Jewel Tones in Silk Wedding Flowers

For the past few years, jewel tones have been super popular for wedding, color schemes, dress, silk wedding flowers, and decor.  They are vibrant and saturated and so beautiful any time of the year which makes them perfect for incorporating into your wedding theme.  But, what's even more fun is adding actual jewels to your jewel toned arrangements!

Local bride Mara's arrangements will be perfect whether her September 1st wedding day is still warm and summery or cool and fall-like.  Her original design was magenta Peonies, orange Ranunculus and olive Hydrangea and used two different shades of gold ribbon to tie off the bouquets.  Mara was feeling a little unsure of whether she was getting the impact she wanted with the ribbon so she was able to stop over and see the flowers in person.  (One of the perks of silk wedding flowers if I do say so myself!)

When she stopped over she also brought over some snazzy little Swarovski jewels in teal that she wanted added into her flowers.  Her flowers were beautiful before, but man did they really shine after I added them in!

Take a look! 

Ribbon wrap detail

Wristlet

Mara wanted all the flowers represented in her bouts without making them too over the top.  I used the Ranunculus for the main flower, took a tiny bit of the Hydrangea and a portion of a Peony petal and put them into one classy bout.  Voila!

Thanks again to Mara for requesting such a fun and vibrant design for me to bring to life!

Color Trend--Purple! | Silk Wedding Flowers

I really wrote this post because I wanted to share this picture with you of these gorgeous silk wedding flowers.  I've been working on flowers for Heather who I met with back in March to start designing a bouquet, boutonnieres, and corsages for her intimate July garden wedding.  Her palette of white and lavender is romantic and soft but so perfect for an outdoor wedding.  Heather loves Wisteria and chose that to be a major part of the bouquet.  She chose a unique shape for her bouquet - not quite round, not quite cascade, but some features of both styles.  She described to me how she wanted what looked like a "fountain" of flowers pouring out over her hands.  Even though this bouquet isn't quite finished yet, it's really starting to take shape.  We have plans for feathers and bling too--so check back in a few weeks to see the finished product.

I emailed this picture to Heather for feedback this morning.  Did you know I do that with all my brides?  It's important to me that you are an active part of the design process, plus you get to see exactly how the flowers are coming together.  Which means no surprises on your wedding day--the right flowers, colors, and styles are guaranteed for your big day. I don't know about you, but that's one of my favorite features of designer silk wedding flowers.  If you need a few more convincing reasons, I've got a whole list of them on my homepage;)

Are you looking for ideas for purple wedding bouquets?  Here are some flowers I'm currently working with in varying shades of purple or lavender:

Hydrangea

Sweet Pea

Wisteria

Dahlias

Anemones

Purple is a hot color right now, as are lots of the jewel tones.  So keep your eyes peeled for ideas on how to incorporate this rich color into your wedding flowers.

Summer Vow Renewal: Peach & Ivory Silk Wedding Flowers

My friend Teri, got in touch with me a few weeks ago to put together a boutonniere and corsage for her son and his prom date.  They were going to prom at each of their schools, and not wanting double the expenses, Teri hired me as way to get extra mileage out of their prom purchases.

Prom came and went, and now it was Teri's turn to enjoy some beautiful flowers.  She hired me again to create some beautiful arrangements for her summer vow renewal.  *Sigh*-- how romantic!  Her one request was that she wanted to incorporate one of her original wedding colors, peach.  And she was so impressed with the quality of the fresh touch Calla Lilies in the prom arrangements, she chose them for her own wedding flowers.

I started hunting down the perfect flowers and came across these peach roses with a more vibrant edging.  Paired with the ivory callas, it was a perfect fit for what Teri had been hoping for.

Teri's Bouquet:



Her gals will carry smaller versions of her silk wedding bouquet:

 

Ivory ribbon for the finishing touch.

Her lucky husband and their 3 sons will wear an ivory calla accented with peach Freesia tied off with sheer silver ribbon to match their silver vests.

Thanks again to Teri who put her faith in custom silk wedding flowers for her summer vow renewal.  Congratulations on your many wonderful years of marriage--truly an accomplishment!

Fresh Touch Flowers Feature: Calla Lilies

As a designer silk florist, I work really hard to change people's perceptions about using silk flowers for their weddings.  Sometimes they think I'm using bargain bin craft store flowers.  Other times, they can't get it out of their head what their Aunt Milly whipped together with dusty ivy and fraying daisies for her own wedding.

All I have to do is introduce them to one of these fresh touch Calla Lilies and they tend to agree, right along with me, that these are the best silk wedding flowers in the world, the best in the universe, the best in the stratosphere!  Can you tell I love these babies?!
This, folks, is why designer silk wedding flowers are worth your time...

Botanically accurate feel and appearance.

Seamless stems.

What a gorgeous wedding bouquet--and for a fraction of what you would pay for fresh callas!  These amazing flowers will look great months before, moments before, and years after your wedding.  Fill out a bridal checklist today to find out how I can incorporate these picture perfect, fresh touch Calla Lilies in your wedding flowers.

Forgetful Friday - Southern Charm | Silk Wedding Flowers

You know that nagging feeling you get when you know you've neglected to take care of something? Have you ever had that happen and realize you were only...say, 3 1/2 years late in taking care of said responsibility?! Welcome to my world!

The other afternoon I had a bouquet come to mind and I knew it was one of my favorites and that I had some beautiful portraits from Diana Daley somewhere on my computer. The more I searched, the less I could remember what had happened to the pictures. So I did what any good sleuth blogger would do and backtracked through all of my blog posts and found some evidence waaaay back in 2008. You can see my original blog post about Alana's flowers but what I really want to show you are these:

I absolutely love the gorgeous and vibrant colors of the bridesmaid bouquets contrasted against Alana's blush pink, white, and green bouquet. All the girls carried Hydrangeas, Ranunculus, and Orchids, and Alana's bouquet also included Gardenia.

It's always fun for me to see my designs in their intended setting and it's even more fun to dig up some lost treasures like Alana's! It's a little late in coming, but here's what Alana had to say about working with me:

Erin:

I don't know how to thank you again for the wonderful work you did for me. I have and will continue to recommend you to anyone and everyone I know. The flowers were the one part of the planning process that went perfectly.

Thank you for giving me the flowers of my dreams!
-Alana

If you like what you see, be sure to check out Diana's beautiful work.

Silk Wedding Flowers In Her Words

The flowers Erin did for our wedding were perfect. She has such a natural eye for piecing together bouquets and I was completely comfortable with letting her take the lead on which flowers would go in each bouquet and how all of the flowers would come together cohesively. At first, I was worried that I was getting carried away by adding such a variety of different flowers to our bouquets but everything came together just like I imagined due to Erin's talent for arranging. Erin's number one goal was that the flowers would turn out exactly how we wanted, and she took great care to send pictures while she was making each set of flowers to make sure that would happen. We received so many compliments on our flowers; they were definitely the most realistic silk flowers I've ever seen. They photographed so well and stand out as one of the most beautiful parts of our black, white and pink wedding. Not having to worry about unopened or wilting flowers (especially at an outdoor wedding on one of the hottest days of the summer) gave us all peace of mind! I would recommend Erin in a heartbeat.

-Emily R., Minnesota

Thanks again to Emily and Steve for including me in so many aspects of your beautiful wedding! And another huge thank you to Brianna Colleen for sharing these lovely images.

Emily and Steve - Summer Silk Wedding Flowers Part 3

Emily and Steve's big wedding day was held at the beautiful and historic Cedarhurst Mansion in Cottage Grove, Minnesota. Now a July wedding in Minnesota could mean any number of things, but for this happy couple it meant it was going to be HOT!

Sure enough, July 9th was one of the hottest days of summer. It felt like we were somewhere in the south with the big veranda and large open windows of the Mansion's ball room. What's that you say? No, "open windows" was not a typo. If you've put two and two together yet you've come to realize that Cedarhurst is not air conditioned.

This could spell disaster for a traditional florist.

So here's where I came into play.

Emily's flowers took a beating between being carried behind the barn, set down for pictures, squashed between hugs, and the boiling hot air. And I'm proud to say that they looked exactly the same when the clock struck midnight as they did for pictures in the early afternoon.

 Take a looky look at photographer Brianna Colleen's beautiful work.

Emily's honorary arrangement doubled as ceremony and reception decor. We also used the silk wedding bouquets as reception decor for the head table-just add vases!

Emily's beautiful silk wedding bouquet.

Like what you see? Check out Brianna's blog post about Emily and Steve's wedding--she did an amazing job capturing the beauty and spirit of the day.

Remember I said Emily had a few things to say about working with me? You can check back tomorrow to hear it in her own words.

Emily & Steve- Summer Silk Wedding Flowers Part 2

Emily had some elements in her wedding that were fairly traditional and needed some floral touches. Of course, there was the fun and flirty toss bouquet--who's sole purpose in life is to go hurtling towards all her single friends. We decided to use the pale pink fresh touch Callas, Lily of the Valley and a little greenery to create a cute and aerodynamic bouquet. Ok, not really about that last part but it did look pretty great flying through the air.

The happy couple also had some treasured family members who weren't around to celebrate such an important day with them. They wanted to honor their lives and their impact on their families with a small family arrangement they had placed at the ceremony. We used the Peonies, Callas, and Lily of the Valley for this sentimental and sweet arrangement. Placed in a 7" silver Julep cup, it was the perfect piece for their ceremony.

Of course there were boutonnieres for the guys--Steve let us get away with one small pink peony bud;)

The groomsmen matched the Bridesmaids with their pink Calla and Lily of the Valley sprig.

Everyone looked so sharp and since I had the privilege of attending the wedding as guest and Day of Coordinator, I can personally attest to it. But (said in Reading Rainbow voice), you don't have to take my word for it!

Up next are some beautiful photographs for Emily and Steve's big day, courtesy of Brianna Colleen Photography. AND you get to hear from Emily herself about her experience with silk wedding flowers on a hot July day.

Emily & Steve - Summer Silk Wedding Flowers Part 1

Local bride Emily and I have known each other for several years, so when she asked me to meet with her about silk wedding flowers, I was so excited! She had already done some work gathering pictures from magazines and online and had some great ideas for her flowers. We talked through her style, colors, and favorites flowers. I showed her the beautiful fresh touch Callas, Roses, Peonies, and Ranunculus that lots of my brides are raving about. She chose a soft pink and white color palette which was perfect for her July wedding.

The bouquets were done in a round, hand-tied bouquets style and had some fresh-from-the-garden elements that really added a lot. Emily wanted some wedding bouquet bling, but in a unique way that enhanced the romantic setting of her ceremony and reception. Take a look at what we came up with:

Callas, Roses, Peonies, Lily of the Valley, and Ranunculus

We added a clear beaded cascading element that hung down the front of her bouquet. It was tasteful and elegant but also a glamorous choice to add a little shine to her bouquet.

The Bridesmaids Bouquets

Ranunculus, Callas, and Lily of the Valley

The 'Maids were wearing black so we complimented their dresses with black satin ribbon on the stems. We also added some rhinestones into the bouquets to add a little sparkle.

Emily and Steve's wedding had some more inspiring arrangements that you can check out later this week.

Designer Silk Wedding Flowers | Deb Part 3 | Centerpiece Construction Process

Deb's centerpieces were a work of art that we worked on together! My half of the assignment was to design a silk wedding flower arrangement meant to feel fresh picked and loosely arranged. Deb's half was a DIY project that consisted of a hurricane vase and a crystal fringe wrapped around it.

Here's a mockup I did with Deb's flowers to give her an idea of what I was thinking. She loved it, so we moved on to the next step.

Deb had been painting wire grids she would be using to attach the crystals to. My arrangement was designed to rest on the grid and hang over the edge to hide it - it was quite a balancing act! Each centerpiece had Orchids, Lilacs, and Violets.

We didn't want that big gaping hole in the middle showing off Deb's fabulous paint job, so I made another wedding flower arrangement to sit in the center that was made up of purple and white Hydrangea.

One of the driving forces behind the way I chose to do these arrangements is that Deb had recruited friends and family to assemble all the decor in her hall in the short amount time it would be open to them. Their construction needed to be intuitive and sturdy. Because Deb chose silk flower centerpieces for her wedding, she was able to work directly with me on this design. She had the money-saving option of friends and family for set up so I kept that in mind.

Overall, the arrangements we designed during our consultations were cohesive, beautiful, affordable, and exactly what Deb had been dreaming of.

Thanks again to Deb for choosing me to bring your vision to life!

Designer Silk Wedding Flowers | Deb Part 2 | Bouquets

As I mentioned in my last post, Deb really wanted her bridesmaid bouquets to be just a fabulous as her own bouquet. Ok, well just a tad less fabulous because we can't have the maids upstaging the bride!

Just like the modifications we made on the cascade style for the bridal bouquet, we switched up the shape of the bridesmaids bouquets too. Instead of a traditional round hand tied wedding bouquet, Deb wanted that "just from the garden" look for the girls to carry. In this case, the Lilacs really helped achieve that look with their linear shape. Instead of tucking those beauties down in the bouquet, we featured their length by extending them out past the other flowers. Take a look!

And of course the ladies needed some bouquet bling too! We duplicated the rhinestones both in the wedding bouquet and along the handle of the bouquet for some shine.

Deb's Toss Bouquet was just a cute little thing that highlighted her purple flowers and was an appropriate size for a toss bouquet. Because her other bouquets were quite large we didn't want the toss bouquet to turn into a load bearing air craft when she tossed it to all her single friends. No one wants a black eye for pictures!

Deb's vision for sparkle and glamour isn't quite done! Check back tomorrow see the design process for her centerpieces.

Designer Silk Wedding Flowers | Deb Part 1 | Modified Cascade

If you've ever tried to reinvent the wheel, then you'll probably know where I'm coming from on this wedding bouquet. Deb came to me with a glamorous vision for her May wedding. One of the ideas she had was for a new take on the tried and true cascade bouquet. She passed along a picture of what I've come to call a "modified cascade" bouquet and got excited about working on this design with her.

Deb wanted cohesiveness between her silk wedding bouquet and her bridesmaid bouquets, but she wanted the glam factor to be kicked up a notch for what she was going to carry down the aisle. After several meetings, we had chosen the exact flowers going into the bouquet and then worked on this beauty until it was just perfect. Take a look at Deb's modified cascade in purple, white, and silver:

A closeup of lower details:

Fresh touch Roses, Callas & Gardenia in white. Hydrangea, Violets, Orchids, and Lilac in varying shades of purple.

The curly silver wire gave this bouquet an element that you wouldn't otherwise expect in a bridal bouquet while the rhinestones in the bouquet and on the handle gave it the sparkle and shine Deb really wanted.

If you are looking for a unique take on more traditional wedding flower designs, silk wedding flowers are the way to go. Not only did Deb get to choose every flower that would go into her arrangements, but seeing them ahead of time reassured her that the colors and flowers would be exactly what she had envisioned for her very unique bouquet.

Check back tomorrow for another feature on this amazing wedding!

Peonies in Action!

I was in love with Briana's silk wedding flowers--anyone that came over while I was working on these beauties had to put up with my gushing for a few minutes as I showed them off. They photograph beautifully, they stand out in any setting, and they are my favorite flower--trifecta!

This tantalizing eye candy is brought to you by the ever-so-talented Agape Moments Photography out of Oak Grove, Minnesota. Be sure and browse their site to see more!

I love the vintage look of this shot--seems pretty timeless!

Don't they look perfect even with the snow?! Who woulda thought?

Thank you so much for your wonderful work! They were absolutely perfect and we received lots of compliments on them! I couldn't be happier:)

Sincerely,
Briana

Thanks again to Briana for trusting me with her silk wedding flowers and to Agape Moments Photography for such beautiful work.

Want to see examples of other weddings that incorporated peonies? Take a look here, here, and here.

Peonies in Wedding Boutonnieres & Corsages

Briana and I worked together to find simply designed boutonnieres and corsages that were cohesive with the rest of her silk wedding flowers. Ranunculus were the perfect choice! The fullness of the flower, the round shape, and the fluffy appearance made them look as if they might be mini Peonies.

Groom's Boutonniere:

Groomsmen Boutonniere:

Father's Boutonniere:

While we figured the men in the bridal party might not appreciate pink in their boutonnieres, we thought the moms would. I was able to use one of the Peony buds along with an open Ranunculus and a bud to give their corsages a punch of color and a touch of femininity.

Mother's Corsage:

And now the best part of this whole series...coming up next, the professional pictures of Briana's wedding flowers. Wait til you see these gorgeous wedding arrangements against a wintry backdrop--amazing!

Peonies in...Winter?

One of the great things about silk wedding flowers is that you don't have wait until a type of flower is in season and you don't have to fork over a big chunk of change to get out of season flowers.

Briana contacted me and wanted the big fluffy pink Peonies that you see in all the bridal magazines. Her girls were wearing Peacock colored dresses, an up and coming color trend for 2012. She wanted flowers that were really going to stand out against their dresses and she didn't care one bit that her flower of choice is usually a spring/summer flower. I breathed a sigh of relief knowing I could get exactly what she wanted. And I gotta say, I love a bride that marches to her own beat! I thought these bouquets were absolutely gorgeous and I loved that she didn't go with a typical winter theme for her January 21st wedding.

Bridal Bouquet

We took an "opposite" approach to the bridesmaid bouquets. The Bridal bouquet had mostly pink, so the bridesmaids carried mostly white. We also changed up the ribbon color and wrap length to give it a slightly different style.

Bridesmaid Bouquet

As you might notice, peonies are pretty large; too large for any of the personal flowers. Check back to see how we incorporated such a fluffy shape in the boutonnieres and corsages. And then after that, I have some B-E-A-Utiful pictures from Briana's gorgeous winter wedding. You won't want to miss it!

Winter Perfection--Red & White Silk Wedding Flowers

Here in my neck of the woods, we just got our first major snowfall. Pretty crazy considering it came at the tail end of February--usually we are already up to our elbows in snow. This put me in the mood to showcase some beautiful pictures sent over from Michelle at Maida Photography of a wedding in a classic color scheme for winter. And since winter is almost over, I thought I'd better get on it!
Like I mentioned in this post, I've had lots of different color palettes, so doing a read and white one didn't feel like the same old, same old. And as you can see below the red wedding flowers really pop even against red dresses!

Bride Katie contacted me and set up a consultation back in August for her January 21st wedding. She liked the looks of Beth & Bryan's wedding flowers as well as Amanda's silk wedding flowers. So we designed a hybrid of the two styles and came up with these beautiful arrangements.

Katie carried red Roses, red Orchids, white Orchids, and Boxwood in her bouquet. Her girls carried solid red bouquets with both Roses and Orchids and finished off with a halo of Boxwood.

The happy couple!

Katie and her 'maids.

Thanks again to Katie for the opportunity to design such classy arrangements. And a great big thanks to Michelle Maida for sharing these beautiful pictures of my designer silk wedding flowers. If you are looking for a great photographer, head on over to her website and check her out.

Winter Wedding Designer Bouquets

Minnesota bride Julie had given me enough details before our consultation to have a head start on choosing her designer silk wedding bouquet options. And when it came down to it, she loved them all! So much so that we incorporated all the options into her arrangements. She wanted some varying shades of purple, some crisp white, a hint of greenery, and of course a little bling.

(I think that was the theme for this winter, Bling!)

Bridal Bouquet: Roses, Hydrangea, Calla Lilies, Pom Pom Mums, Stephanotis, Bling, Purple Satin Ribbon

Bridesmaid Bouquet: Roses, Hydrangea, Calla Lilies, Pom Pom Mums, Stephanotis, Bling, Silver Satin Ribbon

Toss Bouquet: Hydrangea, Pom Pom Mums, Callas

Getting married in the winter doesn't mean your theme needs to be red and green or blue and white, there are tons of color combinations to highlight the season. Add purple and white to that list because jewel tones are a huge hit for winter and fall weddings.

Thanks again to Julie for choosing me to put a new spin on her winter wedding!

New Spin on Winter Wedding Flowers

I'm really pleased to have gotten a great variety in the weddings I've done for this winter. No two weddings were alike which made it a fun time of creating and designing for me! Minnesota bride Julie came to me with a purple and white color scheme but had some great ideas for details to make her winter wonderland silk wedding flowers come together.

We took a simple design of a single white Calla boutonniere and dressed it up with some Willow branches that I painted white.

Groom's Boutonniere:

Groomsmen Boutonniere:

For the corsages we used mini Pom Pom Mums in white--don't they look like little snowballs? We added some deep purple ribbon and some sparkly rhinestones to give these little beauties an icy shine.

Corsage:

Julie ended up adding a cake topper to her order after we had originally figured out all her other arrangements.

Cake Topper

The bouquets are always my favorite part of custom wedding flowers packages, so be sure and take a look tomorrow to see Julie's beautiful bouquets.

White Bridal Cascade Bouquet & Sentimental Details

Surprisingly, the all-white wedding bouquet is turning out to be a rare sight at weddings these days. But white can be a great "color" to set apart your bouquet from the bridesmaid's bouquets. Take a look at Rachel's silk wedding bouquet of white Roses, Gardenia, and Stephanotis. Made in the cascade style -- it's in the language of wedding tradition but has the dialect of a more modern bride. We added in some rhinestones to really up the subtle beauty of this bouquet.

Rachel had a small handkerchief that was her Godmother's that she wanted to include in her bouquet. She didn't want it to be a main feature, but wanted to include it in a way that was visible to her since it was a sentimental piece for her. We decided to tuck it in behind the ribbon on the handle, just leaving a small portion of the lace peeking out.

With such a feminine style of bouquet, we wanted to include the same flowers in the groom's boutonniere without making him feel like he had to wear a girly flower. We used one of the smaller Gardenias and 1 Stephanotis flower to keep the two arrangements in the same theme. Then to give the boutonniere just a little something extra, we added a rhinestone to the Stephanotis. Manly, but matching--can't beat that!


Thanks to Rachel, for choosing me to design such a special bouquet with sentimental value!

Pink & Blue - Upgrading to Silk Wedding Flowers

When local bride Pink (yes that's her real name!) showed up for her consultation with me, the first words out of her mouth were, "I've actually decided to go with fresh flowers." Now, it doesn't take a genius to figure out that a statement like that usually doesn't bode well for someone in my line of work.

I offered to show Pink my sample bouquets and the sample stems I had chosen for her and give her an on-the-spot quote for her wedding. When Pink took a look at all that Love Is Blooming has to offer -- high quality, realistic flowers, the custom design process, and affordable pricing --Pink decided then and there to order her designer wedding flowers through me.

Over several months, we exchanged emails, I adjusted her order as her wedding party changed, and she gave great feedback on how her flowers were coming together. Her blue and white wedding colors came together beautifully for her October wedding. I was able to fulfill all her requests for the little details as well as for her overall vision.

Two shades of blue Roses, white Stephanotis, Rhinestones.

If you are looking for personal service, silk wedding flower designs that are custom, not cookie-cutter, and arrangements that fit your budget, fill out a bridal checklist now! I triple dog dare ya!