Fall Festivities

Last month I did the flowers for an absolutely wonderful couple.  They are my sister's in-laws, which practically makes them second family.  I had such a great time working with the bride, Amy.  We started discussing her wedding details back in the spring.  From then on we bounced ideas back and forth to create a beautiful setting.  

The ceremony and reception were held at Mrs. Murphy and Sons Irish Bistro in the NorthCenter neighborhood of Chicago.  It is a large space, full of warm colors and beautiful wood work.  The location's decor worked great for the fall theme that Amy was going for.

An autumn color pallet of oranges, reds and truffle browns was used.  I also incorporated pumpkins and small gourds to add even more fall spirit into the room.  The bride's love of candle light worked perfectly to enhance the overall look of the darker decorated room.  Ball jars with floating candles and tea lights were used in abundance.   

Pumpkins are such a fun alternative for containers! They add so much character.

Over the last few months, Amy collected a lot of cute fall decorations.  They worked perfect scattered throughout the room.

The beautiful bride and her sister as the maid of honor.

One of my favorite things to make for weddings are hair pieces.  It's always a great way to tie the wedding colors in with the bride.  

The pumpkins and gourds were are great way to add an extra pop of color to the room.

The bouquets were used after the ceremony as an extra decoration.  Always a great idea!

The restaurant really was a very beautiful space.

My Best Friend's Wedding

After doing the flowers for my sister's wedding last summer, I told myself I was done working on weddings that I was part of.  They make for a crazy, hectic couple of days!!  Just a few months later, I went completely against what I had said and did the flowers for one of my best friends, Nichole, when she married her husband, Dan, in November. I wouldn't want it any other way! No one knows Nichole's taste in flowers the way I do, and I absolutely couldn't pass up the opportunity to have some fun with her decorations.

This time around, I was a little smarter. We were able to do some of the decorations a few weeks before; this was a huge help.  I also decided that I would not be doing the bouquets or corsages myself.  I gave that responsibility to my co-worker at A New Leaf.  By doing so I was able to spend the whole morning getting ready with Nichole and our friends, relax a little, and not have to worry about the final touches with the flowers.

The wedding had a wonderful rustic and natural feel to it.  The ceremony took place in a very simple, yet beautiful, church; and the reception was at County Line Orchards in northwest Indiana-- a beautiful barn that has so much character all on its own.

Nichole's wedding flowers and colors were chosen based off of her favorite flower-- dahlias!! I love this flower and the deep/rich colors it comes in.

For the church we decided to keep decorations simple. We constructed two archways (which  we completed weeks in advance) that were placed at the entrance and the front of the church.  They turned out great, and I absolutely love how they framed the couple in some of the pictures! 

I decided on a very eclectic look for the boutonnieres.  For the natural, country look, I really liked using a wide variety of small blooms.

This wedding, just like many others, is another instance where a very important person could not be there.  I was more than happy to add this little touch to Dan's boutonniere to keep a little piece of his beloved grandfather with him all day. 

The centerpieces at the reception went along with the same eclectic, natural feel.  A mix of flowers and floating candles were placed in Ball jars that we decorated with different kinds of burlap and yarn.  Multiple jars were placed on each table- around 200 jars throughout the entire barn!  

A huge thank you to Morgan for doing such a BEAUTIFUL job on all of the bouquets.

This is me with three of my favorite people ever.  We always have to show a little C1 love :)

The Princess Wedding

This past summer my little sister Alex got married!! It was fantastic time along with being a bit hectic.  Not only did she ask me to be her maid of honor, but I was also "assigned" the task of personal florist.  The best thing about this event and it being Alex's wedding was that I had creative freedom.  I was given a color pallet, a few wishes and guidelines, but other than that I was allowed to do whatever I wanted. 

I must say that balancing my time the week of the wedding enjoying family time, catching up with those who were from out of town, maid of honor duties, keeping myself semi rested and presentable and getting all my floral tasks done was not easy.  I put 4 hours of work in 2 days before the wedding (luckily the fifteen plus guests at my parents' decided to congregate around my work area so I could also participate in conversation), ten hours of work the day before, and the morning of (after my hair and make-up were done) I did another hour or so of running around to make sure everything was in order and perfect.  I definitely took full advantage of anyone who utter the words "do you need any help?"

I am happy to say that all of my hard work payed off.  I was very pleased with the end result, and the bride was ecstatic. 



She was a stunning bride!

                                                    

Boutonniere

Wrist Corsage

Hair Piece

 

Her bouquet was very special to all of us.  As a gift for her shower, I presented a charm to Alex of our gramma who joined God two short years before.  This way Gramma could be with Alex as she walked down the aisle.  

 

 

Bridal bouquet someone must have tossed to the side while getting ready.
 

 After attending multiple bridal exhibits, Alex decided she wanted three varieties for her 21 centerpieces.  The first was a medium floral arrangement surrounded by three miniatures, the seconds I made to look like a little garden surrounded by a pond, and the third resembled a tree which was decorated in lights, moss and floral elements.

 

 

The "tree" centerpieces were probably the most fun to to.  Alex helped out a lot with these (we did the mechanical assembling months prior).  We got lucky and ended up asking a neighbor if we could rummage through his pile of branches he had just cut down.  I am sure he thought we were crazy.

 

At the bottom of each tree, I did a mini little arrangement  to decorate the large amount of moss.

 

My one goal for the whole wedding was to figure out how to do a garland that would decorate the front of the head table.  I think I was successful.

Close up of the garland.

 

A larger version of the "tree" was placed at the entrance of the hall. 

I was also in charge of making sure all boutonnieres and hair pieces were attached and in place all night!

My beautiful family! And you can get a better look at the bouquets.

 

 

 

 

A special thanks to the following people for all their help:

• My mom for letting me turn her basement into a flower shop
• Alex for all her help with putting together the "trees" and giving me the creative freedom to work my magic.  Also, for getting married so we could have an awesome night :)
• Jovan for repainting pots the day before to replace the ones that mystically disappeared (still haven't been found)
• Steph, Avery, Pauline, Charlotte, Monika, DJ, Laurence, Sylvie and Dominique (I'm sure I'm forgetting someone) for all your help putting things together at the hall
   

 This picture had to be included.  Charlotte was my biggest helper.  Even with the language barrier! (I know about as much French as she does English).  She actually did this centerpiece on her own. 

Fun Fact: I came up with the name "La Petite Fleuriste" the night before the wedding.  Five of my family members came all the way from France for the wedding, so it was a week of switching from French to English, translating and hand motions.  As I was busy at work, my Aunt came downstairs and proclaims "Aah La Petite Fleurist." I really liked the sound of it.