Hand tied bouquet

This beautiful hand-tied bouquet features Saracena lilies, "Patience" garden roses and white freesia.  It's aroma is light and flavorful to the nose.  The garden roses give you that fluffy feel of peonies without them.  Many of our clients love the feel of peonies but are marrying during hot summer months when peonies are out of season.  The garden roses (or sometimes called cabbage roses) are a perfect solution! 

When we meet with clients, we love to introduce new and interesting flowers, greenery or berries for that added touch of texture.  It also makes people turn their heads and say "wow! I've never seen that before!"  This bouquet is wrapped with a wide ivory satin ribbon and detailed with a copper/bronze ribbon with sequins in French knots.  I've added a few vintage rhinestone buttons for a touch of sparkle and interest to the stems.  The Saracena lily would be perfect for any gentlemen's boutonnieres. 

Touches of autumn

Personally, my favorite season is probably the fall.  I think of harvest and blessings that surround us.  Our company is BIG on using locally grown products (flowers and fruit) as much as possible.  We feel strongly about doing our part to support local farmer's and doing things to better our environment (like recycling everything we can, gardening organically and saving energy)

For this wedding we used mini apples from Belltown Hill Orchards.  At the bottom of each "tree" centerpiece we added more depth with lady gala apples.  It was the perfect touch of color and texture.  You can find little gourds, pumpkins, hay and other great additions for your fall wedding at many local farms such as Belltown Hill Orchards. 

For the added feel of New England harvest, try farm made jams, native honey or goat milk soaps for favors or in addition to your out of town guest bags.  For a great local addition the ladies room essentials basket I generally try and add Goatboy Soaps hand lotion, her soap and lip balms.  If it's an outdoor wedding we always try and include sunblock and bug spray.  Some of my absolute favorite scents of Goatboy Soaps are blueberry pumice, blackberry sage, heavenly and tea tree.  Her lotion is fabulous!  For the fall, try maple candies or maple syrup in fancy glass (so you can see the incredible color of the syrup) as wedding favors.  Lamothe's Sugar House offers a wonderful selection of custom favors and naturally made products.

My vision of a gorgeous fall wedding would be:  Farmhouse style wooden reception tables with chocolate/bronze color crinkle fabric runners.  Pillar candles (beeswax) of varying heights clustered down the table along with small arrangements on footed amber glass cake dishes of antique purple hydrangea and orange roses.  The more detail the better!  Now, all of this would be stunning in a barn setting with a mix of fabulous chandeliers from Ryan Designs.  If I could do cocktails outside of the barn, I'd add some lounge furniture from Ryan Designs as well.  The perfect mix of romantic, sophistication and pure New England charm!

Late summer wedding at St. Clement's Castle

This beautiful hand-tied bouquet has pink dahlias, raspberry and mango color mini calla lilies along with pieces of mini green hydrangea and kiwi vine twisted into it.  We added a few 'milva' and 'hot lady' roses for the touch of late summer.  I used a bronze ribbon with purple and gold weaved into it for a simple, yet stunning wrap around the stems.

The bride used hot pink as a wonderful accent color throughout the entire wedding.  Just look at her lovely hot pink shoes!  Even the gentlemen had hot pink calla lilies for their boutonnieres along with a touch of freshly harvested wheat.  I love adding different accents to boutonnieres and bouquets depending on the season.  For June and July we sometimes use unripe blueberries or raspberries.  During August and September I love hops, fresh herbs (sage leaves, mint, lavender and rosemary) and see pods.  For later in the season as fall approaches there are a ton of fabulous options including millet, rose hips and kangaroo paw.

Finding the perfect location

From the very beginning of my career I've LOVED finding the most romantic and unique facility for photo shoots!  We get to create over the top table settings and fabulous bouquets all in a new setting.  It really makes our creative minds work harder and think outside of the box.  Which I love! 

I adore coming up with new ideas and a complete challenge.  Photo shoots take a ton of work and collaborating with some pretty amazing wedding professionals.  This summer we are planning two photo shoots (thus far)....

One at La Cupola Ristorante & Inn located in the historic town of Litchfield, Connecticut.  It's grayish color stone building has fabulous big windows and overlooks the Bantam River along with a big pond.  It's beautiful landscaping brings the opportunity for couples to have photos taken while guests sip wine and sit absorbing the surroundings on granite benches.  Jamie Collins Photography will be capturing all of our images and we're working with the stylings of Sara Faella, Kelly's Sweet Rewards and Fizz Paperie.

The second photo shoot planned is with the talented Candace Jeffrey Photography and Larissa Lake Makeup Artist.  I'm in the search right now for the PERFECT location.  Something that speaks to my heart and soul of design.  I'm touring some properties early next week.

Some of my favorite venues are listed on our web site.  We've traveled all over New England and this year we go beyond New England and into New York.  Next year, we'll travel even farther to design some amazing weddings.  With every new venue we design at it brings new challenges and new inspiration.  That is a sweet thing!

Dramatic Before & After

I love the completion of a perfectly designed wedding.  It's important to know that it really makes a difference to your reception when you add flowers and candles.  See the images below where you see the tables clothed and then with the addition of flowers, branches and candles.  Floral decor brightens up the room and adds drama.  Your guests will be in awe while they dine during an evening filled with the delicate aroma of flowers and the glow of flickering candles.

 

Hand tied bouquets

Hand tied bouquets are really popular right now.  I love the freshly gathered look and simplicity of this bouquet!  "Miranda" and "Patience" garden roses along with "Faith" roses and wrapped with a wide ivory satin ribbon, with French knots for added detailing.  Simple, yet stunning!

For hot summers, we generally do not recommend using certain flowers that are fragile, such as white hydrangea, sweet peas and lilacs.  They simply cannot handle being out of water for extended periods of time.  There are a huge amount of flowers that can however.  Green hydrangea does fine out of water and we recently put "Trick green" dianthus in bouquets of a bride who wanted a Martha's Vineyard and freshly gathered style for her bouquets.

I LOVE putting little touches of detail on the stems of our bouquets.  We traveled to Atlanta in January to pick out the latest in crystals, sequin covered leaves and all sorts of fabulous finds.  For a more 'natural' feel we can put natural twine in French knots over the stems or wrap a fresh leaf and twist wire.  The options are unlimited!  I have the prettiest purple silk ribbon we bought.  Purple and teal color combination is big right now.

Simple branch centerpieces

For some facilities, with really high ceilings it's nice to add some height to your tables.  This will help fill up that empty space and create even more drama.  In general, tall centerpieces cost more.  There is more labor involved, almost double the amount of flowers in tall centerpieces vs. low ones and even the container cost more.  Transportation take more effort since the arrangements are in two pieces and assembled on site at the facility.  With everyone trying to cut costs or get as much for their money as they can, this simple centerpiece is perfect.

Two Manzanita branches in a 15" cylinder vase, filled with water and 15 stems of orange speckled mokara orchids at the top, along with 5 hanging luminaries.  It gives you the height and some color at the top of the branches without the huge costs of tall floral centerpieces.  For added glitz, you could add hanging crystals as well. (either in clear or even color crystals)