Posts Tagged ‘fun photos’

Fresh Flower Shoes By Alison Ellis

Wednesday, November 2nd, 2011

My busy wedding season is winding up next week and I’d been looking forward to stepping out of the normal bouquet box to design something fun and unique for The Vermont Wedding Affair last Saturday.  I was inspired to use fresh flowers and greens to create “floral artistry” that you won’t normally see at a wedding.

Here’s a look at my floral fashion collection on display at Shelburne Farms.

Israeli ruscus, berzelia and purple trachellium with a lily grass wrapped heel.

A peek-a-boo pump covered in pink protea petals and foliage.

Billy buttons and trachellium adorn this Israeli ruscus heel with aspidistra leaf insole.

The purse was my favorite piece!  I wove a pattern with lily grass and added a pink button with pearl pin accents.

Over the weekend Vermont wedding vendors and engaged couples alike enjoyed a day at the Vermont Wedding Affair.  As always the event was filled with inspiring details, top rate vendors, complimentary spa treatments, savory bites and endless sweet treats.  I conducted a seminar with tips on personalizing your wedding day and I’ll pass along some tips to help you plan your upcoming wedding on my blog as well!

Were you at The Vermont Wedding Affair?  What did you think of the experience?

 

Perfect Arranger: The New Floral Frog

Thursday, August 11th, 2011

I took a trip down to Hildene in the spring for a site visit for a wedding {by the way you can see Beth & Danny’s Wedding here} and whilst I was in their super fun gift shop I could not resist buying this “Perfect Arranger” which is what I’d describe as a newer version of a floral frog.  The weave of the stainless steel coils allows for stem to easily be maneuvered inside of a bowl or low dish and submerged in water.  I think they’re pretty cool.  They’re rust proof and dishwasher safe so ✔check and ✔check!

I know what you’re probably thinking…I’m such an experienced designer that flowers must bow in submission at the mere sound of my clippers…what would I need with a floral frog?!  This is the kind of tool that can help transform a silver candy dish or gravy boat into the perfect flower vessel.  I look forward to using it in many different ways!

Selling My Soul and Starting A Fire

Monday, May 9th, 2011

I’m Selling My Soul this week and I am soooo looking forward to it.  Don’t worry, I haven’t gone off the deep end right before my busy wedding season kicks into high gear–I’m going to meet some sexy, sassy, business savvy-to-the-max women in NYC this week for Selling Your SoulDanielle LaPorte + Marie Forleo have me all psyched up about being authentic in my business + the inherent value in bringing all of me to the table.  ‘Cuz as Danielle would say, “Self Realization Rocks.”  To sum up…It’s gonna be awe-wait for it-some.

I recently finished Danielle’s Fire Starter Sessions and if you’re an entrepreneur (or Solopreneur much like myself!) you are guaranteed to find several gems of insight that you could quite possibly turn into pure gold.  If you already rock, you can learn to rock harder.  If you’re doubting the direction of your venture, you’re bound to find a compass.

I’m excited to hear what Danielle and Marie have to share and I’m stoked to hear what the other 139 soul sellers in the room want to know, too–their burning questions are sure to be interesting to me–BUT in truth, I am probably equally pumped to wear my fave pair of heels.  This may sound shallow, but in Vermont the opportunity to wear fabulous heels is few and far between and besides, when the weather is nice enough for open-toed shoes I’m either setting up a wedding or wearing my cowboy (or girl?) boots.

You can get your very own copy of The Fire Starter Sessions HERE!  Light your fire, baby.  It may very well be the best $150 you’ll spend.  Seriously.

And…here are those fab heels I told you about.

Check out Marie Forleo’s site (Where Women Entrepreneurs Live Rich, Happy & Hot) and Danielle LaPorte’s (White Hot Truth:  because self realization rocks) for sagacity and do-it-today, do-it-now biz tips that will get your mojo risin’!

Funky Flower Friday

Friday, March 25th, 2011

I love walking into my wholesaler’s cooler and seeing green ranunculus, but when I find a flower I’ve never seen before I get a little spark of excitment.  This is Telopea, pronounced te-LO-pee-uh, (in a honeysuckle tone!) and I think it is an out-of-this-world funky flower.

This is an Australian native bloom and a member of the Protea family.

I love the way it looks from different angles.

I’ve been in the floral industry for almost 17 years so when I see something new I get pretty jazzed about it.  What do you think about this Telopea?

Vermont Welcomes Spring

Monday, March 21st, 2011

It’s officially springtime in Vermont and after a beautiful weekend of solid vest-weather {and our first wedding of 2011!} it’s seriously snowing right now.  Vermonters should know that we cannot get ahead of ourselves when spring teases us with her first appearance.

While I was out and about checking on things in my garden yesterday I snapped a few signs of spring.  When I showed my husband my photos he said, “You know it’s going to snow, right?”

Crocus mark the change of the season.  An emblem of youthful gladness.

Daffodils break through the surface of the soil and leaf debris. 

You can almost see the flowers eager to bloom.

The branches of the Japanese pussy willow are curly and wild.  One of my favorites for sure.

Also called ‘fantail pussy willow’ these willows are taller than I am.

These are lilac buds.  Lilacs are one of our most highly anticipated blooms in Vermont. 

What signs of spring have you noticed?  I’ll have some pics from our first wedding of 2011 for you tomorrow!

The Vermont Flower Show: A Sampling of Spring

Monday, March 7th, 2011

We attended The 2011 Vermont Flower Show on Saturday at the Essex Fairgrounds to get a sampling of spring.  I was particularly looking forward to attending the seminar on organic gardening taught by one of my former UVM professors, Wendy Sue Harper.  She was a truly inspiring mentor to me in college and now her gig is at NOFA.  I consider her my personal compost & soil-health guru.  After hearing about Wendy Sue throughout the years my husband was happy to have finally met her in person and I was happy that he got to hear her talk about soil health!  {That’s what I call winning!}

Whether you attended the flower show for the educational seminars or purely for a dose of springtime blooms there was no shortage of happenings.  Ned Davis demonstrated the art of tablescaping and I heard it was standing room only due to a great interest in his workshop.  I know of at least one bride-to-be who got inspired by his designs!  (Ned helped design the flowers for my wedding and he guided me though my first bridal bouquet back in 2001!)  

Here are some signs of spring from the Vermont Flower Show…

A pansy from Sam Mazza’s Farm.

Gotta love this little begonia, too.

Jericho farm, Arcana, had purple primrose on display.

How cute are these little porcelain vases by S Designs of Maine?

A floral frog.  Frogs date back to the 16th century and today they’re most often used in Japanese Ikebana designs.  Simply fill the vessel with water and place freshly cut flowers on the spikes.

We were happy to get a little taste of spring this weekend.  What do you look forward to in the springtime?

A Busy Week of Photo shoots and Soap Opera Weddings

Friday, March 4th, 2011

Photo shoots, movie weddings and other fantasy design opportunities can be a great source of inspiration.  For a wedding designer a “fake wedding” can also be oh-so-much fun.  I’ve always loved soap opera weddings.  They often have the best flowers and lots {and lots} of them.  Like an almost obscene amount of flowers, but hey, it’s a soap after all and they always lay it on thick.

Brenda & Sonny got married on General Hospital last week and I definitely approved of the floral choices and overall wedding style.  {Brenda’s bouquet was a little blah for her dress and I thought it could have been a little bigger and more lush, but I digress…it’s inspiration nonetheless.}  Flowering branches, tulips, hydrangea, roses and icy, snowy details defined their floral style and I could easily see this soap opera wedding in a Vermont setting.

Back to the real world…Prepare to Wed had a photo shoot at The Round Barn in Waitsfield, VT on Wednesday and a handful of Vermont floral designers did a little fantasy wedding designing of our own.  I can’t share pictures of my tabletop design, but here’s a little sneak peek behind the scenes on the day of the shoot.

Make-up artists, models, photographers, florists, bakers and more took over The Round Barn.  Tweed River Video was there to talk to some of the vendors.

Another nod to honeysuckle with pink roses, tulips, ranunculus and godetia.

What’s your favorite fantasy wedding design idea?

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.

An Evening with The Sweet Remains

Tuesday, August 3rd, 2010

Vermont is a great place for weddings and it’s a great place for music.  A great place for music.  Dave & I were invited by our friends, Katey & Josh, to attend an intimate backyard concert in Burlington and along with about 80 of their friends & neighbors we were treated to the tunes of The Sweet Remains (yep, click here & turn up your speakers!) and boy, was it sweeet

I hadn’t heard them before, but I was hooked as soon as they started to play their first song, ‘Dance with Me’.  They have revived a lost art of harmony in music–the anti-autotune age!–with a CSNY vibe that just makes you sway.  They have been touring around different parts of the country playing some backyard concerts and I am officially a huge fan!

Introducing…The Sweet Remains.  In concert.  In a Burlington backyard.  Too cool.

The stage set-up was pretty impressive, too.

No doubt, Katey & Josh know how to host a paaartaay!  Switchback on tap?  Yes, please.

They made some of the best sangria I’ve ever tasted!  The brownies weren’t too shabby, either.

There is also no doubt that they are way cute together!  (Don’t they have great backyard?!)

This concert-goer can play the spoons like nobody’s business!  He was on fire!  Mad respect.

Just in case the evening wasn’t exciting enough Katey & Josh announced their engagement!

 The moon was full when Josh proposed and it made a pretty nice display for the concert, too. 

A Sweet Remains finale…and a super sweet chandelier hanging in the woods! 

Okay, so if you haven’t checked it out already visit The Sweet Remains website and enjoy some tunes.  You may have heard Rich, Greg & Brian before either on their solo albums, in a Subaru commercial or on a Shrek soundtrack so check them out already!  I am listening to them right now.  Thanks for the music, guys!…and Thanks to Katey & Josh for a night to remember.

There is something about a couple in love that just warms my heart and puts a smile on my face.  We do a lot of weddings, but when you know two people who bring joy to one another it’s something special.  For this reason Friday night was particularly sweet.  Congratulations to you both!!!

Alison’s Garden–Snails. Seriously Hate it.

Monday, August 2nd, 2010

Right up in the Top 5 on my “Hate It List” has got to be snails in my garden!  I hate ‘em!  Hate them.  Seriously.  I have been pulling them out of my planters by the dozens and searching for them under my strawberries, lilies, zucchini and just about everything else, too.  They majorly diminished the bloom count my irises this year.  I could do without them.  Hand down my most hated mollusk. 

In June I could easily pull over 300 of them off of my perennials in one day.  I was hoping that after handpicking them and plunging them into soapy water to kill them I’d have them under control.  The trick seems to be to 1.  Use gloves!  They’re slimy and gross.  2.  Look for the most damaged leaves first because that’s probably where they’ve been chowing down and there will likely be a jackpot of snails!  3.  Pluck them off quickly (don’t waste too much time) and plan to do each plant twice.  Once the majority of the snails were removed others tended to slime their way up to the tip of the leaves!  4.  Do it again tomorrow! 

I have heard that some people use beer traps (I’ve read they should be about 1/2″ deep and dug into the soil), however, I did not find a single snail in my beer trap.  I wonder what kind of beer they like?!

I ended up buying strips of copper tape which they don’t like to slime their way across as well as a product called Sluggo that I picked up at Gardener’s Supply Co. and so far it does seem to keep them at bay, but you do need to reapply it and keep an eye out for snails that manage to make their way onto the leaves.  I am not big of adding anything to my garden other than compost, but I had to do something about these snails!