Monday, May 31, 2010

Real Weddings: Julie and Jordan

I met Julie at the end of February at the Mid Atlantic Green Wedding Showcase at the University of Maryland.  She told me she was getting married at Woodend Sanctuary on May 1 and hadn’t yet chosen a florist. I was  excited about working with her both because I LOVE Woodend Sanctuary and because I thought Julie’s vision for the flowers would work perfectly in that setting.

Julie wanted the flowers to feel like they had just been picked from an English cottage garden. The colors were dusty pink, white, green and BLUE. As I’m sure you’ve heard me say before-blue is not a color found a lot in nature. While I promised to try for blue-we decided on lavender as a back-up. It turns out, with the weather so strange this year (i think i heard one of the growers say that we are two weeks ahead of a “normal” schedule because of the very warm weather we had early in the spring) there was loads of blue available.

0023

The bride’s bouquet was made up of blue and lavender delphinium and blue bachelor buttons from Wollam Gardens and pink and white snap dragons from Farmhouse Flowers. I think LoCoFlo designer Jen Bryant did a great job of capturing the style and feel the bride was going for.

0017 These little corsages were made of pink sweet william, a bachelor button (which the bride’s dad swore was a blue spray painted dandelion and a spring or rosemary.

The table arrangements  were a collection of tin pots overflowing with color and scent. Some little buckets of English Thyme and Lobelia from Breidenbaugh Farm were partnered with larger buckets of  snapdragons, delphinium, stock, sweet peas, white viburnum and bachelor buttons.

 0012

0007 0008

0006

The ceremony arrangements were in tall tin buckets and filled with delphinium and viburnum.

0030 0033 Thanks so much to Artemas Photography for these wonderful pictures. To see more check out our flickr site and Artemas’ blog!

Congratulations to Julie and Jordan! Wishing you much love and joy as you begin your life together!

Thursday, May 27, 2010

Visiting Longwood Gardens

I can’t believe Tuesday was my first visit to Longwood Gardens! I have lived in Baltimore for 11 years and I can emphatically say…I was missing out! I feel so fortunate that I live so close to these absolutely amazing gardens.

Longwood Gardens, located just outside Kennet Square PA, is just 72 short miles from Baltimore. Longwood Gardens was purchased by Pierre S. du Pont in 1905 as a way to protect it’s trees from being cut for lumber. Today, it encompasses over 1050 acres of gardens, woods, fountains, meadows, waterfalls and an incredible Conservatory.

IMG_0811

IMG_0816

IMG_0817

IMG_0827

IMG_0828

So much of it reminded me of the gardens at Versailles.

I was there for fun-but also for a little networking and learning. Tuesday was the Mid Atlantic Regional Meeting of the Association of Specialty Cut Flower Growers. It’s always great to spend time with the growers and great to learn more about what they’re growing and how they’re growing. There were great presentations about mini, colored calla lilies, dahlias, grasses as cut flowers and post harvest care.

I can’t wait to go back again!

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

Real Weddings: Jane Ann and Kent

I met Jane Ann and Kent at Flowermart last year.

clip_image001

They came over to our booth and told us they were engaged (they were GLOWING) and that they really wanted to use as many small, local businesses as they could for their wedding.

A few months later, Jane Ann called and said she was  ready to talk flowers. We had a great breakfast together at Miss Shirley’s where we found out that we were both from Western New York- me from Buffalo and her from Batavia-just a few miles up the road.

Jane Ann wanted to use lots of bright spring colors for her flowers. The only stipulation-no orange!

_DSC8733

_DSC8831 

The Bride’s bouquet was made up of brightly colored snapdragons, tulips, mini calla lilies and ranunculus. All of the flowers came from Farmhouse Flowers and Van Dyke Brothers Farm (and hosta leaves from my garden!)

_DSC8746

For the table arrangements, we decided we wanted clear glass/crystal vases since the wedding was taking place at Coradetti Glass Studio. After some thrift store shopping, Jane Ann invited me over to look at some of her mother’s antique crystal vases. We decided that they would be a perfect fit. It was especially great because each vase was so unique-it really added alot to the arrangements.

IMG_0459 _DSC8437 _DSC8446 _DSC8636

  coradetti

One other great thing about this wedding, besides meeting Jane Ann and Kent were all of the  great vendors I was able to meet that worked on this wedding include the fab Beej Flamholz, chef extraordinaire; Jill Andrews and Sara Mathes from Jill Andrews Gowns who made Jane Ann’s beautiful dress, Jennifer Graves of Sky Blue Events and Greg Sileo who provided me with these great photos!

_DSC8777

This pictures says it all! It’s definitely my favorite of the day!Wishing Jane Ann and Kent many years of happiness and joy together!

Monday, May 17, 2010

Real Weddings: Jeff and Mariko

Jeff and Mariko were married on a cool, clear, April afternoon at Irvine Nature Center. When I met with them over the winter, they described the style and feel they were trying to create for their wedding-simple, natural, beautiful. They wanted to stick with whites and greens and were excited to use a variety of herbs for both the wedding party flowers and the table arrangements.

201004_MarikoJeffMoher-026

201004_MarikoJeffMoher-029

201004_MarikoJeffMoher-052

201004_MarikoJeffMoher-129 201004_MarikoJeffMoher-144 The Bride’s bouquet was made up of white snapdragons with great green tips, white ranunculus, a few early, hothouse peonies, white freesia, sweet peas and white tulips. The flowers came from Farmhouse Flowers and Van Dyke Brothers Farm.

201004_MarikoJeffMoher-204 The groom’s boutonniere was made with a single white freesia and a fresh sprig of rosemary.

201004_MarikoJeffMoher-337 201004_MarikoJeffMoher-343 201004_MarikoJeffMoher-576After the ceremony, the couple and their family and friends enjoyed dinner and dancing at Linwoods in Owings Mills. The tables were decorated with sweet and savory scented potted herbs (my favorite was the pineapple sage) from Farmhouse Flowers.

201004_MarikoJeffMoher-130

Thanks so much to one of my fave photographers Jocelyn Mathewes for sharing her beautiful images with me.

Congratulations to Jeff and Mariko! Much happiness and joy to both of you!

Friday, May 14, 2010

Real Weddings: Emily and Jon

When I met Emily, and later Jon, I immediately knew that these were people that would be great to work with. Emily wanted a very colorful, natural feel for her flowers. She wanted bright spring colors that would complement the beautiful melon dresses the girls were wearing. She especially wanted to incorporate orange-in all shades (which made me SO happy-since as you know…I’m partial to orange!)

levinson_blog_0002[1]

  emily_redrosephotography_0071[1] The bride’s bouquet was was made up of gerber daisies, lilies, tulips, mini calla lilies, ranunculus and snapdragons-all in vibrant spring colors. The wedding party flowers were from Farmhouse Flowers and Van Dyke Brothers Farm.

levinson_blog_0018

These girls all looked so beautiful! I especially loves the buttery yellow gerbers they wore in their hair!

levinson_blog_0024 And the bride was just stunning!

levinson_blog_0036 The groom’s boutonniere was made of a single, white mini calla lily.

One especially great part of the wedding was the table arrangements. Each of the over 20 table arrangements were unique and showcased the most beautiful poppies and sweet peas from Wollam Gardens!

IMG_0677 IMG_0676 Jen and I had so much fun making and setting up these tables.

And the cake! I can’t leave out the cake! Jen did a great job of decorating the cake.

IMG_0670

And the couple did a great job of having a super cute cake topper made in their likeness. I especially love that the bride on the cake topper is holding a bouquet that looks just like the bouquet we made for Emily!

IMG_0672 Thanks so much to Red Rose Photography for the absolutely gorgeous photos of the bouquets and wedding party. You make us look good!

Congratulations to Emily and Jon! Here’s wishing you all the happiness in the world! Couples like you are what make this the best “job” around!

Saturday, May 8, 2010

Tim and Lianne: A Sneak Peak at the Flowers

I always try to wait to get the photographers pictures from the wedding to post on the blog. But you know what…I don’t want to wait! I’ll still post the “Real Weddings” stories when I get the photographers pictures, but I’m starting a “sneak peak” post to give you an early look at the flowers and weddings we’re working on.

Lianne and Tim’s wedding took place today at Irvine Nature Center in Owings Mills. Despite the CRAZY winds, it was an absolutely beautiful day!

IMG_0750

Orange Ranunculus at Farmhouse Flowers. We used these in the arrangements and in the bride’s bouquet.

IMG_0758Bob Wollam, Owner of Wollam Gardens posing at his stand at the Penn Quarter Farmers Market. I picked up delphinium, bachelor buttons, poppies, curly willow and viburnum from him. I LOVED visiting with Bob. He’s awesome!

IMG_0762

Boutonnieres. Rosemary and a little hen and chicks succulent.

IMG_0771 The girls bouquets: Solomon's seal, spearmint, rose geranium, gerber daisies, snap dragons and bachelor buttons.

IMG_0775

The Bride’s Bouquet.

IMG_0778

At Irvine.

IMG_0781 Sunny-but WINDY!

IMG_0786The tables were all different for this picnic themed wedding.  We used mason jars, tin buckets and lemonade carafes.

IMG_0788 IMG_0793

Thanks to Marina and Carla for all of their help this weekend! More photos to come!