Sunday, December 4, 2016

Michelle & Jordan - Subtle and Soft

Now is as good a time as any to blog about Michelle and Jordan's wedding since it was in the LOVE section of today's Inquirer. What a wonderful surprise to see Whimsical Welcomes mentioned when I sat down to read the morning paper. Michelle loves baby's breath so we heavily incorporated it into the bouquets mixed with pink flowers. Jordan's boutonniere was made up of white lisianthus while groomsmen matched the bridesmaids' alstromeria. I thought the bouquets were so pretty - soft and romantic. Thank you to Michelle and Jordan for having me help with your wedding flowers! And thanks for the acknowledgment!






Wednesday, September 21, 2016

Amy & Keith -

Amy and Keith's wedding absolutely ranks in my Top Five Favorites!  Not only was Amy a dream to work with - but I can't tell you how much fun it was to work with Amy's Dad.  He is an exceedingly gifted woodworker and "finder of cool things!"  If I had an idea - he made it happen.  I loved, loved, loved working with this family.  And now you'll see why.

Over the internet Amy and I started kicking around ideas.  She asked me if it was okay to bring her Dad to the meeting, which of course it was.  We started tossing around more ideas.  If you've ever worked with me, I've been told that I get a look in my eyes when I'm working out something in my mind.  So, I would get that look - and Dad would say "I can do that".  I found my perfect collaborator.

Amy's color palette contained blues, purples, lavenders, yellow - which gave it a pop - and periwinkle which allowed me to use agapanthus - which I love!  Since Amy loves sunflowers we primarily used those in her bouquet with a touch of white gerbera and the other colors as accents.  I wrapped the stems in a combination of burlap and twine. Keith wore the smallest of the mini-sunflowers with a bit of agapanthus added to it.




In keeping with the sunflower theme, bridesmaids carried bouquets made up of just sunflowers and liatris.  Groomsmen wore Viking mum boutonnieres.




I made silk flower pomanders for the adorable flower girls.  Wonder-Dad made a wooden fire engine for the ring bearer to carry.  All I had to do was add ribbon and rings.






The ceremony decor - to me - was the piece de resistance.  When I suggested building a garden fence - Dad jumped right on board!  He searched for - and found - old watering cans, boxes, and barrels to stage in front of it.  I added some baskets of flowers to the fence. And Dad topped it all off with a gardening hat.  How cool is this?  It's the best ceremony decor ever in my opinion.  I added bits of Baby's Breath and burlap to the chairs to finish it all off.



Just simple sunflowers on the cocktail tables under the tent.

 


 Amy and Keith are both music teachers.  So naturally I wanted to do the placecard piece in a musical instrument.  So once again, Dad to the rescue and he found a saxophone for me. Perfect!   Old keys told guests which table they were at.




Amy chose to have four different centerpieces.  I placed fresh flowers in the glass and wire containers. The second set of centerpiece logs were carved out by Amy's Dad.  The combination of glass in wire and little logs with flowers were also made by Dad.  And lastly, the wooden lanterns were made by Dad.  I added daises and river rocks to the base.






I used two of Dad's little logs for the sweetheart table.  Check out the fun toasting glasses.




Dad found this adorable watering can, so we used it on the bar.




I used a combination of daisies and asters to decorate the wedding cake.  The toss bouquet is in the background.




Amy and Keith's wedding was a joy for me work on.  I loved the exchange of ideas, the teamwork, the colors, and this family.  Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your very special day. 




Friday, July 15, 2016

Heather & Andrew - Just bouquets!

Heather was going to DIY her wedding but decided that she needed help with the bouquets.  Because the "look" of these bouquets is so popular these days, I'm sharing them with potential brides.  Some of my brides refer to these as "messy" bouquets.  To me they represent a very casual, rustic look.  I think that the lavender and seeded eucalyptus adds a lot to the pastoral feel.






Heather's bouquet was filled with textured flowers and included a color palette of pink, lavender, white, and peach.  I used multi-colored ribbon to wrap the stems. 





The  two MoH bouquets were restricted to pink, white, and lavender for color and included flowers that I used in Heather's bouquet.  I wrapped her stems in twine. 




 I used more subdued pinks for the bridesmaids' bouquets and brought back the peach for their bouquets.  I still used the seeded eucalyptus and lavender throughout.  These were also wrapped in twine.   Heather took care of the boutonnieres herself. 



Monday, June 20, 2016

Lucy & Kevin - Sunshine and Sunflowers

Sunflowers are just one of those flowers that make every one smile.  They're bold and they're bright!  When you pair up their beautiful golden yellow color with red and bright blue - I believe you then have a party!  It's such a terrific color combination.  So when Lucy told me that this was her color palette and she wanted sunflowers all over her wedding - I was only too happy and delighted to oblige!

Lucy's bouquet was a large beautiful grouping of sunflowers, blue delphinium, blue iris, red hypericum berries, and solidago all wrapped up in burlap and lace.  Kevin's boutonniere consisted of Viking mums - which I think look like little baby sunflowers - and hypericum berries.



Bridesmaids' bouquets also were made up with sunflowers and solidago, but I added red roses and cornflower as well.  Groomsmen wore boutonnieres of Viking mums.



Lucy had to have sunflowers down her ceremony aisle, so we filled her mason jars with just that and added delphinium and hypericum berries.  These were later re-distributed in various locations inside the reception.


Lucy came to me with a lot of jars.  We decided to use her jelly jars for the cocktail tables.  I filled these with blue hydrangea and Viking mums.



I also own a wonderful replica vintage can with sunflowers on the front.  I knew this was perfect for this wedding and filled it with flowers for the placecard table.  This container is available for rental or sale.



We filled Lucy's mason jars for the guest tables with a combination of sunflowers and other blue and red flowers. Lucy used chalkboard labels for her table numbers.


For the sweetheart table, I used two of Lucy's blue mason jars and filled them with similar flowers.



Lucy added a lot of wonderful details to her wedding. I really liked the way she displayed her memory photographs. I used up her blue jars for this table and filled them with all white flowers.


Lucy and Kevin's cake had not yet arrived but I had to snap a picture of her topper of their little family.  How cute is this?



And lastly, this is one detail I have never seen before.  I love the sign on the toss bouquet jar!



What an adorable, happy wedding.  I hope the two of you are always as happy as you were on your special day.

Monday, May 9, 2016

Jessica & David - Kimberton Inn Quaintness

Kimberton Inn is certainly a gorgeous venue at which to have a wedding.  I just love the room with its wide expanse of windows surrounding the couple and their guests.  You have a choice at this venue of holding your ceremony indoors or outdoors.  When you choose to get married inside, the room has to be turned over from the ceremony to the reception during cocktail hour.  This is why I don't have centerpiece photos taken on top of tables.  However, the flowers and colors Jessica chose still look beautiful even sitting on the windowsills.

Jessica chose a combination of blue, purple, and white for her color palette.  Her bouquet was made up of some of the prettiest purple flowers including purple lisianthus - my favorite!  I wrapped the stems in lace ribbon.





Bridesmaids carried bouquets of purple and white with blue added in the form of cornflower and wrapped in blue satin ribbon.  So many brides tell me upfront that they do not like carnations.  However, when I show my "purple" brides the Moon family of carnations - which include 4 amazing shades of purple carnations - they quickly change their tune.  These carnations are so special and so beautiful that I've never had a bride tell me that they don't like them.  And believe me, they are definitely a money saver!



We brought in two pillars for the indoor ceremony upon which we placed two vases of beautiful flowers.  I love how lilies look among other flowers. And we added an arrangement of flowers on the top of the mantle to complete the ceremony look.  It broke up all that white so nicely.  Ignore the flowers sitting in the fireplace.  They're from a previous event and were ultimately removed.








And finally we have two types of centerpieces. One was made up of mixed flowers including blue hydrangea, white lisianthus, and purple carnations.  I like to use acrylics in the base of my centerpieces to "catch" any of the flower detritus that may fall.  They add a pretty finish to the arrangement as well.




The second set of centerpieces consisted of a lantern flanked by two smaller cylinders containing white hydrangea, cornflower, and purple mini-carnations.


Thanks to Jessica and David for having me be a part of your beautiful wedding. May the two of you have many, many long and happy years together.

Thursday, March 31, 2016

Casie & Ken - The Joy of Spring

It's the beginning of Spring and with it comes beautiful, bright colors!  This was Casie's sentiment as well and she proved it by using such wonderful, happy colors for her marriage to Ken.We were also able to take advantage of some wonderful seasonal flowers.   So for Casie's bouquet, we used bright pink Esperance roses, calla lilies, and gigantic orange ranunculus!  Some were so large they looked like peonies!   Ken wore a matching calla lily boutonniere.



Casie's bridesmaid's carried what I like to call "joyful" bouquets.  The orange, bright pink, and yellow bouquets actually made me smile while I was putting them together.  To me, nothing says orange like Asian lilies!  We used Esperance roses for the groomsmen's boutonnieres.



Those bright orange lilies also appeared at church - in the aisle at the family rows and again on the altar.












Congratulations to Casie and Ken!  I hope the rest of your married life is as bright and happy as the beginning.