June | 2013 | Clippings from the Floressence Studio

There is so much fabulous talent in this town! When the Seattle Bride Magazine “Best of 2013” awards were announced, I was not a bit surprised to see Azzura Photography,Barbie Hull Photography, and Laurel McConnell Photography on the finalist list. All three of these businesses are led by dynamic, lovely people with huge talent. Whatever the results of tonight’s award ceremony are, I raise my glass to them all!

Azzura’s work has been featured on this blog, and Barbie’s is soon-to-come, so today I’m posting just five images of one bridal bouquet that Laurel shot last summer. This was a special wedding for a close friend of Laurel. I was honored to design her bridal bouquet — and totally inspired by her color palette and direction to just use my instincts.

The end result was a coral, peach, and melon-infused bouquet with poppies, ranunculus, peonies, garden and spray roses, succulents, and little tufts of lambs ear peeking out. Narrow chevron ribbon paired with a wider silver for textural fun. This remains one of my favorite bouquets — and thanks to Laurel and her awesome talents, I can look back and remember why.

Congratulations, Tania+Ken, Barbie, and Laurel — and thank you for being so darn good at what you do!

Poppies, peonies, garden roses, and succulents comprise a vibrant bridal bouquet by Floressence. Photo: Laurel McConnell Photography

(Oh and by the way, Laurel made yours truly relaxed in front of the camera for an official portrait — back in the days before I lost those glasses at the beach. Oops! Time for another session, Laurel?)

Lauren and Aaron, who just got married on a beautiful May day, were one of the sweetest couples I’ve ever met. Back in the fall, I invited them to attend Get Hitched Give Hope — where Aaron pulled out all the stops by bidding on and winning a special gift for his bride-to-be. (They also bid on and won personal flowers for their wedding from yours truly.) The excitement in his face — and hers, when she knew something sneaky was underfoot — stayed with me through the months of thinking about and then designing their wedding flowers. I wanted to give them that same feeling of joy and excitement on their wedding day!

Their vision for décor came in part from an article on sea-life inspired floral design in Seattle Bride magazine. I had created a centerpiece and some boutonnieres for that shoot, and the talented Alexa Johnson of Fiore Blossoms had designed a gorgeous bridal bouquet. Lauren loved the sea fan and the fully blown spray roses of that bouquet, but wanted lavender tones in her scheme, which we pulled in through freesia and sweet peas.

The table centerpieces balanced their wish for full floral abundance with a quirkier, more beachy look. Half the tables were beachscapes on matte ceramic trays, with driftwood, air plants, succulents, sea fan, beach glass, and simple arrangements in glass bottles and jars. The other half were big lovelies with all our favorite spring flowers (ranunculus, hyacinth, freesia, to name a few).

When I brought Lauren her bouquet that May day, she smile was just as sparkly and contagious as it had been at the prospect of Aaron’s secret surprise. I wish them both a lifetime of that joy!