{Images by Lisa Lefkowitz & Aaron Delesie}
How gorgeous are these flowers? I just want to surround myself with them. I love the flirty pink petals paired with the rustic birch bark branches. My sister's husband is building us the arbor we will be married under & I am looking forward to adding some dahlia blooms & trailing leaves to it {while simulataneously wishing peonies were in season as well!}.
{Images: top by Belathee Photography via MSW; bottom by unknown, ek!}
Pretty, pretty chair swags from two outdoor weddings. I love the dinner plate dahlias in the bottom swags {apologies for not knowing the source...anyone?}. I really love the colors & sahpe of the top swag from Grace Bonney's {aka Design*Sponge} wedding. We are going to be having a head table & will be facing the room with our backs to a larget window, so chair swags will not work so well for us. I am thinking about having a floral garland hanging in front of the table though. Perhaps a few of these swags lined-up in a row to make a longer one?
{Images by You Look Nice Today via Ruffled}
Gosh! Look at those huge & ruffley dahlias & roses. They are gorgeous! The flowers were designed by Bohemian Bouquets, specializing in uniqe, edgy, & eco-friendly design. Every time I see a version of this cake I fall in love with it all over again. The vintage birds, wood base, simple buttercream frosting, & perfectly bare twigs just sing to me.
{Images via Saipua}
Dahlia season is almost over & it has been a visual feast! Having a long engagement has allowed us to experience the season in which we are getting married & really pay attention to what is happening. When did the sunset? How is the weather? And importantly, what flowers are still blooming!? I am simply lusting after dinner plate dahlias I saw on Saipua today {as if I were not sold already}. My love for cafe-au-lait dahlias continue, along with the idea that maybe a rose or two might not be so bad. And do I spy ranunculus?? I will not hold out for them, but perhaps there is hope.
These four bouquets are some of my absolute favorites. I find myself going back to them again & again. None of them are particularly within our color scheme however the style & flower are just what I love & would like for my own boquet {with more zinnias, of course!}. I love the idea of having one large focal flower, like the dinner plate dahlia in the top right photo. A cafe-au-lait dahlia would be lovely! Greenery is a must, the more wild the better. I would love to use leaves from an oak tree like the bottom left photo, which most people I am sure recognize as Lena Corwin's bouquet.
I was reading a post on The Bride's Guide recently about guests taking centerpieces. I have been to a few weddings where there have been "contests" to see who will "win" the centerpiece. At a recent wedding Rich & I won a centerpiece because he was the oldest person at the table. Nothing like reminding people of their age. At a wedding this summer the mother of the bride was encouraging the last remaining people who were there to take a centerpiece home because they were going to be thrown away {I took two because I could not stand the thought of the gorgeous flowers in the trash. Ack!}. My mother did the same thing at my sister's wedding this past July. Another wedding we attended had centerpieces consisting of record albums that no one touched {though the lilies might have been up for grabs I do not remember}.
All of these centerpiece scenarios got me thinking about our centerpieces which will be comprised of three elements: 1. Rich's record albums; 2. My milk glass vases; & 3. Flowers in the vases. We do not want people to walk off with the albums, however we will take the actual records out of them & leave them at home {just in case!}. I also do not want everyone walking out with my milk glass vases I have been collecting. I will make some exceptions say if an aunt or close friends really loves one, then of course they may have it.
Okay...so if you do not want people to take the vases, but were so upset over your friends flowers getting thrown in the trash...? Enter cute custom-printed cellophane bags & pretty ties! Last spring MSW ran this idea of centerpieces pulling double-duty as favors. Small waterproof bags with a message inviting guests to take the flowers home with them can be placed on the table towards the end of the night. This way the flowers will still be enjoyed by the guests & I will still have my vases!
{Images via Studio Choo}
Studio Choo completely inspires me. Every time a new photo of a gorgeous arrangement is posted on their flickrI get so excited. Their bouquets are sweetly composed & have a perfect homemade, I-just-picked-these-in-a-field feeling, which I love. They often use vintage vessels for their arrangements such as mason jars & milk bottles. Flowers that are often seen in their arrangements & bouquets include ranunculus, poppies, peonies, cosmos, zinnias, dahlias, & queen anne's lace. Swoon!
In related flower news I am really excited for a new program at RISD called the Floral Artistry Institute. The FAI is a comprehensive floral design program taught by the renowned Stoneblossom Floral & Event Design. I already signed-up for the first two classes, the second being Wonderful Wedding Florals which covers designing flowers & other decorative elements for weddings & bouquet construction.
Here's to hoping that someday soon, with practice, I will be able to make a bouquet that is just half as gorgeous as Studio Choo!
{Image via The Bride's Cafe}
This is such a pretty table, welcoming guests into the tented reception. My milk glass vase collection is growing slow & steady. I actually see a few of the same ones here! This photo also has me thinking table runners. Our venue now has the option of colored linens, which I was all about at first. But now I am liking the idea of a white linens, patterned table runner, white vases. This photo has also reminded me that simple is always the best with regards to the flowers. We are still planning to do our own centerpieces {with the help of friends & family} so one type of flower per vase it most likely will be. I found this Weeder's Digest post by Sarah of Saipua very helpful. She also suggests votives, which is always a lovely way to warm-up a space.
{Image via Le Petit Atelier de Paris}
So simple & lovely. I dig assymetrial compositions, especially in floral arrangements. My sister's technical term for this is "sticky-outy things."...she is more into dome-shaped "thingies."
p.s. I am in love with the blog where I found this image. I wish I knew of the studio when I was in Paris.
{Images by me}
Our friends Meg & Dave were married over the weekend. The wedding was held at the Roger Williams Botanical Center here in Providence & it was a gorgeous location! The flowers Meg chose were absolutely beatuiful as well & included peonies, dahlias, ranunculus, tulips, anenomies, & poppies. After seeing just that one little poppy on the top right there I think I now need poppies in our wedding. The color is perfect. Thanks for the inspriation, Meg {p.s. I am so happy you decided to skip the gerber daisies, these were so you!}. You can see a few more photos of the wedding here. I cannot wait to see their professional photos by the super-amazing Gwyneth Colleen!
