Preview from Stephanie Wales Creative Imagery

While I’ve been neglectful in my blogging (I know, I know…), Stephanie of Stephanie Wales Creative Imagery is making me look even more behind by posting about Kristin & Phil’s November 8th (!) wedding at Church Landing already.  You put me to shame, Stephanie. 

Having always admired her clear and dramatic signature style of documenting wedding, I was so excited to learn we’d finally be working together on an event.  Check out these stunning images (and touching personal comments) from Stephanie…

Happy Tuesday!

Mary & Brian’s Coastal New Hampshire Wedding

Happy Monday!  Here’s some coastal beauty to start your week off right…

Mary and Brian love the New England Coast and vacation in Southern Maine every summer.  One of their favorite spots to visit while they are in the area is downtown Portsmouth (a couple after my own heart).  As they planned their intimate destination wedding it seemed only fitting to celebrate in the town they love and at the very restaurant they frequent the most – The Portsmouth Brewery. 

The couple came to us through a series of mouse clicks.  When researching local vendors, Mary found the link to the NH Made website on the Brewery’s page, and from there they linked to our site.  The links don’t end there!  Once on our blog, Mary found our link to Laurel Events, and just like that we got yet another opportunity to work with one of our favorite local planners.  How’s that for social networking?

The ceremony was held at St. Andrew’s-by-the-Sea in Rye, a charming stone chapel just a short walk from the rocky coastline.  We didn’t need to add much to the already beautiful space.  Just a couple arrangements on the alter and small posies on the pews.  There is something magical about old stone chapels.  Maybe it’s the splashes of colors thrown about by the stained glass or the sense of history permeating from the solid walls…  We are very much looking forward to designing for another St. Andrew’s wedding this coming summer.

 

A cozy reception of cocktails and dinner followed the Brewery.  You may have noticed the “Big Table” room in the back, just past the giant vats of brewing beer.  Mary was a bit overwhelmed by the floral aspects of her wedding and wasn’t so sure how to articulate exactly what she was looking for.  She came to our meeting prepared with various color option, design ideas, bouquets, etc, but without a strong feeling about anything.  Her absolute favorite wedding blog is http://greenweddingshoes.com/, and she loves anything vintage, rustic, or with a touch of modern influence.  Ok, no problem.  We narrowed it all down and came up with a table design that was one of my favorites of the year. 

Jars of varied shapes and sizes ran down the length of the table over a burlap runner.  We blocked colors and types of flowers together to create a cleaner, more modern take on the vintage look Mary is so fond of.  A few of the vases were wrapped with raffia for the added texture.  Another fun fact: the number of vases matched the number of guest, so everyone got to take one home as a gift!

      

Luckily these two love birds left plenty of time for photos and Photography by KLC captured some amazing moments and details.  Check them out here, and even more on her blog.

   

And to top off a great wedding, kind words from the Bride herself:

“Kristin and Pam at Ideas in Bloom were delightful to work with!!! They have amazing creative judgment and were able to figure out exactly what I loved when I was unable to articulate it. They ask all the right questions, have a wide range of style, and are most importantly dedicated to making sure the couple are happy. We and our guests were truly in love with their work. Thank you Ideas in Bloom!!”

 

Ceremony: St. Andrew’s-By-The-Sea | Reception: The Portsmouth Brewery | Planner: Laurel Events | Flowers & Decor: Ideas in Bloom | Cake: Hippie Chick Bakery | Photographer: Photography by KLC | Make-Up: CODO Make Up

Sara & Colby – A New Boston Wedding

Congratulations go out to Sara and Colby who were married in Milford and celebrated with family at New Boston’s own Northeast Cafe. I’ve known Sara since her younger sister and I met at swim lessons at age 2!

Sara wanted her bouquets to look locally harvested so we used a variety of seasonal flowers and botanicals – gorgeous Dahlias, Astilbe, Rose Hips, Hypericum, Asclepias, Piers Japonica, Wax Flower, Dusty Miller, Berzillia and Clematis Vine from our own garden.

The bridesmaids’ bouquet

 

A Hypericum and Ivy halo for the flower girl

We provided ceremony arrangements for the church and potted mums for the intimate reception as well….but of course I didn’t have time to snaps pictures of those before they went out the door!

It’s always a joy to design to those we know and we wish Sara and Colby the very best as they start their married life together.

Anne & Steve Married October 13, 2011

All the couples we meet with are excited about their weddings, but the energy radiating from Anne and her mother during our consultation was palpable!  They had clearly put so much thought and love into the planning of Anne and Steve’s special day at the Shattuck Golf Club in Jaffrey, NH.

With a traditional fall color palette as our guide, we chose seasonal blooms and incorporated personal details into the day’s designs.   Orange and burgundy local Dahlias as well as Broomcorn were combined with playful Gerber Daisies and Billy Balls for an overall youthful effect for the bouquets.

Anne is notorious among her family for painstakingly picking through pumpkin patches to find a perfect prize with a curly stem.  As a nod to her yearly quest, her bouquet featured tightly wound Fiddleheads and I crafted green wire spirals for Steve’s boutonniere.  The ring bearer carried a small sugar pumpkin with green wire detail and a twine tie for the rings (to match the wrap detail on the bouquets). 

As can be the case, the weather in the Monadnock region weather proved a bit tricky, but Pam dodged a few brief rain showers and gusty winds to set up the outdoor ceremony.  Once the sun came out it was just stunning.

We softened the stone terrace by placing large Boston Ferns atop the pillars that framed the alter aisle.  Collections of Pumpkins and Gourds was peppered along the aisle and seating area as well.  The mothers of the bride and groom carried small posies of burgundy Gerbers and Fiddleheads in place of the usual corsage.

Here is the proud ring bearer, who looks a little wired from the goodies he snuck from the candy bar!  Also roaming the grounds pre-ceremony was the venue’s Chocolate Lab mascot who motors around in his cart making sure all the appropriate details are taken care of.

Venue – The Shattuck Golf Club
Cake – Tastefully Wright
Photography - Love's Token Photography

Pantone Reveals Color of the Year for 2012

It’s that time of year again. Pantone has decreed that the color of the year - Tangerine Tango.  It’s a vibrant red-orange that prominent fashion designers are integrating into their Spring 2012 lines.  Will we see it spread like wildfire through the wedding industry?

It is an alluring and versatile shade that could go the way of modern, whimsical, or even classic.  I’ve always been a fan of the color combo orange & purple, and this is no exception.  It would pare well with hues on the fuchsia side of the spectrum, as well as the ever so trendy aubergine (or eggplant, as we traditionalists prefer to call it).  Take a look at a few images I found while trolling the web for tangerine tinted inspiration…

Flowers – Calie Rose Floral & Event Design, Invitation – Wedding Paper Divas, Cake – Mark Joseph Cakes, Favors – Martha Stewart

Haven’t read enough about this new “it” color? Click here for the full release from Pantone.

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!