Category Archives: Indoor Weddings

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!

Beautiful images courtesy of Carolyn Kipper Photography. Thank you, Carolyn!

Peony Season at Sodo Park

What month is this? Not where am I, but when am I? Those are the questions that I catch myself unawares with. As a florist, I’m very focused on the seasons and what is at offer to my working hands. But as a wedding florist specifically, I am also caught in that odd whirlpool of planning for events to come and tying up loose ends on events past. Right now, in engagement season, my mind is so much in August and September that sometimes I have to remind myself that we haven’t even officially left winter yet!

I was thinking about Risa and David’s wedding at Sodo Park last spring, as in our orbit around the seasons we circle closer back to peony season again. While 90% of brides who meet with me say that they would LOVE to have peonies in their wedding, only a small handful actually get married in the 3-4 week window of late May-mid June when local peonies are doing their thing. Risa was one of those lucky brides.

We filled her wedding with delicious, vibrant, juicy Coral Charm peonies, as well as Icelandic poppies, godetia, sweet peas, asclepias, and other seasonal delights in super saturated colors of hot pink, orange, and coral. Bits of cool silver dusty miller and grey-green succulents provided contrast. I loved the overflowing planter boxes laid out on the “Hogwarts”-style tables at Sodo Park, and loved the way stripes and chevrons worked their way into the festivities. Color and texture:  my favorites!

Peony season is only a few months away again… Or was it only a few months back??

All-Star Vendors:

Planning and Coordination:  New Creations Wedding Design

Linens:  Choice Linens

Photography:  Bradley Hanson

DJ: Bamboo Beats

Hollywood in Seattle, from Houston with Love

In the spirit of the upcoming New Year’s Eve celebrations, this post looks back at one of 2013’s sparkliest, NW-blingiest weddings. What is “NW-bling” you might ask? Well, seeing as I just came up with the term, it’s a concept in flux — but you can safely assume that NW-bling includes beaded lamps AND ornamental fungus. Shimmery vases AND understated blue hydrangea. And in this case, the whole scheme was inspired by a super fun bride from Texas.

The Hollywood inspiration tablescape -- we can do better than this!

The Hollywood inspiration tablescape — we can do better than this!

Planning a long-distance wedding requires a lot of trust on the part of the client. Candace and I began the process of fleshing out ideas for her wedding at Urban Light Studios over the phone; she and her fiancé had been to Seattle but both lived in Houston. Her decor vision was inspired by the 83rd annual Academy Awards Governor’s Ball. It was a to-the-hilt look, and one I don’t see a lot of in Seattle. Frankly, I thought we could do better! 

Candace rounded up all of her vendors for a site visit a couple of months before her wedding. The ever-insightful and awesome Kirstie Warren of Simply Wed was on the team at that point. Seeing the linens plus table lamps plus florals plus chargers plus flatware plus Chiavari chairs…. (whew!)… helped us edit the look. The room was going to be PACKED with elbow-to-elbow guests. We nixed the blue glass goblets and the sequined linens, and came up with a gorgeous, Houston-meets-Hollywood-meets-Seattle decor scheme that turned out to be one of my favorite weddings of 2013!

What do you think?

VENDORS:

PHOTOGRAPHY:  Julie Harmsen Photography

VENUE: Urban Light Studios

DESIGN/COORDINATION: Simply Wed

DRAPING: Rented Elegance

CATERING: City Catering 

DJ: Bamboo Beats

Grandeur at Chihuly Garden and Glass

(Or, The Wisdom of Wallflowers)

Flowers want so much to be the stars of the show. They’re divas, a little bit, and mostly deservedly so. But flowers, face it — sometimes your best and most nuanced role is a supporting one.

This could not possibly be more true than at Chihuly Garden and Glass. I mean, WOW. Have you been there? The artwork is super-bright, super-large, super-jawdropping. It’s an amazing setting for a wedding – as Blake and Stephanie experienced this past February in one of the first weddings to be had at the venue. We were so excited to be chosen as their florist!

From the get-go, Blake and Stephanie had a vision for all-white floral arrangements, with minimal flower variety:  hydrangea, spider and football mums, and orchids. Some calla lilies and roses in the bouquets, with added stephanotis for Stephanie. This couple knew that every eye would be on the artwork — when it wasn’t on the couple! — and together we created a floral scheme to support that reality.

In the end? The overall effect was stunning:  a balance of energy and rest, swagger and grace. And — of course — happily ever after!

The all-star crew of this wedding included Sheena Kalso and her team at The Invisible HostessPedersens Rentals; and the photography genius of Azzura Photography.