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.  

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!!  

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!!

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??

A Little Pinterest Love

  Anyone else feel a slight obsession with Pinterest??  I almost feel a little guilty for the amount of time I spend searching bouquet and centerpiece ideas!  (And, I'll admit it, I am usually looking at the food section as well!!  But that is a story for another time!) 

Pinterest has become a brides best friend!  When I got married, (back in the old days) we had nothing in the way of social media, let alone a place on the Internet to find inspiration and ideas.  I mean, there was no Facebook!  I'm not really sure what I did with all that free time:)  Maybe I read a book or 2, talked to someone on the phone or even face to face!!  My how things have changed!

I typically use Pinterest to find inspiration photos that I can use to illustrate ideas to brides. (Although,  I am so school, I still really like to show brides pictures from books and magazine!) I typically ask brides to send me the link to their Pinterest page so I can see all of the ideas they are cooking up!  I also share mine page because I am pinning like crazy these days!! 

For most of my brides, I will offer to create a board just for them.  That way we can share ideas anytime, anywhere!  This is great for my out of town brides! 

With a 5 month old, sometimes I am up in the middle of the night.  Usually I am  pinning while I feed the baby!  The worst part about my late night pinning is my mind starts to race and even after he is back to sleep, I am wide awake!!  Oh my mind!

 Feel free to stop by and check out my boards.  I am all over the place with what I pin!  http://www.pinterest.com/meechols/boards/  Food, home design, ideas for the kiddos!!  But my flower boards, those are my favorites!!! 

What are you pinning these days??

Happy Pinning!!!

Happy Colors

 

Whenever I get the chance, I like to practice my skills and create designs just for me to enjoy.  Especially when can use colors and flowers that mean something to me.  Recently I designed a centerpiece using the colors I used in my own wedding (almost 9 years ag0!!).  Pink, orange and lime green.  My wedding was in the fall and these colors were so perfect for a cool crisp day!  Thinking about that day just does my heart good!

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Please ignore my messy work table!  I try so hard to be tidy and keep my area clean, but things happen!! Like trying to get 3 kiddos to bed!! HA!)

 





 

Classic White

 

White wedding flowers are so classic and so elegant.  You just can’t go wrong.  Bridal bouquets are one of my favorite floral arrangements to make.  What an honor it is for me to create something so special and personal for one of the most important days in a person’s life!! 

This bouquet is just a classic hand tie. Basic and full of traditional wedding flowers.  Sometimes getting back to basics is a nice change of pace.

Rustic Outdoor Wedding

 

Having the chance to do a wedding with untraditional wedding flowers is always a fun challenge.  While I love the romance and tradition of roses, peonies and ranunculus, I love the bright and cheerful look of sunflowers.  So, I was delighted to be asked to do a wedding for a bride who shared my same love of the big yellow beauties.

The wedding was outside in front of a barn.  Very rustic, casual and fun for all those involved. 

Sunflowers just look like they are smiling!  Don't you agree??