Monday, July 29, 2013

Lisa and Brandon - Belle Voir Beautiful Blue!

 Lisa wanted to incorporate a color palette of pink, yellow, blue, and white into her wedding at Belle Voir Manor in Bensalem.  She wanted a vintage look to her bouquet to go with her gorgeous vintage style wedding gown (and her stunning blue shoes.)  I made a bouquet of blue and white dendrobium orchids surrounded by a collar of salal. When Lisa looked at her bouquet for the first time she cried and said "I want to hold it now!"  She really loved it which pleased me no end.  Brandon wore a matching orchid boutonniere.  Bridesmaids carried bouquets of mixed pink and yellow flowers.



It was so windy on the day of Lisa and Brandon's wedding that we weren't able to set up the ceremony flowers outside on their pedestals. The gracious staff at Belle Voir took care of that later for us. I used lemon yellow lilies, blue larkspur, and white and pink larkspur in blue vases for this wedding.



Lisa and Brandon met at college so we thought of a way to highlight that fact. I wound blue wire around cylindrical bud vases and Lisa made the mini Pitt pennants for them. They were filled with golden yellow mums which combined with the blue wire represented Pitt's colors.
We hand-painted a monogram on the couples' placecard table container featuring a manzanita branch of white orchids.
Lisa wanted all of her wedding colors represented in her centerpieces, so I created three different ways to show them off. The first of the three groups contained flowes in all three colors - blue, pink, and yellow - in glass cylinders with pink acrylics in the bottom.

The second set of the centerpieces were tablescaped. I used three differently sized glass cylinders with different colored acrylics in their base. Each vase either had blue, yellow, or dark pink flowers in them.
For the taller centerpieces, I anchored a stalk of cymbidium orchids in a glass container of blue acrylics.
Lisa loved the idea of her bouquet that we "featured" it on her sweetheart table by sitting it in a table bouquet holder. It looks almost like a heart!

Congratulations to Lisa and Brandon.  Planning with you living in California worked out really well.  Your family and you were a breeze to work with.  And I'm most pleased that you loved your bouquet so much.   I wish you two the very best on the West Coast! 

Monday, July 22, 2013

Amy & Brian Spring Fling at Tendenza

Amy chose a Spring color palette of pink and white with accents of silver for her wedding at Tendenza in Northern Liberties. For her bouquet I combined light pink alstromeria, white gerber daisies, pink daisy mums, white freesia, and pink waxflower. I added some rhinestone sprays into the mix and wrapped the stems in silver ribbon.

Brian's boutonniere was made from matching flowers from Amy's bouquet.


Bridesmaids' bouquets are displayed in vases on the credenza in the ballroom.  I made them with similar flowers to Amy's but in the opposite colors - pink gerber daisies, white alstromeria, and white daisies.  Groomsmen wore boutonnieres of white freesia.




The couples' pet rabbit was the star of the cocktail table arrangements done in silver cups.


An arrangement of pretty cherry blossom branches was all that was needed in this soft pink vase for the placecard table.

We used three different centerpieces for the tables at Amy's wedding. For the first, I made bouquets of blooming cherry blossom branches with tall pink and white flowers and dropped them into tall glass cylinders.


I made the second set of centerpieces in small silver champagne buckets with lots of pink and white Spring flowers. 


On low, long silver containers, I made "rafts" of birch branches which held heads of pink hydrangea. Something different but works for the four outside long tables at the ballroom.


Just as it should be, the bride and groom's sweetheart table is the most important table in the room. So impressive with those big chairs!



A big thank you to Amy and  Brian for having me help you with your special day!  I can see why you loved Tendenza!

Sunday, July 14, 2013

A sentimental idea for a bride’s bouquet is to use just a combination of flowers from her birthday month and his birthday month.  Or just tuck a few stems of a particular flower or leaf into your bouquet.  Another variation would be to make up each bridesmaids' bouquet out of her birthday flowers.  The color palette may not be perfect, but the idea sure does add a personal touch. Here’s a list of appropriate bouquet choices for each month:

January:  Carnation - Standard and mini come in a ton of colors.  The Moon carnations are four gorgeous shades of purple. Peach carnations, white lisianthus, and mini green hydrangea in the bouquet below.





February:  Iris - Iris are available all year round.  White, yellow, light blue, dark blue, and purpleThese are not the large iris known as "flags" grown in many gardens, but smaller iris often called Japanese iris.    Purple iris and pink chenille in a fun bouquet for a flower girl.






March:  Daffodil - Yellow or white (narcissus)

April:  Sweet Pea or Daisy - Sweet peas come in pastels while daisies come in some brighter shades as well as white. Daisies, mums, and carnations make up this bridesmaid's bouquet.




May:  Lily of the Valley or any type of Lily  Lily of the Valley has a very short season and are extremely expensive.  Other types of lilies include Asian, Hybrid, calla, and foxtail.   Gorgeous mango calla lilies for this bride. .






June:  Rose  - Unending choices! A bouquet with two shades of pink roses.. Thanks Ron DLutz Photography!






July:  Larkspur or Delphinium - tall flowers in pinks, white, purple, lavender, light blue, and dark blueDark blue delphinium and white spray roses in this bouquet. Thank you Ron DLutz.





August:  Gladiolus - Lots of colors.  Instead of using the entire stalk, a bouquet can be made from the individual florets on the stem.


September:  Aster - Several types and colors are available. The bright pink asters are mixed with other flowers in this bright bouquet. Once again thanks to Ron DLutz.





October: Marigold or Cosmos  Marigolds have a strong scent so be careful here if you're sensitive to that.  Cosmos come in shades of pink, white and brown known as chocolate cosmos.  White, pink, and chocolate cosmos mixed with Baby's Breath make up this delicate bouquet.





November:  Chrysanthemum - A wide variety of varieties, sizes and colors. A rounded bouquet of yellow and white mums.   Another Ron DLutz photo.





December:  Poinsettia or Holly  Poinsettia do not hold up well.  but you could certainly tuck in some holly among your flowers.

Any questions?  Feel free to contact me and I can help you design your birthday bouquet!

Wednesday, July 10, 2013

IDEAS I LOVE PART II: the second of the three types of centerpieces that went with my last post focused on buttons. I was well ahead of the trend because this year a couple of floral supply companies are selling all kinds of colored buttons to do things with. But I taught the bride - in 2010 - to stack buttons on wire so we could sneak black into her flowers. The vase is lined with equisetum and filled with hydrangea. And I used "button mums" to supplement the real buttons! Loved it then and I still love the look now.




Tuesday, July 9, 2013

IDEAS I LOVE: As many of my brides know - if they have the inclination and the talent, I put them to work on their weddings. This bride was extremely crafty so we came up with a few projects for her to work on. It's always a challenge to incorporate black in a wedding but with her help, I think we nailed it! I knew she could crosstitch, so instead of printing out her monogram, I asked her if she would stitch it on cloth for two sides of her centerpiece glass for some of her guest tables. She also stitched their initials for the pieces on her sweetheart table. I think they came out great! A nice twist on a graphic monogram - and so much more personal!

Monday, July 1, 2013

Bridal Blossoms #3 - A Wedding Flower Show

I'm going to display some unique centerpieces; beautiful ceremony flower arrangements; and a few cute inexpensive cocktail table ideas. I'll be talking about How to Save Money on Your Wedding Flowers including a coupon giveaway to save money with Whimsical Welcomes. Sign up at my website and enjoy a lovely evening cocktail party full of fun and ideas!