarce and finally managed to find a vendor with probably the last crop from their farm. Some were not opened, others looked pretty sad, but at the price point they were asking, we were able to find 2 bunches with enough to create a bouquet and add to the head table arrangements. Keep in mind ladies, if you really want the prettiest peonies, Spring thru early Summer is the time to plan your wedding date.
Next was searching for the containers for the tables. We ended up with 3 which very much felt like seashells, in brown and white, which worked well with the natural landscape and our wedding colors. This bride had so much trust in her florist that she let us be as creative as we wanted. It was a real pleasure to not have a Pinterest board to follow. She was delighted and thrilled with the end result.
The completed project. One of the arrangements for the bar.
Great display of the assortment of unusual and colorful flowers for our seaside theme.
Each table had 3 arrangements including all the various flowers we found.
The wavy leaf reminded me so much of seaweed. Loved having something unusual to work with for the greens.
If you ever get the opportunity to visit the SF Flower Market, do it. They are open to the public at least one day a week. Don’t expect to get the same pricing your local florist does, but it’s still less expensive than hitting your local supermarket. Especially good if you’re making a large purchase. I think every professional florist I know does shop here if not all the time, but frequently, to provide you, the customer, with fresh, gorgeous blooms.
