Wednesday, February 27, 2013

Emily and Nick - Wonderful White

Emily came to me with a plan for a black and ivory wedding at Brookside Country Club in Pottstown. We used a lot of roses, hydrangea, and calla lilies to make her dreams come true. The challenge is always how to add black. I believe that we succeeded as displayed in the following pictures. I also want to thank Rick Blanco for sharing his photographs with me.

 Emily's bouquet consisted of ivory roses, white mini-calla lilies, and ruscus. I also scattered sprays of rhinestones for some added bling. Nick wore a matching white mini-calla lily. Bridesmaids' bouquets consisted of white calla lilies and ruscus. I used ivory roses for the groomsmen's boutonnieres.

 Emily's four adorable flower girls each carried a ribboned wand I made in black and white with a silk white rose on the tip.


Emily chose my white vintage ceramic container to sit on her placecard table. I filled it with roses, Baby's Breath, and greens which I had painted black.


 To carry through Emily's white and black theme, we made two types of centerpieces encompassing those colors. Half of the tables had low glass square vases holding white hydrangea and ivory roses on a bed of black bubbles.

Tall centerpieces consisted of white hydrangea, ivory roses, and black ting ting on top. I used black bubbles inside the glass and placed a reflexed rose inside on top.


 We used rose petals, candles, and vases of hydrangea spread out over the length of the head table.

Congratulations to Emily and Nick. I wish you a lifetime of happiness and love.

Friday, February 22, 2013

Ideas I Love: In Memory Of

 I am often asked about ways to honor the memory of a loved one at a wedding.  After learning more details about the person/persons, the bride and I decide how much she, or the groom,  can actually handle on their wedding day.  I have had brides have me leave a flower on the chair where their special person would have been seated.  Had it been me, I would have broken out in tears at the sight of the empty chair. Others have a discreet vase of flowers at the ceremony - mixed flowers or a flower for each person they are honoring. My daughter had three roses in a vase at her ceremony for three family members along with a memory candle that listed their names.  Often, names are added to the program.   One bride had me make a red, white, and blue flower arrangement for the church to honor her grandfather who served in the armed forces.  Of course several of my brides had me attach very small pictures or a charm to their bouquet handle.  I've also used pieces of grandmom's veil or wedding gown to wrap the stems of a hand-tied bouquet.   And I've made a bridal arrangement on top of a treasured bible belonging to a grandparent.  There are many options open to a bride involving this sensitive subject. Here are just a few more.

 This bride wanted to honor her grandmother in a special way at Normandy Farms.  As it turned out, her grandmom's favorite flowers were orchids so I displayed a phalaenopsis orchid in greens. She placed her grandmother's wedding picture on the table too. I really loved the other picture - of the bride, her mom, and her grandmother.  What a lovely memory.




Framed photos of this bride's Mom sat on a table at the Radisson. She displayed an "In Loving Memory" candle and vase which I filled with flowers.




 The mantle in this room at Bolingbroke Mansion held photos of family members that have passed.  Names were listed on the vase in the center which held flowers that I arranged. 



You may recognize the credenza from Blue Bell Country Club. This bride displayed beautiful framed photos of her loved ones, and labelled them so guests would know who was being honored.  I added just a touch of flowers and candles to each side.



There are no right or wrong choices when planning how to honor someone special to you who has passed on.  Each bride needs to decide whether to acknowledge a person's  absence privately or with their guests.  The important thing to remember is to not lose site of your own joyous occasion while honoring the memory of your loved one.


Sunday, February 17, 2013

Sarah & Dustin - Rustic Charm

 Sarah chose a lovely color palette of lavender, purple and white for her wedding at Loch Nairn Golf Course.  This was my first time there and it was beautiful!  Sarah wanted a rustic feel for her wedding and so we used twine and produce baskets to that effect with an array of gorgeous summer flowers.  I also owe a big thank you to Jenn Childress, photographer extraordinaire,  for trusting me with her brother's wedding. You're the best!

One of my very favorite bouquets. Flowers included roses, lavender lisianthus, white freesia, purple calla lilies, and a few purple carnations.  To add to the rustic look I bound the flower stems with twine.  Dustin wore a Picasso calla lily boutonniere.




This is the bouquet for the Maid of Honor made up of purple, lavender, and white lisianthus with a few scattered purple carnations. Bridesmaids carried similar bouquets - without the carnations.  All were secured with twine wraps.  Groomsmen wore boutonnieres of purple lisianthus to match.



Sarah purchased produce baskets for her centerpieces.  We filled them with dahlias, carnations, mums, and waxflower - which are less formal flowers, but not less appealing.  Dahlias are such a gorgeous flower and come in amazing bi-colored and solid colors.  I added the ribbon because it matched the bi-colored dahlia we used so perfectly!  I love this one!



Congratulations to Sarah and Dustin!  May you have a long and happy life together!

Tuesday, February 12, 2013

Ideas I Love! - Vintage Placecard Table Idea

Looking for an idea for a simple,  vintage-themed wedding for the placecard table?    My bride lined two old suitcases with moss and then attached her placecards to them.  Excess placecards sat on sheets of moss and I created a flower arrangement of apples, hydrangea, and orchids for the center.  Looks great for this green, orange, and yellow color palette.

Saturday, February 9, 2013

Jackie & Michael - Manor House Magic

This was one of those weddings that I will never forget. Jackie and her mom were absolutely adorable and terrific to work with. Together we designed a really pretty all white wedding reception at Manor House at Commonwealth Golf Course in Horsham. It's a beautiful venue with lots of places to decorate. So I was really looking forward to starting to work on this one.

 But, before I could start to work, back in October/November, this area was visited by Hurricane Sandy and we lost our electricity for almost a week.  And when we lose our electricty, we also lose our water. Trying not to panic, I realized that the colder weather worked in my favor because our sunroom was really, really cold. My assistant Kathy brought buckets of water from her house so we could keep the flowers fresh... and that's how we handled this wedding. We worked only in the light of day, in the sunroom wearing coats, fetched buckets of water from Kathy's house, and proceeded to put together this wedding. And it worked! The bride and her mother were so happy with this wedding and had no idea what it took to put it together. The only way they'll ever find out is if they read this blog....well after the fact!  We pulled it off!  My team is the very, very best!


Jackie's all white bouquet was made up of roses with crystals and white mini-calla lilies. Michael wore a matching calla lily as his boutonniere.
Bridesmaids carried bouquets of white roses filled out with white limonium. I also made white rose boutonnieres for the groomsmen.
One of the nicest features at Manor House is the winding staircase in the entry room. For this wedding, we wrapped the staircase in fresh garland accented with white carnations.


There are several mantles inside Manor House. I created an arrangement of white flowers for the mantle in the entryway and used curved vases of white stock on both mantles in the livingroom area. 



Pretty little white tipped glass flower vases of white roses sat on each small table in the cocktail room.
I made an arrangement in a shaped glass vase for the placecard table which is also  in the cocktail room. Flowers included white lilies, white fujis, fern, and gold ting ting.   I love these placecards with the satin bows - so simple yet so elegant.


The low centerpieces on the guest tables were made up of hydrangea and roses. I wrapped a beautiful white ribbon with threads of gold in it around each glass square. I used white orchids and all white alstromeria on top of tall clear glass squares.   I placed one stem of orchids inside the vase and covered up the mechanics with white acrylics.  Gold ting ting was sprayed among the orchids. The sweetheart table resembled the guest tables with smaller glass squares of hydrangea and roses.
Congratulations to Jackie and Michael. May your life together always be as beautiful as your wedding day.