Lindsay and Andy’s Lovely Locust Grove Wedding

Ahhh the sweet and beautiful Vanvoorhis sisters!  Lindsay’s wedding was in June, Nicole’s wedding was in August!  Both girls were super busy in the months leading up to their weddings, so I was very fortunate to work with their mom and dad through much of their wedding planning.  Their dad was even the one in charge of constructing the beautiful arch you will see in both weddings.   It isn’t that I don’t enjoy working with my couples, but it was a nice departure to be able to see things from the eyes of parents for a change.  And the beautiful blue mason jars you see throughout each event were found in their Grandmother’s basement!  What a great family!

For Lindsay’s wedding we incorporated lots of soft peach and pink toned Roses, Juliette Garden Roses, Coral Charm Peonies, Lisianthus, Double Stock Flower, and a host of locally grown “Cottagy” flowers and foliage.  All of the linens, candles and mason jars filled with sea salts were just the tip of the iceberg for all of the beautiful little details of this event.  These beautiful photos are all courtesy of the very talented J. Castro Photography.

Congratulations Lindsay and Andy!!!

Below are a few of our own photos that we snapped before the flowers went out the door, and a few before we left.

We were delighted to have worked with the following vendors:

Venue: Locust Grove

Catering: Lola’s Catering

Photographer: J. Castro Photography

Entertainment: Joe Funicelli (DJ)

Cake: Home style Desserts and Bakery

 

Denise and Eric’s Vintage Toned Wedding at the Rhinecliff

Photo Credit: Christopher Duggan

When Denise first contacted me about her wedding florals, she was hoping to have us create clean, simple designs using all whites and greens.  Her nuptials were to take place at the charming Rhinecliff Hotel, which has a lovely neutral palette throughout most of its interior; so the greens and whites seemed fitting to Denise.  However after seeing the image of our vintage toned bouquet on our website’s home page, she later decided she was more interested in creating her entire wedding around those colors.  (I realize I have left that same photo up on my website for ages now, but it really seems to appeal to so many of our brides, that I really hesitate to remove it.)

As the planning process continued, we eventually all agreed on using lots of vintage toned roses, (many of which were California grown!); a few Orchids, white Irises, and Lily Grass accents to reflect the venue’s beautiful location, right on the water.  Although Denise liked the soft vintage color scheme, we were very careful to still keep everything clean and modern looking.

Denise decided to have us create a candlescape on the normally unadorned mantle at the Rhinecliff.  To tie in the vintage toned flowers, we used a combination of modern glass candle stick holders and cake stands, but we paired them with many of our vintage diamond cut crystal and hobnail accessories and vases.  We backed it all with one of our whitewashed mirrors.  To further enhance her beautiful centerpieces, Denise rented our mosaic mirror chargers, which were the perfect match to the reflective crystal and glass elements everywhere else.  This was an exceptionally lovely wedding.  Denise and Eric even donated the flowers to area charities afterward!

Congratulations Denise and Eric!!!

Tips on Tuesday- Floral Budget Myth Busters

There are a few tips we hear about time and time again that we really wish would go away.  Here are some of the most common ones we here:

1. “Local, in season flowers are the most affordable.”  Although we would LOVE nothing more than for this to be true. it isn’t always the case; especially when you consider items such as Peonies and Dahlias. The truth is, most of what you are drooling over on all of the wedding blogs are florals from California. Scented Geranium, fresh Lavender, fruit and berries on branches, and all of the foliage you can’t quite identify, are generally from California.

Of course we can certainly get all of these same flowers here on the East Coast, we just have to ship them here, and therefore you are paying quite the premium for them. My suggestion is ask your florist for their advice about what is locally available, and be flexible if you really want to save money.

2. “Wholesale Clubs and Big Box stores are the most affordable sources for flowers.” Maybe. If all you want is an attractive number. However I don’t think anyone will tell you they have ever seen the same quality, or received the same level of service at a wholesale club that they did working with a floral professional. Don’t discount working with local nurseries, orchards, garden clubs, and greenhouses; many times there are unbelievable discounts available at these types of businesses and organizations!

A beautiful Lemon Tree for rent locally!

3. “I have a friend who worked for a florist who can get me my flowers from a wholesaler…”.  This kind of reminds me of that advice, saying a great way to save money on beauty services is to go to a trade school or ask a salon to have a “junior colorist” do your color for you!  YIKES!  We all know how that turns out, and you surely wouldn’t want the same scenario with your wedding flowers!  Not to mention the logistics; will you have a cooler, all the space you need to work, buckets, design tools, etc.?

4.  “I know a great spot out in the country with tons of Queen Anne’s Lace and other wildflowers, I’m sure I can just pick some stems and put them into mason jars for a fresh picked look…”.  PLEASE DO NOT DO THIS!  Not only can you end up with tons of mosquito and tick bites right before your wedding, but there is one species of invasive plant that is extremely poisonous and looks just like yellow Queen Anne’s Lace (shown below).  This is known as Poison Parsnip and could very likely land you in the hospital (I will spare you the details, just stay away from this toxic beauty)!

For anyone with a limited budget for florals and decor we recommend splurging on your bridal bouquet, and one focal point table, such as an escort card table.  Also consider sticking with one type of flower throughout your entire day, and skipping the more complicated designs containing many different flower types.  Think chic and elegant.  Candle designs with a small amount of flowers work beautifully for centerpieces, and in most cases can be rented from your florist.

Hopefully this clears up some of the myths out there!  Happy planning everyone!

~Heather

Rachel and Casey’s Branchy Cherry Blossom Wedding at Onteora Mountain House

Rachel contacted me a year and a half before her wedding to begin planning the florals for her nuptials at the incredibly scenic, Onteora Mountain House.  What a great location for a couple like Rachel and Casey.  Casey is an Arborist, so it was important to both of them to incorporate some type of tree elements into their wedding decor.  When I first spoke to Rachel she mentioned wanting Circus Roses (which are a yellow with a firey red edge), paired with Manzanita Trees and all types of other almost fall inspired elements.  However, much like a lot of our brides, as her date drew closer her concepts and ideas began to change.

Rachel’s dress had the most beautiful embroidered Anemone flower details.  So she decided she absolutely wanted to have these flowers in her bridal bouquet.  As many of you know this is one flower I absolutely will not ever use in wrapped bouquets.  They are far too delicate.  Fresh Anemones are great for centerpieces and other decor, but never for a wrapped bouquet.  So we used silk, (and for the record most of the ones you see on Pinterest and all the other wedding blogs out there use silk as well).

For their centerpieces we used out-of-season Cherry Blossoms!  Yes, they had finished several weeks earlier, but we kept them in the cooler in tight bud form and slowly forced them open in time for the wedding.  Yes, I do LOVE drama!!  The end results were just amazing.  Here are a few of our photos, some professional photos from the amazingly talented Meghan Shelley, and a few of our behind the scenes photos of the production of this event.  Big thank you to Jodi, Erica, and Bryan for this one!   Congratulations Rachel and Casey!!!

 

We were delighted to work alongside the following vendors:

Venue: Onteora Mountain House

Photographer: Megan Schley

Entertainment: Lutz Entertainment

The 2012 Bloomie Awards are Coming!

With the holidays right around the corner, we are so excited to once again be hosting our very own “Bloomie Awards” to recognize everyone’s most favorite wedding of the year.  The grand prize winner will receive $100, and we will make a donation of equal value to the charity of the winning couple’s choice. The 2011 Bloomie Award went to Sarah and Dennis, who had a beautiful wedding at West Park Winery , and chose to donate to the Noah Christopher Smith Fund.  The 2010 Bloomie Awards winners were Jesse and Amanda, for their unbelievable Onteora Mountain House Wedding.  Their charity of choice was The Capital District Community Gardens.

To Enter the Contest:

We will be posting a blog about each one of our 2012 weddings, so all of our couples will automatically be entered.  If we have not received professional photos from you, we will post whatever ones we may have taken before we delivered your flowers (which hopefully we did, it was such a busy season for us that we were unable to photograph a lot of our events).  If your event is already live on our blog and you would like to add anything, please just let us know! If you wish to send us your own personalized submissions here is what we suggest:

Pro Pics- Please make sure they are roughly 640x 480 pixels, give or take.  Also please check with your photographer to be sure we are able to post their work on our blog, we always give photo credit, but still double check with them first.  Also check with any friends and family if they are in your pictures, to be sure we can post photos of them.

Complete Vendor List- Please include as many parties as you can (caterer, event coordinator, dress designers, musicians…) along with their current contact info so we may properly credit everyone.

A Brief Paragraph or Two- This is optional, but you may also submit a summary of your event, in your own words.

All submissions MUST be sent to us by noon on Thanksgiving day, we cannot make any exceptions.

To Vote:

Vote for your favorite 2012 wedding on our Facebook page by liking the post about that event!  All of our 2012 couples are welcome to participate, regardless of how big or small your event was; and regardless of whether or not you received recognition on other publications.  Absolutely Everyone Can Vote!

We hope to have all of our 2012 wedding blogs from April-October (our late fall and December events will be entered in 2013’s Bloomie Awards) updated by December 5th for you to cast your votes, and many events have already been posted.  Our deadline for casting votes will be December 15th at 8:00 p.m.

Good Luck to All!!!

 

 

Meghan and Peter- A Scrumptious Seasonal Wedding!

Meghan and Peter were one of our first couples of our 2012 wedding season.  And what beautiful, peak-of-the-season blooms they selected for their big day!  We used a combination of Peonies, Ranuculas, French Hydrangea, Spray Roses, and Roses.  The bouquets, in all shades of pink, were a perfect compliment to the navy bridesmaid’s dresses.  We used the same flowers in the centerpieces, so everything flowed together perfectly.  Meghan and Peter were married at Our Lady of the Rosary and their reception followed at The Poughkeepsie Grand. Entertainment was provided by our good friend, Bri Swatek from Spinning with Style.  These beautiful photos are courtesy of our friend Elissa Davidson at EID photography (I especially love the shot of them on the bridge!).  Megan looked absolutely gorgeous in her wedding gown, and I think was one of the happiest brides we have had the pleasure of working with!  We wish her and Peter all the best!!!  Congratulations you two!!!

We were delighted to have worked alongside the following vendors:

Venue: The Poughkeepsie Grand

Entertainment: DJ Bri Swatek

Photographer: EID Photography

Transportation: Adriano Limo