Weddings- Melissa and Ryan

I first met with Melissa and her parents, Frank and Sue, last summer, and I have to say that I really enjoyed getting to know them over the last eleven months. Her fiance', Ryan, also came along to give his support, (I learned that he is much more into hunting and fishing than flowers, but he was there for that first visit which I think is sweet!).
We talked colors, we talked flowers and along the way some things changed, but others stayed the same. One thing that Melissa knew she wanted was lots of yellow in her bouquet. She decided to go with yellow roses and calla lilies and freesia and soft creamy yellow stock. Garden gatherings included dainty heads of white feverfew and yarrow and seed pods of Love-in-a-Mist, (Melissa can save these and plant the seeds in her own garden some day).
The centerpiece designs featured blue Mason jars filled with yellow gerber daisies, blue hydrangeas and stems of feverfew.

There were also loops of lily grass and Kimberly Queen fern fronds.

Centerpieces for the longer reception tables were designed in vintage sewing machine drawers.

Here's a shot of the bouquets boxed up and ready to go.

My daughter Natalie, who helped me set up for the wedding, was really fond of the bridesmaids' bouquets. Melissa wanted her bridesmaids to carry white flowers. She chose gerber daisies looped with bear grass.

The van packed up and ready to go- destination the Sutherlands in Wake Forest. Hilton of Hilton Pittman Photography captured some great images of the wedding- Loved the one on his blog yesterday of the new Mr. & Mrs. And I hope I can share some of his work on my blog sometime.
It was such a privilege to design the flowers for Melissa and Ryan's wedding day! I am so happy for you two and wish you all the best as you start your married life!

Weddings- Jamie and Steve at Elodie Farms

From our very first meeting, Jamie had a definite vision for her wedding flowers. I met with Jamie and her event planner, Erin McLean, of Erin McLean Events several months before the wedding date. She was very interested in designs that would use locally grown floral material. While I do grow many flowers for my brides, I knew that I would also have to enlist the help of flower farmers in the area.
These wonderful images that capture some of the details of the wedding show how Jamie's vision was brought to life. They have been provided by F8 Photo Studio and are copyrighted.
The wedding was slated for late August, and after a long search, Jamie and Steve found the perfect setting in Elodie Farms. It's located north of Durham, heading toward Roxboro, and it boasted a beautiful laid back charm. I have to admit I was pretty impressed.
The flowers perfectly matched the setting. The fresh picked blooms included crested and feather celosia, antique green hydrangea, apple green sedum, zinnia, Silver King and Love-In-A-Puff and hyacinth bean vines.
Centerpieces for the tables were designed in Mason jars that were encircled with wreaths of ivy provided by my friend, Sandy.
Jamie's bouquet included golden yellow and magenta zinnias, pink tips of feather celosia and physostegia and purple lisianthus, (from Steve Bender's flower farm). The bouquet was finished with a delicate silvery green collar of artemisia. I love this picture of Jamie and her parents on the wrap around porch of the farmhouse.
The chuppah was set up in the front yard of the house. Jamie and Steve wanted a floral design that included long trailing vines cascading down from the canopy.
Here's a close-up of one of the floral sprays topped with hyacinth bean pods and caged in curly willow with long trailing vines of Love-In-A-Puff. Erin McLean was a big help to Sandy and me in setting up.
And here's a sweet photo of the happy couple after saying "I Do."
It was a privilege to design the wedding flowers for Jamie and Steve, and I am grateful to them for allowing me to share these pictures from their wedding. And I am also very grateful to f8 photo studio for sending the images my way for posting on the blog.
I can't wait until the gardens really start up again. I plan to share more about the wealth of flowers that are greatly suited to farm and barn style weddings!