Chandeliers, Napoleon Style

A few weeks ago in March, mon mari and I took off for a spring vacation in Paris. I did a good job of forgetting about work, but when we stepped into Napoleon’s apartments at the Louvre, I couldn’t help but think about the love affair that so many of us have with vintage-chandelier-laden tent receptions. It’s a legit affair. Chandeliers help dress up what could otherwise be perceived as an informal space, and — more simply — they’re so romantic!

Well, if you are a chandelier fan, I offer you these images to you. These were the biggest, most impressive, most sparkly, and most plentiful chandeliers that I’ve seen in recent memory. I cannot even begin to guess how much they weigh…. But wouldn’t they look amazing in a tent big enough to accommodate them??

Little guy liked big light

One of the smaller ones…

Imagine the dusting!

The grand dining room

Replete with birds

Perhaps on her way to a candlelit reception?

Golden Years

The movie poster that crept into the collective unconscious?

For the longest time, brides were waking up on the silver side of the bed. And then one day in  October 2013 or thereabouts, they flipped over and woke up on the gold side. Not a bad side to be on. Warm, romantic, aglow. A little more decadent than stately silver. I love it – and yet I do wonder why the shift… We can’t really pin it all on Baz Luhrmann.

Whatever the reason, every third bride in my studio wants to see gold. They’re requesting it specifically in the hardware:  vases, candle holders, other assorted props. The blush+ivory+sand+peach color scheme that saw us through so many silver-accented weddings of recent memory makes an easy transfer into these golden days. But the more richly-hued palettes work well, too. I can’t wait to create a deep eggplant floral scheme in an elegant gold vase, with pops of saturated fuchsia. Where are you, that-bride?

So now the big question is, which vases to buy? (And perhaps just as important, what to do with all the silver??)

What once was silver….

….now is gold!

The Reign of the Flower Crown

Brides are letting flowers go to their heads these days. I have had more requests for flower crowns in the past 3 or 4 months than I have in the past 10 years. And by “flower crowns” I don’t mean that dainty little circlet for a flowergirl’s head. I’m talking about big, juicy, lopsided, blossoming wreaths for the bride herself. They’re super fun to make, and I’m curious to see how long the trend will last.

The pictures in this gallery show crowns created for styled shoots — one with the fabulously talented and creative duo of Laurel McConnell Photography and Holly-Kate and Company, and the other with the equally gifted Karen Obrist Photography. For Laurel and Holly-Kate’s shoot in Discovery Park, I created a wild tumble of spring texture, pulling in amaranthus, hot pink berries, garden spray roses, and anemones. For Karen’s shoot on the cold and beautiful beaches of Deception Pass, I created a fall feeling with bronze football mums, dried nigella pods in a rich plum, and soft peach spray roses. The magical mystery ingredient in both was marble vine. I wish I could use that stuff year-round! The last image shows a more traditional, dainty little flowergirl hair garland, for comparison.

Just last weekend (on February 15), I crowned an actual bride with her creation in blush, green, and ivory tones. And there will be yet another styled shoot with crown on March 16. Stay tuned, and I’ll update the blog with images of the latest floral royalty!

The hair garland became a lovely floral belt!

Because a bride has to hold flowers, too…

The groom’s boutonniere

For the bride’s hands…

How dainty and quaint the little flower girl’s garland seems in comparison!

APRIL 24, 2014:  As promised, an update with hot-off-the-press, all new flower crown images! The bride in blush was an actual bride, shot gorgeously by Maurice Photo. I so loved that she went for it with the big and beautiful hairdo accessory! The other images are from a super fun styled shoot with MariRick Photography.

Was there ever a lovelier bride to wear blush and ivory in her hair?

The flowers don’t even get in the way!

So darn romantic

She’s dreaming about how much she loves to wear flowers.

Hot pinks and lots of texture for a va-va-voom flower crown