Savoring the colors of Fall

I may be the only person in the Northeast (at least the only one of my Facebook friends) looking forward to our predicted fall snowstorm today.  Sure, the crisp air and bright colors of fall are lovely, but you can’t beat the first flakes of falling snow, no matter how early they may come.  Check back with me in late January/early February at the end of my pregnancy and I may be singing a far different tune, but for now I’ll enjoy Mother Nature’s crystal coating.

So, for those of you bummed out at the thought of hauling out the shovels and boots, here’s a reminder of the season to gaze at while the landscape outside is slowly covered in a blanket of white.

Red tipped Roses, yellow Lilies, burgundy Alstromeria, Safari Sunset and green Hypericum berries were gathered in this awesome retro plaid tin.  We love to recycle unique containers and this one (complete with lid for future use) fit the bill for a very special recuperating grandfather this week.

Stay warm and safe during this first storm of the season!

Chase & Derek Married 10.9.11

This couple might have had THE wedding weekend of the season.  Temperatures in the low 80s, clear blue skies and a view to die for.  Luckily we didn’t hit any of the crazy holiday traffic on the way to deliver their flowers and enjoyed the foliage (a bit lackluster though it may be this year) as we wound through the Notch and White Mountains Forest to get to the beautiful Mountain View Grand.

The bouquets featured seasonal flowers in shades of purple with just a sprig of gold for contrast: Dahlias, Scabiosa, Veronica and a few stems of Lisianthus, Freesia and gold Oncidium Orchids.

Small posies adorned the ceremony chairs on the aisle and a grapevine was entwined with purple ribbon and purple Limonium (no, not the stuff on your kitchen floor) to create the perfect frame around the arbor for the outdoor ceremony.

The couple had many personal DIY touches to add to the decor, including their cairn inspired centerpieces (for those of you non-hiking folk, click here to learn more about cairns) and a carved tree that served both as the photo on their save-the-date card and as a very cool escort card display.  The couple loves to hike…have you caught on to that yet?  We merely stepped in to create a “woodland floor” around the base of the tree trunk using seasonal potted plants (Mums, Pansies, Violets), moss and loose greens.

Check out the video featuring bits of our scenic drive and the set up…

I promise that I don’t make Pam do all the grunt work, though the videos may make it seem that way!  Certain restrictions have been put on the pregnant lady by various loved ones (apparently I’m not allow to lift heavy things, monkey around on ladders, etc) so I have a little extra time to capture the behind the scenes action these days.

Gina & Brendan Married 10.1.11

Gina, one of the sweetest and most excited brides I think I’ve met to date, planned a lakeside wedding at The Margate with lots of personal touches.  It was a pleasure to design for the couple.  She envisioned wildflower-like groupings of budvases mingling with lit votives and lanterns, as well as bouquets that seemed “fresh picked” from the garden.

Here’s her bridal bouquet  - a mix of deep purple flowers and foliage with pops of white and orange.  I used purple Callas, Dahlias, Scabiosa & Smoke  Bush, as well as white Snapdragons, Freesia, Ranunculus & Queen Anne’s Lace, and orange Mokara Orchids, Freesia & Ranunculus.  The Bridesmaids carried similar bouquets of mostly white with pops of the two accent colors.  The Groom and Groomsmen all sported Calla boutonnieres wrapped with chocolate ribbon to match the bouquet wraps.

Unfortunately the constant drizzle and rain on Saturday made a ceremony at the water’s edge impossible, so everything was moved into the tent overlooking Lake Winnipesaukee.  Luckily we always plan ahead for rain, so the quick change was no problem.  Flower strands that were to be hung from trees near the ceremony site greeted guests as they walked through the entrance of the tent instead.  Extra posies that were intended to adorn the ceremony chairs were moved to vases on the bar.  Urns with Curly Willow “trees” with orange Orchids tucked into the branches flanked the ceremony space on the dance floor.  These pieces, constructed by Pam on site, were easily my favorite of the event.  Chocolate brown urns were topped with sheet moss before the “trees” were constructed in the center.  Pam added stems of purple Alstromeria at the base of each trunk and I tucked bright orange Orchids into the branches to complete the look.

Since there was so much to do on site I didn’t have time to take many pictures, so I packed my handy Flip cam in our tool kit and managed to capture some of the behind the scenes action instead.  Enjoy…and try to overlook my less than steady camera work!

Hopefully Kim Chapman captured the glow of all those candles.  We had to make our exit before they were lit and guests arrived. Can’t wait to see the photos of the final product!