Whether you call it eggplant or aubergine, burgundy or purple, or you’re having a black and white wedding, this palette is both modern and elegant. It transcends season to accompany a spring, summer, fall or winter affair. It’s sophisticated, without feeling snobby. If you love texture and you love deep purple or burgundy and you also want to keep a classic white and green element to your palette then this color combo is for you!
Photo top right courtesy of Landwehrle Photography.
Jenn and David had a fall wedding at The Mountain Top Inn this October on such a beautiful, crisp day. This color palette has a timeless elegance with white, champagne and deep red to bring a touch of autumn, taking “fall flowers” to their most romantic end. Rustic details were brought in with birch centerpieces and table names burned into wood slabs. I adore this wedding!
The bride carried a bouquet of peach garden roses, white ranunculus, freesia, roses and peach dahlias.
Bridesmaids each wore their own shade and style of champagne dress with cowgirl boots and carried bouquets of peach and red dahlias, roses and eucalyptus.
The red dahlias added such a perfect pop to the classic peach and white palette.
Here’s a look at the bouquets in their blumeboxes.
The ceremony took place in the field with amazing mountain views all around.
Centerpieces designed in birch containers were filled with puffy white hydrangea, ranunculus, peach roses and deep red dahlias.
Taller bark wrapped vases mix up the look of the table pieces. I LOVED their table names, each was named after a variety of tree.
Here’s another shot with the table names on wood slabs.
Congratulations to Jen and David who not only planned their destination Vermont wedding, but also moved right in the middle of it all! You looked fantastic in your wedding garbs and your wedding party had pizazz with a country twang! This is truly one of my favorite fall weddings ever and I hope to design in this color palette again.
Katie and Kellen had a picture perfect day for their Labor Day Weekend wedding at The Grand Isle Lake House. The color palette was comprised of soft romantic peaches, pinks, yellows and white. I absolutely adore the colors of this vintage inspired wedding and all the eclectic details. The feeling was gardeny and relaxed while still keeping a style of wedding elegance. In my opinion the peach roses are the stars of the show. (That is, if you don’t count Katie who was absolutely beautiful!)
Here’s a look at the bride and bridesmaid’s bouquets. The wedding party’s flowers often set the tone for the overall floral vibe for the day.
The bride carried a bouquet of white dahlias, peach and pale yellow roses, ranunculus and callas.
The bridesmaids’ bouquets also included pink ranunculus accents. Green jute tied the stems together.
Garden-style centerpiece designed in silver bowls were filled with hydrangea, roses, spray roses, dahlias, japanese pussy willow and seeded eucalyptus.
Pale yellow tea tins filled with hydrangea, roses, dahlias, cottage yarrow and waxflower accented some of the dining tables on the porch.
Julep cups with a faux mercury glass finish also graced cocktail tables.
The outdoor ceremony was complete with an arbor, wooden sap buckets and mason jars lining the aisle.
Here’s a closer look at the flowers on the arbor.
The bride wrapped mason jars with twine to line the aisle.
Here’s one final shot of the centerpieces all packed and ready for delivery.
Congratulations to Katie and Kellen on your beautiful destination wedding! Family and friends seemed to be enjoying the day on the Lake House before the festivities even started. I’m sure Andy Duback got some fantastic shots of you both and I cannot wait to see them.
I love grouping colors together. The idea of grouping “like colors” with each other and progressing along a spectrum has always appealed to my design sense. I’ve yet to meet a couple who was inspired to have arrangements like this for their wedding so I made up this little diddy (aka centerpiece) for The Vermont Wedding Affair last Saturday.
It’s been gracing my table ever since and I’m wild about it. You might actually think I invented this idea the way I talk about it at dinnertime. ”Don’t you just love this centerpiece?” and, “Is it me or is there something SO pretty about the way these colors go together?” Of course I also say things like, “This soup is delicious, isn’t it?” I like to compliment my all-around efforts when we’re together.
Here it is on my table in the sunlight. It includes red roses, safari sunset, orange roses, yellow ranunculus, mini green hydrangea, white spray roses and seeded eucalyptus in a rustic wooden box.
“Ombre” is a term that you’ll see a lot on wedding inspiration blogs and to my eye that’s more of a color progression within one color category (for example if I had started with the red roses, moved onto hot pink, then onto medium-pale pink, to blush or white). In the hair-styling world ombre tends to be a broader color spectrum, but in the floral world I think of it a little differently. So whether you consider this ombre or simply grouped colors if you’re considering this style for your wedding call me, OK?
I’ve posted color palettes before, but this year I got super jazzed on a lavender and peach color combo for one of my July weddings. Seriously, these colors are so gorgeous together and I hope to see it again next season! After the wedding I put together a vase of fresh lavender, peach roses and white lisianthus for my dining room table. They simply work together, don’t they? It’s so natural, yet not typical and could work in almost any time of year whether you want something that feels modern or vintage inspired. An instant classic in my opinion.
When talking with couples about their destination weddings it’s important to make sure we are on the same page when it comes to color palette.
Is “yellow” a light, buttery yellow or a bright, goldenrod tone? Is blue a dominant color in your floral palette or an accent tone to complement or contrast the rest of your colors?
A bride recently sent some paint swatches to communicate her color preferences to me and it’s truly a wonderful way to collect tones that closely match the tones you envision. Whether you have fabric swatches, a stationery sample or paint chips from your local hardware store color sharing is a great way to communicate your style to your designer.
This bouquet has some similar tones to the paint samples, however, the flowers I’ll create for this couple will represent more blue tones and less of the lavender spectrum. Stay tuned in August for the finished product from that wedding.
How do you talk about color with your floral designer?
People are talking about Pantone’s color of the year, “Tangerine Tango”, but when it comes to weddings this is a color that is going to have a hard time breaking through the bridal barrier. If there is one color that I find people have a definite opinion about it’s undoubtably orange. (Sorry to break it to you, orange, but you’re kinda polarizing. People either love you or they don’t want any part of you on their wedding day.)
Orange is a fantastic accent tone for a fall wedding mixed with reds, burgundy and yellow, but as a main color or a theme I’m afraid it’s going to be a long haul for Tangerine Tango to take the main stage.
Personally, I’m an orange fan. In the flower world I love so many orange blooms and I especially love orange with whites and yellows. I find it clean, fresh and modern yet classic all at once. However, when a couple is picking a signature color for their big day orange is not usually at the top of the list. It’s a major color commitment. The honeysuckle pink tone that took the prize for 2011 color of the year is much easier to work with in the wedding world.
If you’re an orange fan, then I applaud your color courage and if you can’t imagine orange making an appearance at your wedding, then perhaps you’ll find a cute cardigan or accessory to keep you on trend for 2012!
Here is an orange inspiration board with some of my favorite orange blooms…
What do you think of the color of the year? Would you choose orange for your wedding palette?
Kimmie and Corby were married last Saturday on a rainy (then sunny, then rainy, then sunny) day in Stowe. When I first saw Kimmie walking up my porch last fall in her cowgirl boots and colorful skirt I thought to myself, “Oooh, I’m gonna like this girl.”
At the end of our consultation as I mentioned some details including, “…if you decide you’d like to work with me…”, Kimmie interjected, “Yeah, I already know I want to work with you.” When a client and I are a good fit the decision to work together is pretty effortless.
The overall style we were going for was colorful and vibrant with some vintage inspired details…more of a retro-like vintage than classic-vintage. The bouquets were filled with fun jewel tones including dark blue delphinium, purple and lavender sweet peas, yellow freesia, orange ranunculus, raspberry pink roses, stock, mini-green hydrangea and sweet William. The attendants wore pewter dresses so the colorful blooms were the perfect contrast.
The centerpieces were designed in an eclectic mix of silver julep cups and pedestal bowls. The custom runners were a Tiffany blue…the perfect touch to finish the look! This color palette just makes you feel good.
The adorable flower girls carried wire baskets with colors to match the girls and corsages of orange and pink for the moms were just too sweet! Although the wedding eventually moved indoors (after another rain shower!), we optimistically set the ceremony flowers outside.
I saw Kimmie the day after their wedding and she was still beaming…smiling ear to ear, which made me smile brightly, too. Happy couples make my job so rewarding and when a bride tells me that the flowers exceeded her expectations, the groom was impressed, and I’m a “floral diva”, well, I’m pretty much on cloud nine.
Congratulations to Kimmie & Corby!…and thanks for being an awesome couple with a super fun style that was a pleasure to work with!
Wedding magazines often refer to “brides who have been dreaming of their wedding day since they were a little girl”, but what about the brides (and grooms!) who have not spent 20+ years planning their wedding? How are they going to pull together a wedding in 12 months or less when everyone else has had so much more time to think about it?
If you’re engaged for more than 3 months and can’t articulate your color palette and precisely which flowers will appear in your bouquet it’s quite possible your friends may give you the stink eye.
In a world of endless wedding inspiration, DIY detail projects and picture perfect feature weddings–each with its own new, exciting & unique ideas–it can be a rough road for the uninspired. When your other half asks you what you think about a specific color palette or china pattern and you don’t have a “good” opinion you may start to feel a little disconnected from the process, but fear not…there’s still hope.
If you’ve booked your venue, but have no idea where to start when it comes to your personal style I think you should try to identify an overall style that defines your taste as a couple. Are you casual? trendy? preppy? modern? Do you prefer a classic, simple style or something with an eclectic, organic feel? Do you like vintage, garden flowers or sleek, modern blooms? Thinking about the way you want your wedding day to feel can help get you on track.
If you’re on the other end of the spectrum (ie. inspiration overload!) and you can’t make a decision I suggest the first thing you do is stop looking at new ideas. At some point, if you have too many ideas and you’re having a hard time deciding, you have to stop searching for the next big idea and start sorting through the colors, patterns and styles you already know you like. Consult your partner to make sure you are on the same page here! Then, pick your top 5 looks, narrow it down to your top 2, then choose the best elements that suit you as a couple.
Part of my job as a floral designer is to identify areas where we can create a cohesive design from your inspiration photos and personal style. I aim to help my clients use the best elements on their wish-list so that a couple gets to see as many of the details they love on their wedding day as possible.
If you can’t pick a palette, a photographer or a parson you might need a professional opinion. If you are uninspired to the point that you don’t have anything on your love-this-list then it may be time to hire a floral/event designer who can help you discover what your wedding style truly is.
Whether you are feeling uninspired or have become overwhelmed by the endless options out there you have to trust your instincts, choose colors you like, listen to the advice of trusted professionals and try not to belabor decisions.
If it feels right, then go for it. If it doesn’t feel right, then wait. Just don’t drag things out and get overwhelmed.
Classic whites work in any season and just about any style.
Here’s an autumnal inspiration board.
A yellow palette can be casual and springy or bright and bold.
Soft pinks make a sweet statement in any season.
And no post would be complete without a honeysuckle palette!
What’s your color palette or main form of inspiration for your wedding?
The Irish may be lucky, but those stem-died green carnations that pop up every year are no pot of gold at the end of the rainbow. Check out these green ranunculus. They’re much cooler than died blooms.
Another look at a green ranunculus. I LOVE them!
I got this super cute pot at the gift shop at Hildene this weekend and these green dianthus–a member of the carnation family–are a perfect little “poof” of green.
Are you celebrating St. Patrick’s Day?
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