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/

Classy at the Venue

"No roses!!" was the only request shuttered by Monica Dorman who entrusted her wedding flower design for her September nuptials to us. She had a taste for perfection and a flawless vision. Clean, classy and simple were the three keywords she gave me at our first consultation and with that the creative juices ran. Monica also wanted something different, something that kept with the urban look of The Venue at Smith Brothers in downtown Columbus; an upbeat, modern building with exposed brick walls and a bit of an industrial flair.

Monica's bouquet was a hand-tied collection of white and green hydrangeas, white delphinium, white dendrobium orchids and splashed of green cymbidium orchids. Texture and dimension was her desire as she didn't want the ordinary. Her bridesmaids carried a tightly gathered bouquet of green fugis and white cremones accented by green hypericum berries. The men sported crisp white dendrobium orchid blooms on their lapels with a touch of green hypericum berries.

The ceremony was kept simple in the grassy area just outside the main doors. A classic arch was the backdrop with a Boston Fern on each side exercising her taste for simplistic beauty.

The reception boasted of candle glow and exquisite callas and orchids all around. Monica embraced a modern look by utilizing Tuscan-styled tables in the center of the room while surrounding the perimeter with smaller round tables for her guests to dine. The Escort table had a backdrop of three large cylinder vessels brimming of coordinating flowers and the ladies room was infused with the sweet aroma of gardenias. To date, this has been my favorite reception!

Monica and her husband, Wade, had only raving reviews for us when we saw them after the wedding. Her wedding has also been entered into a design contest! Wish us luck!! :-)

Ceremony Location: The Venue at Smith Brothers, Columbus, Ohio

Reception Location: The Venue at Smith Brothers, Columbus, Ohio

Flowers: Hydrangeas, delphinium, dendrobium orchids, cymbidium orchids, cremones, fugis, hypericum berries, bear grass, callas, gardenias, bamboo, river rock

Estimated Budget: $2800-$3300

Photography courtesy of: Kimberly Potterf http://www.kimberlypotterf.com/

Something Blue...and Lime Green!

Jennifer Kennedy had a clear-cut vision of her dream florals...she wanted something linear, blue and green. Her fresh approach to hand-tied bouquets led us to create an amazing bouquet of tall green Bells of Ireland encompassed by electric blue Dendrobium Orchids. Her bridesmaid's carried a stunning collection of all blue Dendrobium Orchids (yes, they are naturally blue!) while the men sported boutonnieres designed of blue Dendrobium Orchid blooms. Her ceremony at the Renaissance Hotel in downtown Columbus boasted handmade paper cones with white rose petals inside tied to the ends of the chairs lining the bridal path (sorry, I don't have a photo). Jennifer was very happy with her flowers, so much that she just referred her friend and we met with her this past Thursday!

Ceremony Location: The Renaissance Hotel, Columbus, Ohio

Reception Location: The Renaissance Hotel, Columbus, Ohio

Flowers: Green Bells of Ireland, Blue Dendrobium Orchids

Estimated Budget: $300-500 (for bouquets and boutonnieres, only)

Photos courtesy of the bride; Photographer Leah Stafford http://www.leahstaffordphotography.com/