Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Kelly and Jason - A Victorian Affair


Kelly and Jason chose to hold their inside and outside wedding at a wonderful old Victorian mansion located in the Germantown section of Philadelphia. The "theme" of this wedding was "Leather and Lace" - think Fleetwood Mac - with a color palette of black, white, and purple. Kelly's mom, and my friend, Robin worked so hard to make Kelly's wedding perfect with so many personal touches. And her wedding gown was drop dead gorgeous - as was Kelly. I had the best time working on this wonderful wedding.

 Kelly carried a tear-drop shaped bouquet made up of peacock feathers, eggplant Moon carnations, purple anemones, and white mini gerber daisies with a black center. I added crystals and greens throughout the flowers.  Jason's boutonniere was made up of three stephanotis backed by a peacock feather.

Bridesmaids' bouquets were made up of white roses, white lisianthus, white mums, and purple Moon carnations. The stems were wrapped in white lace. Groomsmen wore matching boutonnieres of white roses. The canine ring bearer even wore a silk gerber daisy boutonniere. Unfortunately I don't have a decent photo, but he was awfully cute!
We made a bracelet of purple and silver wire for the officiant to wear. Moms held small nosegays of white and purple flowers.
This was one of the prettiest chuppahs that I have ever seen. Kelly borrowed it from a family friend, who also performed the ceremony. I added flower sprays to the corners. Down the aisle, I placed my white hangars which held my white pressed tin cones filled with purple alstromeria. I tied the cones on with vintage purple acrylic ribbon.
Victoria previously made it onto my blog before the rest of the wedding.  Kelly used her to hold wedding gift envelopes. I dressed her up with a head, hat, and pretty boa!
Although my friend photographed this piece hanging from a tree, it actually sat on a table in the mansion. This is actually a black wire "chandelier" that I bought. I affixed black wire around the base to hold test tubes and then filled each tube with a flower or filler. I added very tall candles to the outside candle holders and Voila - a flower arrangement.  We draped pearls over the black wire to dress it up even more.  This is part of my personal collection that I do rent out.


Another Victoria piece that I used in the mansion was this replica made up of black wire and test tubes. This is one of my favorite personal containers.  We also draped strands of pearls and hung crystals from it for Kelly's wedding.
Half of the tables had centerpieces that "wore" corsets of black velvet to represent leather. I can't believe that Robin found these! I filled all of the vases with a mass of hydrangea. On each table was a jar of old-fashioned candy - which represented the table "number". Guests found their table by the type of candy contained in their personal jar/favor. Adorable idea!




Robin's friend Susan G. made the "lace" corsets for the second half of the tables. She did a terrific job adding grommets and ribbon and tying them up so beautifully. The shape of the vase really made them look like a proper Victorian woman's body.


I end this blog with the fabulous caricature my friend Robin had made for Kelly and Jason.  What a clever idea and so well done!  Thank you Robin, Kelly, and Jason for letting me be a part of your wonderful day!  May you celebrate many, many, many more.  Mazel Tov!

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

Ideas I Love

I want to introduce everyone to Victoria, who is Kelly's wedding gift card holder. I added her head and of course, every Victorian lady needs a proper hat and boa! What fun!


Sunday, November 18, 2012

Kalpana and Chiyong - Fantastic Fun!

Anna and Chi wanted to have a happy, fun wedding at Aldie Mansion with their family and friends. The couple chose a color palette of white, yellow, and blue which lent so much to the cheerful ambience. We used elements including bubbles, polka dots, and gerber daisies which added to the whimsical atmosphere.

Anna carried a full bouquet of white and yellow roses. I added pips of light blue agapanthus in between the roses. Bridesmaids' bouquets consisted of standard white roses mixed with yellow sweetheart roses.  I wish I had a photo of the gorgeous colorful saris that the attendants - and Anna - wore for her first ceremony.  I also saw two women in traditional, magnificent Korean hanbok.  What an array of beautiful color I saw that day.

There are several locations that a couple can hold their ceremony on the grounds of Aldie Mansion. Anna and Chiyong selected to have both of their ceremonies underneath the wonderful old tree, which you can't see in this picture - but it's there!
I've worked at Aldie many times. This was my first one where the white globes were used inside and out. Since this couple wanted a fun wedding - they worked perfectly with their theme. And I must say that I absolutely loved them - especially with a ceremony under the large tree. I think they are well worth the rental fees. And if you look on the left side of this photo, you'll see Anna in her gorgeous sari.
This is a small table near one of the entry doors. It's a perfect location for a couple to place their programs so guests can pick them up on their way in.
Near the beautiful staircase is a landing area where a bride can do so many different things. We asked for a table to be placed here. It's a great location for frame photos. I filled a blue ceramic vase with hydrangea, yellow mums, and agapanthus.
On the inside cocktail tables I placed glass squares of yellow foam. I used blue hydrangea and white crown asters to top them off.
Outside on the patio are several sets of tables and chairs. I filled silver buckets with white hydrangea and cornflowesr. I added yellow polka dots to the buckets which added to the cuteness factor.
The balcony at Aldie Mansion is a great place to take pictures - or throw a toss bouquet! I like to add a little color to it and did so for Anna and Chi with white tulle and yellow bows.
Also outside of the mansion are two fountains - one in the back and this one in the front. I scattered white and yellow gerber daisies in the water which moved around with the spray.  I also made a really cute polka dotted wreath for the front door but failed to take a photo.
I scattered yellow rose petals among the placecards. In the center I put an eiffel tower filled with yellow bubbles. From the top I sprayed white and blue dendrobium orchids.
Anna wanted to make use of her color scheme throughout the ballroom. We decided that every table would have blue, yellow, and white flowers and bubbles - which added to the happy atmosphere this wonderful couple were going for.
Some tables had centerpieces made up of white and yellow alstromeria with blue dendrobium orchids while others had a mix of yellow roses, white roses, and cornflower. I don't have a photo of the other centerpiece made up of white lilies, yellow lilies, and blue delphinium.  All of these arrangements were done in glass cylinders filled with a mix of blue, yellow, and white bubbles.
Finally I used white orchids in a central cylinder surrounded by blue hydrangea with blue bubbles and yellow roses with yellow bubbles. I thought all of the centerpieces were wonderful.
I placed floating candles on top of cylinders of white orchids on the sweetheart table. These alternated with more yellow pillar candles to add more glow to their table.



I loved this cake...so whimsical!  Anna and Chi chose to put a koala bride and a panda bear on the top of their wedding cake.  But the very best part was that someone added a little brown baby bear as a surprise!  They had no idea!

Anna and Chi - thank you so much  for having me be a part of your wedding and being so easy to work with.  You certainly sparked my creativity.  I think I had almost as much fun working on it as your guests had attending.  The very best to both of you!

Monday, November 12, 2012

Raechel & Patrick - Peachy Perfect

Peach has become such a popular color for brides this year. Raechel chose to combine the beautiful pastel with lemon yellow, green, and white - perfect for her summer wedding.  



Raechel's beautiful bouquet consisted of peach spray roses, white lisianthus, green hypericum berries, yellow dahlias, and craspedia.  I loved this combination.  Patrick and his groomsmen did not wear boutonnieres.


Bridesmaids carried adorable bouquets of daisies, craspedia, green hypericum berries, and peach mini carnations.






Moms wore wrist corsages of yellow spray roses with an accent of peach ribbon.  Of course the boutonnieres for Dad matched!







In keeping with the lovely peach color, Raechel chose peach mini-carnations for flowers for grandparents.








Raechel did send me some wonderful pictures of her flowers to share, but I am so incompetent on the computer that I can't copy and save them correctly.  Sorry!

A big thank you to Raechel for having me help Patrick and her with their wedding flowers. I wish the two of you the very best.