Cafe Au Lait Dahlias and Amnesia Roses for Mary and Brad's Wedding

They're coming home tonight from their honeymoon- home to a new way of life- my daughter, Mary, and her husband, Brad, are now newlyweds!

So many folks were involved in helping pull things together for their wedding- friends, brothers, aunts and uncles...
 Brad's Mom, Terry, put together a WONDERFUL dessert table with 500 individual, homemade, very yummy little cheesecakes- they were incredible!!!
Wilson was the behind the scenes man, setting up the arbor for the ceremony and making OODLES of wooden boxes for centerpiece designs.
 I even had boutonniere help from Mary's sister, Natalie, and of course my friend, Sandy, came over to help with the flowers as well.
The flowers.. Mary would send me a link or put images on Pinterest to give me ideas of what she and Brad liked. Soft muted colors, her favorite flower- Amnesia roses, and to humor me- something from my gardens. I joked with her last April... "I'm planting these Cafe Au Lait Dahlias just for your bouquet..."
I was so excited the Lord gave me some beautiful blooms to pick from !

 Brad and Mary wanted to use succulents for the boutonnieres. Here are a couple of images of Natalie's creations.

We used Wilson's wooden boxes for many of the centerpiece designs.

And filled them with Amnesia roses, eucalyptus, Majolica spray roses, hydrangeas and wax flowers.
A great "do ahead" were some of the small wooden boxes filled with succulents.

Hopefully some of these babies will keep on growing in their new potted homes.
All in all it was a crazy, wonderful time.

 And now the new chapter is about to begin... Brad and Mary, I am praying God's blessing for you as you begin your wedded life... Love, Mom

Sun Coleus for Fall Weddings

Some great plants for autumn weddings are of course dahlias and zinnias, but another plant to consider is one that has showy leaves instead of flowers. One of my favorites for fall is the Sun Coleus. These plants are workhorses in the summer border, and they come in a wide range of colors. Sun Coleus (as their name implies) can take full sun. Keep them watered and they will perform all through summer until frost. Another great feature is they look wonderful in cut floral arrangements and bouquets. 

The Sun Coleus in the bouquet below demands your attention just as much as the flowers. The rich bronze color leaves with the scalloped chartreuse edging say "Look at Me!". These beauties work well with the traditional autumn gold of solidago, orange dahlias and yellow zinnias and  a lovely draping Opopeo Amaranth.  

They can also be well mannered when combined with a more subtle color palette of white dahlias and antique mauve sedums and green spikes of perilla.

Brides contemplating something different for the autumn bouquets for 2013 may want to really consider adding Sun Coleus to their flower list.

Fresh Green and White Flowers for Rachel and Jacob

Today is Rachel and Jacob's wedding day!

Yesterday I sent bouquets and corsages and boutonnieres and buckets of flowers to Boone with her friend, Mary (who created the centerpiece designs). And today these two joined their lives together as husband and wife! 
Rachel, her Mom, Cheryl and I talked flowers over the summer.  Rachel's vision was one of crisp greens and whites. Vendela roses and Majolica spray roses were nestled among  baby green hydrangeas and bright green button mums. There were also soft willowy heads of Queen Anne's Lace and emerald green Cleyera Japonica leaves. Everything looked so lovely and fresh. I have been babying some succulents this summer- aka "Hens and Chicks" and was glad to have a nice size one to tuck into Rachel's bouquet.

For her sister, Sarah, who was her Matron of Honor, (so sorry I used the wrong tag!), there were splashes of purple tradescantia and crested celosia.

What a privilege it has been to create these bouquets and such for this sweet, young bride. I am really looking forward to seeing Rachel and hearing all about her wedding day, and I can't wait to meet her new husband, Jacob!!!
Praying God's blessing for you two as you start this wonderful marriage journey!

Peaches and Corals for Katie and Will's Wedding

What a treat to be asked to create Katie and Will's wedding flowers. Katie and my daughter, Mary, were good friends growing up- especially during those high school years. Lots of good memories come to mind when I think of this lovely young woman!
Katie envisioned a warm color palette of peach, light coral and pops of green for the bridesmaids bouquets and soft whites and ivories for her own.

One thing that was tweaked a little a couple months out from the wedding was the wrapping for the bouquets. I showed Katie a picture of bouquets with multiple hanging ribbons, and she was all for giving it a try.

Ceremony designs were created in large footed urns in keeping with the traditional atmosphere at Jones Chapel in Raleigh.
Centerpiece designs somewhat mimicked the bridesmaids' bouquets. Each one set in a ribbon and button embellished vase, (so thankful to have Sandy assist me with all of these!).
I can't wait to share some of the real wedding pictures... so more about these two coming up later this week!

Pink Garden Roses and Peonies for Mandy and Ryan's Wedding

It's hard to believe that summer is quickly coming to a close. Here's a beautiful lookback to a sweet couple's June wedding...
Mandy and her future mother-in-law, Laura, dropped by the studio in February.  It was apparent that Mandy had a definite vision for her wedding flowers- a romantic color palette of  delicate pinks, creams and whites with billowy peonies and garden roses. It was a perfect choice for this sweet soft spoken bride.
Bridesmaids' bouquets would be created with pink roses and peonies, and Mandy's bouquet with creamy white roses, pink garden roses and peonies.
Boutonnieres for the gentleman featured a single rose embellished with feathery dianthus buds.

Salem Baptist Church in Apex was a classic setting for this summer time wedding. Guests were greeted by a beautiful garden design created by the Tammy, a great designer with The Life of the Party- RSVP Events

The ceremony decor featured maple trees in sleek metal planters adorned with white hydrangeas and pink roses and a sweeping design of roses, hydrangeas, stock and larkspur placed beneath the large stain glass window.
Pew markers echoed the romantic theme of soft pinks and whites with draping vinca vines.
Following the ceremony, Megan and Ryan greeted their guests at The Garden on Millbrook

to continue their wedding day celebrations.

What a beautiful way to start the summer!  Praying God's blessing for you as you move through these days and months of being newlyweds!
Be sure to check out some more wonderful pictures of Mandy and Ryan's wedding day by talented Robyn Van Dyke at: http://www.robynvandykephotography

Late Summer Bouquet of Pink Gomphrena and Scented Geraniums

Flowers from the late summer garden offer lots of interesting textures and fragrance. Gomphrena packs a lot of color and texture especially when flower heads are clustered together.
And for fragrance- nothing beats the bright green leaves of Scented Geranium. From citrus to cinnamon to old rose- there's a lot to choose from. They make a lovely collar for a summer or fall bouquet.

Here they are combined with some of other late summer garden favorites...

Feathery flower spikes of wheat celosia (pictured above on the left hand side) and African Blue Basil (pictured in the lower right hand corner below).
Pink lisianthus and pink and white zinnias round out this sweet little bouquet.
These flowers are ideal for autumn bouquets as well. As the days grow shorter these plants just continue to churn out the blooms- some of them until frost!

Springtime Bouquets- Think Ranunculus!!!

Summer is chugging away, and autumn is fast approaching, and that makes me think of getting ready for SPRING FLOWERS!!!
One of my absolute favorites is Ranunculus. These are some of the most beautiful springtime flowers for weddings in March and April. These sweet lovelies are grown from thumb size tubers that are planted in late October and November. The colors are glorious- pink, white, apricot, yellow, rose, lavender, scarlet and more. Below is a picture of a gathering from the hoophouse last spring.
They look stunning as in this mixed bouquet of ranunculus, hellebore, pussy willow and tulips.

And when the bouquet is filled with masses of ranunculus... just breathtaking!