A wine-inspired fall wedding

I'd love to share a few images from a beautiful, bold wedding at a Virginia winery.  The clients asked for bold, fall-inspired bouquet and soft, romantic centerpieces.  I am never one to shy away from color so I created some rockstar bouquets and some super sweet centerpieces for the reception.

The bridal bouquet was made of burgundy dahlias, orange protea, red hypericum berries, dark purple and orange calla lilies, burgundy carnations, burgundy cymbidium orchids, craspedia, burgundy astilbe, kiwi vine and agonis.

 The boutonnieres were created with dark purple and orange calla lilies, craspedia and red hypericum berries. I used a little bit of greenery and tied them with twine.

 

The bridesmaid bouquet was similar to the bride's but I used more orange flowers instead of burgundy and purple.  They were wrapped with twine and lace. 

The aisle was lined with burgundy and orange rose petals and the altar was created with orange and red gladiolus placed on top of wine barrels. 

 

We went the complete opposite direction with the ceremony. I created these hydrangea and baby's breath centerpieces in birch lined vases.  To tie in with the rustic feel of the bouquets, I used kiwi vine as well. 

 

The image below is actually one of my favorites from the whole wedding.  The flower is called Hearts, and as you can see, it opens like a heart.  I love using this rose for wedding work.  What better way to add more love to a wedding than to use a rose that is shaped like a heart?? 

All of the images above are thanks to Paired Images Photography.

Jennifer's Wedding

Jennifer's wedding at Woodend Sanctuary last spring was so full of life and bright colors.  Jennifer wanted a really loose and organic bouquet.  She collected some beautiful old vintage bottles for the tables and she told me that she wanted to use a vibrant coral color with succulents.  I knew immediately we had to use coral charm peonies, and I think they stole the show in these designs.  Jennifer and Erik were so sweet to work with, they even met me in the middle of a snow storm to discuss flowers!

Jennifer's bouquet was filled with white and pink spray roses, pink and peach roses, peach stock, craspedia, peach and yellow ranunculus, light pink hydrangea, coral peonies, succulents and jasmine vine.  I finished the bouquet with some gorgeous ribbon picked up from a trip to New York City.

The boutonnieres were made of coral spray roses, craspedia, limonium and eucalyptus and tied with twine.  The corsages for the mothers were made of coral ranunculus, light pink spray roses and craspedia.

 

I loved that the bridesmaids carried single coral charm peonies.  I left a lot of the greens on and we chose not to even use ribbon!  So simple, but when you have such a show stopper like these coral charm peonies, you really don't need much else!

This sweetie pie flower girl wore a crown of light pink spray roses, with a touch of yellow from the craspedia and a little bit of limonium and eucalyptus to add some airy-ness.  The aisle was lined with jars of peach stock, yellow ranunculus, limonium, and champagne lisianthus.

 

To fill the vintage bottles, I used flowers that complimented the flowers from the ceremony.

 

Jennifer and Erik had a small but elegant cake.  Those peonies!! I love how the yellow from the ranunculus picked up the center of the peonies.

One other special area that needed decor was the bottom of a long staircase inside the mansion.  Most of the reception was held in a tent but the music and cake table were inside.  So, to add a touch of color, I created this arrangement for the staircase.  I added green hanging amaranthus to add a bit of drama and "drippy-ness" to the design.

Here are a few more of my favorite shots from the day.

 

I just love this shot of Jennifer's bouquet on the mantle.  It shows off those vibrant bright colors as well as the way the custom ribbons picked up all the color. How sweet is that little yellow ribbon that looks like a flower chain?!

 

This post, of course, would not be possible without Sarah from This Rad Love Photography.  Thank you so much for the gorgeous images!

Lindsay's Wedding

Lindsay and David were married at The River Farm and wanted a bohemian garden look using jewel tones to add a pop of color to their garden wedding.  I had so much fun using these bright, vibrant colors to create the look they wanted.

Lindsay's bouquet was an asymetrical and airy gathering of eucalyptus, dahlias, thistles, anemones, freesia, garden roses, craspedia, german chamomile, scabiosa, succulents and hypericum berries.  I love how each color contrasts with the next, especially those little pops of yellow.

David's boutonniere was made to compliment the bouquet.  I used fuschia spray roses, hypericum berries, craspedia and a thistle, with a backing of camelia leaves.

 

Lindsay's cake was decorated in concentric circles of greens, and accented with a few more of the roses and dahlias that we used in the centerpieces.

We created two centerpiece designs.  One was a simple natural grouping of bottles and bud vases and the other was a large and vibrant collection of the day's flowers.  They truly brought vivid colors to the reception tent.

 

Lindsay's dress was truly one of a kind.  I love the lace detail!

 

Here are a few more of my favorites.

 

While we're admiring, look at how the photographer brilliantly captured the flowers as well as the shadows of the trees outside the tent....so inspiring to see!

I can't get enough of this bouquet!

 

Just a few more...

 

I wouldn't be able to write such beautiful blog posts without the talents of the photographers that are a part of these special days.  Stephanie from Stephanie Dee Photography hit the ball out of the park in capturing these images.  Thanks so much to Stephanie for sharing!

The Blossom Workshop

Last month I was able to participate in my first photoshoot.  I provided the floral designs for a photography workshop called The Blossom Workshop which was hosted by Kirsten Smith, of Kirsten Smith Photography.  In addition to providing invaluable information to the participants, Kirsten also wanted to create a photoshoot opportunity so that the participants could practice taking photos of the details that often come with a wedding.  Kirsten asked myself and Marcie Lenick of Celebrating Love by Marcie to create a bohemian style design that included a cake table, a sweetheart table, multiple bouquets, multiple boutonnieres and a floral head wreath!  There was still snow on the ground (even in March), but we made the best of it and were able to create something that I am so proud to be able to share with you!

The gorgeous little cake was made by Julia at Snickerdoodles Bakery.  I decorated it with succulents, craspedia, and seeded eucalyptus.  To add a rustic backdrop, Marcie and I added hanging bottles filled with yellow snapdragons, yellow and white Japanese ranunculus, yellow solidago, German chamomile, green spider mums, two kinds of yellow garden roses, and white rice flower.

 

   

Marcie used coordinating fabric for a table runner, placemats, napkins, and chair decorations.  She also provided the coordinating place settings, candlesticks and bottles that I would fill with flowers to match the cake table.  We also added a garland of seeded eucalyptus and maidenhair fern to complete the look.  I just love how Marcie was able to pick up the colors of the flower arrangements and accent them with the choice of fabric!

 

 

 

To add to the pretty, we hung a chandelier from the trees.  Doesn’t it look like it’s suspended right from the vines?

Kirsten and I wanted to provide as many opportunities for the photographers to snap pictures, so we decided to create three different styles of bouquets, all of which would coordinate with the colors of the day.  The first bouquet was a very textured, romantic, garden bouquet of green spider mums, yellow garden roses, yellow snapdragons, yellow solidago, silver brunia berries, and grey roses.  Yup, I said grey roses!  These are a new favorite of mine called Early Grey.  They open very big and are a beautiful grey color with a little hint of purple right in the middle.

Amanda Summers Photography

 

The second bouquet was a more modern bouquet of Early Grey roses, silver brunia berries, succulents, yellow cymbidium orchids, craspedia, and jackpot thistles.  If you’ve been reading this blog for any length of time, you know that I am very big on texture, no matter what style of bouquet you have.  I just loved the softness of the roses combined with the round craspedia and brunia berries.  The thistles (another favorite of mine) and the succulents added the perfect bit of “spiky-ness”-I may have just made up a word there!  I know you know what I mean!

Amanda Summers Photography

Amanda Summers Photography

 

The last bouquet, I think, ended up stealing the show with its bohemian vibe.  It also happened to be paired with a showstopping floral head wreath……that I may or may not have decided to wear all day (when the model wasn’t wearing it, that is).  This lush bouquet was made of green hydrangea, two kinds of yellow garden roses, yellow and white Japanese ranunculus, yellow solidago, German Chamomile, maidenhair fern, and seeded eucalyptus.  I just….I can’t even….!  This bouquet was just magnificent!  Who wouldn’t want to carry this!  It ended up as a gift to Kirsten for all her hard work!

 

 

This flower wreath…SO fun!  It was designed to match the boho bouquet and it has yellow Japanese ranunculus, green spider mums, jackpot thistles, yellow solidago, craspedia, and seeded eucalyptus.

 

We didn’t end up with models for these, but I made three little boutonnieres to match the bouquets.  I love creating a little something unique for the men!  They should have something pretty and colorful too, don’t you think?

I loved getting to see all these talented photographers taking pictures of all our hard work.  Here they are (and me with my flower wreath!)

Frozen in Time Photography

As you can see there was snow on the ground, but you may not be able to tell that this was the first 60-degree weather day we had!  If you can believe it, we were not the only ones enjoying the warm weather!  We were also joined by some very lazy and slow-moving honey bees!

Blair Roberts

…more pretty….

 

 

 

  

 

Whenever I have some really amazing product, I love getting individual pictures of the blooms.  The ranunculus for this shoot came from Japan, and not only were they simply flawless, they were HUGE!!  For some perspective, the openings for almost all the bottles was about the size of the top of a beer bottle.  Look how big those white blooms are in comparison!!  I’m so lucky that my job allows me to create such beautiful art for my clients!

 

All photography by Kirsten Smith Photography, unless otherwise indicated