Something happened last summer. All those somber chocolate, mysterious eggplant, and renegade taupe tones got shouldered aside by…. PINK. Seemed like every bride who came through the studio decided it was okay to embrace, in some way, her inner girly-ness.

We loved it! Pink can do so much more than it’s often given credit for: whisper, flirt, shout, lounge, allure. This August wedding at Salish Lodge embraced pink’s full range of expression. The sweet bride, Jennifer, was a true flower lover. She wanted the rich textures of garden roses and Cafe au Lait dahlias, the delicacy of bleeding hearts, the fuzzy weirdness of amaranthus. My kind of bride!

Jennifer had a vision for embracing NW-inspired design elements without sacrificing sophistication or femininity. We created a wild arch of curly willow for the balcony ceremony, but tamed it with soft, trailing flowers. Lichen branches in the head table centerpiece might have been scavenged from the forest floor, but the little clusters of flowers in their crooks were soft, delicate, and intentional.

Katy Griffiths of Vows did an amazing job of pulling together the vision through lush table linens, a sexy soft-seating lounge area, and countless other details. Kristen Honeycutt is the artist responsible for the gorgeous images below.

¡Viva la rosa!

Bridal and maid of honor bouquets with pink garden roses, dahlias, tulips, and bleeding hearts, by Floressence. Kristen Honeycutt Photography.

Garden roses and Cafe au Lait dahlias: a favorite combination!

Vases wrapped in birch bark hold pink and white arrangements on the guest book table. Floressence. Kristen Honeycutt Photo Co.

Lush pinks and whites preside over the guest book table

Curly willow forms a ceremonial arch, with lush floral in copper planters. By Floressence. Kristen Honeycutt Photo Co.

A curly willow arch adorns the balcony at Salish Lodge

Aisle arrangements mark the entrance to a petal-strewn aisle on the balcony at Salish Lodge. Floressence. Kristen Honeycutt Photo Co.

The stunning balcony at Salish Lodge

Low centerpiece in a birch-bark wrapped vase, with pink and white flowers, by Floressence. Kristen Honeycutt Photo Co.

Bleeding hearts reach gracefully over a lushly textured pink table linen

A pink and white floral centerpiece sits on a silver table linen with a ruffled pink runner. Floressence. Kristen Honeycutt Photo Co.

Silver and pink linens were an elegant foundation for the lush florals

Floral clusters of hydrangea, roses, and amaranthus nestle in lichen branches in tall centerpieces. By Floressence. Kristen Honeycutt Photo Co.

Little floral clusters perch on lichen branches

Tall lichen branches help create a dramatic centerpiece with hanging candles. By Floressence. Kristen Honeycutt Photo Co

The head table features a dramatic centerpiece in pinks and whites

463 weddings. Sounds like a lot. Imagine 463 brides walking down one long aisle, and roughly 1,852 bridesmaids standing with them at the altar. Is it really possible that in the last ten years this studio has created around 2,300 bouquets, most of them hand-tied, each wedding different from the other?

Overflowing ribbon rack. Laurel McConnell Photography

Lots of weddings means lots of ribbon.

Not only is it possible, it is almost certain. At this 10-year anniversary of owning Floressence, I find myself thinking a lot about all the beauty, labor, and learning that I’ve experienced in the studio. And so I just had to count.

There is no single image to convey all that time and all those flowers. If there was, it would be a sure sign I’ve been on the wrong track. So for this inaugural post, I’ll just share a few from one of my favorite weddings.

Wedding #349: June 28, 2010

A predictably chilly day in Seattle, but so enlivened by the colors and textures of these exuberant flowers. Sweet pea vines creeping out from the bridal bouquet, curling around peonies, garden roses, spray roses, poppy pods, and ranunculus. Lady’s mantle fizzing up from the bridesmaid bouquets. Sweet spray rose boutonnieres. Fruiting raspberry cane pretty much dripping from the altar arrangements. The bride and her maids arriving dramatically by (choppy) water to the sweet lakefront park.

Oh, you June brides in Seattle! You always forget that our Junes can be so cold and wet – and yet how is it that the sun usually breaks for the ceremony after all?

Thanks to Clare Barboza for color photographs of the wedding, and Jimmy Clarke for the black-and-whites. The ever-talented Laurel McConnell documented our overflowing ribbon rack.