Tall Centerpiece

One of my favorite centerpieces of all time. Done for a wedding at the Atlanta History Center. Curly willow, white dendrobium orchids and ladies mantle. Note the willow wrapped around the outside of the vase and the perfectly placed orchid on its branch. Gorgeous, if I do say so myself!

(photo courtesy of Charlie McLarty Photography)

Cymbidium Orchids

Here's a gorgeous bride with a beautiful bouquet of green cymbidium orchids, white freesia and deep pink celosia. Her bridesmaids carried white cymbidum orchids with deep pink celosia. Very simple, yet dramatic. (The bride was my son's third grade teacher! He loved her!)

"Cool Water" Roses

Absolutely gorgeous lavender/purple roses. Paired here with seeded eucalyptus and flowering cherry branches. Perfect for a corporate account.

Tattoo

No, I'm not getting a tattoo, but one of my brides did! She loved her bouquet so much she had it's image tattooed on her back. Those are gorgeous schwarzwalder calla lilies (a very deep, dark purple - almost black) and bear grass accents. She also wore a platinum wedding dress that was stunning. A bit unconventional, but absolutely perfect for her.
That's why I love this job - each bride is unique and each wedding a new adventure!

'09 Bride

I met today with Emily and her mother, Linda for a bridal consultation. Emily brought pictures of flower styles she likes but really didn't have a clear vision of what she wanted. My first question to a bride is "Tell me three words that would describe the flowers at your wedding". This always helps me to get an understanding of the bride herself and the emotion she wants expressed through her flowers.

She knew she wanted an all-ivory bouquet but wasn't sure which specific flowers. We discussed using vendela roses, ivory ranunculus, mini callas, hydrangea, lisianthus and stock. She really likes the ruffly, lacy type flowers. I will put together a proposal for her with different flower combinations at different price points.

Her bridesmaids will be wearing a soft yellow silk dress with an elegant bow at the waist. Emily had thought of ivories and greens as a possibility for their bouquets. She mentioned that she liked stock, a very fragrant flower. I suggested perhaps using stock in a soft lavender color for her maids and she really perked up at that color idea. I like when that happens!

We had an enjoyable meeting that lasted about an hour and a half. Her wedding is in August and I hope to be doing it!

Besito

Here's another sneak peak at a new website photo coming soon. Heather and David were married at a family farm last fall. The ring bearer was Heather's little chihuahua - Besito (which is Spanish for 'little kiss'). I made him a tiny boutonniere which was pinned to his tiny tuxedo!

(photo courtesy of Karen Burns photography).

Updating, Refreshing, Adding New

January and February are typically quite slow as far as wedding business goes. So, at this time I am working on updating my website, adding new wedding galleries, refreshing online photos, dabbling (!) in facebook, etc. etc. That was a sneak peak at a few photos that will soon be added to my website.

The wedding was that of Laura and Todd at the Houston Mill House. Gorgeous blue hydrangeas, red roses, orange gerbers, bold sunflowers and fresh rosemary added a bright and fragrant ambiance to the already beautiful location. (photos courtesy of Solstice Images)

Stock, Gerbers and Amaranthus

Well, it seems when you look through my blog posts that the only flowers I work with are pinks and reds. That's not true but today's entry doesn't support that! Here's an arrangement of light pink stock (an extremely fragrant flower), deep pink gerber daisies and hanging amaranthus. It's a very romantic arrangement - I guess I still have the valentine's day vibe going on...

Happy Valentine's Day!

I'm swallowed up in roses...

Pink and Red Bridal Bouquet

As Valentine's Day nears, I'm swallowed up in pinks and reds! Here is one of my favorite bridal bouquets that I have done in that color scheme.

Alex, the bride, was so great to work with - very down to earth. She was married at The 173 Carlyle House in Norcross in a classic ceremony with Celtic touches. The flowers in her bouquet were hot pink, red and gold roses, red alstromeria, pink statice, gold hypericum berries and wax flower. I love the little vintage purse she carried!

Red Roses

Here's an idea! Instead of the traditional red roses in a vase with filler and greenery, why not go for something a little more contemporary.

A beautiful orb of Freedom roses in a iron urn. The rose stems are tucked into a ball of oasis (that green foam that acts like a sponge). Add water daily and this arrangement can easily last 10 days.

Or another option is red carnations. Same bold statement, a little easier on the wallet and very long-lasting. I think carnations have gotten a bad rap. They can be very beautiful when used en masse and there are some great new colors out there - a gorgeous deep purple and a soft lavender, for example.

They are also very useful in adding volume to an arrangement without too much extra cost.

The arrangement pictured above was done for a beautiful wedding at Glenn Memorial Church on the Emory Campus.

Calla lily bouquet

Many, many brides love calla lilies. This is one of my favorites that I did recently. White callas with pink ranunculus. (photo courtesy of Kristen Alexander Photography)

Tropical Valentine

Here's a little tropical twist for a Valentine's bouquet. Note the little crystal hearts tucked into the mini pineapples! Other flowers include white dendrobium orchids, pink anthurium and ti leaves.

Wholesale Flower Market

Went to the flower market this morning, otherwise known as Halls Atlanta Wholesale. The photo above shows just one corner of the cooler. The folks at Halls are great. They are always very helpful and they seem to enjoy their jobs.

One event I have this weekend is a 60th birthday party at Wahoo restaurant in Decatur. I'm doing six small arrangements for two long tables. I picked up some gorgeous blue hydrangeas (requested by the customer), purple tulips from Holland, green hypericum berries, some cool purpley/green kale and dark green tree fern. I'll swirl some green spanish moss inside the round, glass vases for a very earthy/gardeny feel.

Be Mine

Valentine's Day is just around the corner. Here's an arrangement that's very popular. A giant glass urn of candy hearts and beautiful stargazer lilies. The lily stems are inside of large water tubes so that you can read, eat and share the hearts! I like the orange ones the best.

Peony bridal bouquet

As I sit by the fire and work on proposals for all the brides getting married in 2009, many requests are for peony bouquets. Peonies certainly are exquisite! Here are a pair of photos of a gorgeous bouquet for a bride who married at the Four Seasons. Yuko was a beauty herself. (photos courtesy of White Rose Studios )

I have a neighbor who recently moved into a house and she inherited a gorgeous and plentiful peony garden. She was hosting a luncheon for her church and we cut the huge, hot pink blooms and arranged them in her own collection of family crystal and silver. They were stunning centerpieces and best of all - locally grown!

Weekly client delivery

One of my weekly clients is Siegel & Dolt dentistry. I provide a large arrangement for the reception area and a smaller one for the interior of the office. Here's a picture of the smaller one (I deleted the picture of the bigger one by accident! I have a new camera that I'm getting used to.)

Again, purple iris, yellow tulips, sea thistle and some lime spider mums which really pop with color. In a tall, square glass vase it is a very "architectural" design.

Get Well delivery

Here's a sweet little vase arrangement I did for a client whose friend was under the weather. In it are purple iris, yellow tulips, craspedia or 'billy balls' (the round yellow things), tree fern and a few butterfly accents. Flower fact: Tulips continue to grow once they are cut and placed in water. That is why they will seem to "reach" out of the arrangement!

A toasty fire

There is one thing in life that I really love - a nice warm crackling fire. We have a fireplace in the living room and there are days where a fire burns literally all day long. I love it. But in order to have fire, you need wood. And for us, we need lots of it.
David rented a wood splitter and we finally split the two giant oak trees that have been sitting in stumps and chunks in our backyard. Our neighbors had the trees removed a while ago and we were fortunate to get the wood from them.
So, the family spent the day splitting, carting and stacking. We have a ton of wood now which should last us through the rest of the winter season. I know I will be sore tomorrow!
One of my hopes for the future is to someday have a fireplace in the bedroom. Falling asleep next to a roaring fire - pure bliss if you ask me.