Archive for September, 2010

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September Wedding at The Round Barn

Wednesday, September 29th, 2010

Katherine and Evan were married at The Inn at the Round Barn Farm on Saturday.  It was a lovely autumn day in Vermont for their destination wedding with the fall foliage just starting to show its peak colors.

The bride was very clear about wanting a fall inspired wedding that had a modern feeling with natural elements and “saturated colors” (Yes, her words and I love them!) like burgundys and oranges.  Other than that they were both very open to letting me just roll with the designs and I really love the way things came together.  Thanks to some gorgeous orchids which were a showstopper the flowers and colors came together beautifully.

The bride carried a cascading bouquet of burgundy & mango callas with orange mokara orchids and burgundy striped cymbidium orchids with a few touches of agonis.  Katherine looked stunning in her gorgeous dress which made the bouquet even more lovely. 

Below (left) is a bridesmaid’s bouquet and a corsage for the grandmothers.

The nine bridesmaids wore black cocktail dresses with orange orchids in their hair.  Their bouquets included burgundy callas, orange orchids & burgundy dahlias.

I noticed one lone cow had wondered over as we were setting up so Dave snapped this shot.

The chuppah was adorned with orange mokara orchids and a few touches of burgundy.

A floral detail we added to the bridge leading to the ceremony and the place card display. 

Mossy centerpieces featured mokara and cymbidium orchids, dahlias, artichokes and ornamental kale with lilies, berries and agonis.  Maple leaf bottle stoppers were their favors.

The Round Barn was all dressed and ready to impress.  It is such a great space!

Although it was a busy day with lots of faces I can remember meeting the bride’s mom at The Vermont Wedding Affair last November and when I learned that they won my gift certificate in the silent auction (as always the proceeds benefit Make-A-Wish Foundation) I was especially happy to be working on their big day.  After meeting with Katherine and Evan several months later and finding out more about their personal style I was even more thrilled to work with them.

Congratulations to Katherine and Evan and your families on a wonderfully executed day!  I am looking forward to seeing professional photos from Kristina of Vrai in Chicago as well as the wedding film by Marion of Tweed River Video.  Speaking of filmmakers…check out the groom’s website at dryspellproductions.com.

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Red rose bouquets for September Wedding

Monday, September 27th, 2010

Lately I have noticed that brides either love roses for their classic, gardeny look or want to try to avoid them completely.  I think the rose has developed a bum rap because they have been poorly represented in many flower shops who try to sell a “cheap dozen” for $19.95 with short stems and small buds as well as grocery stores who have no clue how to handle let alone display fresh flowers (the grocery store being the worst rose representative in my opinion!).

Roses require proper care to come into full bloom (ie. removal of foliage, a fresh cut to the stems and clean water) and if they are tightly wrapped in plastic sleeves or are simply neglected and left in a cooler for an extended period of time they are certainly less impressive than they could be.  The vase life of a rose tends to be at bit shorter than many other blooms at 3-5 days, but the romance associated with the rose trumps its vase life. 

Erin & Matt were married at The Round Church in Richmond and hosted their reception at the West Monitor Barn where red roses were the star of the show.  This bride was all about red roses and I used 3 varieties of reds including ‘Freedom’, ‘Opium’ and ‘Black Magic’ along with a few eggplant dahlias and some peachy rose accents to create the bouquets.  The bridesmaids wore deep purple dresses.  I have always loved reds and purples together!

This is a look at Erin’s bouquet of red and peach roses with dahlias & seeded eucalyptus.

Here is another look at the bride’s bouquet and one of her bridesmaid’s bouquet.

Congratulations, Erin and Matt!  It was such a gorgeous day for your wedding with foliage starting to come into its peak and weather warm enough to truly enjoy the day.  I hope it was a perfect day for you both!

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5th Wedding Anniversary Wishes

Friday, September 24th, 2010

Five years ago I worked with my friends on their Vermont wedding at Trapp Family Lodge in Stowe.  Jackie and Tim are wonderful friends and seeing them grow over the years (and their adorable baby girl, too!) has been a special part of our lives.  There is usually lots of wine, laughter and good food when we get together.

A traditional gift for the fifth wedding anniversary is wood which is meant to signify the strength of the relationship.  I think a nice piece of furniture or a wooden salad bowl is a good gift…or perhaps a new fence for your yard like my friends put up this summer!  I’ve also seen suggestions to plant a tree and toast to a future where your love continues to grow and prosper like that tree.  I really like that one!

Jackie and Tim’s fall-inspired flowers featured Leonidas roses as well as deep red roses and hypericum berries for an “Autumn in Vermont” feeling, although the weather that day was more like a perfect end of summer day that happened to have some marvelous fall foliage.  Here is a picture of the bride’s bouquet which featured 3 shades of callas & 3 shades of roses. 

 

In addition to flowers I also helped create welcome baskets, invitations and drew up some images for their save-the-date cards which we printed on recycled paper, of course!  Below are the images I drew for the front and back-side of the cards with a couple of characters I made with the words “Jackie and Tim” and an apple tree as a nod to the season with their initials in the tree.

It is a privilege to work with couples on their wedding plans, but working with dear friends is a particularly special honor.  Happy Anniversary, Jackie and Tim!  May the next five years be even more blissful than the first five!  Cheers to you both…and to our next dinner date together.

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Wedding Planning Tips for Brides & Grooms

Wednesday, September 22nd, 2010

It is “Wedding Wednesday” on the web so it’s a good time to revisit a few helpful planning tips from my blog for brides and grooms with upcoming Vermont weddings.

Do you need some advice on planning your Vermont wedding?  Let me know by entering a comment below or shoot me an e-mail.  If I don’t have an answer for you I will find a local wedding pro who does!

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Heirloom Carrots in Alison’s Garden

Tuesday, September 21st, 2010

Our Vermont garden was planted with several varieties of heirloom vegetables this year and that includes carrots.  ’Danver’ carrots have grown in our garden the past couple of seasons, but I added a row of multicolored heirlooms just for fun.  Here is a pic of our very first carrot harvest a few weeks ago.  Red, white, pale yellow and orange.  Aren’t they perrrtty?  They’re delicious, too!

I love a shredded carrot salad, but now that it’s getting colder outside I am thinking about a carrot soup!

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Fall Wedding at Grand Isle Lake House

Wednesday, September 15th, 2010

After months of summer weddings I find myself re-energized by fall weather and fall wedding flowers!  Jess and Emmet were married last Saturday at Grand Isle Lake House on a beautiful almost-fall day.  After a string of rainy days a perfect, sunny wedding day greeted us and then was followed by another string of rainy days!  This bride and groom majorly lucked out as far as weather goes!  Sue was at the Lake House on the day of the wedding to see to all the details for the couple and Spencer Leonard photographed their big day.

I took a few bouquet shots in my studio.  The bride’s autumnal bouquet included orange callas, leonidas roses, orange and red spray roses, yellow freesia, crocosmia, white lisianthus, feverfew, geranium foliage and fresh mint.

The attendants wore apple red dresses and carried bouquets of snapdragons, rover mums, roses, spray roses, freesia, callas, geranium foliage and rosemary.  The men wore boutonnieres of red and orange spray roses with safari sunset and accents of rosemary. 

Dave got a nice shot of the Grand Isle Lake House while I set up the arbor.

He also got a shot of me putting some finishing touches on the flowers.

It was such a clear, sunny day in Grand Isle.  Perfect for a wedding!

I couldn’t resist taking another shot of Jess’s bouquet on this super cute chair!

…and one of a flower girl basket!

The groom rigged up these paper lanterns with LED lights on the porch.  Centerpieces were designed in mini sap buckets with a mix of fall blooms including sunflowers, gerbera daisies, spider mums, snapdragons, safari sunset, crocosmia, roses and fresh herbs.

There was a fabulous view of Mt. Mansfield from the porch.  It truly was a fantastic day.

Congratulations to Jess and Emmet!  I am so happy that you had such a perfect day for your outdoor wedding by the lake.  I loved your autumnal colors and I am so glad we got the chance to work at the Lake House on such a wonderful day.

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Cucumbers in Alison’s Garden

Tuesday, September 14th, 2010

I love the taste of a freshly grown cucumber from my garden.  Unlike store-bought cukes that have a thick waxy coating and taste pretty much like nothing, a garden-grown cucumber is refreshing, crisp and surprisingly wax-less!  Toss them in a salad and they are delicious, put them on top of a homemade falafel and they add the perfect crunch or marinade them in some Chive Blossom Vinegar (get the recipe here!) and you can enjoy them for weeks…if you don’t eat them all in one sitting that is!

Here is a cute little cucumber flower.  This is only the beginning.  Tiny tendrils grab ahold of the nearest trellis.

The cucumber is starting to form on the end of the blossom.  Pretty neat, huh?

Here is a full grown cuke, ripe for the pickin’…just watch out for the spikey spines.  Ouch!  I wipe them down with a towel upon harvesting to dull the spines.

Did you know cucumbers are usually over 90% water?  They are in the gourd family are also technically a fruit (much like the tomato) because they develop from flowers, but we commonly consider them a vegetable.  What is your favorite way to eat cucumbers?

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Vermont Bridal Bouquets by Floral Artistry

Monday, September 13th, 2010

It is September in Vermont and that means we are starting to design fall wedding flowers!  I know, it’s hard for some of us to believe that fall is here, but as I sit in a fleece while writing this post it feels all too real!  We did our first autumnal inspired wedding palette on Saturday, but before we jump into a big ‘ol pile of fallen leaves I thought it would be fun to revisit some of our summery wedding flowers.

Here is a collection of some of the spring and summer bridal bouquets I made this season…

Whether you lean toward a classic white bouquet or like to add some bright colors to the mix there are endless possibilities for summer wedding flowers.  This season we saw more purples than ever before–whether they were accent blooms in bridal bouquets or large purple hydrangea centerpieces or aubergine bridesmaids dresses, purple was it in 2010!

Are you getting  married in 2011?  What colors are you thinking of using in your wedding?

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Destination Wedding at Stowe Mountain Lodge

Thursday, September 9th, 2010

Jennifer and Griffin had their destination wedding at Stowe Mountain Lodge over Labor Day weekend.  The outdoor ceremony took place poolside on a beautiful summer evening followed by a cocktail hour on the deck which was aglow with a roaring fire.  Mossy arrangements were perched atop tree trunks to bring a natural, Vermonty feeling into the ballroom.

The bride wanted a seasonal bouquet with stems exposed.  She looked absolutely gorgeous in her fitted lacey dress.  Her bouquet included blue hydrangea, magenta celosia (one of my very favorite blooms!), purple veronica, delphinium, burgundy dahlias, deep pink ranunculus, pale yellow spray roses, cottage yarrow, hypericum & accents of white freesia.

The bridesmaids wore sage green and carried bouquets of blue hydrangea, orange dahlias, green & orange ranunculus, blue delphinium, burgundy scabiosa, orange roses, yellow freesia & green hypericum berries.  On the far right is a mom’s clutch bouquet–my preferred alternative to the pin-on corsage!

The rain was kind enough to hold off until after the ceremony!

Mossy centerpieces included blue hydrangea, thistle, magenta snapdragons, dahlias, yellow freesia, scabiosa pods, Asiatic lilies, orange ‘Voodoo’ roses with accents of orange spray roses, delphinium and green hypericum berries.  Thanks to some professional lighting each table had the perfect ambiance.

How sweet are these favors?  Little jars of honey!!

As a finishing touch each setting received a scabiosa pod, thistle, hypericum or fresh lavender.

The super talented Barrie Fisher was the photographer on the scene and she had some of the most adorable flower girls and the couple’s sweet pooch, Nova, to photograph.  I grabbed a shot of Barrie at work!

Congratulations to Jennifer & Griffin on a gorgeous wedding weekend!  I am sure that all of your fabulous details wowed your guests.  You and your families were clearly wonderful hosts to all who shared your special day!

You can see some pics from their rehearsal dinner here.

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Destination Wedding in Stowe–Rehearsal dinner

Wednesday, September 8th, 2010

In Vermont it truly is a small world and working with Jennifer and Griffin on their wedding was one of those full-circle small world moments.  I met the groom’s mother, Mary, while celebrating my 30th birthday at Hen of the Wood.  She was seated next to me, we started chatting and when I told her that I do wedding flowers she asked me if I happened to be working on the flowers for a family friend who was getting married at Shelburne Farms that summer and it turned out that I was!  Now, two years later I ended up working on her son and daughter-in-law’s wedding at Stowe Mountain Lodge.  But, before the wedding I designed a few arrangements for the rehearsal dinner at their house in Stowe.  Let’s Pretend Catering was on the scene creating amazing food and atmosphere for what ended up being over 160 guests!

Orange, white & green were the colors for the rehearsal dinner and flowers included artichokes, hydrangea, dahlias, ranunculus and hypericum berries.

Large orange dahlias & artichokes made these whitewash wooden boxes summery & rustic!

A couple of glass bottles with hydrangea, dahlias and hypericum berries added another eclectic element to the tabletops.

Let’s Pretend Catering had custom burlap tablecloths designed to bring the whole look together.

Cocktail tables were dressed with white linens & burlap overlays to match the dinner tables.  After cocktails by the pool guests walked down to the tent for a feast!

I love their little garden whimsy frog.  Just love him.

I love an orange and white color palette so this events was a lot of fun to work on.  Jennifer & Griffin’s nature-inspired wedding style is right up my alley!  Stay tuned for photos from their destination wedding at Stowe Mountain Lodge!

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