Real Wedding: James & Clarissa

Local couple and our friends James and Clarissa contacted me about doing the flowers for their July 22nd ceremony and of course I said yes! Clarissa came ready with color swatches, a hand drawn sketch of her ideas for the ceremony site and pictures showing what she liked for the bouquets. Having all that in hand made my job so easy and the expectations so clear. In just a matter of a few weeks we had flowers chosen, designs picked out, and we were ready to roll.

Her color palette of turquoise, spring green, yellow, and white was such a vibrant and fun combination for a summer wedding. The flowers she wanted incorporated were daisies, roses, mums, hydrangea, and some greenery. Her two bridesmaids carried smaller versions of her bouquet and the guys wore white roses with smaller accent flowers that were also found in the bouquets. Check out what we came up with together:

James and Clarissa had me create aisle arrangements hung from matching turquoise ribbon, and altar arrangement using the same flowers and colors, and centerpieces for their intimate reception at

The Northland Inn

.

It was an honor to attend such a beautiful occasion with my hubs and also so fun to see the flowers outside "in the wild." And now I have these stunning photos from

Michelle Maida Photography

to remember the day by. If you are looking for a talented photographer, be sure and e-mail her at:

michelle@maidaphotography.

com

or give her a call at 763-389-0561.

Thanks to James and Clarissa for included me in your special day in such a big way! Blessings in your new adventures together!

Nautical Inspiration: Navy and White Wedding

I love when I'm challenged with incorporating a theme, a unique color scheme, or even interesting new materials into wedding flowers. So when local bride Cindy contacted me and kind of asked for all three, I was pretty excited!

 Her wedding is this weekend and is taking place in Door County, Wisconsin, a beautifully scenic area along the coast of Lake Michigan. She wanted that to be reflected in her color scheme and her wedding flowers.

Cindy wasn't picky about what types of flowers but with a color scheme that includes navy, the choices can be somewhat limited. I happened to have some deliciously dark blue Cornflowers on hand that I thought would be a great option as well as some beautifully summery daisies that brought in the white. Because both types of flowers have similar shapes and textures they were a great match--and more importantly, Cindy loved them! Using navy and white striped ribbon that Cindy mailed me with her contract, the finishing touches were really striking.

In one of our phone conversations, Cindy mentioned her desire to make things nautically themed because of her unique wedding location. She e-mailed me a few pictures and asked if I could work with the ideas using her choice of flowers. I was blown away by these unique takes on boutonnieres and corsages and immediately agreed to give it a go. I've never been a boy scout, so I had to learn some knot tying and had to track down just the right type of rope.

The boutonnieres: Mini daisy, leaves, knotted rope

The corsage: Mini daisy, cornflower, navy and white striped ribbon

Cindy and I had the chance to meet face to face when she picked up the flowers on Sunday and we just oohed and ahhed over what we came up with together. And that's what I love about this process--collaborating with brides, coming up with new and inspiring designs, and being a part of a project that makes people so happy and excited. Thanks Cindy for this fun opportunity and I wish you much happiness in your new marriage!

Real Wedding: Bekah (Part 2)

Bekah liked the idea of her personal flowers matching the bouquets. That's a pretty common way of signifying who's who in the bridal party. In this case, we went with a slight variation. The flowers we used for the bridesmaid bouquets were on the larger size, and we weren't sure that it was the best choice for the groomsmen bouts. Instead we used a different type of Calla Lily, but used the same ribbon that we wrapped the bouquets with.

For the groom's boutonniere we used the same Rose that appeared in Bekah's bridal bouquet. We matched the same color ribbon as one additional way of having her groom stand out.

Groom's Bout

Groomsmen Bout


For the corsages we also used the bright pink ribbon and we added Sweet Pea in bright pink for the Mother's corsages. Bekah wasn't picky about the type of accent flower, but it was important that the color matched the ribbon swatch she sent me.

Grandmothers Corsage

Mothers Corsage

Thanks Bekah for the opportunity to create these beautiful flowers. I wish you all the best in your new marriage!

Real Wedding: Bekah (Part 1)

My customer Bekah happened to be the sister of a good friend from my freshman year of college. I was honored to be asked to create Bekah's flowers!

Her early June wedding was a great opportunity to combine a traditional white bridal bouquet with a fun and bright accent color featured in the bridesmaid flowers. With the bridesmaids wearing blue dresses, Bekah really wanted their flowers to pop. Take a peek!

Bridal Bouquet: White roses, white Calla Lilies, white satin ribbon:

Bridesmaid Bouquets: Large magenta Calla Lilies with magenta satin ribbon.

Toss Bouquet: Mini white Calla Lilies, magenta satin ribbon.

Check back to see how we used these flowers for Bekah's boutonnieres and corsages.

Real Wedding: Sarah (Part 2)

Sarah's evening beach wedding needed to reflect the slightly more formal setting. Instead of doing tons of bright colors, her red and white scheme needed to still say "bridal" while also acknowledging they weren't standing in a church.

Bridal Bouquet

Bridesmaid Bouquet

Toss Bouquet

The clean designs and crisp black and white satin ribbon gave the flowers the formal feel, but the bright red combined with the white kept it appropriate for the coastal nuptials. Thanks to Sarah for letting me create these beautiful and unique flowers for a wedding in the tropics.

Real Wedding: Sarah (Part 1)

Local Bride Sarah came to me with a shorter time frame for her destination wedding. Her original inspiration was a solid red bouquet of Anemones. We explored a few options including poppies and roses, but what really caught her eye was something completely different! At our consultation I showed her the ever-popular fresh touch white Calla Lilies and some gorgeous fresh touch Orchids in a bright red. It threw her for a loop but she loved the combination. We started working with the flowers to come up with the perfect designs.

Check out the personal flowers!

Groom's Boutonniere: White Calla, red Orchids, ivory satin ribbon

Groomsmen Bouts: White Calla, red Orchid, black satin ribbon

Corsages: White Callas, red Orchids, black satin ribbon and bow.

Check back in the next few days to see her beautiful bouquets. An elegant combination of bridal white and south-of-the-border red.

Sangria (Part 2)

We wanted the same flowers and colors to blend through to the personal flowers for Danielle's wedding. We added a mini Calla Lilly in a darker shade of the Sangria to make the Groom's bout stand out. We used one of the Cream/Sangria callas for the Groomsmen bouts and for the ringbearer, we used a mini ivory calla. We used ivory callas for the rest of the bouts and corsages and even added some bling. Check out the pictures below to see exactly how the flowers were incorporated.

Groom's Boutonniere

Groomsmen Boutonnieres

Ringbearer Boutonniere

Father's Boutonniere

Mother's Corsage

Thanks to Danielle for giving me the chance to find another way to use this gorgeous jewel tone in a new and beautiful way.

This Season's Hot Color: Sangria

Bride Danielle contacted me requesting flowers that worked with her main color - Sangria. At this point in the wedding season, this was the third wedding I had done based on this exact color. It's a fun challenge for me to come up with new designs incorporating the same color.

One of the flowers Danielle mentioned were Calla Lilies, a wedding flower staple. It was a little more challenging to find a coordinating variety, but I found a beautiful Calla that faded from Cream to Sangria. We combined it with some ivory callas in a smaller size to fill in the bouquet and wrapped it with Sangria satin ribbon. Here's what we created:

The bridesmaids carried 7 of the cream/sangria Callas with silver ribbon.

The toss bouquet was a smaller arrangement of 3 callas with Sangria ribbon.

Danielle gave me a lot of freedom in suggesting flowers and shapes because what was important to her was finding flowers that matched such a unique color. I felt these classic designs were the best route to go - incorporating such a rich and fantastic color without overdoing it or going over the top in the design process. Check back to see how we worked these same flowers into the bouts and corsages.

Tropical Sensation--Personal Flowers

We wanted Carly's personal flowers to reflect the atmosphere, the colors, and the feel of her beach wedding. I was able to incorporate various flowers in the different boutonnieres and corsages to come up with some unique and fitting designs.

Groom's Bout: Mini Calla lily, Orchid, Leucondendron leaves

Father's Bouts: Calla lily, Leucondendron leaves

Groomsmen Bouts: Calla lily, Sweet Pea, Leucondendron bud

Mothers' Corsages: Crystal Wristlet, Calla lily, Sweet Pea, Hydrangea

Grandmother's Corsage: Pearl Wristlet, Calla lily, Hydrangea, Sweet Pea

A big thanks to Carly for allowing me such freedom in designing these gorgeous flowers!

Tropical Sensation--Bouquets

I love doing destination weddings! They usually involve bright, tropical flowers, and super excited brides with great tans. Such was the case with local bride Carly. But the story actually goes way back to last January when I did the Maple Grove Bridal expo (remember this?).

At the time of our initial consultation, she wasn't sure what style she liked or what types of flowers she wanted, it was more of wanting to hear more about what I could do. After a few months, she e-mailed me wondering if silks were still an option. Her wedding was about a month away, so we had to meet and chat and decide...in that order.

What we came up with has to be one of my favorite bridal bouquets yet. The deep magentas and the bright fuchsias played off each other so well. Her monochromatic bouquet included lots of different types of flowers, letting each texture and shape speak for itself.

Bridal Bouquet: Banana Flowers, Hydrangea, Mini Calla Lilies, Sweet Pea, Orchids, Orchids, and more Orchids! Ivory satin ribbon for the finishing touch.

Carly wanted the bridesmaids bouquets to be the opposite contrast from the her bouquet. She also wanted their teal dresses to keep that fun, beachy feel by featuring white bouquets. We did bring in some of the magenta with a little bit of satin ribbon on the stem.

Bridesmaid Bouquets: White lilies and Callas.

Can't you just see these on the beach of Cabo? Check back later to see how we tropical-ified the bouts and corsages.

Real silk wedding flower story: Kelsey (Part 3)

When Kelsey and I met, she told me about the centerpieces she had envisioned for her reception venue. She wanted full, colorful arrangements on tall vases with twigs inside. We met several times and after catching me a couple times on Google chat, we talked through the possibility of a mockup for her centerpieces. She was having a hard time imagining what they would look like. So I went shopping and found all sorts of possibilities of flowers that would work.

After coming to a consensus of what to include and what shape she wanted, I got to work making the first of her 17 centerpieces. I e-mailed her with a picture of our experiment and, aside from one flower sticking up a little too high, she loved it. That's just one of the great things about silk flowers, Kelsey's feedback was invaluable and she was really happy knowing what she would be getting.

So after lots of trimming, arranging, hot glue burns, and wishing I had a pet beaver to chop all the sticks, we had finished products. Kelsey also hired me to deliver and set up the centerpieces so I got to see the finished arrangements in their happy home, the Town and Country Club in St. Paul, Minnesota.

So before you get too bored of reading, here's the beautiful end result:

Thanks again to Kelsey for a wonderful and exciting experience!

Real silk wedding flower story: Kelsey (Part 2)

Kelsey's flowers all worked really well for the boutonnieres and corsages she needed. We even found some adorable mini daisies to work into the arrangements.

Corsage with a Fresh touch Calla in Orange/Gold and a mini daisy in burnt orange.

A bit of sheer ribbon in her matching red added a little hint of femininity to this classy piece.

Boutonniere with a fresh touch Calla in Orange/Gold and red sheer ribbon.

A very clean, sophisticated look for the guys.

Corsage with 2 mini Gerbera daisies in burnt orange and burnt orange ribbon.

This fun design was a punch of color with a softer look.

Boutonniere using 2 mini Callas, one Gold and one Orange/Gold.

This visually interesting piece separated this boutonniere from some of the other styles while maintaining the flow and theme of the overall designs.

Check back soon for Kelsey's centerpieces - a team effort!

Real silk Wedding flower story: Kelsey (Part 1)

Kelsey and I started meeting to talk about flowers last spring which gave us plenty of time to hash out the details of her November 2010 wedding. Her color swatch of the girls' dresses was a rich red, but wasn't too deep, more of a cheery fall red. She definitely wanted the Autumn look with matching red, gold and burnt orange flowers. She liked the style of the bouquet you see in my header picture, so I started looking for Gerbera Daisies in her color scheme. Knowing she liked callas as well, I found red and orange ones that worked perfectly. We tied off her bouquet with red satin ribbon and the girls all carried smaller versions of her bouquet with orange ribbon.

Tune in later this week, to see all the personal flowers and her gorgeous rustic centerpieces.

Fashionable Feathers

Georgia Bride Sommona had one specific request when we started designing her wedding flowers--she wanted peacock feathers as a main feature. I decided to take her ideas along a not-so-traditional route. Instead of matching the colors in the feathers with flowers, I found a way to make them stand out. By using lighter colored flowers for her September wedding, the rich tones of the feathers became more than just a subtle accent.

Her bridesmaids were going to be wearing midnight blue and Oasis blue, so the scheme still needed to coordinate, but in a funky vibrant sort of way. We settled on a nice green and white color scheme to complement the dresses and Sommona's style. She liked orchids and hydrangea and wanted a hint of purple in her bouquet. From those details, we constructed the look that was perfect for her.



Bridal Bouquet: White roses, white hydrangea, green hydrangea, green cymbidium orchids, orchid hydrangea, peacock feathers.
Toss Bouquet: White roses, orchid colored hydrangea

Both bouquets incorporated her bridesmaid dress colors with midnight blue satin ribbon with oasis colored ribbon ballerina wrapped and finished off with pearl-head pins.

Sommona's 6 bridesmaids carried a contemporary design with green and white hydrangea and an off center placement of 3 peacock feathers. These bouquets were also finished off with a ballerina wrap and pearl-head pins but in the opposite colors as the Bridal and Toss Bouquets.

Thanks to Sommona and her happy new husband for working with me on such modern and fun flowers. Blessings in your new marriage!

Alternative Arrangements

Amanda, who I mentioned in my last post, had settled on the luxurious St. Paul College Club for her reception. Located next to the Governor's mansion in St. Paul, Minnesota, this charming and historically rich home is a great place for a wedding any time of year. Built in 1916, it boasts 25 rooms, 10 baths, and 7 fireplaces. Their website not only provides the historical context for this fascinating building, but also provides virtual tours of the facilities. Be sure and check it out!

Ok, back to Amanda...after she picked up her finished flowers, she made a discovery about her venue. There was a gorgeous fireplace, with a not so gorgeous feather wreath and she really wanted an alternative arrangement. We talked through several ideas including another wreath that incorporated her flowers and colors. But as I hunted around I came across a beautiful, rustic, detailed window pane that I knew would be perfect for the space. The wrought iron detail made it interesting on its own, but adding in flowers and greenery would make it that much more spectacular.

(This is a picture of the actual fireplace.)

Our original idea for the design was to have small clusters spread out over the pane. But as I started playing around with it, we realized it was just too pretty to be covered up so much. So we kept moving the clusters until they got farther and farther away from ironwork, allowing it to showcase the beautiful details. We added in some greenery and voila, it was perfect! So without further ado, here's the finishing touch on Amanda's beautiful fall flowers:

Boxwood, Phalenopsis Orchids in cream, Mini Phalenopsis Orchids in Burgundy, and Bear Grass.

I'm looking forward to seeing this beauty hanging in its rightful place come September. And the great part about this piece is that we designed it to also hang in Amanda's home after the wedding. Amanda was so easy to work with and gave such great feedback all throughout the design process. Best wishes to her and her fiance'!

Keep the stress low by planning ahead

The wedding planning process often starts many months before the actual wedding day and there are lots of reasons why you need so much time. For local bride Amanda, she would be spending the year leading up to her September 2011 wedding studying for and then taking the BAR exam. Amanda's aspirations to become a lawyer meant she needed to make some big decisions about her wedding before her brain was too full of legal jargon to think of anything else.

Amanda saw my booth at the Maple Grove Wedding Expo last January and decided silk flowers would be a good option for her. Knowing that she wanted to take care of as many details ahead of time as she could, she liked the idea of choosing, ordering, and receiving her flowers before the calendar even flipped to 2011. After a couple meetings, we decided on deep red roses to complement the season and her style. She also wanted some greenery that wasn't the typical ivy or even rose leaves. I found some rich colored roses and perfect boxwood greens to give her arrangements a little bit of fall and a whole lot of fabulous.

Bridal Bouquet:

Bridesmaid Bouquet:

Boutonniere:

I get the warm fuzzies each time I get the chance to really help someone prepare for their wedding. And in this case, providing Amanda with her flowers a year before her wedding not only gave her the convenience of planning at her pace, but now she's got a little more room to learn about the legal system. Good luck Amanda!

Blushing Bride

I've always been drawn to the bright, the funky, and the unique. So when this design popped into my head, I was a little surprised at myself! It's definitely a very chic bridal look with the blush and pink and bling of course! All of these beautiful flowers are part of the new spring lines and are absolutely perfect for a romantic aisle walk. Take a look!

Made up of blush pink Rose buds, Hydrangea with green/white/pink tips, and mauve Scabiosa pods it's like a fluffy vision of perfection. I finished it off with some ivory satin ribbon and a beautiful vintage looking pearl and rhinestone broach. This bouquet would work for anytime of year with it's lush textures and soft tones. Can't you just see the candlelight, hear the soft music, and feel the lacy aisle runner beneath your feet?

*sigh* Makes me want to get married all over again.

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.

Wolves & Weddings Winner!

Congratulations to Katy Nase whose home is going to be a little bit cleaner and greener thanks to her new prize. Her GenerationMe Newlywed Green and Clean prize pack includes:

5 Washup Towels

10 Two-ply Paperless Towels

12 One-ply Paperless Towels

2 Reusable Produce Bags

2 Reusable Duster Covers

2 Reusable Swiffer Sweeper Pads

Wondering how I chose the winner? Thanks to Random.org and their "True Random Number Generator" I didn't have to make the call.

Thanks again for all of you who signed up to win. I appreciate that you took the time to check out my blog and I look forward to working with you on your custom wedding flowers.

Highlights from the Expo

A big thanks for all of you who stopped by my booth at the Carlson Craft, The Knot, and Minnesotat Timberwolves sponsored event, Wolves and Weddings.

I had such a blast putting my booth together and getting to meet some fun and adventurous brides and grooms!

I even had one groom who had signed up for the event on his own, going around to all the booths collecting info and was going to surprise his bride the next day with all the research he had done. It didn't hurt that he got to do it while hanging out with his buddies and watching the game.

One of my favorite parts about getting ready for the show was this brand new focal point piece. I'm pretty sure no one could ignore the giant rose pomander I had on top of a 36" vase filled with orchids. Men, women, and kids all stopped to check it out and ask if it was real. I still get giddy at the look of shock on people's face when I tell them they are all silk flowers. I didn't have to worry about people breaking off petals, keep the stems watered, or all the gorgeous whites turning ugly brown by the end of the event.

I also had a good variety of sample bouquets in different colors and styles for brides and grooms to check out. The biggest hits were my new fall bouquet, a gorgeous bouquet of fresh touch Calla Lilies, and a very elegant and chic Blushing Bridal Bouquet. Check back next week for some up close and personal introductions of those three styles. Boutonnieres and corsages were also featured, as well as this cake display you may remember from before.

Now, for those of you who took a moment to sign up for GenerationMe giveaway, the winner will be announced on Tuesday, February 15. Be sure to check back for the announcement as well as more fun posts full of gorgeous flowers.

Thanks again to Carlson Craft, The Knot, and the Minnesota Timberwolves for a great event!