Bridal Bouquet Recreation- Treat Yo Self!

Katie emailed me a few weeks ago looking to have her bridal bouquet recreated in silk flowers. What I thought was awesome is that she was hoping to have her silk bouquet in time to celebrate Valentine's Day with her husband. Such a great idea and I love that she bought her bouquet as a Valentine's gift to herself and her husband. Treat yo self, right?

Her unique bouquet was filled with beautiful champagne Roses, blue and white Hydrangea, lime green Button Mums, green Hypericum berries, yellow Heather, Leather Fern, and these awesome twisty glitter twigs. So despite the weather being still cold and white up here in the north, I was able to track down these gorgeous spring/summer flowers and colors and put it all together to help Katie and her husband celebrate Valentine's Day together. 

Take a look at her Valentine's bouquet recreation!

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“ I was so in love with everything about my wedding day, my dress, my new husband of course and my flowers. Now after having my beautiful bouquet recreated I can look at those flowers sitting on my table and smile, remembering all the happy memories I have of my special day. They are a perfect match and I couldn’t have asked for a better recreation. Thank you so much!”

— Katie | Pennsylvania

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Here's the original bouquet and our lovely bride Katie! If you are in Pennsylvania and are looking for a great photographer, check out Catchlight Photography!

You don't have to wait until the next Valentine's Day to consider this awesome gift! Got a birthday coming up? Treat yo self! Celebrating an anniversary? Treat yo self! Really like reliving your big day? Treat yo self!

Contact me today to find out how to make bouquet recreation happen!

Fall Brides: It's never too early!

Yeah, yeah I know there are like a gazillion inches of snow on the ground in most parts of the country, but don't let that keep you from planning for your fall wedding.

I was recently feeling inspired to reinvent the typical fall bouquet. I found some giant orange Dahlias, mini Button Mums in red, Spider Mums in burnt orange, and large golden Mums. It still needed something, so I added in dark colored berries to deepen the overall tone. To give it a little more rustic appearance, I used jute twine instead of the traditional satin ribbon.

This asymmetric design is a little bit warm, a little bit surprising, and a little bit spicy--perfect for a wedding any time this fall.

If you are looking for flowers for your Autumn wedding, send in a Bridal Checklist for a free quote on your design ideas.

Bold and Beautiful- Part2

One thing I am excited to be seeing more of is brides personalizing boutonnières and corsages for the people in their weddings. The people you are honoring with these flowers with are special and unique, so why not choose designs that flow with your other arrangements but also coincides with the personality of the wearer?

Here's a peak at what Nikki chose for some of her friends and family:



Reader Corsage: Green rose with leaves and dark purple ribbon.




Groom's Bout: Ivory rose bud with tangerine mini orchid, lime button mum, and ivory ribbon.

Grandmother's Corsage: Open ivory rose, tangerine mini orchids and purple ribbon.

Mother's Corsage: Open ivory rose, tangerine mini orchids, lime button mum, and purple ribbon.

Personal Attendant: Purple daisy, lime button mums, and ivory ribbon.

Whether you bling out the personal flowers or go simple and chic, it's easy to find designs that work for you and your budget.

Up next: Extras!

Bold and Beautiful - Part1

As you may have noticed, purple has been a recurring theme in many of the weddings I've done this year. There have been all sorts of beautiful shades showing up in the flowers--lilac, lavender, aubergine, and eggplant. My brides and I have found all sorts of ways to match their color choices, and if you haven't guessed by now, I'm about to show you another wedding featuring purple!

Nikki, another local bride, came to me with a fun and bold color palette. Her girls are going to wear "tangerine" and she also wanted some purple and lime green thrown into the mix. We went back to the ever popular button mums for the lime factor, found some beautiful fresh touch orchids for the tangerine twist, we hunted down some delicious rich daisies for our purple accent, and then included green and white roses to fill everything out.

These flowers were fun, splashy, and full of zest, just like the happy couple.

Coming up next: Personal flowers.

Surprising Color Combos

I recently was talking with a friend who's early October wedding wasn't jiving with the classic fall colors . Her girls will be wearing "Sangria," a dark purple/burgundy, but she wanted to tie in oranges and greens that would work with the Sangria. I wanted to help her come up with some ideas, so while picking up flowers for another bride I browsed the warehouse and showroom of my supplier for inspiration.

I came up with this little collection of an Orange rose, Orange Ranunculus with a green center, Green/Brown Hydrangea, Sangria Button Mums, and Sangria Mini Callas. This combo is great because the vibrancy of the colors brings attention to each of the unique textures of the flowers, but it still falls within the parameters of what most people consider fall colors. My friend is from my hometown in Michigan where the beginning of October can be more like the end of summer. The idea of doing variations on the classic burnt orange, wine red, golden yellow, and moss green is really fitting for an aisle walk that might still be backed with green grass and full trees rather than brisk air and crunchy leaves.

While my friend (Hi Erin!) ultimately decided on fresh flowers, I had fun working with her to come up with some ideas outside of the typical Autumn landscape. I know it's trendy right now to come up with out-there color palettes, but before you go too extreme, try adjusting tones and shades before scrapping the whole color scheme. You never know what you'll come up with!

Bride Meet & Greet Week | Natasha's Fabulous Flowers

Bridal Bouquet: Natasha wanted one of her chosen flowers to only show up in her bouquet and the groom's bout, as opposed to the whole bridal party. The purple anemones fit the bill, so they made their special appearance scattered throughout her bouquet and as the main flower in the groom's boutonniere.

The bridesmaid bouquets had her other two main flowers-white roses and lime button mums. The bouquets were slightly smaller than the bridal bouquet and by eliminating the purple, they took on a look of their own. Both types of bouquets were given a touch of rustic charm by adding raffia around the stems instead of a more traditional ribbon.

The bouts were matching to the bridal party. The groom's showcased the Anemone with just a hint of the limey Button Mum while the groomsmen had the classic white rose with the button mum. A little satin ribbon finished off the look for the guys.

I loved the bright, cheery feel of these flowers and had a great time creating Natasha's look. Congrats to the happy couple!

[Bride Meet & Greet Week] Natasha

Back in May, Illinois bride Natasha met with me and brought her fiance' along for our initial consultation that resulted in the order for their Minnesota wedding. The inspiration for their colors came from their invitations that they helpfully brought along. Natasha gave me a heads up prior to our meeting as to what direction they wanted to go with colors and flowers so I was able to have a few samples at the ready. Their vibrant palette of purple, spring/lime green, and white came to fruition via classic white Garden Roses, whimsical lime Button Mums, and rich purple Anemones.

We worked on the bouquets together to decide on the flower placement: random and bunchy vs. orderly and neat. With a winner chosen, I got to work setting the designs and shaping out all the bouquets. Because she's from Illinois, we relied heavily on pictures where words wouldn't do justice. When Natasha was able to come to town, her time was full of taking care of other wedding details, so it was that much more important to work through everything virtually.

When everything was finished up, we coordinated a time to meet the next time she was in town. Showing up at a local coffee shop (ahem, Caribou Coffee I love you) was a seriously exciting experience for me. No, not just for the delightful beverage, but for the fact that Natasha brought 3 of her bridesmaids along. Giddy after coming from her bridal shower, Natasha introduced me to her friends and we got to the real heart of the matter--the flowers! Smiles shown all around as I carefully took out each bouquet and presented them to the guest of honor. Natasha had already seen her flowers in a series of e-mailed pictures, but the smile on her face told me she was happy and excited and satisfied with what I brought that afternoon. And then another thing happened, Natasha had to actually correct one of her maids impressions by telling her that the flowers were silk. *Sigh* That was a truly great moment for both myself and Natasha because we had accomplished one of our goals, creating beautiful and realistic arrangements.

As I drove home that afternoon, sipping my strawberry-banana smoothie, I felt satisfied in having met and surpassed my client's expectations. Thank you Natasha for being easy to work with, for sharing your vision with me, and for letting me be a part of your big day!

Check back tomorrow for pictures of Natasha's flowers.