Idyllic

This wedding was one of my favorite collaborations ever. Allie found me online and contacted me about a May 2014 wedding. When we met, I discovered that Allie is a successful up and coming artist with a studio in Hagerstown, MD. Also, her fiance, Mark, is studying agriculture and his dream is to be a farmer. I loved it. They would be getting married on a historic property along the Chesapeake Bay in Leonardtown where they had lived for a while after college at St. Mary's. Allie's vision was at the same time elegant and delicately rustic. Loose and garden-y but absolutely classy. I was thrilled to be working with her. I loved Allie's artistic style and could not wait to see what she came up with for me to do.

The day of the wedding came after a day of heavy downpours and it was perfect. Sunny with scudding clouds, a light breeze, not too warm but not chilly. A gorgeous day for a drive down to the Eastern shore. I wish I had gotten pictures of the church which was beautiful, but I did get a few of the reception site which was stunning.

The main house. There are multiple buildings on the property.

Love.

Bride and Groom chairs decorated with peonies and garden roses.

A flower garland on the dessert table with peonies cut from the grounds.

Stunning view from the back porch of the main house.

Table centerpieces were made of seeded eucalyptus, salal leaves, queen anne's lace, champagne garden roses, peach spray roses, thistle, white hydrangea.

The bouquets were garden roses, queen anne's lace, italian ruscus, spray roses, peonies, dusty miller and Allie's bouquet had white sweet pea and ranunculus.

Isn't Allie an absolutely stunning bride?

I was so honored to be a part of this special day.

Congratulations Mark and Allie!

wild beauty

I absolutely loved putting these flowers together for my friend Megan's wedding.

Megan wanted lots of greens contrasting with gorgeous garden roses and ranunculus.

Her colors were muted pinks and corals with gray and gold.

The overall effect were flowers just plucked from the garden and the fields - a little bit wild and untamed. I loved it and I think she did too.

Thank you James and Megan for allowing me to be part of your beautiful day.

I wish you ALL the happiness in the world!

gorgeous photography by Yan

Champagne and lace

I looooved these flowers for a wedding in June.

The bride requested something romantic and soft, especially using garden roses. Her colors were soft pink, peach and champagne. The weather was perfect for her beautiful outdoor ceremony.

The arbor where the couple said their vows.

I used pink, peach and champagne roses, jasmine vine, silver dollar eucalyptus, salal leaves and amaranthus.

The bride's bouquet was a mix of peach and pink garden roses, pink spray roses, dusty miller and jasmine vine.

I wrapped the bouquet with gold satin ribbon and cream lace.

The flowers looked beautiful with the bridesmaids dresses.

.soft romance.

I am so excited to post these photos from a wedding I did back in June for Andrew and Emily.

I knew from the moment I read Emily's first email to me that I wanted to work with her. Her writing was exuberant and joyful ... and made me think of gardens and poetry.

Meeting with she and Andrew in person, my suspicions were confirmed: Emily is a beautiful girl on the outside, but her beautiful, gracious spirit spills out and touches everyone around her making her even more lovely.  I wanted to create flowers for Emily that were a reflection of her spirit and she wanted a romantic, garden wedding that honored her family and friends.

She gave me lace from her mother's wedding dress and a locket that was her grandmother's to use on her bouquet. She had 7 bridesmaids, 4 flower girls, 2 ring bearers and a house party of 6 close friends. There are a lot of special people in Emily's life.

I could go on, but here are some of the gorgeous photos all by Katie Stoops Photography.

The wedding coordinators were A. Dominick Events,
 the church was All Saints Church in Chevy Chase and the reception was at Old Anglers Inn.

Congratulations Andrew and Emily!
It was an honor to be part of this beautiful day.

.roses.

My last assignment for the Nicole's Classes Floral Arranging 101 was a bridal bouquet and matching boutonniere. I had a big wedding this past weekend and this bouquet and bout were made from leftover flowers.

I used pink aphrodite garden roses, majolica pink spray roses, pink astilbe, pink ranunculus and white snapdragons for the bride's bouquet.

 I loved making this boutonniere because I absolutely love ranunculus. I added a sprig of baby eucalylptus and astilbe. It's so sweet!

I am so sad that the Floral Arranging 101 class is over. Chelsea was a great teacher - all of the video tutorials were so helpful and I feel more confident in my skills as a florist.

.glam.

Jenn wanted flowers that reflected a bit of vintage romance and glamour...like her vintage wedding gown which was gorgeous. She wanted a bit of sparkle.

Her bouquet was a mix of pale pink and cream roses with dusty miller accents.

I added some sparkle which you can see here.

Her flowers looked so beautiful with her champagne colored gown.

The bridesmaids carried simple bouquets of pink roses.

I loved that the flowers were simple, elegant and romantic.

And the ladies did look very glamorous.

Congratulations Phil and Jenn!

|photos by Fogarty Photography|

English Garden

This was my second assignment for my Nicole's Classes Floral Arranging 101 class with Chelsea Fuss:

a wild English garden arrangement.

The goal was to create something organic, a bit wild - as if it were just picked from the garden.

For this arrangement I used pink peonies, jasmine vine, sweet pea, anemone, spirea and wax flowers.

I really enjoyed designing it and watching it take shape under Chelsea's direction (via her recorded video segments). I think this looks lovely on the dining room table but would also make a gorgeous arrangement for a garden wedding.

.flowers.

I am taking an online floral arranging course with Chelsea Fuss and our first assignment was a hand-tied bouquet. I made this bouquet from a few grocery store flowers and some greens from my yard. Normally I purchase my flowers from a wholesaler and they have a huge selection of blooms. This weekend being Mother's Day, my choices were very limited at the store.

Despite that, I was happy with how it turned out. We'll see what Chelsea says!

sparkle

My bride this past weekend wanted some extra sparkle on her bouquet.

.winter elegance.

David and Melinda were married in December.
I loved working with Melinda. David was a surprise in her life and she hadn't
anticipated planning a wedding any time soon.
She was peaceful and calm all the while radiating a quiet joy.
She wanted flowers that were muted and elegant and we agreed it would be fun
to include succulents since David is from Texas.
I loved the geometrical element they added to her bouquet
as well as the silver accent they provided against the creams and soft pinks.

Melinda looked absolutely beautiful!

I used cream hydrangea, lisianthus, pale pink roses, pale peach roses, silver brunia
berries, dusty miller and eucalyptus.

Work that camera, girl!

David looked quite dapper himself.
I used white lisianthus, brunia berries and dusty miller for the boutonnieres.

The bridesmaids carried smaller versions of Melinda's flowers.

David and Melinda, I am so happy that love found the two of you!
I wish you all the best and thank you for allowing me to be part of your day.