Whimsical Welcomes Floral Design

Jen & Joe - Skippack Rocks!

2012-01-10T16:43:00.000-08:00

I had the honor of working my first wedding at Hotel Fiesole in Skippack with Jennifer and Joe. It's right in my own neighborhood! I was particularly excited when Jen first contacted me and absolutely thrilled when I met her in person. What a lovely person she is! She wanted to use pink and we needed to make it look more like "Fall" than Spring. And with the addition of burgundy, I think we accomplished it beautifully. I really enjoyed working with this color combination and a couple that were enthusiastic about doing things "a little bit differently". Congratulations to the two of you!

Jen's bouquet was made up of burgundy roses, pink sweetheart roses, pink spray roses, and green mini hydrangea for a texture and color contrast.

Joe wore a boutonniere of sweetheart roses and hypericum berries.

Jen's attendant carried a bouquet of pink roses and burgundy gomphrena.

An example of a pink and burgundy corsage for this wedding is included.

The wedding ceremony took place in an upstairs room at the Hotel. I made one large pink and burgundy arrangement in a green urn to sit in front of the large window.

Jen loves to cook. So we put our heads together and came up with an unusual placecard table arrangement The glass is filled with brussel sprouts, eggplants, and peppers. In addition to the burgundy seeded eucalyptus, I added flowers and winter cabbages! We all loved it!! I recommended that Jen not cook with the veggies in the glass because I coated them with LeafShine - but I gave her all the leftovers so she could do just that later. I hope she made something yummy!

I gave instructions to Jen and she had her dad make these cute golf containers for Joe for the cocktail tables. He was so proud of these! I think they came out great. I added a "golf bag" to the top of each and filled them with fall hydrangea.
Flowers in the centerpieces included mini gerber daisies, dahlias, hypericum berries, and hydrangea in different colors. The containers of both versions were filled with burgundy chipped glass pieces.

I made smaller versions of the guest table centerpieces for the sweetheart table and added a frothy bow and rose to the back of the bride and groom chairs.

Hotel Fiesole's baker makes their wedding cakes. I hope it tasted as good as it looked!

Laura & Joe at the Fabulous Fonthill

2012-01-03T19:21:00.000-08:00

I enjoyed working on this wedding immensely. I loved Laura's choice of wedding colors - orange, green, and white - and really appreciated her attention to detail. My photos don't do her hard work justice, but I wanted to share some of her great ideas. Working at Fonthill - a place we've toured several times - was wonderful! I was so happy to be there.

Laura's bouquet was made up of SuperGreen roses, ivory lisianthus, and green hypericum berries. It looked stunning against her wedding gown.

I made Joe's boutonniere out of ivory lisianthus and hypericum berries.

I filled mason jars with green fuji mums hung from shepherds' hooks. These lined the aisle, upon which I scattered orange rose petals. Laura arranged her programs in vintage wooden boxes for guests to take.

I made sprays of circus roses for the Moms to carry down the aisle.

Bridesmaids' dainty bouquets of Circus roses and green hypericum berries. I loved how they "popped" against their dresses.

Groomsmen wore matching boutonnieres.

Laura made containers of golf pencils for the cocktail tables representative of Joe's love of golf. I filled them with yellow, white, and orange alstromeria.

I arranged green dendrobium orchids and white hydrangea in a cylinder filled with green apples for the placecard table. Laura set up her placecards in moss-filled vintage suitcases which looked adorable!

I LOVED working on these centerpieces. Our idea was to utilize only flowers that came in green, white, and orange - which I have to admit were sometimes painted. The centerpieces were then done in pairs. One set were arranged in leaf wrapped squares while the matching ones with those same flowers, were tablescaped in square vases. Roses, carnations, chrysanthemums, calla lilies, gladiolus, and hydrangea were used.

Laura's mom loved my wire decorated vases so I made one for her to enjoy.

Touches of green and white roses decorated the wedding cake. What a lovely end to a lovely wedding. Congratulations to both of you!

Christmas Party Luncheon 2011

2011-12-09T16:06:00.000-08:00

Today was my day to bring the centerpieces that I made for the Christmas luncheon at Marjeanes for the workers (and their families) from the Developmental Enterprises Corp. - North Penn Training Center. It is my honor to donate flowers to this wonderful annual event. I'm sure they all had a blast at their festive party. Merry Christmas everyone!

Jessica & George - At Amazing Aldie!

2011-11-28T17:51:00.000-08:00

Jessica and George were planning a wonderful wedding at Aldie Mansion in Doylestown. Jess had chosen a color palette of orange, purple and white which I thought came together so beautifully. She also coordinated so many wonderful details for their special day. Lawn games were spread out all over the broad expanse of Aldie grounds. And her dessert table was made up of four different adorable cupcakes spelling out "LOVE". Soooo cute! I placed floating, light up water lilies in the fountain. And her table frames/photos/names were so cute that my future daughter-in-law bought them from Jess for her wedding.

Jess' bouquet was made up of ivory roses, orange sweetheart roses, and white mini calla lilies. She looked gorgeous! And George wore a matching calla lily as his boutonniere. Loved the purple ties!

Bridesmaids' wore dresses of light purple and carried bouquets made up of orange dahlias, purple statice, and ivory spray roses gathered in a more casual style.

I made boutonnieres of safflower and statice for the groomsmen.

I created a large "branch enhanced" placecard table arrangement for the Great Hall. Flowers included roses, safflower, and stock. Rose petals separated the rows of cards. Because Jess named her tables after places, she added a "map" to this table so that her guests had an easier time locating where they were sitting. A great idea!

The sweetheart table was enhanced by three vases of purple and orange flowers topping some fun white bubbles.

High flower arrangements of roses, carnations, hydrangea, and larkspur were placed on top of tall glass vases and contained purple hydrangea. White bubbles inside the glass were lit up with underwater lighting.

Low centerpieces were made up of white bubbles with either purple or orange flowers as pictured.

I would like to give credit to Jess & George's photographer for taking such beautiful photos and sending them with me. Lorenz Fine Photography www.blorenz.com/blog Unfortunately, those that he sent me were too large for me to share so I had to use those that I took which aren't nearly as good! Sorry about that Bruce!

Flowers for some of my MNHS Class of 1970 friends.

2011-11-09T16:31:00.001-08:00

Since meeting with Robin Kohn and her daughter Kelly today, I thought it would be fun to post pictures of a couple of our classmates at their childrens' weddings. I especially love doing flowers for family and friends. It's reassuring to me to know that their flowers are done "right" and so gratifying to know that I did a good job for people I care about.

That's Marlyne LaCorte standing with her two beautiful daughters and Pam, her new daughter-in-law. Marlyne looks terrific and the back of that dress was amazing!
Only one of Marlyne's three handsome sons are in this picture. John is obviously the groom standing next to Pam, his bride.

Many of you will recognize Janice Sherman. She still looks the same since we graduated and is as pretty as ever! The two bridesmaids in blue are Janice's beautiful younger daughters Rebekah and Rachel. Standing next to her new husband Dan, is Janice's eldest - the lovely Lisa. Janice's parents are next. They still look terrific to this day! And then Janice is in the pretty green gown standing with her husband Don. This is one good looking group!

I don't think I have photos of Debbie Klayman's family at her son's engagement party to share with you. Her kids are gorgeous too! There must have been something special in the water we drank at MNHS!

Kristin & Bill - Lovely Lilies

2011-10-31T19:20:00.000-07:00

Kristin chose a wonderful color palette of black, white, and dark pink for her wedding at Talamore CC. Black is always a challenge to incorporate into the decor, but we achieved this with ribbon in the personal flowers and marbles and ribbon for the centerpieces. I think the blend of the three colors is very striking. I think Kristin made a wonderful choice!

Kristin's bouquet was made up of StarFighter and White hybrid lilies. I scattered stephanotis with crystals inside and rhinestone sprays throughout the flowers. Bill wore a matching boutonniere of three stephanotis.

Moms carried single standard white calla lilies with a black ribbon accent. Dads wore mini white calla lilies for boutonnieres.

My awful photography does not do the wedding party bouquets justice. They were made up of StarFighter lilies and limonium. Groomsmen wore boutonnieres of double stephanotis.

I did two different types of centerpieces for the guest tables. I love Malibu roses because of their color and their high petal count. I used them in mixed arrangements with gorgeous dahlias and lovely carnations in cylinders with a double ribbon wrap. In the second centerpiece I placed opened Malibu roses on beds of mixed marbles. The color really "pops" doesn't it?

Sarah & Erik - So Happy Together

2011-10-16T07:51:00.000-07:00

Sarah and Erik celebrated their marriage at a charming little church in Wayne - St. David's Episcopal Church. There were 20 people in attendance so it was a perfect fit. Sarah carried a bouquet of white mini calla lilies and Erik wore one as his boutonniere as well. I made altar flowers in the colors that Sarah chose - yellow, white, and blue. I also made two pomander topiaries for the church entrance but because of the pouring rain, I don't think they made it outside. Sarah and Erik did bring them for decoration to Susanna Foo's, which was the location of their reception dinner. Congratulations to all of you!

Jennifer & Jason - Bubbling Over With Happiness

2011-10-09T10:41:00.000-07:00

For her wedding and reception at Concord Country Club, Jennifer wanted to use a color palette of yellow, white, and blue. She also wanted to personalize her decor wherever possible. The couple was very fortunate to have some very talented family members who did just that for them - as exemplified by the charming flag that marked the entrance to the church. I wasn't able to get a photo, but there was also a personalized aisle runner inside. Just beautiful!

Jennifer's bouquet was made up of blue dendrobium orchids, white roses, and yellow calla lilies. Jason also wore a yellow calla lily as his boutonniere. My photos of the bridesmaids' bouquets were dreadful, but they carried light yellow roses with blue dendrobium orchids. The groomsmen wore light yellow rose boutonnieres.

Our artist personalized a tin container for the wedding to place on the altar. Jenn & Jason plus yellow flowers were painted on the front. The wedding date was added to that back. What a wonderful keepsake for them to have.
As a nod to their love of good wine, I decorated the placecard table with wine bottles that Jenn brought to me to fill with flowers. I also scattered some mercury glass candle holders and yellow rose petals between the placecards.
Jenn and Jason both attended the University of Delaware. Go Blue Hens! I used blue and yellow rubber bands around each container and pinned the decal that Jenn gave me onto the front. A blue hydrangea topped off the cute vase.

As more and more couples are doing these days, Jenn & Jason chose to sit at a guest table. To differentiate their chairs, I slipped a ribbonned yellow carnation into their chair bands.

I made three types of centerpieces for this wedding based on blue, white, and yellow flowers with ribbonned or bubble filled cylinders. The tall arrangements were made up of blue hydrangea, yellow carnations, and standard white calla lilies. White bubbles filled the tall cylinders.

Low centerpiece cylinders were wrapped in blue ribbon with a yellow overlay and filled with yellow bubbles. Flowers consisted of white hydrangea, yellow carnations, and blue delphinium.

And the third type of centerpiece consisted of table-scaped cylinders with either bubbles inside or ribbon outside. Each vase had it's own color of flowers to match the others in the room.
The ballroom looked so bright and happy with the vivid blues and yellow placed throughout. And even though the sun wasn't shining outside, Jenn and Jason brought the sunshine inside! Congratulations to both of you!

Alyssa & Isaiah - Color!

2011-09-28T10:24:00.000-07:00

While Alyssa wanted brightly colored bridesmaids' bouquets, she wanted hers to be set apart. I mixed purple lisianthus, white freesia, and green mini hydrangea to make up her beautiful bouquet.
Isaiah's boutonniere matched Alyssa's bouquet.
Moms' corsages were made up of white lisianthus on white pearl bracelets. Dads also wore white lisianthus boutonnieres.
Bridesmaids bouquets were made with vivid orange spray roses, bright pink standard roses, and fun green cushion mums. The pink roses were used for matching boutonnieres.

I also made her a very colorful placecard table arrangement that incorporated all the colors she was using on top of a terrific purple vase.

Noelyn & Gilbert - Classy Glass Collectibles

2011-09-18T14:13:00.000-07:00

Noelyn wanted to use a color palette of bright pink and orange for her wedding at Normandy Farms. I love the bright, cheerful combination. But what I most liked about this wedding was how her family pitched in to collect all of the glass containers that we used. So many shapes, sizes, and colors of glass were collected over the ensuing months. Noelyn sent me lots of pictures and it was a challenge for both of us to figure out a way to use all of them. It felt like Noelyn and I were working on a very large puzzle - and having fun doing it. I managed to use every single vase for this wedding - and there were lots and lots and lots of them. Thank you Noelyn - and Gilbert -for allowing me to be a part of your wedding. I had a great time working on it.

Noelyn's bouquet was made up of beautiful bright pink roses with an overlay of orange mokara orchids. I don't have a photo, but Gilbert's boutonniere was made up of orchids as well.

Half of the bridesmaids carried bouquets of bright pink alstromeria mixed with orange spray roses while the other half carried bouquets of orange alstromeria mixed with bright pink spray roses.

At the front of the ceremony area, I placed two pedestals each holding a French wire vase filled with moss, alstromeria, ivy, and a fountain of grass. I thought this arrangement was so unique for a ceremony and not the usual fanned flower arrangement.

Down the aisle I hung cones filled with alstromeria on my hanging hooks for some matching color.

I had cute little orange glass vases which I filled with pink and orange alstromeria and placed on the inside and outside cocktail tables. Alstomeria comes in so many wonderful colors and allows me to use it in so many ways.

Our talented artist Carolyn painted beautiful orange and pink flowers on the tin container for the placecard table. I filled it with layers of Malibu roses, orange gerber daisies, and pink stock.

One of the containers that Noelyn really liked was a very pretty white pitcher. Since it was a one of a kind, I filled it with Queen Anne's lace and pink & orange zinnias and it sat by itself in a place of honor on the gift table.

Mason jars were collected for half of the tables. I placed orange marbles inside for weight, and then filled them with a mix of pink, orange and white flowers plus some ivy.

I had a ton of small/medium vases to work with for the table-scaped tables. I used 6 or 7 of them on each table. The majority of the vases were different from each other and I used different groupings of flowers in the vases. Thus, all 8 tables looked unique.
Noelyn loved these three green bpwls so I saved them specifically for her sweetheart table. I filled them with dark pink hydrangea and orange spray roses. Votive candles ultimately were alternated with the flowers.

I like this photo of the cake because a spotlight in the ballroom was directed at it. I decorated the cake with lots and lots of orange mokara orchid blooms. Pretty as can be!

Congratulations to Noelyn and Gilbert!

Kristen & Keith - Lovely Lavenders and Passionate Purples

2011-09-11T17:21:00.000-07:00

Kristin asked me to help her with the personal flowers for her wedding. I was more than happy to do this especially since she was using my favorite colors - purple and lavender! Kristin's bouquet consisted of lavender lisianthus - probably my favorite flower - and ivory roses. Aren't the lisianthus lush and lovely? You can see why I love them so much!
I made Keith's boutonniere to match Kristin's bouquet so I included a lisianthus/rose combination.

The Moon family of carnations includes four gorgeous shades of purple/lavender carnations. I used several shades of them plus white carnations to make bouquets for the bridesmaids. Groomsmen wore boutonnieres of Moonlite carnations with a touch of ivy.

Moms carried a single ivory rose down the aisle while Dads wore an ivory rose boutonniere.

Grandparents' corsage and boutonniere. Purple rocks (as do Kristin & Keith!)

Rebecca & Doug - Colorful Citrus

2011-09-05T11:08:00.000-07:00

Rebecca wanted to use bright summery fun colors for her wedding at Rivercrest Country Club in Phoenixville. We achieved that by using colors of bright green, orange, and lemon yellow for in-season garden flowers along with lemons, limes, and oranges! Perfect partners!

Rebecca's bouquet was made up of orange, white, and yellow dahlias mixed with green hypericum berries. Rebecca was named after her great-grandmother and owned her embroidered handkerchief. In order to show off the name on her handkerchief, I carefully wrapped and pinned it around the flower stems length-wise. I loved the sentiment and the idea! Doug wore a white gardenia as his boutonniere.

Bridesmaids carried bouquets of yellow and orange dahlias with scattered green hypericum berries. Groomsmen wore dahlias for boutonnieres.

Moms' corsages were made with orange spray roses and green hypericum berries. The Dads' boutonnieres matched.

On the railing of the steps leading into Rivercrest CC, I hung white bows with colorful streamers to let guests know which was the appropriate entrance to use for Rebecca & Doug's wedding.

After you walk in the doors, a placecard table is placed in the entry. Rebecca bought a large glass bowl which I filled with lemons, oranges, and limes. Amongst the fruit I placed white daisies with green centers.
For the cocktail tables inside, I used either mini-sunflowers with yellow acrylics; green hydrangea with green acrylics; or orange mini gerber daisies with orange acrylics. For the outside cocktail tables I filled orange baskets with a mix of colored zinnias and green "trick" dianthus.

I designed three different low centerpieces each incorporating a different citrus fruit plus flowers of two contrasting colors. Cylinders of limes were matched with orange spray roses and yellow zinnias. The cylinders filled with lemons had orange zinnias and green hypericum berries. And I used green zinnias and craspedia on top of the cylinders filled with oranges. I think zinnias are such a happy flower and work so well with brightly colored fruit.

Tall centerpieces were a combination of the fruits in the low centerpieces topped off with brightly colored mini sunflowers, orange gerber daisies, and green fugi mums. After the wedding was over, Rebecca donated all the fruit in the containers to a homeless shelter in Philadelphia. What a wonderful, thoughtful way to end a wedding. Congrats to Rebecca and Doug on your marriage and your generosity.

Nina & Adam - MD's in the Making (Marvelous Doctors)

2011-08-29T17:49:00.000-07:00

I worked with Nina's wonderful parents, Nina, and Adam for this lovely wedding at Joseph Ambler Inn. We put our heads together and came up with a lot of "doctor" related ideas. Since Nina and Adam are in med school in Missouri, I had a lot of contact with Mr. and Mrs. Salinger who were lovely people and a pleasure to work with. Nina wanted to add a lot of personal touches to her wedding as described in my blog below. She didn't want her reception to look too formal but vibrating with color. I believe that her color palette of red, yellow, and blue, did just that.
Nina carried a bouquet made up of sunflowers and red dahlias. She wanted to be the only one with a touch of orange in her flowers, so I added Goldy mini gerber daisies. I also made a comb of yellow spray roses that Nina wore in her hair to anchor her veil.

The bridesmaids' bouquets of mini sunflowers and red cockscomb looked wonderful against their lovely red dresses.

The flower girl carried a basket of mixed yellow and red flowers. I added streamers that matched those on Nina's bouquet.
Adam's boutonniere consisted of yellow spray roses and red cockscomb.
Groomsmen wore bouts of yellow mums and red cockscomb.

Moms wore white pearled bracelets with white spray roses and a red ribbon accent.
White was the primary color used at the synagogue. Up the poles of the chuppah I used fresh garland with white carnations. On the aisles, I placed white hydrangea hung with white bows and streamers.

Red and yellow gerber daisies were placed in blue test tube holders for the cocktail tables. Perfect for med students, yes?

I love the two long mirror ledges at JAI and have always brought something to place on them. In this case, since sunflowers are Nina's favorites, we used them in double-sided seated vases. I love how the candlelight and the flowers reflect in the mirrors.

Since she was a little girl, Nina traditionally made the placecards for all guests at all the holidays celebrated in the Salinger home. How was she not going to do this for her wedding? And she did a lovely job too. On the table, I added a large arrangement of "gardeny" flowers in her color scheme of yellow, blue, and red. Sitting across from this table was the sign in book - which was a pharmaceutical register signed with pens from various drug companies. Cute or what?

As many brides are doing these days, Nina and Adam sat at a guest table with their friends. When this is the case, I like to differentiate the seats of the bride and groom. For this couple, I tied sunflowers onto their chairs with bright red ribbon.
I made three different centerpieces for the tables. Each vase was filled with small rocks and shells that were brought back from Israel,which is very important to the whole family. I added some blue marbles to echo the blue flowers. Each vase was filled with a different red and yellow flower plus blue cornflowers. And if you look closely, you'll notice that the tables are named after diseases or molecules. That's because Nina is going to be a medical doctor and Adam is going into research. The banquet manager assured me that he'd never seen this at JAI before. There's a first time for everything and I was overjoyed to be a part of it!

Theresa & Tyler - A Terrific Twosome!

2011-08-21T16:42:00.000-07:00

Theresa and Tyler's wedding at Normandy Farms was filled with special touches. The first thing a guest would notice would be the old window sills sitting on the placecard table. I'll point out just a few of them through my blog. And Theresa was all for trying out some new and different ideas like her bouquets and her placecard table piece. I loved working with this blue, white, and yellow color palette. And I thoroughly enjoyed working with Theresa and helping her make her vision come to life.

Theresa's bouquet was made up of blue delphinium, yellow roses and a collar of yellow stock. I loved how unique it was!

Tyler's boutonniere consisted of a yellow rose set on a blue wire curl with a touch of blue delphinium.

Bridesmaids carried bouquets also made up of a collar of yellow stock with centers of delphinium and Star of Bethlehem. Groomsmen wore yellow rose boutonnieres.

One mom wore a corsage of daisies and the other carried a small bouquet of them down the aisle. Daisies have been popular at weddings for century. I've always thought they were so sweet.

On both sides of the outside arch, I placed blue vases on white pedestals. I filled them with yellow centered mini-sunflowers, blue delphinium, and curly willow.

Inside, I filled clay pots with blue hydrangea and craspedia for the cocktail tables.

I had a wooden box painted with Theresa and Tyler on the front. I think our artist Caroline did a fabulous job! I filled it with clay pots of yellow and blue flowers. The ribbons on the bar were the same colors used in Theresa & Tyler's handfasting wedding ceremony. The windows are to each side.

Theresa named her tables after constellations. If you look closely you can see one of the "signs" that she made. I did two different centerpieces for this wedding. Theresa had purchased lanterns, so I used short mason jars to surround them with blue hydrangea and yellow sunflowers. The other half of the tables had larger mason jars filled with a variety of blue, yellow, and white flowers. Theresa had bought log slices to sit these mason jars on to add another touch of "country" to her tables.

Small mason jars were placed on the sweetheart table and filled with blue hydrangea and white roses. Congratulations to the two of you! It was a blast working with you.

Sarah & Mac - NASCAR? Yes, NASCAR!

2011-08-14T08:06:00.000-07:00

The groom wore red high top sneakers! That should tell you what a fun couple Sarah and Mac are. Their wedding took place at the lovely Duportail House in Chesterbrook. Sarah and her mom were great to work with and very involved in the personalized details of the wedding. Sarah chose a basic color palette of white, blue, and green with a blast of color from her NASCAR additions.

Sarah carried a bouquet of beautiful white peonies and wore a white gardenia in her hair. She looked gorgeous! Mac's boutonniere was made up of stephanotis.

Sarah's bridesmaid carried a bouquet of mixed colored flowers with grass loops. The groomsmen wore boutonnieres of white spray roses.

Since Sarah and Mac are huge NASCAR fans, we decided to add a bit of whimsy to the cocktail hour. Sarah wrapped vases with nylon roping in the colors of their favorite drivers. I added checkered ribbon - that her mom found - and gerber daisies to each vase. Sarah provided the race cars for another fun touch to the cocktail tables.

I also added automotive funnels - with sprouting spider mums, to the hors d'oeuvres table.

One nice touch that Sara included was a vase full of blue, white, and green carnations. Guests filled out tags with well wishes and then hung them from the stems of the carnations.

There are several mantles at Duportail House. On one I put cut glass vases to hold bouquets. On the other, where there was already an assortment of antique glass and pottery, I added a variety of small vases with assorted flowers.
On the table where Sarah and Mac sat, I filled a crystal bowl belonging to Sarah's mom with blue hydrangea and green hypericum berries.

I filled my white wire baskets with moss and an array of flowers including Love in the Mist, Bells of Ireland, alstromeria, and hypericum berries. These arrangements were placed on the guest tables and popped nicely against the blue tablecloths. I wish the two of you all the best!

Nicole & Geoff - Branching Out at Knowlton

2011-08-07T08:10:00.000-07:00

Nicole and her mom did most of the planning for her wedding at Knowlton Mansion while Nicole lived in California. A difficult task, but one that I think they pulled off beautifully. Nicole chose a color palette of white, green, and pink. She wanted to use branches in some form as much as possible, too.

Nicole's bouquet had a bit of a vintage look to it with the addition of Queen Anne's lace to her flowers. I wrapped ribbon around the stems and then a layer of lace to match. Geoff wore a boutonniere of lisianthus and hypericum berries. Bridesmaids carried bouquets of roses and hypericum berries while the groomsmen wore matching roses.

I used two large glass vases to hold large, gardeny arrangements for the ceremony under the pergola. Rose petals were scattered at the base of the pedestals for added color.

I used different sized bottles in groups of three on the cocktail tables. They were filled with a variety of different flowers.

It's always a challenge to design a placecard table piece for this room because of the chandelier over the table. I used slices of logs (courtesy of Nicole's Dad) and placed flowers on them in descending heights. I haven't seen a photo of the placecards added to the table yet, but I was very pleased with how the flowers came out.

Nicole's Dad did a great job cutting these logs for the low centerpieces. I filled them with green hydrangea, hypericum berries and pink sprays. It was so cute to see his big smile when her first saw all his hard work come to fruition with flowers!

Tall glass vases were filled with curly willow and a minimum of flowers including snapdragons, larkspur, and hypericum berries as requested by Nicole.

Nicole & Geoff's sweetheart table was decorated with arrangements similar to those on the guest tables. I used fresh curly willow in all the bowls which were filled with either pink hydrangea or green hydrangea and pink spray roses. I can just picture the happy couple sitting here! Congratulations!!!

Janet & Louis - Normandy Magic

2011-07-31T07:29:00.000-07:00

Janet chose a beautiful color palette of white, blue, green, and lavender for her wedding and marriage to Louis. The soft colors and soft flowers that she chose blended together so wonderfully. Janet paid a lot of attention to the details of their wedding and included several of her family members in the making. Dad was in charge of the placecards! MIL chose the fabric for the chuppah. Louis' daughters helped with the wreaths for the outside doors. And Janet herself was busy painting ceremony buckets! It all paid off in the end and looked terrific! There will be much better pictures than these soon available on her wonderful photographer's blog - www.jennchildress.com.

Janet's bouquet was made up of a variety of flowers including lavender lisianthus, white lisianthus, white mini calla lilies, blue delphinium, green mini hydrangea, and mini green cymbidium orchids. Lots of texture and lots of color. Louis wore a boutonniere of a green cymbidium.

Five bridesmaids' bouquets were made up of lisianthus and blue delphinium. The groomsmens' delphinium boutonnieres matched perfectly.

The Moms each carried a standard white calla lily down the aisle. Dads wore matching mini white calla lily boutonnieres.

A ringbearer carried a "box" made from Kermit mums with two silver rings in the lavender bow at the top.
Two flower girls carried moss "purses" filled with three shades of stock.

The ceremony was held on the grounds of Normandy Farms. I decorated their arch with a garland of greens and white roses. In order to use the arch as a chuppah, we wove fabric through the rungs of the arch. Janet painted cute buckets for the hydrangea that lined the aisle.
A mix of lavender, white, and blue flowers arranged on a tall glass vase was added to the placecard table.
I used four different colors of hydrangea for the guest tables. The cylinders containing the flowers were each color coordinated with specific double ribbons. The pin spotting chosen by Janet highlighted each centerpiece and was the perfect finishing touch.

Colorful hydrangea and candles chosen by Janet decorated the sweetheart table.

And delicate blooms of dendrobium orchids were the icing on the cake! Congratulations to Janet and Louis!

Katrina & Scott - What goes around - Comes around.

2011-07-25T19:54:00.000-07:00

As many of you know, I am a former third grade teacher. When I first started teaching at East Coventry Elementary school, I taught a mixed 2nd and 3rd grade class. In my class was a wonderful little girl named Becky, one of my second graders. My second year I taught a straight 3rd grade class and Becky was again in my class. It was also the year I was married. My class was invited to my wedding and many of them came. In the photo of my class at our wedding was Becky, wearing an adorable hat. We kept in touch over the long stretch of time with cards, phone calls, and lunches when Becky "grew up". Fast forward a whole lot of years and here I am doing the flowers for not one - but two of Becky's daughters' weddings. As I said, what goes around - comes around! I just love how this came full circle!

The first wedding was for her oldest daughter, Katrina. Katrina's color palette included red and white with accents of silver. I accomplished adding the silver with pins, little silver leaves, and silver bouquet collars.

Katrina carried a Red Intuition rose and red calla lily teardrop bouquet. I used a tilted bouquet older and wrapped the handle in silver ribbon. I also placed silver pins inside the red roses. A red calla lily was worn by the groom.
The Maid of Honor carried a combination of white and Red Intuition roses seated in a silver collar. The Best Man wore a red rose boutonniere.

Bridesmaids carried bouquets of white roses surrounded by a silver collar. Groomsmen also white roses for their boutonnieres.

I made two arrangements for the charming church in Chester Springs where the ceremony was held. And I look forward to doing the flowers for Emily's wedding in December. Love you Becky!

Jessica & Adam - Glen Foerd Gorgeous

2011-07-17T16:48:00.000-07:00

Jessica and Adam held their wedding at one of my very favorite venues - Glen Foerd Mansion. If you've never been there, they do give tours to the public. Not only is the downstairs beautiful, there is an art museum upstairs with paintings by some of the Masters. Amazing!

Jessica was a joy to work with. She chose a color palette of bright pink and white and wanted to keep her arrangements within the character of the house. I think she did a wonderful job!

Jessica loves roses and chose to use them in a variety of ways at her wedding. Her bouquet was made up of Malibu roses with pearls inside. Rhinestone sprays were placed among the flowers. Adam wore a matching Malibu boutonniere.

Bridesmaids carried bouquets of standard white roses mixed with dark pink spray roses. Groomsmen wore the white rose as a boutonniere.

Glen Foerd overlooks the Delaware River. Standing in between the two arrangements that I made is Little Ugly, the beloved Newfoundland belonging to the Macalasters, the family that built the house.

We wanted something "old" looking to fit in with the decor of the house. I painted an old candlestick holder and filled the top with pink and white flowers to sit on the placecard table.

Jessica and I both felt that softer looking arrangements would look best in the solarium. We didn't want to use contemporary glass, so I found some wonderful white ceramic vases that looked perfect with the roses that Jessica loved. We thought they looked perfect in the solarium! Go check it out. They have summer concerts on the grounds. www.glenfoerd.org

Jamie & Matt - At Aldie!

2011-07-10T08:42:00.000-07:00

Jamie and Matt were married at Aldie Mansion in Doylestown. I used a color pallette of pinks and greens as Jamie wished. Bouquets were made up of peonies, ranunculus, and pale green carnaions. And since all of these photos were taken by the amazing Jenn Childress, no one has to suffer and look at pictures I've taken. There are photos of the cake, balcony, and many more on Jenn's wonderful blog: www.jennchildress.com/aldie-mansion-wedding-jamie-matt. Thanks Jenn!

Matt's boutonniere was made up of ranunculus - which I think look like little peonies.

Jamie had two flower girls. I made baskets of fresh flowers for both of them.

I absolutely loved the centerpieces for this wedding. Jamie liked folded leaves a lot, so I incorporated them in two different ways into two different centerpieces. One had leaves folded more or less like a nest. Hydrangea and roses nestled in the center. The second piece had a variety of folded leaves, including inside the vase, and was filled with an array of pink, green, and white flowers. I had fun working with the grass accents as well. One of my favorite weddings for sure!

Jennifer & Mark - Just because two people fell in love!

2011-07-07T06:19:00.000-07:00

Jennifer and Mark celebrated their love and marriage at the wonderful Columbia Station in Phoenixville. Together we designed a wedding with a red and white color pallette carried throughout their reception. I think we made a pretty good team. And a huge thank you to Ron Dlutz for sharing his photographs with me.

How cute is this face? When I look at it I think of the saying - "Just because two people fell in love!" Their son is absolutely adorable. I did make him a tiny boutonniere with velcro to wear. Pins are a "no-no" for babies.

Jennifer's bouquet was made up of wide opened white roses with a high petal count and red mini calla lilies. Mark wore a matching red mini calla lily boutonniere.

Bridesmaids carried bouquets of red roses and cream colored tulips.

Groomsmen wore cream colored roses.

Mothers carried single standard white calla lilies which were ribbonned in red.

The ceremony was held indoors. I made two large arrangements of red and white flowers to sit on pedestals.

I found the perfect gerber daisy to use on top of the bubbles in the martini glasses. It's red, white, and black! We made the heart stirrers out of silver wire.

The placecard table arrangement contained layers of hydrangea, roses, and calla lilies.

In keeping with the red and white theme I made two different, but similar, centerpieces. Jennifer and Mark thought that the bubbles inside the cylinders were a lot of fun - so we started there.

The red bubbles were topped with a dome of white carnations with inserted red roses. The white bubbled cylinders were just the opposite. The sweetheart table had mini versions of these cylinders as well. So cute!

And such a pretty cake to end the night! Congratulations to all three of you!

Lauren & Darryl - Tea Time at the Foundry

2011-06-25T17:17:00.000-07:00

I was absolutely thrilled to work on Lauren and Darryl's wedding at the Phoenixville Foundry. Lauren had the kind of enthusiasm that is so contagious. And when she told me that she was doing a "teapot themed wedding" I was really excited. We decided that she would use some of her own pots (her grandmother's teapot sat on her sweetheart table) and buy the rest. When she bought new pots she would email me a photo and we'd decide what would look nice in it. It is so much fun to work on a wedding like this and with such a wonderful couple. We used a basic color palette of purple, orange, and white. I had a bit of leeway with color because of the color of some of the pots, and we added bits of red as well. I thank Lauren for trusting me and letting my imagination take over!

Lauren's bouquet was a tear-dropped shape made up of white lilies, purple stock, purple anemones, orange roses, and purple larkspur. Darryl wore a pocket garden for his boutonniere.

Bridesmaids carried bouquets made up of peacock feathers, three shades of stock, and orange spray roses. Groomsmens' bouts were made up of orange spray roses.

I don't have pictures of the cocktail tables, but Lauren collected some small old sugar bowls and creamer pitchers which I filled with flowers.

Lauren's placecards were oversized teabags labelled with their guests' names and table assignment. Manzanita was painted gold and I used round textured glass balls for LED lights, crystals, and orchids. Roses filled the purple base.

Below are several of the 15 different teapots that I filled for Lauren & Darryl. They sat upon purple tablecloths and were all surrounded with red rose petals. The Foundry looked fantastic all dressed up!

Genevieve & Max - Dazzling Damask

2011-06-17T15:38:00.000-07:00

Genevieve had found some wonderful damask boxes which she wanted to use as centerpieces for her wedding at Normandy Farms. We chose pink as an accent color for her black and white color palette. Finding some wonderful damask ribbons helped to complete the "look" that Genevieve was after.

Genevieve carried a bouquet of pink roses and scattered stephanotis. Max wore stephanotis as his boutonniere as well. Bridesmaids' bouquets were made up of just the pink roses with groomsmen wearing the same.

Heads of white hydrangea were tied with pretty pink ribbon onto the pews at St. Mary's .

Blessed Mother flowers can be as simple or as extravagant as you like. Genevieve chose to use three white roses. And I always use blue ribbon because that's Mary's color.

For the placecard table, I glued orchids and crystals to a manzanita branch secured in a black vase topped with fluffy carnations.

Damask and black ribbon were both used to wrap tall rectangular vases of white hydrangea which graced the cocktail tables.

I wrapped damask ribbon around glass squares which I placed on half of the guest tables. Those vases were filled with pink hydrangea and white roses.

On the other half of the tables, I used the damask boxes that Genevieve had found. Those were filled with white hydrangea and pink roses.

And finally, more damask ribbon was used around the small square vases and the pillar candles on the sweetheart table - a lovely finishing touch for a wonderful couple.

Kristy & Cliff - Waggin the Wagon!

2011-06-12T11:04:00.000-07:00

Kristy and Cliff wanted a bright color pallette of bright pink, white, black, and silver for their wedding at Columbia Station. I love the outdoor ceremony area there. We set up pedestals with silver trumpet vases full of pink and white flowers. I painted the "greens" a black color to complete the look. These pretty containers set the tone for the ceremony and reception.

Amidst the sea of color, Kristy carried a lovely all white bouquet made up of white roses and pearled stephanotis. Cliff's boutonniere was made up of stephanotis.

Bridesmaids carried bouquets of alstromeria and spray roses. Groomsmen wore matching spray roses boutonnieres.

Three year old twin flower girls carried pomanders of bright pink carnations with black pins.

Since Kristy and Cliff's son was too little to walk down the aisle, Kristy found a wagon for him to sit in. I had a blast decorating it for him with a black boa and silk flowers!

Martini glasses were filled with black bubbles. On top of them I sat a white gerber daisy with a black center and made a bright pink heart "stirrer" to complete the arrangement. Simple and so cute for the cocktail hour room.

Since Cliff loves orchids, I filled a large glass cylinder with a stem of beautiful cymbidiums for the placecard table.

I filled small champagne buckets with an array of pink and white flowers. These were placed on some of the tables.

I painted birch branches black and hung crystals and pink roses among them for the other tables.

I think that the hot pink petals looked awesome laying on the black tablecloth. Kristy bought pretty candles and bouquets were placed in all of the vases across the front of the head table as well.

I love the silver on this cake. We just added some bling around the base and ...voila! Pretty as well as delicious!

Danielle & Kenny - Wonderfully Wired!

2011-06-04T16:47:00.001-07:00

Danielle asked me to do the personal flowers for her wedding. You may recognize her from the TV show "Say Yes to the Dress!". Danielle and her family appeared on two episodes. She's a sweetie and NOT the reason her episode was shown.

Danielle's bouquet was made up of Black Magic roses and mini calla lilies. Kenny's calla lily boutonniere matched the bouquet.

A big Thank You! to Jenn Childress for sharing her bouquet pictures with me. www.jennchildress.com

I used black aluminum wire collars underneath bouquets of red spray roses and standard ivory roses. I think they're such a unique element to add to a bouquet.

I also used wired to back up the spray roses for the groomsmen's boutonnieres to match the wire collars on the bridesmaids' bouquets. I thought that they looked wonderful together.

Alyssa & Matt - Gorgeous Gerbers

2011-05-29T08:32:00.000-07:00

Alyssa and Matt held their wedding in the large ballroom at the Radisson Hotel in K of P. I worked with Alyssa and her sister on Alyssa's bridal shower and her wedding. They are two of the sweetest ladies I've ever worked with. Alyssa's favorite flowers are gerber daisies. There are so many variations on yellow, red, and orange for fall that I was able to use them everywhere for her flowers. They are so bright and cheerful. Gerbera were mixed with Red Intuition roses and hypericum berries for Alyssa's bouquet. Matt's boutonniere was made up of a rose.

Each bridesmaid carried a bouquet of a different color standard gerber daisy mixed with hypericum berries. Circus roses served as boutonnieres for the groomsmen.

The colors here are so distorted due to my fabulous photographic skills. The topiaries were all done in fall colors. Two of them were placed on the platform in the room where the ceremony was held.

If you'd ever been to Lily Langtry's back in the day, you'll remember that their was an upper level. This was where the cocktail hour took place. I added just a touch of whimsy to the tables with pots that I painted to look like candy corn. Naturally I filled them with candy corn and placed two matching mini gerber daisies in each.

I found this wonderful orange pot and filled it with tree branches. This was the piece for the placecard table. The pot held a layer of Circus roses and I used matching gerbera hanging in test tubes from the branches.

Centerpieces consisted of three pieces for each table including a pumpkin and a copper pot full of flowers. Some had "logs" filled with flowers while others had a wire pumpkin. Fall leaves were sprinkled at the base.

The sweetheart table was lined with a fall garland. I added a flower filled log and two pumpkins as well. The ballroom was filled with flowers and looked to me like a Fall fantasy. Congratulations to Alyssa and Matt.

Diona & Brian - The Lovely Kimberton Inn

2011-05-17T11:22:00.000-07:00

Diona an Brian held their wedding reception at the wonderful Kimberton Inn. It's a beautiful location with a fabulous menu. Diona wanted a fun mix of flowers in her bouquet. I included beautiful Confetti roses, yarrow, alstromeria and hypericum berries. Brian's boutonniere was also a Confetti rose.

Mums come in so many shapes, sizes, and colors. I put five different mums plus berries in the Matron of Honor bouquet.

Glads, mums, and roses filled birch containers graced the altar at church.

I made a topiary of colored wheat for the placecard table and added a mix of mums to the flowerpot base.

I put curly willow in the base of all the bowls on the guest tables and then filled them with an array of mums, berries, and my favorite Circus roses.

I put smaller versions of the guest table centerpieces on the sweetheart table. The colorful mix of flowers looked wonderful in the ballroom at Kimberton Inn.

Kelly & Kevin - Konsiderably Kute!

2011-05-11T15:20:00.000-07:00

Kelly and Kevin held their wedding at the Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge. The reception was held in the unique ballroom which makes you feel like you're partying in a greenhouse surrounded by glass. It's lovely! Kelly wanted to use a color pallete of orange, green, and ivory with as much birch as I could fit in. I couldn't have been more pleased with the new designs for centerpieces, the wonderful ceremony flowers, and the beautiful bouquets. Congratulations Kelly and Kevin!

Kelly's bouquet was made up of orange roses, green lisianthus, and ivory lisianthus. Kevin's boutonniere was an ivory rose.

Bridesmaids carried smaller versions of Kelly's bouquet. Groomsmen wore an orange rose.

The ceremony took place in the same room as the reception. In front of the fountain I set up two ceremony arrangements on rust colored tables. I filled birch containers with hydrangea, orange alstromeria, and more birch branches in perfect keeping with the color scheme.

Kelly wanted something simple to put on her placecard table. I filled a tall glass vase with branches and then hung orange roses in test tubes as well as LED candles.

I made two different types of centerpieces for guest tables. Both contained birch branches in some fashion. I filled the base of the first centerpiece with the branches and then added roses and mini hydrangea at different heights. I loved these pieces!

The second centerpiece I created was a round bowl filled with fresh birch. I filled these bowls with green hydrangea, orange roses, and a touch of Angel hair on top.

I used smaller bowls for the sweetheart table filled with the same flowers. This is one of my all time favorite weddings.

Cara & Dovi - Valley Green...Green!

2011-05-01T17:57:00.000-07:00

I was absolutely thrilled when Cara told me that she was marrying the wonderful Dovi at Valley Green Inn. Finally - someone as special as she is. Even though my 40th high school reunion was the same day as her wedding, there was nothing that was going to interfere with me making her bouquet and helping her with her flowers. Cara wanted fall flower colors and a bit of a "tree" theme intertwined. From the branches in her bouquet to the log I hollowed out for their placecard table, I think Whimsical Welcomes lived up to her expectations. Thank you so much for sharing your wonderful photos with me Cara!

One of my all time favorite bouquets. I just love it! I used mokara orchids and fresh curly willow in it. The stems were wrapped in Cara's mother's wedding dress fabric which was so charming. And I used those same orchids for Dovi's boutonniere.

Close up of the bridesmaids' bouquets and the groomsmens' boutonnieres.

I love this bridal party photo. Look how the Circus roses pop!!!

Just a touch of color for the cocktail tables in these pretty ceramic green vases.

We carved Cara & Dovi's initials in the tree stump that we cut from one of our logs. I filled in the top with an array of fall flowers and branches.

Love the fern on the cake! A sweet goodnight!

Melissa & Robert - Black, White, and Red All Over

2011-04-24T16:48:00.000-07:00

Melissa and Robert held their wedding ceremony at the chapel in Valley Forge Park and then moved the party to the Plumbers Union Hall for dining and dancing. Melissa chose a color pallete of red, white, and black which was so much fun to work with and added so much brightness to their reception. I take no responsibility for the photos below however. Anne takes even worse pictures than I do and she set up (lol). If Melissa reads this and has better photos - PLEASE SHARE!

Melissa carried a bouquet of my favorite red roses - Red Intuition. If you look closely, the roses have darker red veins on their medium red petals. Just gorgeous! I also added stephanotis to the roses.

The Maid of Honor carried a bouquet of red and white roses. Bridesmaids' bouquets were made up of just white roses.

The ring bearer carried a "present" of red carnations and black and white polka dotted ribbon.

I hung test tubes of red roses and glass crystals from painted black birch branches for the placecard table. I had also done an adorable arrangement of Macy gerber daisies (red, white, and black mixed) which was not photographed.

Melissa and Robert have two adorable bulldogs. I used black and white vases to hold red gerber daisies. Melissa took photos of her babies and I added different poses to each vase.

Gathering shaped low vases were filled with red acrylics and tied in the middle with a black and white polka dotted ribbon. They were filled with white gerber daisies, red roses, and other flowers. These arrangements were MUCH cuter than this picture!

Tall vases were filled with clear acrylics and a red rose. Ivy dripped from an arrangement of red roses and other red and white flowers.

Touches of roses added just a bit of color to the wedding cake highlighted by a Lalique topper. Congratulations to Melissa & Robert!

Corey's Baby Shower - Rubber Duckie you're the one!

2011-04-09T18:27:00.001-07:00

Corey and JC collect small rubber duckies. Naturally, I thought this was the perfect theme for her baby shower at Columbia Station in Phoenixville. I had a blast shopping for duckie goodies prior to the shower. Most of the gifts that we gave her had a duck theme too - duck towels, duck pjs, duck toys, duck bathrobe, duck bibs, duck bottles, etc. . Barbara and I had so much fun preparing for this party and Jackson's arrival.

The large welcoming doors to Columbia Station look wonderful with some type of wreaths on them. I always suggest this to my brides who are having their weddings there. For Corey, I made two large blue and yellow Spring wreaths to go with her color palette.

After entering the doors to Columbia Station, a cuddly duck pointed the way to the party room.

I admit that I get a little crazy, but I like flowers in the Ladies room. I decorated a cylinder with a rubber duckie and filled it with yellow gerber daisies.

I used two types of centerpieces and only one type's photo came out. Corey's favorite flowers are gerber daisies. So I painted a duck on the bowls and filled them with gerbera. I bought all sorts of little yellow ducks and surrounded the bowls with them. Favors - which were cookie ducks made by my friend Ellen Perla - were placed on the blue napkins at each guest's place.

I filled two hurricane vases with silk Spring flowers and baby ducks for the buffet table. The food was absolutely scrumptious and the service was wonderful. I highly recommend Robert Ryan Caterers.

I found a guestbook with a duck on it as well as a pen with a duck head that "quacked". I'm keeping that for myself. I also failed to take a photo of the "duck" tablecloth I found for the gift table. It wasn't revealed until the pile of gifts were all opened by Corey. Guests played gift Bingo while she was doing this. Prizes were Rubber Duckies made of soap!

Two bouquets of blue flowers flanked the entrance. And balloons were placed in each of the high windows in the party room too. In the hallway, on the credenza, I had a print of rubber duckies displayed as well as a hand-made bear and a very large rubber duck that I found on vacation. My picture turned out too dark to share.

We decorated Corey's Chair of Honor with a large yellow bow and blue daisies.

The shower ended with everyone being served this wonderful duck cake made by Ellen Perla. She does beautiful work! I also had an adorable mother duckie carrying her 3 babies on this table.

I had a lovely time with my daughter and all the wonderful ladies who attended. Now, I'm ready to be a Mom-mom!

Katy & Jon - It's Easy Being Green!

2011-04-07T18:44:00.000-07:00

Katy wanted a wedding that was unique in every aspect. She loved the combination of red and green, but we had to be careful to not make it look like Christmas. She loved greens as much as flowers, which was such a nice change of pace. And she was very willing to take on a large wedding project. Katy and Jon were married and celebrated their wedding at Columbia Station in Phoenixville. Working with Katy was a pleasure and her hard work paid off handsomely. I think we all succeeded in making this wedding very unique. Katy's gorgeous Fall bouquet was made up of red dahlias, red hypericum berries, and greens. Jon wore a matching dahlia boutonniere.

Bridesmaids' bouquets were very different. They were made up of tall Bells of Ireland and feathery celosia. Groomsmen wore red mums placed through a floret of the Bells.

I made up two arrangements in birch containers for Katy and Jon's ceremony and sat them on tables on each side of the gazebo. I used an array of red, burgundy, and green flowers and greens.

One of the many nice features at Columbia Station is a credenza that sits in the hallway between the two large rooms. It's a perfect spot to place a memory arrangement. I made one up for Katy and she sat a photo of her loved one next to it. I think this is a lovely tribute.

My favorite part of this wedding was definitely the cocktail table arrangements. I found out that Jon collects comic books and asked Katy to decoupage boxes featuring comics. She did an amazing job and certainly personalized these tables! I filled each box with one color of fall mums. Katy made 10 of these boxes for the 10 cocktail tables and they looked fabulous!

Using apples for a red and green Fall wedding was kind of a no brainer. The placecard arrangement also contained cockscomb, matching hanging amaranthus, alstromeria, and greens.

Katy wanted lots and lots of greens in her centerpieces. We made three different but similar centerpieces for her. Each was arranged in a specifically shaped green antique tin and contained a specific type of green and a red seasonal flower. The first type of centerpiece was made up of fern and red cockscomb.

The second centerpiece contained red alstromeria and a plethora of ruscus.

And the final centerpiece was made up of salal and Red Rover mums. I love the rich, deep green of leaves and was thrilled to feature them at a wedding.

Kristie & Tony - Beautiful Bling!

2011-03-20T09:09:00.001-07:00

Kristie and Tony were such a fun couple to work with. They were to be married at the Lake House Inn in Perkasie. Kristie wanted a bright, colorful palette of bright pink, purple, and white with accents of damask. I added crystals, glitter, feathers, and all kinds of "bling" wherever I could. I do have to apologize to Kristie because she sent me wonderful pictures of her wedding, including her in her gorgeous dress and I can't find any of the them on my computer. Her dress had a panel of pink running down the back of it and the hat she wore was fantastic. If I find them I will add them. I knew this wedding was going to be a blast just from Kristie and Tony's joy filled personalities and Kristie's fun filled ideas. I wish them nothing but the best!

Kristie's beautiful bouquet was made up of pink roses, purple lisianthus, and stephanotis. I placed two memory charms on the stem wrap.

The colorful bridesmaids' bouquets were accented with some fun white feathers. Stems were wrapped in damask ribbon.

The groomsmens' boutonnieres were also make with feathers to match the bridesmaids.

Kristie's junior bridesmaid doubled as the "ring bearer". I made a small bouquet for her, similar to Kristie's, with lots of streamers. On one pair of the streamers I tied "rings".

The ceremony was held outside. I had made two large pedastal arrangements to denote the ceremony area.

Martini glasses were filled with purple bubbles. I placed a gerber daisy on top that I had dipped in glitter. And we made the hot pink heart stirrers out of aluminum wire. These looked adorable on the cocktail tables.

Kristie did a fantastic job decorating the shade for the "lamp" I put together for the placecard table. There is crystal beading inside along with roses. And yes, this lights up from the top and the bottom.

I made pink, purple and white "gifts" our of carnations for the gift table. They were wrapped up in damask ribbon.

Glass cylinders were wrapped with damask ribbon and filled with a mix of spraying pink, purple, green, and white flowers and bear grass.

I wanted to leave you with a photo of the view at the ceremony. Just beautiful!

Jen and Tony - It's Magic!

2011-02-21T18:22:00.000-08:00

Jen and Tony held their wedding at the Loft in Limerick. When I met with Jen, she had an idea for a very unique color pallette made up of deep red and pale yellow with accents of gray. What rose would have possibly worked any better for her bouquet than a Hocus Pocus rose? It was truly magic!

I'd like to give a big thank you to Sarah Shulte (http://www.sarahschulte.com/) for sharing her wonderful photos with me. Sarah is responsible for the first four beautiful photos. I have to admit that I did the best I could with the rest.

The second photo is a close up of Jen's beautiful bouquet which consisted of Hocus Pocus roses, yellow freesia, and yellow hypericum berries. Her stems were wrapped in a combination of burgundy and gray ribbon.

I made a contemporary boutonniere for Tony consisting of a rose, freesia, and silver aluminum wire. It added a bit of fun to his lapel.

A close up of the bridesmaid's bouquet which was made up of yellow and deep red spray roses.

Corsages were made out of yellow and red spray roses with a touch of yellow hypericum berries.

I arranged Hocus Pocus and yellow spray roses in a contemporary gray ceramic container for the placecard table.

Jen had purchased lanterns and
candelabras for her centerpieces. I enhanced the lantern with a rose sitting on cranberries in a glass container. And all the pretty candelabras needed were scattered rose petals. Jen did a really nice job with her choices. She spent a lot of time working on the details of her wedding and making it beautiful. Congratulations to the both of you!

Julie & Shawn - All "Buttoned" Up

2011-02-02T15:47:00.000-08:00

Julie and Shawn were married at Bear Creek Resort in Macungie. I'd been there many years ago when it was Doe Mountain, but the resort has been completely done over and it is gorgeous. The lodge is decorated beautifully and there are so many things to do there any season of the year.

Julie chose white, green, and black as her color pallette. Black is always a challenge to incorporate into a wedding, but Julie and I were up for the task. She is extremely talented and designed so many of the details for her wedding.
That's one of the things that made this wedding so very special.

Julie's beautiful, textured bouquet was made up of white stock, green button mums, hypericum berries, and mini green cymbidium orchids. I used matching green pins to secure her ribbon wrap in place.

I used Star of Bethlehem and hypericum berries to make Shawn's boutonniere as well.

Bridesmaids' bouquets were made up of white lisianthus, green hypericum berries, and Star of Bethlehem. Star of Bethlehem was also used for the groomsmen's boutonnieres.

Moms carried small bouquets of white spray roses and hypericum berries with black ribbon wraps. Dads wore white spray rose boutonnieres.

The ceremony took place outside, up the hill from the lodge. I decorated both corners of the black arch with sprays of white cremones, orchids, roses, and green cockscomb. White bows and streamers were attached to the aisle chairs on the parents' rows.

Cocktail tables were simply decorated with green acrylic mint julep cups filled with white hydrangea and green hypericum berries.

I designed an arrangement for Julie's sign-in table that incorporated stock, hydrangea, equisetum, mums, and cymbidium orchids in a black square vase.

Julie wanted to use square glass vases for her centerpieces and we designed three different types of arrangements that did just that. The first one really represented "buttons" in this wedding. I lined each of these glass vases with green equisetum (little bamboo). I used green "button" mums scattered throughout white hydrangea. I suggested that Julie layer black, white, and green buttons on wire to bring some black into these centerpieces. She did a fantastic job and I think that the buttons are certainly a unique touch. This is one of my favorite centerpieces ever!

The insides of the glass squares used for the second centerpiece design were filled with black bubbles. I lined the rim with green cushion mums while dendrobium orchids and bear grass sprouted from the center. I put small black beads on each of the blades of grass.

The third type of centerpiece was decorated by an "M", the initial of the couples' married name, crossstitched by Julie and accented by black ribbon. I also used the ribbon to create black "tails" in the green hydrangea mixed with button mums.

I designed the sweetheart table to coordinate with the rest of the guest centerpieces. Julie used the couple's monogram to stitch on the three vases which contained a mix of hydrangea and button mums.

Guests were sent home with a cupcake in a box designed by Julie. What I loved about this cupcake tower was the "little cake" on top! While having an untraditional wedding "cake", the bride and groom were still able to have the traditional cutting of the cake ceremony. The best of both worlds.

Whitney & Tom - A Plethora of Color!

2011-01-23T10:16:00.000-08:00

Whitney wanted lots and lots of bright color everywhere for her wedding at La Massaria. However, she wanted her bouquet to be a bit more subdued and have all that color surround her. Whitney's bouquet was made up of mini white calla lilies, purple lisianthus, stephanotis with crystals inside, and white roses. She wore a beautiful gardenia in her hair. Her husband Don wore a Picasso calla lily on his lapel.

Bridesmaids carried colorful bouquets of lilies, sunflowers, stock, zinnias, and mums. Groomsmen's boutonnieres were made up of stock and green mums wrapped in orange ribbon.

Large arrangements in urns sat on pedestals sat on each side of the front of the aisle for the ceremony.

Colorful carnations and bows decorated the chairs along the aisle path.

I made a colorful topiary, which sat on a pedastal, for each side of the back of the aisle. This was a special request by Whitney.

A different color wire was used to wrap each of the vases that sat on the cocktail tables. I placed a Circus rose in each.

I placed layers of sisal inside a vase and coordinated an arrangement of brightly colored flowers and ting ting on top of the piece that sat on the placecard table.

I designed three different types of centerpices of the guest tables. All of them used brightly colored flowers, glass squares, and colorful acrylics in the base. The first group of tables were "tablescaped". I used three differently sized squares, each filled with one type/color of flower. Votives in glass squares surrounded each centerpiece.

The second group of centerpieces were made up of a mass of one color and type of flower along with matching acrylics.

There were five different flowers/colors on the guest tables.

The third type of centerpiece incorporated a variety of brightly colored flowers set upon a tall glass vase. Inside each container was a stem of larkspur set in clear acrylics.

I decorated the corners of the square layered wedding cake with "bits and pieces" of a variety of flowers. The "N" at the top stands for Nye - the last name of the happy couple.

Pirate Party - Yo Ho Ho!

2011-01-06T18:28:00.001-08:00

Whitney and Don celebrated their rehearsal with a dinner at the Desmond Hotel. They chose a pirate theme of purple and gold. The reason was simple - they attended the same college where their colors were purple and gold and the mascot was a pirate! Whitney's favors were treasure chests of chocolate. I filled the large chests with alstromeria and carnations, gold beads, and gold pirate coins. Each chest featured a different pirate element. Looks like I forgot to photograph the spyglass! I had as much fun shopping for this party as I did designing the arrangements. What a great idea Whitney!

Centerpieces for the DEC Christmas Party

2010-12-14T17:53:00.000-08:00

This year Whimsical Welcomes was honored to donate the centerpieces for the Christmas luncheon at Marjeanes for the workers (and their families) from the Developmental Enterprises Corp. - North Penn Training Center. I'd like to introduce you to Bill, a member of our family - who used to work at that workshop, but always attends the party with Glenn's Aunt Carolyn. A good time was had by all. Next year I hope to be able to attend the party too, if I don't have another wedding to prep for. I hear the DJ rocked and everybody loved the dancing! I thought you might enjoy seeing some of the arrangements that we made for the party.

This is a red sleigh that I filled with flowers so that Bill could bring a little bit of Christmas back to his group home.

Several people had given me a variety of baskets. I painted them all red and then decorated each of them differently with ribbon and all sorts of cute decorations - presents, sleds, sparkle.... Each basket was later filled with a variety of winter greens and flowers. We had a great time making these for the party.

I couldn't have taken on this project without the help of Sue L. - who helped me decorate and deliver all of the baskets - and Kathy F. - who helped me arrange all of the flowers. The centerpieces were given away as prizes. It was so much fun that we're definitely going to do it again next year!

And finally, an arrangement that I made for Glenn's Aunt Carolyn, as a gift, that sat on the gift table. Happy Holidays everyone!

How To Holiday Centerpiece

2010-12-05T19:29:00.000-08:00

Here is an example of a centeriece that I've previously made. But holiday centerpieces don't have to be difficult to make yourself. Cute and easy works just as well. I've written down directions for a centerpiece that I made sitting in the front of the picture below. Please let me know if you have any questions.
Happy Holidays to All!!

1. Purchase an 8" round glass bowl. Michaels has them.

2. Add stick on dots in a pattern around the bowl. Choose from white, green, or red. You can find them in Staples or in the office supply section of Walmart.

3. You'll need at least 15 carnations to fill in the top. Arrange the first layer in a circle so that the heads lay right on the rim of the bowl. Fill in the next layer of carnations against them and finally fill in the center. You can use red, white, or peppermint carnations. They normally come in bundles of 25. Allow them time to warm up after you bring them home and "fluff" out the petals. Carnation stems will snap if you work with them when cold.

4. Add a few drops of food coloring to dye your water either red or green. It won't hurt the flowers. If you have a package of flower food, add it now. If not, a tablespoon of non-flavored Listerine will work.

5. Finally, buy some small Christmas tree balls. You'll need to attach them - with a hot glue gun - to a dowel or stick of some type. I've used wooden sticks that are sold for shishkebob. If you buy balls that are attached to a wire - wrap the wire around the stick to stabilize it more. Insert the balls among the carnations. Centerpiece done! You can also do this for Chanukah with white dots, blue water, white carnations and blue balls. Perfect!

Let me know how they turn out! I'd love to see pictures.

Jeniece and Ferris - Drama in red, white, and black.

2010-11-15T14:10:00.000-08:00

Jeniece wanted a color scheme that would "wow" her guests at her wedding at the Mansion at Ridley Creek State Park. She certainly achieved that with dramatic red, white, and black for her flowers and her table linens. It just goes to show you that you can make a statement with color and not have huge flower arrangements on the tables.

Jeniece's bouquet was made up of red Freedom roses. Ferris wore a matching boutonniere.

The Maid of Honor carried white roses with red pins in their center. Bridesmaids carried white roses with crystal clear pins in their center. Groomsmen wore boutonnieres of white roses.

Mini Eiffel towers were filled with spraying grass and red spray roses for the cocktail tables.

Jeniece wanted high and low centerpieces for her tables. For the high centerpieces, I filled Eiffel tower vases with black bubbles. I made pomanders of red carnations to sit on the top. I thought both centerpieces looked terrific with the black tablecloths and red napkins.

I banded black square vases with red ribbon and layered the top with white carnations with black pins for the low pieces. The contrasting table runners provided even more "pop" on the tables.

Pam and John - Under water at the Radnor Hotel

2010-11-08T18:39:00.000-08:00

It was very important to me to get the flowers for this wedding just right because the mother of the groom is one of my oldest and dearest friends. Marlyne and her daughters looked beautiful, as pictured. Pam, the bride was radiant. She chose a wonderful color pallette of ivory, peach, and green, which looked so pretty together. Pam had also requested that the flowers in her centerpieces be under water.

I think that we made all her wishes come true.

Pam's bouquet was made up of peach roses, white mini calla lilies, ivory lisianthus, and scattered green dendrobium blooms. I just love the color and texture of her bouquet.

John's boutonniere was made up of a white mini calla lily with a green dendrobium orchid bloom at the base.

This is a photo of the entire beautiful Caruolo family. Bridesmaids carried bouquets made up of peach and ivory spray roses mixed with hypericum berries. They all wore stephanotis in their hair. Groomsmen wore ivory rose boutonnieres. Isn't this one good looking group?

I did a very tall arrangement of peach, green and white flowers to decorate the placecard table.

White hydrangea interspersed with green hypericum berries sat in little orange glass containers on the cocktail tables.

And finally, in tall cylinders of water, I submerged two standard sized white calla lilies which sat on polished river rocks. There were also two underwater acolytes that lit up the flowers - which would look much better in a nightime picture.

Denine & Randall - Gerbers Galore!

2010-11-02T14:22:00.000-07:00

Denine's favorite flowers are gerber daisies - which I myself absolutely love - so I was really excited about working with her on her wedding. She wanted to use bright vibrant color pallette of bright pinks, oranges, and lime greens - perfect for a summer wedding at Bolingbroke. Denine added wonderful details to her wedding including the most colorful candy buffet you ever saw! Of course my pictures didn't turn out, so I can't share them with you. But trust me when I say Denine was on top of everything and Bolingbroke was vibrating with color. Besides Denine's bouquet, I think my favorite things were the mantle pieces we had painted for the bride and groom. The tins were personalized with the couples' names and I filled them with wheat grass and what else?......gerber daises!

Denine's bouquet consisted of a layer of bright pink roses upon which I placed a variety of orange and bright pink mini gerber daisies. On top of the daisies, I layered a string of lime green pearls which looked so cute on this bouquet. Randall wore a matching gerber daisy boutonniere.

Bridesmaids carried bouquets of dark pink carnations, orange gerber daisies, and green button mums. My photos were terrible. But the adorable ringbearer box and flower girl pomander came out just fine.

Even though Denine wanted to use fresh gerber daisies everywhere in her wedding, we substituted faux gerbers for the outside ceremony. Gerbers don't retain water real well, especially in the heat, and we were concerned with the temperature in August. I think the ceremony was adorable. I made bouquets of gerber daisies for the railing, hung daises from the chairs on the aisle, and even scattered extra large gerber daisy "heads" along the bridal path. I loved the bright colors of the ribbon and the flowers.

Centerpiece vases either had ribbon and mums wrapped around the outside or were filled with bubbles. Roses, gerber daises, and lime green button mums filled each vase. Very cute flowers for a very cute couple!

Ginny & Keith - Amazing Aldie

2010-10-02T18:05:00.000-07:00

Ginny and Keith held their wedding at the stunning Aldie Mansion in Doylestown. Ginny chose a color pallette of pink and green with accents of black and white damask. There were so many wonderful damask details at this wedding. Ginny had worked hard and the lovely Erin Proud, http://www.proudtoplan.com/, did a great job as usual, setting them up for her. Ginny also added a second accent color of gold, which we incorporated through vases and beading. I wish I had more pictures, but I thought someone else had brought our camera and they had thought I had it. Oh well, the fabulous photographer - Jenn Childress - http://www.jennchildress.com/ - shot all these pictures and shared them with me. Thank goodness and thank you Jenn!

Ginny's beautiful bouquet was made up of roses, lisianthus, and green mini hydrangea. I wrapped Ginny's rosary around the ribbon on the stems. I used bright pink summer dahlias to make the bridesmaids' bouquets.

Ginny and Keith held their ceremony underneath a wonderful, huge, old oak tree on the Aldie property. Leading down to the ceremony was a long, windy path that we lined with hanging buckets of hydrangea. So pretty.

Ginny bought a gorgeous candleabra for her placecard table. We surrounded it with hydrangea and rose petals. This table looked so beautiful with all of the candles lit up.

I created pomanders of green carnations which I sat on candlestick holders for the cocktail tables.

Ginny had purchased gold hurricane vases in three sizes for her centerpieces. I created three different types of centerpieces using them. One type of centerpiece was made up of a large hurricane filled with green and white flowers and gold beads. Votives surrounded the vase. In the second type of centerpiece, I placed a candle inside the glass. Love how it glows! The smallest hurricanes were filled with flowers and surrounded the larger vase. Finally, we placed an LED light in the third type of centerpiece and I arranged flowers and beading on top. I surrounded the base in rose petals. I love the variations based on the hurricane vases.

We decorated the balcony with bouquets of pink and tulle streamers. It reminds me of Romeo and Juliet....only with a happier ending! Congratulations Ginny and Keith!

Superman party

2010-09-24T07:08:00.000-07:00

I've got so little time for blogging these days and will find it even more difficult during the next five weeks. I just have time for a quick post today about the Superman party I recently did. A client wanted to have a birthday party for her husband. Since he is her "super" man, that became the theme. I ran around to so many stores to try to find something in the party area for Superman, but nothing was to be found. Even Party City hasn't carried Superman items in a year. Poor Superman! So I decided to decoupage his "S" onto blue vases and follow through with yellow and red flowers and some ting ting for flight! Decoupaging is an easy, inexpensive way to decorate almost anything. Try it - it's fun!

Stacey & Richard - Fun at the Firehouse

2010-09-14T19:27:00.000-07:00

Stacey and Richard celebrated their marriage at Vincent Mennonite Church followed by a reception at the North Coventry Fire Company banquet hall. Stacey wanted to use a mix of pink, white, and aqua blue for her wedding colors. Since there are no aqua blue flowers, it's always a challenge to fit that color into a color scheme. But we accomplished it with ribbon, containers, and acrylics. Once Stacey saw the acrylics - she HAD to have them in her centerpieces. They were perfect with her decor. I think that this wedding turned out to be so "sweet" with a wonderful combination of colors.

Stacey carried a bouquet of white and pink roses with pearls in their center. We bound the stems with aqua blue ribbon and a bow underneath the head. Richard wore a white rose boutonniere.

Bridesmaids carried bouquets of pink and white roses. Groomsmen wore matching boutonnieres.

The nest with the aqua blue bird's eggs was a "no brainer" for the ring bearer. I added touches of Baby's breath and some pink ribbon along with the "rings".

The three year old flower girl carried a white tulle pomander with pink satin roses. I made a matching halo for her to wear on her head. Such a cute set!

I filled large white wicker baskets with pink alstromeria and white fugi mums. By ribboning the handle, we easily added the aqua blue color Stacey wanted.

I also wanted to get a bit of the aqua blue on the church pews, so I doubled the ribbon on the pew bows. I love how this looks. I'll have to remember this!

In an aqua vase, I arranged an assortment of pink and white flowers to put on the gift table.

Because the tables were rectangular in shape, I wanted the centerpieces to follow those lines. I used multiple sweetheart shaped vases full of alstromeria and acrylics. The small vases had pink acrylics in them while the white had aqua blue. We also used similar vases to hold the bouquets on the head table.

Jaime & Steven - Delightful Dendrobiums

2010-09-05T19:00:00.000-07:00

Jaime chose a beautiful color pallete of purple, ivory, and green for her wedding to Steven at the fantastic Columbia Station. I love the combination of those colors. We incorporated some personal touches, including apples and vases, which meant a lot to the couple, and came up with some truly unique ideas for their reception. Jamie wanted three different centerpieces which allowed me to utilize some really fun elements. I really enjoyed working on this one!

Jamie carried a gorgeous bouquet of rose, stock and trachelium with touches of variegated hosta around the edges. Steven's boutonniere of a matching rose and hosta looked great as well. Jaime was a gorgeous bride as seen on her photographer's website. I'll post some pictures when I get them.

Bridesmaids carried bouquets of lavender alstromeria and green hypericum berries. Groomsmen wore boutonnieres of matching alstromeria.

A mix of green and purple flowers that included Bells of Ireland and various shades of larkspur, sat on each side of the church altar.

I filled a vase that Jaime provided for her "memory vase" with alstromeria and hypericum berries. The vase was transferred from the church to grace the credenza at Columbia Station.

The placecard table held a tall glass compote filled with apples, alstromeria, orchids, greens, and ting ting. I liked how this festive arrangement greeted the guests.

I placed orchids in glass containers to decorate Jamie and Steven's sweetheart table. These alternated with candles.

I used wonderful moss covered pots for the first centerpiece. In each of them I placed purple hydrangea studded with green dendrobium orchids. I love this pot with purple flowers in it.

Steven's grandparents own a farm with an apple orchard. So Jaime and Steven picked the green apples for the second centerpiece. I filled 8" glass bowls with the apples and then did an arrangement of dendrobium orchids and sanderiana from the top.

The third centerpiece was candle based with a hint of dendrobium orchids placed around it.

And a happy ending to a wonderful wedding - a beautiful wedding cake decorated with my favorite flower - purple lisianthus!

Alyssa's Garden Gerber Daisy Shower

2010-08-31T12:02:00.000-07:00

Tanya put together an absolutely adorable bridal shower for her sister, Alyssa. Alyssa's favorite flowers are gerber daisies, so that was obviously the theme for this party. Tanya chose to use watering cans for the centerpieces and everywhere else she could think of using a brightly colored garden theme. I had a large green watering can painted with the couple's names on it for the placecard table which came out wonderfully. There will be lots of gerber daisies at Alyssa's wedding in the fall. I love working with these sisters. They are such fun ladies!

This cake was just too cute. Tanya had pots of cookies made, chocolate covered strawberries, and more while I made up a few small garden pots of gerbers for the table.

I even placed a touch of gerbers in the Ladies Room.

Watering can arrangement for the gift table.

Gerber arrangement for the favor table.

I made a small bouquet of silk gerber daisies for the "brides" chair at the shower.

Some of the watering can centerpieces that went on the tables. Wrapped candy flowers were sprinkled around the cans. And flower shaped cookies were given as favors.

I'm a little behind on my blogging - there are just too many weddings during this season. I'll catch up when I can.!

Manuela & Marco at Romantic Ridley Creek Park

2010-08-16T18:53:00.000-07:00

Manuela was an absolute delight to work with. How lucky her elementary school students are to have such a sweetheart of a teacher. Ella chose a color pallete of purple, lavender, and white for her wedding at Ridley Creek State Park. She also felt that she wanted to decorate Hunting Hill Mansion in a way that was appropriate for the era of the mansion. She decided that she would use urns and thought it would be fun to hunt for them herself. And she did a wonderful job too!

Manuela's bouquet consisted of purple lisianthus, lavendar lisianthus, white stock, and purple godetia. She also wore a lovely white gardenia in her beautiful dark hair. Marco's boutonniere was made up of a purple and lavender lisianthus.

Unfortunately I accidentally deleted my photo of the bridesmaids' bouquets, made up of various shades of stock. Groomsmen wore boutonnieres of godetia.

Tubed heads of hydrangea with lavender bows were placed on the pews at Holy Savior Church in Norristown.

I used three shades of stock to fill up the urn which went on the placecard table. This was similar to the flowers that the bridesmaids carried.

Ella bought three different styles of urns to use for her centerpieces. We decided to fill each with her favorite flower - hydrangea - plus a contrasting flower. The first type of urn was filled with beautiful purple hydrangea and white godetia.

I filled the second type of urn with huge stems of lavender hydrangea and purple carnations.

The third urn was filled with white hydrangea and lavender roses.

The cake sat in a nook on an upper level at the mansion. I decorated it with lavender roses, lisianthus, and purple carnations. I'm looking forward to seeing professional pictures of this beautiful purple wedding.

Backyard BBQ - How To Make Easy Centerpieces!

2010-08-09T14:01:00.000-07:00

It's easy to combine flowers that you grow with flowers that you purchase when doing casual centerpieces. For this party at my friend's house, I used mason jars as vases. I used a summery pallette of yellow, green, and lavender and tied it all together with a lavender and green print ribbon around the neck of the jar. My cutting garden was full of "green" eyed Susans which I combined with lavender larkspur, mini sunflowers, lavender mardi gras asters as filler, purple veronica, and green hypericum berries. When you put together an arrangement like this, make sure that you use flowers of different textures. One flower type should be tall (larkspur), one should hang over the rim of the jar (mini sunflowers), and then other flowers to fill in between. Small heads of hydrangea work well in these jars as well. Lots of us grow those. Good luck and I'd be happy to answer any questions.

Angela & Joe - Perfect Pinwheels!

2010-08-02T09:41:00.000-07:00

Angela and Joe wanted a joyful, happy wedding full of white, yellow, and green flowers. Angela decided to make whimsical, colorful pinwheel placecards for guests to pluck from green grass in order to find their seats. What a fun way to start off a reception. And she did an amazing job!

Angela chose mini sunflowers, with green centers and stephanotis with green pins in them, for her bouquet. A huge "thank you" to her fabulous photographer Denise Mabilog, for sharing some of her pictures with me. http://www.denisemabilog.com/. Angela and her family worked hard on many of the details of her wedding. It's easy to see that a lot of love went into making this wedding so special.

Bridesmaids carried bouquets of yellow and white daisies. I sewed daisy buttons onto the stem wrap to match.

Large antique white wicker containers held a mass of Baby's Breath and bright yellow and green fugi mums on each side of the altar at church.

A close up picture by Denise Mabilog shows how cute the placecard pinwheels were.

The tall flower container filled with sunflower seeds was placed in the center of the wheat grass sections. The boxes that held the grass were built and decorated by Angela's talented parents. The whimsical pinwheels that Angela and her mom made for placecards were placed in the grass. This was such an adorable idea!

Very cute triple glass containers in yellow and green were filled with individual flowers and placed on cocktail tables.

Emily & Dan - Hershey Happiness

2010-07-26T13:00:00.000-07:00

Emily is truly a gifted artist. She wanted her wedding to be fun and "different", so she designed a fun lounge with lighting, great food, furniture, and her artwork. The people at Hershey Mills Country Club were so gracious and worked so well with Emily and Dan to make their wedding everything they wanted it to be. Wedding colors of fuscia, black, and accents of orange were used. I can't tell you how nice it was to work with such a creative lady.

Emily carried a bouquet of Malibu roses with a collar of painted aspidistra leaves. Black pins were inserted into the roses. Black is a difficult color to bring into personal flowers, but I think we managed pretty well. Dan's boutonniere had a bit of "black" leaves to match.

Bridesmaids carried bouquets of fuscia roses each with a pearl in the center. Groomsmen's boutonnieres matched.

I made two pink, white, and black topiaries for Emily and Dan's ceremony. They were later brought to the country club and placed on the dance floor.

Emily and I both worked on this light up "lamp" which was used on the placecard table. I used crystal beading and fresh roses inside the vase which was lit up by two carefully placed lights. Emily painted the lampshade to match her wedding colors. She also did the small painting sitting on the table.

Sofas, tables, and other seating were brought in to give the ballroom more of a "lounge feel". Emily painted two large paintings that she displayed on easels in the room. She did such a wonderful job.

Emily painted small canvasses for the tables where I placed small flower arrangements. Some of her tables lit up! They looked fabulous.

How cute is this cake! Emily left no detail neglected.

Shannon & DeShun - Rockin at Rivercrest

2010-07-19T07:36:00.000-07:00

Shannon wanted her wedding flowers to be soft, full, and asymmetrical! She wanted blooming branches and flowers that looked like they were just picked from the garden. So we used lots of hydrangea, stock, snapdragons, and other wonderful, soft bloomed flowers in pinks, white, and green to achieve the look she wanted for her wedding at RiverCrest Golf Club.

Shannon's gorgeous bouquet was made up of calla lilies, peonies, lisianthus, roses, and mini hydrangea. A big thank you to the lovely - and talented - Jenn Childress for sharing some of her beautiful photos with me. It's easy to tell which are Jenn's and which are mine! http://www.jennchildress.com/

DeShun wore a double white mini calla lily boutonniere.

Bridesmaids carried bouquets of two shades of pink spray roses. Groomsmen wore a single white mini calla lily.

The ring bearer carried a "present" of green button mums wrapped up in pink ribbon.

We made adorable flower wands for 5 flower girls with fresh roses and Baby's Breath and lots of pink streamers.

Lots of mock orange branches and a mix of pink and whtie flowers were arranged in a beautiful, huge glass vase that sat on the entry table for placecards.

Cocktail table arrangements were made up of pink roses and green dendrobium orchids sitting on clear acrylics in rectangular glass containers.

Due to a very early blooming season, I wasn't able to use the cherry blossoms that we wanted for the higher centerpieces. Fortunately, I found some pear, some mock orange, and some other blooming branches from California to use. I gathered the branches into bouquets with snapdragons, stock, and hydrangea and dropped them into the large glass vases that Shannon had purchased.

Low centerpieces consisted of hydrangea - in either pink or green - plus salal. Very simple - very pretty.

Shannon and DeShun wanted to honor their relatives and friends who could no longer be with them. The vase of roses represents the men and the iris the ladies. I placed them on the fireplace mantle in the seating area at the club.

Fiesta time - Mexican themed party

2010-07-11T17:37:00.000-07:00

I was asked to provide some brightly colored flower arrangements suitable for a Mexican food themed party. I thought that pinatas would make wonderful containers. So I very carefully lined them and then filled them with flowers instead of candy. I love the results and flowers are much less fattening! The bull pinata centerpiece also had attached streamers, which I had strewn across the table with confetti for added color.

The donkey pinata was filled with sunflowers, red monarda, and orange gerber daisies. I scattered brightly colored confetti around the legs.

Under all of these flowers, is a sombrero. It's the kind that can be used for chips and dip. I filled the base with lots of hydrangea and then inserted colorful flowers into the hydrangea and again into the crown of the "hat".

Second time around at Columbia Station

2010-07-03T13:14:00.000-07:00

Christi wanted only family and a few close friends at her second wedding at Columbia Station. It would be a short and sweet morning ceremony followed by a brunch reception. Christi requested that her flowers be fun, garden-like, include white gerber daisies, and definitely shades of purple - her favorite color. By the way, she wore her purple shoes to our first meeting so I knew that this color was a "must". I took all of that information into consideration, along with the fact that Christi (an elementary school principal) raised orchids, and came up with ideas that pleased Christi very much.

First I found white dendrobium orchids with gorgeous purple centers for her bouquet. I made the groom's boutonniere to match - an orchid on a purple wire curl.

The ceremony took place in the same room as the reception. Chairs were set up in front of one of the large windows facing the porch at Columbia Station. I filled a wicker garden basket with larkspur, delphinium, roses, and other flowers in shades of lavender, pink, blue, and purple.

Tin containers of wheat grass and gerber daisies decorated the brunch stations.

Christi wanted white gerber daisies in her centerpieces. I used some pretty light blue ceramic vases each filled with one of five different shades of purple stock and the gerber daisies on the hi-tops and 30" low tables in the cocktail room at Columbia Station. The stock is so full this time of year and filled the air with its' sweet scent. Christi reported that the wedding was wonderful and she loved her flowers - especially her orchids!

Jessica and Bill - Vivacious Villanova

2010-06-14T07:23:00.000-07:00

Jessica wanted to use a color pallete of various shades of pink for her wedding which worked out nicely because there are so many to choose from. And Jessica made it so easy to work with some new shaped containers and ideas. I loved working on this wedding! I am so sad that Villanova will no longer allow ceremonies to be performed in the gorgeous patio area of Villanova Conference Center. You couldn't ask for a prettier setting.

Jessica's bouquet was made up of Esperance roses and pink calla lilies with rhinestone inserts. I incorporated tiny rhinestones into Bill's boutonniere as well. Bridesmaids carried a mix of pink roses. My pictures of these did not turn out at all.

Flower girls carried the cutest buckets of rose petals. Jessica found these on Etsy.

I made a variety of small arrangements of roses and acrylics in martini glasses for the cocktail hour. We made the cocktail stirrers out of different shades of aluminum wire.

Sitting pretty on the piano in the livingroom of Montrose Mansion is an arrangement of sunken roses plus a variety of pink flowers on the top.

One of my favorite arrangements is the colorful topiary I made for the gift table. I used a variety of pink and green flowers for the top, lots of curling ribbon, and green sisal and beading in the hot pink base.

The high centerpieces consisted of tall glass gathering vases filled with three shades of acrylics. In the top of the vases I layered hydrangea, Malibu roses, and larkspur.

I used three different shades of pink gathering vases for the low centerpieces. Each vase held hydrangea and roses in various shades of pink and white. The ballroom looked so beautiful with all the pink highlights throughout the room.

Aimee and Jessica - Colorful Cravings

2010-06-07T19:17:00.000-07:00

Jessica and Aimee wanted a very bright color pallete for their wedding celebration at Cravings in Lansdale. They ended up choosing orange, bright pink, and green - very happy colors. Unfortunately my picture of Jessica's bouquet does not show just how bright the lilies, roses, and mums looked. Jessica's daughter carried a smaller version of her mom's bouquet. And bridesmaids' bouquets consisted of brightly colored pink and orange alstromeria with green hypericum berries. My pictures of them are even darker than this bouquet photo.

I made Aimee's boutonniere more like a decorative pin than a typical boutonniere to wear on the lapel of her wedding suit.

Jessica's son wore a boutonniere different, but similar to Aimee's.

Corsages and boutonnieres for family were made up of very bright flowers as well.

Caitlin and Gary at Eviva

2010-06-01T19:44:00.000-07:00

Caitlin's chose unique wedding colors of white, brown, and accents of pool blue. We designed her bouquet to be made up of ivory roses, white freesia, white stock, white tulips, brown hypericum berries, and stephanotis. I used pool blue crystals inside the stephanotis to acknowledge the blue in her color pallette. Gary wore a boutonniere of an ivory rose. Caitlin chose to have the three ladies in her wedding party each carry one of the flowers in her bouquet plus the brown hypericum berries. Groomsmen matched the women who they escorted down the aisle.

One bridesmaid carried a bouquet made up of the white freesia interspersed with brown hypericum berries.

A second bridesmaid's bouquet was made up of hypericum berries and white tulips with bits of white limonium.

The MoH carried a bouquet of white stock accented with brown hypericum berries.

Moms wore pearled wristlets of white spray roses accented with hypericum berries. Caitlin's Dad wore a matching boutonniere.

Sin Kei & David - Asea on the Moshulu

2010-05-23T16:19:00.000-07:00

Sin Kei and David are two absolutely adorable, hard-working medical students. They chose a color pallete of purple and yellow for their wedding. Since red signifies love, joy, and prosperity in Chinese wedding traditions, I added accents of that color as well throughout the flowers.

Sin Kei's bouquet was made up of yellow roses, lavendar lisianthus, and purple lisianthus. If you look closely, I inserted a red dragonfly into the flowers. I wanted the best start possible for Sin Kei and David!

Sin Kei's attendant carried a bouquet of lavender and yellow spray roses.

Cute corsages for the Moms.

The view from the deck of the Moshulu is outstanding. I made topiaries in yellow, purple, and red to designate the ceremony area. You can tell that the wind is kicking up.

I sat an arrangement of cherry blossoms and purple flowers on the gift table. A much larger version was placed on the placecard table - but my photos did not come out. I hope to get a professional picture of this from their photographer, Leslie Gilbert, because David made folded paper swans and turtles which I hung from the branches. He also made one to sit at the place of every guest at their table. Quite an undertaking! www.lesliegilbertphotography.com has pictures of David's work on her blog.

I made arrangements of curly willow, cherry blossoms, and orchids to sit on the large bar.

Each table featured a centerpiece of a mass of flowers in either purple or yellow with yellow, purple, or red accent crystals. The room looked so colorful and happy - just right for a wedding!

!!!!! Party Time!!!!!

2010-05-17T09:28:00.002-07:00

When Bob Ryan told me about this party and what his catering crew was doing, I couldn't imagine a more fun party. The food was upscale BBQ - with seafood served in a kayak!! Music, lighting, dancing, bold colors - such cool ideas being put together. I jumped in with several suggestions for whimsical centerpieces, and the hostess chose my beer bottle idea! I tied beer bottles together to form a "single vase" of flowers using fern, lisianthus, fugi mums, and freesia and bits of ting ting. Here are the results.

The linens and chairs that the Ryans put together for this event were outstanding. I love the combination of lime green, pool blue, black and white. Even the Chinese lanterns hanging from the top of the tent looked fabulous.

Meghan & Chad - A Spring Celebration

2010-05-10T19:22:00.000-07:00

Meghan wanted a color pallette of pinks and white with lavender and green accents - a wonderful combination of colors for a Spring wedding at Penn Oaks Country Club.

Meghan carried a beautiful bouquet of pink roses with stephanotis filled with a white pearl. Chad's boutonniere was made up of matching stephanotis.

The bridesmaids carried petite bouquets of white bouvardia, white spray roses, and pink ranunculus. Groomsmen wore boutonnieres of white spray roses.

Fun pink pearls were wrapped around the neck of glass vases filled with Queen Anne's lace, tulips, and pussy willow. Two of these vases flanked each side of the country club entrance.

Pretty silver mint julep cups were filled with full, pink heads of hydrangea for the cocktail tables.

I filled a glass vase with pink rose petals and made an arrangement of pink and green flowers to sit on top. Meghan's mom grew the wheatgrass and placed in in boxes for the placecards. I added little white, pink, and lavender mums to peek through the grass.

High and low silver centerpieces were full of pink, white and green flowers such as roses, tulips, Bells of Ireland, larkspur, hydrangea, cremones, and stock. I floated a rose in the base of the tall centerpieces to complete this beautiful Spring look.

Christin & John - Gorgeous Gerbers

2010-05-04T18:54:00.000-07:00

My daughter's favorite flowers are gerber daisies. We both love them. So when Christin said that she wants a "gerber daisy wedding" I was thrilled to accommodate her. We used them for bouquets, boutonnieres, and centerpieces in a variety of ways. And I loved that we in incorporated a variety of pink shades along with lavender, white, and yellow. What a cheerful, happy flower they are! Christin couldn't have anything less than a cheerful, happy wedding!

Christin's bouquet was made up of bright pink roses, white gerber daisies with purple pins in their centers, and accents of purple statice. John wore a pink rose boutonniere.

Bridesmaids carried bright pink gerber daisies mixed with Moonshade carnations.

The flower girl carried a basket of pink and purple flowers with blue accent ribbon.

Christin's mom stenciled a windowbox in bright colors. I filled it with wheatgrass and then scattered gerber daisies, bees, a grasshopper, and ladybugs throughout the grass. I then created a clothesline and "pinned" pictures of Christin and John along the line.

Christin collected various bottles for one of her centerpieces. I put different colors of gerber daisies in them and then grouped them together in the center of the table. The second type of centerpiece was made up of a mix of colored gerbers in glass bowls. I used a variety of colored acrylics in the bottom of each.