All Hallow's Eve

Happy Halloween, everybody!

This year, I was inspired to do something different for Halloween. I've never been one to overly decorate for this holiday - nothing more than a few pumpkins, really - but this year, I wanted to do something different. It's a very commercial holiday now, and I'm not a huge fan of all the plastic decorations.

My desire was to see if I could have natural elements evoke the fun spirit of the night. Instead of the traditional orange, why not purple and green, a la "Wicked"?  So a few purple lights, some green trick dianthus, and here we are!

Perhaps I will see you at my door tonight! Happy trick or treating.

p.s. It's really hard to take good photos at night with my point and shoot camera - apologies!

Surprise Birthday Party

I am always so impressed by people who are able to pull off surprises - of any sort - successfully. Most of all, a surprise birthday party for one's wife! John asked me to do the flowers for his wife's surprise birthday party on Sunday and it went off without a hitch.

John was so flexible and pretty much left me to my own devices, as he only had two requests: could I please use his wife's favorite flower, Bird of Paradise, and could I please use a lot of balloons - and he meant a TON of balloons!

To ensure that the Birds of Paradise were the focus and that they didn't get lost among other flowers or colors, I picked a palette of orange, green, and yellow - Bird of Paradise, Voodoo and Orange Unique Roses, solidago, button green Athos, and green cymbidium orchids - with a touch of white with hydrangea and snapdragon.

I also provided balloons galore in the same colors: orange, gold, silver, and green.

Personally, as you can imagine, I always think that flowers make the happiest of birthdays!

Mad For Plaid

In the middle of all these weddings, I've been working on other projects as well. It certainly makes for a busy week.

Last week, I was asked by Jeffrey Miller Catering to create the flowers for a NACE (National Association of Catering Executives) dinner at the Community Arts Center in Wallingford, Pennsylvania. Instead of going with the traditional fall colors, we chose a buffalo plaid of purples, green, pinks, and orange. Little did I know that the cloth and flowers would coordinate perfectly with the current mobile installation!

It's always fun to play with color and it was great to work in this space - it's very open and tranquil and has fantastic lighting.

White Wedding

I love working with white - it always looks clean, fresh, and elegant - no matter what time of year.  Using various flowers in a single color creates a richness and pleases the eye as one is drawn to the textures and the subtle layers of color within the arrangement. I love it!

This wedding was primarily white, with a few pink highlights in a few elements - the bridesmaids' bouquets, the boutonnieres, the church pieces, and the cocktail tables. I used greens as a framework to highlight all of the white as well as this gorgeous, thick, silk greenish and buttery white ribbon in all of the arrangements.

On a crisp October evening, Overbrook Golf Club seemed to be glowing with all the white and soft candlelight.

I used lots of white Tibet roses, white Eskimo roses, snapdragon, white hydrangea, Fresca hydrangea, greens, various exotic leaves, and curly willow.  For the pink elements, I used Blushing Akito roses - I had to match a photo from ten years ago and it was a challenge to find the exact match because rose varieties come and go! We did it though, and it all looked gorgeous.

Altar pieces, St. Colman's Church, Ardmore:

Pew flowers and ribbons (hard to take a photo - flash kept going off!)

Some bridesmaids and flower girl bouquets - see the lovely Blushing Akito roses!

Bridal bouquet of white Tibet roses:

Boutonnieres, wrapped in black ribbon:

Breathtaking centerpiece in front hall. Please note the custom cloth as well:

Placecards in acres of grass, wrapped neatly with the silk ribbon:

Cocktail tables of the Blushing Akito roses and leaves:

Centerpieces in glass trifle bowls:

Cake with silver stand and leaf-and-ribbon covered base:

Realizing a Vision

The past three weeks have been absolutely jam-packed - that's why I've been gone so long! Anyway, I have some time now and will be posting some photos of my most recent work. Enjoy!

First up: Greystone Hall was the site of my wedding three weeks ago and after a summer of crazy weather, my bride and groom had perhaps the most picture-perfect day of all.

I love working with all of my brides, and it was wonderful to work with one who had such a definitive vision of how she wanted her day to look from start to finish. Marta and I worked really hard to ensure that all of the elements came together into a beautiful, cohesive visual statement. I so loved working with her!

(As I said in an earlier post, the photos I took do not do this wedding justice. I hope to have the photographer's pictures up soon.)

Colors were all white with pink - pink sophia and pink osiana roses - lots of little details comprised the floral pieces - see below!

Placecard Table...

Birdcage for Gift Envelopes...

One of the two urn arrangements that flanked the entrance to the tent from the house...

M is for Marta and W is for William - floral initials hung on either side of the entrance into the house...

Bridesmaids...

Ranunculus for the bridal...

Nosegays for the Mothers - one white, one pink...

Bridal...

Underside of the Bridal - I really like to focus on the details and to ensure that all of my bouquets are perfect. Each are finished with leaves and hand-tied with silk ribbons.

Centerpieces - half high, half low - here are the spectacular high arrangements. Marta wanted these branches very much and found some she liked as well as the feathery flower strands.

Bridal table...

Cake...

Ceremony site - the lower terrace

Ivy topiaries with fresh gardenias and silk ribbons...