about that arch

I'm working with several couples on arch/chuppah designs for wedding season this year (this makes me so happy!).  I love getting to do a feature floral piece for the ceremony, and I just feel it gives the couple a chance to add the feel that they want to their space.  The ceremony floral can really warm up a space to give just the right touch of softness to a very clean lines space.  It can help define and make more cozy a larger space, bringing the emphasis right to where the couple will be standing.  And it can add color and lush foliages adding a natural touch to an indoor space.  There is so much that we can do with an arch design to make a space feel unique and fresh.  

I have a wood arch available for rent, and wanted to share a little more about it and some photos of it at Mark and Sarah's Michigan League Ballroom wedding here.

 

What I love about this arch - it's gorgeous - beautifully finished dark brown wood, with simple clean lines.  It's a little taller than most arches - this one is about 7 feet tall, and most are more like 6 feet tall - accommodates a taller couple nicely!  This one is really sturdy and a great size to accommodate a range of floral design - from a small foliage accent to a large, gorgeous floral design piece.

 

The sturdiness part is really important in order to plan a design like the one in Mark and Sarah's photos's here.  When we create a design like this, it's really quite heavy.  We start by soaking caged floral foam forms that will provide the anchoring for the design and a water source.  It's a lot of water - it's heavy, before we even add the flowers and foliages!  So although I have designed on lots of different arches and chuppahs, it's always comforting and easier for me to work with an arch that I am familiar with.  Some venues, like Misty Farm, have wonderful sturdy arches onsite and I know we can easily design on them.  Other times, the arch onsite is not strong enough to support the design that we have planned so we have to scale the design back when we arrive to ensure safety for all involved.  That's part of why I wanted to have my own arch available for rent, so that we can plan with certainty about the design for the arch.

 

I hope you love this arch as much as we do, and we can look forward to creating something special for your ceremony space!

 

winter ceremony arch flower design

 

ceremony under floral arch at michigan league

 

winter wedding ceremony

 

 

 

Mark and Sarah - Winter Wedding at the Michigan League

Mark and Sarah had a gorgeous winter celebration at the Michigan League Ballroom captured so beautifully by Violet Light Photography.   Sophisticated, stylish and seasonal, Sarah wanted flowers with natural styling and interesting textures.   Loose but not too loose flowing pieces and large but not too large bouquets.  She wanted her bouquet to be a statement piece, and I hope she loved it as much as I did - I loved the blush and cranberry tones that she picked and the lush textures and natural oblong, cascading shape.  And the ceremony arch design - I loved getting to create this piece, and I loved the arch that Sarah's dad created for the occasion - so much so that I bought it and can now share it with other couples.  Congratulations Sarah and Mark, it was wonderful to be a part of your celebration!  

ann arbor university of michigan winter wedding

 

winter bride bouquet in blush and burgundy and merlot

winter bridesmaid bouquet cranberry merlot and blush michigan league wedding

Sarah's bouquet featured burgundy peonies, blush majolica roses, caramel antike garden roses, seeded and silver dollar eucalyptus, camelia foliage, blush quicksand roses bridal party in burgundy and blush

bridal bouquet in blush and burgundy

 

wedding ceremony under floral arch at michigan league ballroom

winter wedding ceremony

 

winter ceremony arch flower design

 

 

ann arbor campus wedding

 

snow photos of bride and groom on campus ann arbor

snow photos of campus wedding

 

 

 

ann arbor winter wedding couple snow photos

 

 

Jen and Will - Downtown Ann Arbor Wedding

It was a beautiful summer day for Jen and Will's downtown Ann Arbor wedding, and we just loved these gorgeous images from Melissa Elaine Photography!   So many classic elegant downtown Ann Arbor moments with their ceremony right near campus at First Congregational Church, photos in the law quad and art museum, and reception at Vinology - lovely!  Congratulations Jen and Will!  

first congregational church ann arbor wedding ceremony

 

bride with blush and peach bouquet by red poppy floral design

first congregational church ceremony vinology reception

 

 

 

 

 

ann arbor law quad wedding couple photo

first congregational church ann arbor wedding ceremonyblush and peach bride bouquet

Jen's bouquet featured peach juliet garden roses, blush quicksand roses, blush majolica spray roes, queen anne's lace, and white anemones with dark centers.

bridal bouquet in blush and peach

We love doing these bracelet style corsages for mothers - a little more sophisticated than the elastic wristbands of the past!  This one included hellebore and lily of the valley.

wedding invitations and flowers

And we love a classic groom boutonniere of blush majolica spray roses and buds.

groom boutonniere in blush and ivory

 

 

styled winter shoot

There is nothing better than a friend calling to ask if you can put together something lovely for an adorable couple - it's so great to be able to share a little floral piece or two and hope it makes someone's day!  Bonus when that friend happens to be an incredibly talented photographer and there are gorgeous photos to inspire afterward!  Thank you so much Dayna of Dayna Mae Photography  - this winter couple is making me all kinds of cozy!  Perfect doses of fun and joy and sweet and romantic, a festive splash of red on a perfect wintry Michigan day.  These are so warm and perfect and please see more images and Dayna's adorable story from the day here.  

seasonal winter holiday bridal bouquet

michigan winter wedding flowers

 

 

winter woodlands wedding

bride and groom outdoor michigan winter wedding

seasonal holiday winter wedding in michigan

 

bride and groom enjoying snow

  wedding flowers in winter holiday red

cozy winter couple with hair flower crown

 

bride and groom at winter wedding

wedding flowers and hair crown

 

Allie and John at Waldenwoods

Such a beautiful celebration at Waldenwoods for Allie and John this autumn!  Thank you so much to Ray Anthony Photography for capturing these lovely images and sharing so generously! We had a great time working with rich autumnal colors and textures as the weather and mood were shifting from summer to autumn.   We had beautiful burgundy dahlias, blush garden roses, lush foliages with berries and great textures - Allie picked such beautiful elements and we just love how it came together for a natural, colorful, sophisticated look.

We loved decorating the large pergola for Allie & John's ceremony, and were so thrilled that the weather cleared in time to get outside for a blue sky ceremony!  It was still raining outside when we set it up with fingers crossed, and we were so thrilled it worked out so beautifully!  Congratulations Allie and John!

waldenwoods autumn wedding flowers

autumn wedding flowers waldenwoods

 

burgundy blush peach autumn wedding party flowers

 

 

 

bridal bouquet in blush peach and burgundy by red poppy floral design ann arbor

 

autumn bride with natural bouquet by red poppy floral design ann arbor

 

 

flower design by red poppy floral design ann arbor

 

floral design by red poppy floral design ann arbor

 

ceremony arch floral design by red poppy floral design

autumn wedding flowers by red poppy floral design ann arbor florist

 

 

waldenwoods wedding reception flowers

 

mother of the bride wrist corsage

floral design by red poppy floral design ann arbor michigan

And here we are in action setting up the floral decor for the arch in the rain, gotta love everyone keeping the positivity and ending up with a gorgeous ceremony under blue skies!!

setting up floral design arch in the rain

 

 

 

 

Katie & Joe at Earhart Manor

Katie and Joe's Earhart Manor wedding was stylish and sophisticated and joyful and it was just such an honor to be a part of this celebration!  Really - I have been thinking about this wedding all year since the summer and I am so grateful to Rachel Smaller Photography for sharing these images with me.  These are truly stunning!  And I am so excited to share them with you.  Most of all, thank you Katie and Joe, and wishing you so much love and laughter.  

So many details to love!  This first look is so perfect!  Katie's gold shoes!  And and why not slip into a flower crown for the reception?

 

 

brides bouquet in coral and orange

 

happy couple at garden ceremonywedding flowers by red poppy floral design ann arbor

 

 

groom boutonniere in ivory ann arbor wedding

 

wedding bouquet in coral pink orange and white

 

 

ann arbor earhart manor summer wedding gorgeous flowers

 

bridesmaids bouquet

 

wedding party in ivory and navy at earhart manor

 

ann arbor wedding party

wedding couple gold shoes

bridal bouquet

 

 

wedding hair flowers in coral, orange and pink

 

ann arbor michigan wedding cake

earhart manor wedding flowers

 

 

 

 

 

centerpiece at earhart manor

 

wedding entry welcome table with photos and flowers

 

wedding centerpiece in pink peach orange and ivory flowers

 

 

Cassie and Alan - Autumn at Ann Arbor Distilling Company

This wedding was classic and elegant and filed with thoughtful details.  I was so excited when I heard about this reception at Ann Arbor Distilling Company - a warehouse style wedding reception right here in Ann Arbor!  And so wonderful to get to work with truly talented vendors Melanie Reyes Photography and J.Eliza Events - so wonderful to get to be part of this team! Cassie and Alan's flowers featured lush greens and natural, textural elements (including kale!), along with a perfect autumnal splash of gold and copper - we painted succulents and apples in metallic tones and they added just that splash of something unique!  Hope you love these as much as we do!

bride and groom in nichols arcade ann arbor

bridal bouquet of gold succulents and kale

 

gold succulent and kale bouquet

 

 

 

bride and parents walking down the aisle

bride with parents in ann arbor

 

 

 

 

 

autumn wedding ceremony outdoors ann arbor

 

warehouse wedding reception ann arbor southeast michigan

 

warehouse wedding ann arbor michigan

 

wedding centerpiece rose gold copper apple

Loved these bracelets for Cassie's bridesmaids - with gold succulents, acorns and berries, together with groomsmen boutonnieres

ann arbor wedding flowers

 

autumn flowers

There's something special about the colors of autumn in Ann Arbor and the special tones of autumnal flowers that excites me every year.  Autumn brings in the most amazing dahlias and knock-out chrysanthemums, berries and textures and foliages and it's just a special time to be designing. I loved creating these pieces for a wedding celebration at the Gandy Dancer in downtown Ann Arbor, coordinated by Twofoot Creative.  These centerpieces and accent pieces featured golden chrysanthemums, orange ranunculus, burgundy snapdragons, blush spray roses, campanella peach roses, seeded eucalyptus, olive branches (with olives!), burgundy dahlias, blue privet berries, and a gold succulents, in a gold compote dish.  So thankful for this autumn abundance!

 

autumn wedding flowers at the gandy dancer ann arbor

gandy dancer wedding flower centerpiece

 

autumn wedding flowers at gandy dancer ann arbor

 

 

 

Detroit Flower Week

Such a joy to get to attend Detroit Flower Week and see floral design heroes in action!  It was inspiring to see Ariella Chezar and Emily Thompson, and a real highlight was designing in a still life workshop with Lewis Miller.  His design was _incredible_  and I think we all learned so much from his style and approach and love for the materials that really came through in his workshop. I created this piece below - it was such fun to create with such amazing materials while feeling completely inspired with floral design masters!

 

lewis miller workshop still life design

 

Emily and Aniket's Earhart Manor Wedding

So excited to share these images from Emily & Aniket's summer wedding celebration at Earhart Manor.  Alison from First Comes Love Photo captured so many sweet and fun moments - baby toes! dancing in the the rain! flower girl twirling!  So many moments that I know will be precious to Emily and Aniket when they look back on their special day.  So many wonderful details coordinated by Julie of J. Eliza Events (and Julie includes a lovely description of the day and epic rainstorm on her blog) - it was so great to be a part of this celebration, and Emily and Aniket even generously donated their flowers to Arbor Hospice afterward (I couldn't believe how great these flowers still looked the day after).  On the floral side, we were so excited by these bright, bold colors - jewel tones paired with more muted peaches and blushes, a foliage garland accented with flowers and gold and silver candles down the head table, and foliage garlands for the couple's hindu ceremony.  So excited to share this, and so lovely to be a part of this lovely celebration! flower girl twirl

brides bouquet featuring peach juliet garden roses

 

groom and groomsmen boutonnieres

 

mother of the bride wrist corsage

ann arbor hindu wedding

happy wedding couple at earhart manor

groom boutonniere

earhart manor bride and groom

 

earhart manor wedding couple

 

earhart manor wedding ann arbor

head table foliage garland

wedding centerpieces at earhart manor

 

head table garland and flowers

 

wedding flower centerpieces at earhart manor

wedding centerpieces in jewel tones

 

head table foliage and flower design

 

earhart manor wedding cake