Casting the Right Bloom (at Cast Iron Studios)

What a difference one single flower can make. That’s what I think about every time I look at the images from this juicy, winey wedding we did at Cast Iron Studios last September. As any florist can tell you, purple weddings are tough. There just aren’t a ton of purple flowers to choose from, and the ones we do have at our disposal can be finicky: hydrangea runs an unpredictable gamut from pale pinkish-lavender to plum speckled with green, lisianthus suffers the dreaded botrytis all too often, delphinium is so darn gangly, and some of the best plum-purples, like ranunculus, just aren’t available all year round. It’s a tough life, I tell ya.

But purples were the order of the day for this early fall celebration – which happened to take place on the MOST blustery, stormy day I have seen in a long time. (We’re talking about heavy iron doors blowing open and sending things tumbling down the stairs. Ack!) I rounded up my best purple soldiers and sent them marching into elegant silver vases and sweet hand-tied bouquets. But something was missing….

It was the gorgeous, vibrant, unique plum cascading phalaenopsis orchid, found by accident and purchased by the armload immediately! This deeply saturated blossom gave everything the punch and wow that I was looking for, and elevated the arrangements from sweetly gardeny to sexy and sophisticated. Behold, the power of a flower!