My Sister's Wedding: The Flowers

Tuesday, March 10, 2015



Preparations for my little sister's July wedding are in full swing, and since we've nailed down the big items like venue, caterer, band, invitations, and of course THE DRESS, we are now back to doing the fun stuff like picking flowers, accessories and table linens.  These little details are what I live for, and since I would get a D- if there were a floral design test, I'm very grateful that the couple was able to include a florist in their budget.  Over the weekend we met with our first shop owner, and I have to admit I was a little nervous.  This is not a break the bank wedding, and I know myself and that I have expensive taste.  I was so worried we would present a concept, and the response would be, "perfect... that will be $10,000!!!"  Luckily, that was not the case (in fact our experience was the exact opposite) and we left high-fiving each other because we really believe that we are going to get exactly the vision we had in mind, and within budget.  Really, when does that ever happen? 



I have to say up front, I'm not a huge flower person.  For special occasions, certainly, but in general it's hard for me to spend so much money on something that will quickly die.  I realize I'm in the minority here, and I definitely didn't want to pass my bias on to my sister who absolutely deserves the wedding of her dreams.  The one thing that we had going for us is that the venue itself really is the star.  My future brother-in -law just so happens to work for someone who has a coastal estate, and was kind enough to offer up the grounds for the wedding.  The ceremony and reception will be taking place nestled between gardens and the beach, on a sprawling lawn.  Because we will have so much beauty coming from the natural surroundings, we felt comfortable keeping the arrangements to a minimum, and dressing the tables as simply as we could.  This means we are really able to focus the bulk of the budget on the bouquets and flower crowns (oh yes, there are definitely going to be flower crowns.) 

My sister and I have been pinning ideas on Pinterest since around the time that ring was slipped on her finger, and by visually being able to see our collective vision it soon became clear what we were both leaning towards the same idea.  Lots of blush and flowers with a visual interest as far as texture goes.  I started to fall in love with the idea of adding a little bit of a darker flower which will play off the peacock color of the bridesmaid dresses perfectly (wait until you see them... they are incredible!)  and after seeing the same flower over and over, I finally figured out what it was (an anemone)!  Once my sister and I got to talking, we both happily decided that we wanted the flowers to include garden roses, peonies, and dahlias in various blush tones coupled with my new favorite" the anemone."  The florist we met with completely understood our vision, and by stressing we wanted simplicity and quality over quantity, I think it's safe to say that we pretty much have the flowers squared away.



As far as inspiration goes, this is absolutely the look we are going for (on a much smaller scale of course).  I absolutely love the contrast of the light and the dark and how these bouquets really read "garden wedding" which is exactly the feel we are going for. 



I did mention that there would be crowns, and right now we are playing around with an idea similar to these using the same varying blush flowers that will be in the bouquets.  I love the idea of the larger bride's crown, the maid of honor crown in a smaller version, and simple crowns for bridesmaids and flower girls.


The groom's cousin is an incredible cake maker and she is doing a cake made solely of macaroons as well as a smaller ivory cake for cutting in to.  Keeping simplicity in mind we are using this as our inspiration for what will be a singe layer round cake. 



This whole wedding is just coming together so perfectly, and since it's small it really has been a stress free affair.  I'm loving doing this a second time around and since most of our wedding related outings end with cocktails to celebrate the day's success, I can't complain one bit! 

I'll be sharing more as the big day comes closer, stay tuned!

P.S. For those of you who as florally challenged as I am, I swear by this book.  It's a recipe book for flowers that reads just like a cookbook!

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