Leslie and Josh

Soft and lush...like snow. That's what Leslie said was her theme for her wedding flowers when she met with me to plan her winter nuptials to Josh. She wanted to keep things simple and elegant so she chose an all white color pallet and luscious flowers, such as hydrangeas, roses, freesia, stephanotis and gardenias for her blooms. And although the temperature was frigid that day, the sky was a gorgeous shade of blue and the powdery snow on the ground was fresh...perfect for some amazing images.

Ceremony Location: Our Lady of Victory, Grandview, Ohio

Reception Location: Our Lady of Victory Parish Life Center, Grandview, Ohio

Flowers: Hydrangeas, roses, fressia, stephanotis and gardenias.

Budget: $800-$1000 (Personal flowers and altar arrangements only)

Photographer: Benjamin James Photography http://www.benjaminjamesphotography.com/

Claire and Lance

I had the opportunity to meet Claire and Lance during a tasting at the Darby House and just from our initial contact I was very excited to work with her! Her ideas of natural flow, earthy gardens and how she wanted to be inspired by the great outdoors made us a great match. Claire had been referred to us by several other vendors, so she knew she had made a great choice as well!

Her colors were sage green and cream. We accentuated the cream with splashes of fresh green in a few complimentary shades for texture and depth. Claire wanted a horizontal hand-tied bouquet that was not unruly but natural. She chose callas, roses, stock, star of Bethlehem and hypericum berries as her flowers. Her girls carried a European hand-tied of green roses and milky-white callas, accented by green hypericum berries.

The Mothers wore a classic gardenia while the men sported roses and hypericum berries. Lance matched his beautiful bride by wearing a calla.

The ceremony was framed by two floral arrangements, designed of green gladiolus, white snap dragons, white phlox and green roses in a tall crystal vase. I thought these arrangements really set the mood and added just the right amount of ambiance to the setting. Her bridal path was lined by white satin bows, which we handmade, on the ends of the chairs.

Her centerpieces on 12 guest tables were simple yet powerful. Claire found the lovely bowls at Create and Barrel and some fine stones to grace the bottom of each bowl. We then placed a single delicate gardenia in each bowl, floating on a shallow pool of water. Votive candles and rose petals danced around the bowl and completed the look.

Claire's toss bouquet was the cake topper while three clusters of roses accented by seeded eucalyptus rested on each tier. I thought the cake really was quite perfect!

Claire's weddings has certainly been one of my favorites! And Claire shared on weddingwire.com that she was pleased and that the flowers were exactly what she wanted. Oh, and she highly recommends Bloomtastic!!

Ceremony and Reception Location: The Darby House, Galloway, Ohio

Flowers: Roses, callas, stock, hypericum berries, star of Bethlehem, seeded eucalyptus, gardenias, snap dragons, phlox, gladiolus

Budget: $1500-$1800

Photographer: Kimberly Potterf Photography www.kimberlypotterf.com

Jill and Brian

Jill has a fabulous story to tell everyone about how she and Brian met...it was at the Kentucky Derby! And what better way to theme their wedding than around the derby. They chose The Darby House as the setting, which is owned by the Galbreath family, known nationally for their prized horses. They named each guest table after a horse who had won the Kentucky Derby. Her flowers? Roses, of course. Lush, rich red roses. She aspired to create a formal classic setting with infusions of modern aspects to create sophistication. For her bouquets, we created clean, round hand-tied bouquets of all red roses with no accents or greens. Her flower girl wore an adorable halo of ruscus with miniature roses throughout. The men sported red roses on their lapels and to set Brian apart, we incorporated a few loops of bear grass.

Upon arrival to the Darby House, guests were greeted by a series of stair-stepped in height arrangements along a long table draped in a white linen. The arrangements were designed of red roses and white lilies to set the mood and create ambiance.

The ceremony was outdoors, and Jill asked for two classic arrangements to be created of red roses and white oriental lilies. We placed them on the pillars provided by the Darby House to frame Brian and Jill as they exchanged vows!

In the Racing Room, guests mingled for the cocktail hour before dinner, enjoying photos on the walls of champion horses and the two really cool World Series trophies on the mantel. Mr. Galbreath was part-owner in the Pirates. On the cabaret tables, guests enjoyed a short vase with a single white lily resting on the lip and swirls of bear grass looped inside the vase for added texture.

The centerpieces are one of my all-time favorites. They were simple and classic. Sixteen tables were graced with a 6" tall rectangle vase housed a hand-tied of roses and lilies with wispy grasses swooping off to the side. The cake was perfectly finished with a crown of red roses on top.

Jill's wedding has been one of my all-time favorites. She was beyond thrilled with her flowers and has referred friends to us to design for them!

Ceremony & Reception Location: The Darby House, Galloway, Ohio

Flowers: Freedom (red) roses, white Oriental lilies, white Asiatic lilies, bear grass, stephanotis (parent's flowers) ruscus, miniature white roses

Budget: $2000-2500

Photographer: 808 Studios http://www.808photos.com/

Kelsey and Matt

Although spring is at its end, I wanted to showcase Kelsey and Matt's wedding for its timeless beauty. Kelsey chose a "signature flower" as her theme, and tulips were the main attraction, with roses and fragrant freesia as accomplices. Her bouquet was a collection of Bolero (pink) roses, pink tulips and white freesia. Her attendants carried scaled down versions but with sleek black ribbon on the stems for a sharp finish. The groomsmen all sported a single stately pink rose while Matt shined in his boutonniere of a pink rose with white freesia accents.

As a way to carry color and flowers into the reception, and to preserve her $1000 budget, pink rose petals blanketed the 16 tables as centerpieces, head table and adorned the cake as well.

I've been a big fan of Kelsey's bouquet for it's classic look and modern feel. It's clean lines and no greenery make it appealing to today's modern bride while it's timeless selection of flowers will ensure its appeal for years to come. Kelsey loved her flowers and her photographer shared these images with us.

Ceremony Location: First Community Church, Upper Arlington, Ohio

Reception Location: Marriott Northwest, Dublin, Ohio

Flowers: roses, freesia, tulips

Budget: $800-1000

Photographer: Ashley Henry http://www.henryphotography.com/

Heather and Anthony

The Renaissance Hotel provided Heather with an amazing backdrop of the downtown Columbus skyline for her wedding to Anthony. A stunning white arch (provided by Bloomtastic) decked out in brown curly willow branches and red mokara orchids was the backdrop for their ceremony. Heather carried a classic collection of white lavish roses accented by crisp white callas and fragrant gardenias. She selected black baccara roses (deep, velvety red) and circus roses (reddish-orange and golden yellow) accented by fresh green hypericum berries for her six bridesmaids and two junior bridesmaids.

A modern twist was taken with the unity candle; submerged red mokara orchids and swirls of fresh green bear grass swam underneath white floating candles in the etched glass cylinder vases.

My favorite aspect of her wedding was her centerpieces! Her guests dined at tables embellished with modern flower decor and warm candle glow. Ten of the 26 tables hosted a tall fluted vase with curly willow branches extending up and out, towards the heavens, draped with fine crystals catching the glow from the candles below. A single spray of red mokara orchids added color inside the vase. The remaining 16 tables were home to a trio of cylinder vases, each boasting swirls of green bear grass or red mokara orchids and all crowned by a white floating candle.

The perfect finishing touch to her cake provided by Short North Piece of Cake was single red mokara orchids, perfectly placed on the tiers.

Ceremony and Reception Location: The Renaissance Hotel; Columbus, Ohio

Flowers: Black baccara roses, white roses, circus roses, red mokara orchids, white callas, gardenias, curly willow, bear grass

Budget: $2300-2500

Photography provided by: Betsey Holley http://www.betseyholleyphotography.com/

Baker: Short North Piece of Cake

Julie and Chris

Julie discovered us online in 2009 and contacted us in February to discuss her September wedding. She lived out of state so initially, we had to chat via email. She sent me her inspiration boards, pictures of her gown and the bridesmaid's dresses and from there we together created a masterpiece of wedding florals. She quickly hired us, and then we met in the summer in person to better acquaint ourselves and to narrow down her flower selections more.

Julie knew she loved texture and bold colors and had selected a clean, modern look for her style. She seemed like a no-fuss kind of gal, and wanted her wedding to reflect that image.

For her bridal bouquet, Julie chose hot pink roses as the canvas for pink orchids and deep purple callas. A sleek aspidistra leaf wrapped the stems instead of traditional ribbon for a "not-so-boring" look. She then chose medium pink roses accented by raspberry colored stock for the bridesmaid's to carry. Her flower girls carried pomander balls designed of tightly packed hot pink and medium pink carnations for a textured look.

Chris proudly promoted a pink cymbidium orchid on his lapel to match his stunning wife while the remaining men sported classic roses.

The pews at St. Joan of Arc where decked out in handmade paper cones in rich chocolate brown, housing luscious cream colored hydrangeas and two altar arrangements framed where Chris and Julie exchanged vows.

The reception had three flower-focused embellishments; two custom floral centerpieces for the guests to enjoy and a waterfall of orchids on the cake. The tall centerpiece boasted of white hydrangeas atop a fluted crystal vase towering overhead. Starfighter lilies (like stargazer lilies but a deeper shade of pink) crowned the hydrangeas. As for the short centerpiece, purple and raspberry stock were carefully inserted into a rectangle vase lined with freshly sliced limes.

It was an amazing day for Chris and Julie, and she loved her flowers, too!

Ceremony: St. Joan of Arc Powell, Ohio

Reception: Brookside Country Club Columbus, Ohio

Flowers: roses, callas, cymbidium orchids, dendrobium orchids, stock, starfighter lilies, hydrangeas

Budget: $2800-$3300 (includes 20 centerpieces)

Photography provided by: DK Photographic

Andrea and Ryan

Yellow and green has become a popular color choice for many spring and summer brides, so I thought I would showcase one of my favorites!

Andrea and I sat down in mid 2008 to plan her April 2009 wedding set to take place at the Columbus Athenaeum and St. Francis of Assisi. She explained to me she wanted something springy but that was also casual, classic and fun. She didn't want her bouquet to be the traditional rose bouquet but something more fun. So I suggested a classic yet trendy collection of roses, freesia, hypericum and buplerum for her while her bridesmaid's carried roses, stock, matsumoto asters and hypericum berries. A pairing of traditional and non-traditional wedding flowers create an eye-appealing, unique look!

The Small Theatre at the Athenaeum played host to Andrea's reception. Her centerpieces were comprised of luscious white hydrangeas crowning a tall crystal vase. Fresh limes and lemons were inside the vase for a casual yet contemporary feel.

To showcase her love of iris, we decked out her cake (by Anita Kline!) with purple iris. Andrea's wedding is definitely one of my favorite's!

Ceremony Location: St. Francis of the Assisi, Columbus, Ohio

Reception Location: The Columbus Athenaeum, Columbus, Ohio

Flowers: Roses, freesia, hypericum, Buplerum, salal, stock, matsumoto asters, daisies

Budget: $1200-$1500 (including 14 guest tables)

Photography provided by: Steve Lyons http://www.lyonswedding.com/

Brandy and Brian July 17, 2009

I met Brandy in January of 2009 at the Columbus Bride: The Show at Vets memorial. Shortly after we sat down at the shop and crafted her ideal look: formal, elegant and all ivory.

Goddess Divine: Brandy's dress was stunning. We didn't want her bouquet to compete or to overshadow, so Brandy chose a sophisticated collection of lush ivory roses accented by ivory miniature callas. Two rhinestone bracelets encrusted the natural stems with an elegant sparkle that seemed to compliment her dress perfectly.

Brandy chose bouquets of all ivory roses to be carried by her bridesmaids while the flower girls had halos of billowy babies breath with champagne colored satin ribbon streamers gracefully flowing down the back.

Stately Men: Brian sported an ivory calla finished with black satin ribbon down the stem while the remaining men wore an ivory rose with black satin ribbon down the stem.

A Family Affair: I'm a BIG fan of Tuscan tables. For one reason, you don't feel like you are on "display" and two, you are now a part of your wedding and not just someone watching it. Brandy felt the same and chose a large Tuscan table to be her centerpiece of the ballroom at the Renaissance Hotel. Tall crystal fluted vases showcased large, open cut callas and champagne colored branches while short crystal compotes were brimming with abundant hydrangeas. In between the tall and short arrangements were cylinder vessels to house the bridesmaid's bouquets during the reception.

Brandy's guests dined by candlelight in the spacious ballroom and ivory rose petals delicately decorated the cake table. The altar arrangement of ivory Oriental lilies and roses played double-duty at both the ceremony up on the pool-deck and as decoration at the reception.

I caught up with Brandy about two weeks after her nuptials and via email she shared these kind words with me: "Everything was amazing! I got so many compliments on the flower arrangements. My favorite was my bouquet. Thanks, Brandy."

Ceremony and Reception Location: The Renaissance Hotel, Columbus, Ohio

Flowers: Ivory roses, callas, Oriental lilies, hydrangeas, curly willow branches

Estimated Budget: $1400-1600

Photography Courtesy of: Shannon Williams Photography http://www.shannonwilliamsphotography.com/