Warm Peaches, Pinks and Yellows for Alex and Ben's December Wedding

I am just loving this color palette for Alex and Ben's  wedding flowers. It's so cheery with its warm apricots, peaches and pinks and rich golden yellow- just perfect for chasing away the cold and gloom of winter.

The flowers included apricot colored stock and peachy-coral Ilse spray roses, pink lisianthus, golden button mums and a deep cherry-pink rose called Cherry-O (which I think is an absolutely stunning color).

Silvery green foliage from the garden included Silver Drop eucalyptus, Centaurea Colchester White, and blue cypress which added a rich texture to the boutonnieres for the guys.

It's hard to believe it's already been a week since the wedding. I am so happy for this newlywed couple. I have known Ben for years, and I am looking forward to getting to know his lovely bride, Alex! Praying God's blessing for you as you begin your lives together as husband and wife!!!

Gomphrena for Summer Weddings

The seed catalogs are coming, and garden plans for summer flower beds at Springwell Gardens are under way. One flower that  always finds a niche in the gardens is gomphrena.

  I usually grow the Audray Pink and Audray Red Purple, and sometimes the Bicolor Rose. 

 Their clover-like blooms are such charmers in bouquets and centerpiece designs.

The flowers start up in early summer and when things heat up in July, the plants really begin to crank out the blooms.

  And they don't stop until frost!

The designs in the pictures above also feature zinnias, dahlias and lisianthus.
A good source for seeds for the Audray series is Harris Seeds and the Bicolor Rose can be found online at Johnny's Select Seeds. Note: these flowers are GREAT for drying for Christmas and winter designs too!

Weddings- Kirsten and Daniel, The Real Pictures

Meet Kirsten and Daniel... hard to believe their wedding was almost nine months ago.It's always great to share the real wedding pictures of my couples, (and these are by the talented Katherine Fallis of Furnished Photography ).
But today I get to share a little more- I get to share some of their story....

The how "how we met" parts and "what was really important in preparing for our wedding" parts.
A mutual friend introduced Kirsten and Daniel when they were freshmen at NC State. The very next weekend they attended at State football game together.  And that shared love for NC State football led to four years of getting together for sporting events, then going together to church, and helping each other get through college. Daniel created a slideshow that captured all those special "together" moments, and as the slide show ended, he dropped to one knee and proposed!
Kirsten and Daniel wanted to focus on the important things, and one of those was where to get married...
Because of his mentor, friend and youth pastor, (whom Daniel first met at University United Methodist Church), this "Wolfpack" couple chose to get married in the very same church in Chapel Hill.
And how wonderful to have this friend, Justin, perform their wedding ceremony. What a beautiful setting, and it now has special meaning to both Daniel and Kirsten.
Bridesmaids and Maid of Honor were easy choices for Kirsten, her best friends who also happen to be her sisters, Cori and Camden, and her new sister (in-law), Carolina, who over the years has become another dear friend.
Daniel's best man was his Dad, and his groomsmen were his cousins, TJ and Sawyer.You see, the most important aspect for this couple for their wedding day was the opportunity to be together with their family and loved ones. There just wasn't a lot of stress about little details.
The joy was in joining their lives together as husband and wife with mothers and grandmothers and
fathers and grandfathers and aunts and uncles and cousins and friends there with them-
The people that matter most in your life coming together from all over the place to celebrate with you on your wedding day!

It's a family reunion...  only better.

Here are some words of advice from Kirsten- "Don't stress about it. The day is about spending time with your friends and families. No one is going to judge you on what table settings you had, or where you had the reception... Also you will look beautiful no matter put on- the most important thing to wear on your wedding day is happiness!"

Weddings- Megan and Kyle

Yesterday was such a special day for a very special couple- a day to get married. And that's just what Megan and Kyle did just a few hours ago!
This day has been a long time in coming... The first time I met Megan and Kyle was last April at the Southern Bridal Show & Expo in Raleigh. They stopped by my booth and then they both came for the floral consultation a few weeks later.
Megan's primary color was purple, and though the flower choices changed a little, I think that she was quite happy with the final outcome. It was great showing her this bouquet for her wedding day.
Jewel tone purple lisianthus and stock, plum colored hellebore and tulips, and lavender freesia and were nestled among apple green viburnum and lisianthus buds with stems of fragrant rosemary. It was a sweet nod to the coming of spring.

The Maid of Honor bouquet featured white Akito roses, ivory Majolica spray roses, waxflowers, hydrangea and button mums.

And the Toss Bouquet was a lovely mixture of jewel colors, ivories and whites.
And because I had a little extra time, I wanted to make sure that I got Kyle's boutonniere just right!
So here are the three that Megan chose from:

1) A plum colored hellebore from the garden with a single lisianthus bud

2) A stem of lavender freesia with a ruffle of stock, and

3) A rich purple lisianthus flower with a stem of fresh Rosemary

And that one is the one that Megan chose.

I am so happy for you two... it's been almost twelve hours since you said "I do!"
Praying God's blessing for you as you begin your lives together!

Weddings- Looking Back and Looking Ahead

I have been so blessed to have the privilege to work with so many wonderful couples in designing wedding flowers for their special day in 2011. It is a privilege that I do not take for granted.
I love getting to know each bride and sometimes other family members and yes, sometimes even the groom. From that first meeting until their wedding day, I am reviewing in my mind the color palette, the flowers and special ways to express each couple's style. Sometimes it is with timeless, traditional flowers such as roses and callas.Sometimes it means adding that just right piece of foliage material to set off the rest of the flowers.

Some of my couples want designs that pull together elements from the garden and nature.
I will often step into my own flower beds or go for walks in wooded areas to look for special finds that will be the perfect compliment for her bouquet or maybe his boutonniere...

That will add a bit of spicy fragrance or

or a touch or whimsy

Whenever possible I look for those flowers or vines or pods that will be growing or blooming at the same time each year as their wedding day.
BECAUSE someday these may become the treasures that SHE would want to learn to grow in her own GARDEN and if so... I would LOVE to show her how....
And for 2012... Can't wait to meet and work with all those new couples who are getting married!

Weddings- Mikki & Hector... The Real Pictures

I call them the Real Pictures, because 1) they are taken by truly gifted photographers and 2) they show the Real People who have just gotten married!
And I am so excited to show off these two! Mikki and Hector make the sweetest couple and they had the most wonderful wedding in September.
And Jamie Blow of J&J Photography did an outstanding job of capturing all the wonderful details of their special day.

The color palette that Mikki and Hector chose was absolutely gorgeous- rich plum and purple, lavender, antique green and ivory.
And I loved combining beautiful flowers from my garden with the beautiful flowers from the market.
Cinda of Cinda's Creative Cakes created a fantastic wedding cake with cool leaves and branches embellished with fresh flowers and a cute bird nest!
The round oak slabs are Mikki's Dad's handiwork. They were perfect for the woodsy garden theme.

It is music to my ears when I hear from my couples how perfect their wedding day was, and I am so excited for them as they begin their lives together as husband and wife.


Mikki and Hector, I wish you all the BEST as these newly wedded days slip into weeks....then months... then years..... many, many years!!!