Fall Bridal Bouquets

 

Cox Scholars Banquet

 

Busy Fall!!!

 Has it seriously been 2 months since my last blog post?!  Yikes!  Well, I haven't been slacking off, I was knee deep in flowers!!  A Fresh Flower had an incredibly busy fall and we are beyond grateful for that!  Between IU events and beautiful fall weddings, we kept ourselves pretty darn busy!!

I won't bore you with the details of my schedule!  I will just show you some pretty pictures from an IU event I did back in September. (WOW!  It's almost November??!!  How did that happen?)  I LOVE the events at IU and especially the events I do with the IU foundation.  What a great group of people to work with!!  They make my already amazing job even better!

Arbor Day

 

I had the absolute pleasure of doing a wedding last weekend at an incredible venue! Sycamore Farm is a 20 acre working horse farm that has been transformed into a stunning event venue in Bloomington Indiana.  I love this rustic location and all the modern day amenities it offers.  It was so much fun creating the florals for this beautiful wedding!

Sycamore Farm has a beautiful arbor that is available for the couples to use for the ceremony.  One of the owners told me that it was made by a bride's father for her ceremony and the dad planned to take it home and set it on fire!!  That would have been awful because it looks like it was MADE for this farm!  The arbor is naturally so pretty with all the twisted wood and vines, but I wanted to add splashes of color to brighten the arbor up a bit.  The colors for this wedding were pink, yellow and touches of orange.  So happy and so much fun!!

I wanted to use flowers that coordinated with the centerpieces and bouquets, but that would last for a few hours without being in water.  I used yellow and pink carnations, orange, pink and yellow gerber daisies, yellow and white daisies and solidago.  I wrapped the twigs with Italian ruscus to start and attached groupings of flowers to the greenery.  

This was such a fun wedding and I can't wait to share more of the florals with you!!  

Ladies Night Design Class

A few months back I was asked to teach a class.  I was a bit taken aback as I am not a teacher, nor do I desire to be one!  But none-the-less, I jumped at the chance to take part as I was told there would be wine served!  HA HA!!!  

The group of women I had the pleasure to work with are all great friends who get together once a month to go to dinner, get drinks or learn something new.  They wanted to try their hand at floral design and I was happy to oblige!

I decided to teach the ladies how to design a centerpiece using flowers you could pick up at the grocery store.  I used alstromeria, green mini hydrangeas, orange spray roses, green buttons, gerber daisies, tulips and wax flower.  A traditional mix of spring flowers in bright vibrant colors.  I chose a clear cylinder vase for the container because I loved how sleek and clean it looks.

While I am not sure that I actually "taught" these fun ladies anything about flower arranging, I think they all had a great time!!  But how could you not with great food, good wine and wonderful friends!?

If you are interested in learning more about doing a design class, let me know. These are great for girls nights, Church groups, mom groups or anyone with an interest in learning more about floral design.  You can email me at meechols9@yahoo.com for more information.

It's rare that I have a chance to make anything for myself.  I was thrilled to bring home my design from the flower class!!

Easter Wedding

 While everyone was out hunting eggs for Easter, we were creating and delivering a beautiful wedding!!!  Hydrangeas, ranunculus, seeded eucalyptus, roses and carnations.  Lush and full was the request and I believe we achieved that!

The wedding ceremony was in Beck Chapel and the reception was in the Presidents room.  Both are located on the campus of Indiana University in Bloomington Indiana.

It was a perfect sunny day, just right for a spring wedding!

A Romantic Wedding Reception in the Tudor Room

 Recently I had the privilege of working with a bride who wanted a vintage feel for her March ceremony and reception.  The feel was romantic and somewhat whimsical.  We used hydrangeas, roses, snap dragons, larkspur, ranunculus, anemone and TONS of baby's breath.  Some of the baby's breath was sprayed gold to tie in with the weddings colors, blush and gold.

There were 20 tables at the reception and we did a mix of tall and short arrangements.  We also used tiny vintage vase groupings.  The head table arrangements were constructed inside crystal containers that belonged to the brides grandmother, and the tiny vases were collected while scouting various antique stores in Louisville where the couple resides.

The ceremony took place in the Frangipani room and the reception was in the Tudor room, both at the IU memorial union.  The Frangipani room is typically used for conferences and business meetings, however, it transformed into a beautiful space with a few lights, flowers and loads of tulle! The Tudor room is great for receptions with tall ceilings, lots of space and a centrally located dance floor.

The bride and her bridesmaids made their own bouquets out of fabric.  I was pretty bummed I didn't get to see them in person!

Wedding season is in full swing! This wedding was a great way to start!!

Working From a Home Based Studio

A Fresh Flower is a home based floral design studio.  I receive many questions about what this means.  Simply, I work from a studio located in my home.  Our flowers are brought in fresh for each order since we are a studio instead of a traditional retail flower shop.

 I typically order my event flowers about a week prior to the event and they are delivered 1-2 days before the event date.  When I order flowers for a wedding, I place the order 3-4 weeks before the wedding.  I order them that far in advance to insure that what I have specified to the bride is available and if not, it gives us time to select  new options.

 I have all the flowers brought directly to my home studio from floral wholesalers.  I use various wholesalers, local and in Indianapolis, depending on what flowers I need and how many I need.  I don't really have a favorite, I use whomever can guarantee the best price for the best quality.  I do a lot of research before I make my orders so that each client gets the very best options.  Quality is the number one priority and so far, all of my wholesalers have been amazing in that department!

My decision to make my business home based was a no brainer for me.  My priority is my family and working from home allows me to be with my kiddos and also have a job that I love!  Working from home allows me to keep my prices lower, helping brides and corporate clients stay on budget without sacrificing style and quality.  There may come a day when I need to work outside of my home, but for now, it works well for me and my family. I hope this gives you a little bit of an insight into what a home based studio is like!  

How Do You Choose Your Wedding Colors??

What are the colors of your wedding??  It's one of the first things I ask my brides.  After all, that helps determine the color of the flowers, the linens, the bridesmaid dresses, the list goes on and on.  Its part of the theme and the story of your special day.

Where do you find inspiration and ideas for the colors you want to choose?

When I got married, 9 years ago, I found a picture in a wedding magazine that I could not get out of my head.  (Yes, a magazine!  We didn't have Pinterest back then!!)  I decided at that moment that those would be the colors for our wedding. (I still have that magazine cut out in my wedding binder today.)  I also found a scarf that had those colors, I wore it obsessively the whole year we were engaged.  I couldn't get enough of hot pink, orange and bright green!  (Sounds crazy, but it was amazing together!)

Some brides look to the trends for the latest in color choices for their big day.  Like Pantone and their color of the year.  Radiant Orchid is the color for 2014.  I think it is perfect for a spring wedding.  Still soft for a more romantic look but vibrant enough for a more contemporary wedding.  Pretty versatile.

This is a Pinterest idea board showing ideas for the color.  I love this board!  What great examples of how to use Radiant Orchid in dresses, invitations, a men's tie.  So many great ideas all based on this one color.

More images from Pinterest.  I am a big fan of Radiant Orchid.  Pantone really created a beautiful color and I cannot wait for a bride to tell me this is one of her colors!!

What do you think of Radiant Orchid?  If you are getting married, how are you choosing your wedding colors?  If you are already married, how did you make the selection for your big day??