Wednesday, September 27, 2017

Kelly and Josh - It's all Happening at the Zoo!

I love working at the Elmwood Park Zoo and was delighted when Kelly asked me to work on her wedding there.  Kelly chose a white color palette with metallic accents of gold and silver.  There are lots of fun ways to add those colors to a wedding.

Kelly wanted white flowers so I used white roses and calla lilies with accents of silver pins within her French braided stem wrap, silver painted ruscus, and flower shaped silver pins among the flowers.  Josh wore a matching calla lily.




Bridesmaids also carried white bouquets made up of white roses, white waxflower, and silver painted ruscus.  I use textured silver wire over their white satin ribbon wrap.  Groomsmen boutonnieres were made up of white roses.



We made large white arrangements for church and mint julep cups of gold or silver filled with white hydrangea for the aisle.







At the zoo itself, we painted a manzanita branch gold for the placecard table.  The couple gave me gold and silver origami animals to hang from the branches along with a few crystals.




Kelly chose to use candle based centerpieces on her guest tables.  I placed various sized pillars on either gold or silver chargers filled with white rose petals.  Kelly had animals placed around the table at each guest's spot.




Vases were waiting to be filled with the bridal party bouquets on the large mantle at the zoo.  Thank you to Kelly and Joel for having me be a part of your special day.  Congratulations!


Saturday, September 9, 2017

Carolyn & Dan - Shimmer and Sparkle

Carolyn chose a color palette of orange and purple - two colors I love - with white and silver....colors that really pop!  She added a really interesting twist by using buckles (and sparkle) wherever we could.  I love a challenge and I really enjoyed working on this wedding at Rivercrest CC.  It's a really a lovely wedding venue.

Carolyn's bouquet consisted of a mix of orange and purple flowers including Picasso calla lilies, silver brunia, orange ranunculus, lavender roses, purple lisianthus and white freesia.  If you look closely you'll see the rhinestones among her flowers.  Dan wore a calla lily boutonniere.




Bridesmaids carried bouquets of orange roses, lavender lisianthus, and purple Moon carnations.  Groomsmen wore lisianthus boutonnieres.



The ceremony was held at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Phoenixville.



When you enter Rivercrest you'll walk through a small room and then into a multi-purpose room where the cocktail hour is typically held.  There is also a small seating area where people can relax.  A fireplace is at the far end has a lovely mantle which we decorated for the Fall. Carolyn brought in sparkly pumpkins.



Vases surrounded in purple ribbon - and a silver buckle - were placed on the inside cocktail tables.  I used purple baskets to hold hydrangea on the outside tables.  I hesitate to use glass outside.


I really liked Carolyn's memory table display.  The inscribed  candle holder was lovely.  We added a bit of color with rose petals and a vase of flowers.



I used two varieties of orchids in the placecard table arrangement that has a sparkly candle holder to each side.

We used four different designs for the guest tables. The first were my favorite.  I have silver/crystal table candleabras which I think are very pretty.  Instead of using 5 candles in the 5 holders - I made round pomanders of flowers in two of them.  I just love how this looks!



On the second set of tables we put a mix of flowers in some pretty silver compote holders to which I added hanging crystals to match the chandelier crystals.


Buckles again appeared on purple ribbon surrounding the glass cylinders of hydrangea, roses, and Moon carnations.  I also wove crystals through the hydrangea.


Finally we added some tall pieces to the tables.  These consisted of tall glass cylinders decorated with wide rings of purple ribbon and added rhinestone bands. I used a mix of flowers on the top and ended with sprouting orange ting ting.



Carolyn used lettered mugs to spell LOVE on her sweetheart table. I filled them with matching flowers as well.



Bridesmaids' bouquets were put in vases of water after their entrance.  We had them ready and waiting for the flowers in vases surrounded in purple ribbon with buckles, of course!




Lastly, the cake!  It was gorgeous!  The topper of the couple with their pets is so unique.  And the "icing on the cake" is the buckle on the middle layer.



Thank you Carolyn and Dan for having me help you with your wedding decor.  It was a pleasure to work with you.  Your thought and details added such a personal touch to your special day.  Congratulations!

Tuesday, June 13, 2017

Mary Lynn & Todd celebrated their Fall wedding with a really fun beer theme at Merion Tribute House.  Fall is such a great time to plan a wedding with so many available - and inexpensive - flowers to choose from.  We ran with red, burgundy, yellow, orange and purple thoughout the wedding.  First, Mary Lynne's bouquet was made up of strong Fall colors including lilies, leucadendron, and trachelium.  Todd wore a boutonniere of hops and hypericum berries.



While Mary Lynn carried lilies, her attendants carried bouquets of Peruvian lilies (alstromeria) in the same colors.  Groomsmen wore wheat with their berry boutonnieres.


For their ceremony, the couple had barrels brought in that bore their name and wedding date.  I thought they were awesome!  I made large arrangements to sit on the tops of the barrels, presentation roses for the Moms, and adorned the aisle with wheat and Fall ribbon.


Collections of craft beer bottles sat on cocktail tables, while the placecard table held a large flower arrangement.  Guests were seated according to which bottle cap they were assigned.  I loved the card holder that was used for this wedding.



There were two different sets of centerpieces.  One set was made with  a growler provided by the couple with an accompanying glass bottle in wire.  The second set was made up of a pair of glass bottles in wire of different sizes.


For the cake, I used touches of Fall flowers to decorate - simple and sweet.





 Mary Lynn and Todd were absolute sweethearts to work with.  Mary Lynn did a wonderful job with her details.  She was so knowledgeable about beer and hops, that I referred another one of my brides to her for help!  What a great couple and what a great wedding!  I wish you many years of happiness together. Cheers!

Tuesday, May 23, 2017

Tara & Alan - Love in the Library

Even though the bride lived on the West Coast, it was still fun to plan this wedding with her.  First up - color palette:  gray, green, yellow, and white.   Location: The Free Library of Philadelphia.  Theme:  Books.  I love it!  And what do you do with a theme like that?  You turn books into vases of course!  But first things first.  Tara's bouquet was a beautiful blend of yellow and white flowers with white anemones included!  Alan wore a matching mini calla lily boutonniere.



I brought out the gray in the bridesmaids' bouquets with bits of thistle.  Groomsmen wore boutonnieres of craspedia and thistle.



The ceremony was held in the Rotunda in the library.  I didn't want to design something that had a distinct front and back, so I made pomander topiaries for the room, which can be viewed from any direction.  Perfect for the location!



I added some "bookends" to a lantern sitting on a table which greeted the guests in the Rotunda.




Cocktails were served on the roof while the Rotunda was turned over for the reception.  Tara made some really clever "vases" for the tables. She decoupaged colorful paper along with a scene from either Seattle or Philadelphia on it.  They were all different and all so cute!




Placecards were bookmarks designed by Tara.  I think the picture of the two of them behind their books is just perfect.  I raised the flowers on the table by stacking books underneath them.




The first thing that came to mind when designing this wedding was that I was going to create vases out of books!  Glenn was skeptical, but up to the task.  So he scooped out thick books that would fit my inserts.  I stacked that book on top of a couple others and voila - a container for flowers.



My second idea was to use books as the bookends with flowers in center. Old fashioned library cards were used as table numbers.


And lastly, I made some tall pieces for the tables since the ceiling was so very high.  Table numbers were attached to old books.


I just made a couple of small arrangements for the sweetheart table to carry through the color theme.







This was one of my favorite weddings to work on.  I just loved focusing in on a theme and carrying it through.  The bride and her family were so helpful with collecting books and working out the details of this wedding.  I think everything came together so beautifully.  Congratulations to Tara and Alan on their marriage!  You're off to a great start.