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!

Hanging Jars and Pops of Pink

Recently I did an outdoor wedding at the beautiful Sycamore Farms.  Such a fabulous, rustic venue!  The setting is so great it actually needs very little decoration, but, I am always happy to add special touches to pretty spaces!!!

The aisle decor matched the centerpieces at the reception.  Ball jars full of yellow, pink and orange flowers.  I used wire and twine to hang the jars on shepard hooks that were placed on the edge of every other aisle.  

The decor was fairly simple but added just the right amount of impact to this sweet event.  I love the pop of color that the hot pink sweetheart roses add!  Definitely a favorite of mine! 

 

Rustic Barn Centerpieces

 

I absolutely LOVED this wedding!!  The bride was so fun and picked such bright cheerful colors and the reception centerpieces were perfect for the rustic barn setting.  

I did a mix of ball jars and small vases and the tables.  The bride provided the wooden trivets to sit the arrangements on which made the colors pop even more.  The juxtaposition of  the wood trivets and the delicate flowers is a great look and I am seeing this a lot at weddings.  

The bride wanted to incorporate lemons into the centerpieces.  I stuck lemons into the large jars and then placed lemons on the trivets as well.  Mixing fruit into the centerpieces is a great way to add color and texture.  Laying texture is such an easy way to add richness and dimension to simple arrangements.  

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!

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??