Bling Is The Thing: Part 2 | Designer Silk Wedding Flowers

Heather had done quite a bit of research in deciding what she wanted her wedding flowers to look like.  But unlike most brides, she also put a lot of thought into the boutonnieres and corsages.  She sent me pictures of some amazing details she wanted to incorporate and then she put me up to the task of tailoring them to her flowers, colors and needs.

The groom's boutonniere: Lavender Sweet Pea, white Freesia, feathers, greens, green decorative wire.

Her brother's boutonniere

The dad's boutonnieres.

The mom's and grandma's wristlet corsages on pearl beaded bracelets: Hydrangea, Freesia, ribbon, rhinestones.

Attendant's corsage: Freesia, Hydrangea, rhinestones.

Heather did a great job of choosing designs that were thoughtful, beautiful, and carried the theme throughout the arrangements.  Her love of bling was used tastefully and uniquely--two very important things in wedding flowers.  Thanks Heather for trusting me to bring your vision to life and I wish you all the best!

Bridal Arm Silk Wedding Bouquet with Yellow Calla Lillies: Choosing a Unique Design

There is a certain thrill of having a deadline and I especially work well under pressure.  But how about when that deadline is a mere 2 weeks away and you are starting from scratch.  As they say in Cool Runnings,"No problem, mahn!"

Serina called me on a Thursday evening and wanted to get together to talk about flowers.  I did my usual, "How many bridesmaids?  What are your colors? Yadda, yadda, yadda."  I was already starting to get a few ideas when I threw out the all important, "And what's your wedding date?"  Good thing she couldn't see my jaw hit my desktop when she told me it was July 14th.  As in, 16 days away.

Our appointment was really a great way to nail down exact details of what she wanted.  Her 7 bridesmaids will carry yellow and white callas with sheer yellow ribbon.  And the groomsmen boutonnieres will be a yellow calla with yellow ribbon.  Very classy and chic.
 

When we got to the design of her bouquet, Serina emphasized that she was looking for something unique.  At this point she had been leaning towards a cascade bouquet so I started to introduce the idea of a modified cascade bouquet.  I like to reinvent the wheel, remember?  What we came up with is a hybrid bouquet that has the fluid draping elements of the cascade bouquet combined with the long stemmed look of the arm bouquet.  And of course we really upped the ante by doing a rhinestone wrap along the entire length of the handle.
 
Bridal Arm Bouquet. Phalenopsis Orchids, Yellow Callas, Ivory Callas

 

The groom's bout was a good match with its own rhinestone band.

When I finished these beautifies I felt a little bit like hitting that little clock thingy at a chess match and yelling, "Checkmate!"  There's something fun about a challenge and this certainly was one.  Thanks Serina for keeping me on my toes!

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!

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!

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!

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.

Arm Bouquets For Today

http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/28857025

Arm bouquets might bring to mind over-accessorized beauty queens waving and sobbing to a jealously adoring crowd, but don't let a visual like that keep you from considering this impressive design. There are many modern and classy ways to update this look for your gorgeous gals.

Amabelle, a California bride, e-mailed me this picture to show the style she wanted her girls to carry. She liked the main idea of the design but wanted to make it her own.

She had a maid-of-honor, a junior maid-of-honor, and 3 bridesmaids, so we needed to come up with a few ways to style and differentiate their bouquets. We decided to vary the bouquet size and include different amounts of flowers and embellishments for each of the 3 categories. Color was also important to these bouquets. Because all of the flowers are white, I found ribbon to match her save-the-date card she e-mailed to me. For an added touch, I found some matching beads to add a bit of sparkle. A little ribbon on the stem with pearl head pins and we ended up with some beautiful bouquets.

Maid of Honor Bouquet:

Thanks Amabelle, for choosing Love is Blooming for your wedding flowers, and thanks for the challenge of reinventing the arm bouquet!

Go from bare-bones to bountiful!

When some florists give their quotes, brides are forced to subtract arrangements from their wish list. With Love Is Blooming, most of my brides see their savings and add things on! If you go with designer silk wedding flowers, you don't have to break the bank--you can afford more flowers than you think!

Such was the case with bride Amabelle. She originally sent in a Bridal Checklist requesting information for a bridal bouquet and a toss bouquet for her black, white, and teal November wedding. In the end, she decided to order a bridal bouquet, a toss bouquet, a maid-of-honor bouquet, a junior maid-of-honor bouquet, 3 bridesmaid bouquets, and 6 boutonnieres!

Her original idea for her bouquet was a round, hand-tied bouquet of gardenia with pearl accents. The more we talked, the more we added. Pretty soon, her bouquet had roses too. Shortly thereafter, we added anemones because of their fabulous black centers. From there, she started talking about bouquets for her bridesmaids. The arm bouquets would have a combination of roses, anemones, and lilies all in the classic and clean white.

The designs became a little more complex, the bouquets a little fuller, and the embellishments a little more elaborate. For just under $300, I was able to create 13 beautiful, classic, and affordable arrangements! Take a look at some of the finished products:

Boutonnieres: White rose with black satin ribbon and teal overlay

Bridal Bouquet: White roses, Gardenia, and Anemones. Pearl pick accents, black satin ribbon and teal ballerina wrap with pearl-head pins.

Check back to see a feature on Amabelle's beautiful arm bouquets, a unique and uncommon bridesmaid choice.