Up next in my series of thoughts from proposal season: Budgets. It always feels a bit forward to ask about budget early on the consultation process. Most people don’t have much of an idea how much event flowers cost, so I get that it feels like a hard question to answer. But if you can give me a range, I can give you better advice and guidance. There are so many variables - quantities and varieties of flowers, size and cost of vases, rentals for candles, glassware, etc. When we connect, I want to hear what your design priorities are and match that with your target budget, and design a plan to get you as much of those priorities as I can in your target budget range. A mentor of mine once described asking clients if their budget is “more like $2,000 or more like $20,000” - even a ballpark helps me to pull together ideas and be efficient with your planning time. I promise to make gorgeous pieces, whether large or small.

Hello! In my first in a series of posts on thoughts from proposal season, I discussed “Going big” on focal pieces for your wedding. And today, it’s contrasting advice - “Go petite!” When I suggested “Going big” on the things that matter most to you, the balance is also often to create some petite, but still lovely, pieces to make sure you cover all the bases. This could be a mix of larger and more petite centerpieces, smaller boutonnieres/corsages (or it’s becoming more popular to skip these entirely, and that’s ok with me!), or smaller bridesmaid bouquets. Some centerpieces could be a petite candle collection, and especially in areas that will mostly be used in the evening in dim light (like a separate dancing space), leaning int to candles will give the most impact. I like to say that I only make pieces that I would be happy to have at my own event, so even when I suggest a very petite centerpiece, it can be perfectly lovely and create a spark of joy on the table. Fell free to go petite in places, so you can go big in the places that matter most to you!

Frigid January here in Michigan (and soon everywhere else, it seems), and its firmly proposal season, working with couples on wedding designs and planning, and I’m doing a series of thoughts on this process - themes that tend to come up during the design process and insights that I hope will help you in your planning journey.

Today I’m sharing about “Going Big!” I love to create wow moments, focal pieces, as we’re thinking about your wedding flowers. And by going big I mean more about how we prioritize within your budget than about increasing the amount. I like to learn about your floral priorities and find ways to allocate significant budget to those pieces, while maybe trimming back on things that are less important to you. You get more floral impact for your budget - a fantastic arch for your ceremony, a statement piece at your sweetheart table, an elevated design down the length of your captain’s table in the center of the room, a glorious welcome table in a grand entrance space. You and your guests will have so many pictures and memories of these pieces, and I think it’s worth making more petite centerpieces, or omitting other pieces to accomplish this. I encourage couples to “go big” in one or a few places - allocate the budget unevenly - and make some other pieces smaller to compensate. Some centerpieces can be petite. Eliminating boutonnieres and corsages is increasingly popular. You don’t have to tick all the boxes and put flowers everywhere, you can get more impact by going big where it matters most to you.

Your thoughts and comments very welcome, and let me know anything else you’d like to hear about!

Chelsea and Suraj’s celebration at Cornman Farms was a perfect sun dappled autumn day. Their floral inspiration was dutch masters paintings, so their arrangements and Chelsea’s bouquet oozed with large blooms in moody dark and contrasting pastel tones. So many stunning details captured so beautifully by Dayna Mae Photography.

Brooke and David’s celebration at Cornman Farms was elegant and refined, with thoughtful details and every turn. The florals and candles were in elegant whites, with lots of texture and gentle clouds of babies breath. It was a warm and sunny September day - just perfect for lingering on the lawn at the farm. It was such a joy to create these flowers, and I loved how the tall taper candles felt made it all feel extra special. Thank you to Adore Wedding Photography for these beautiful images! They even captured me doing what I do - thank you :)

So great to get a chance to share some early sneek peeks from Sydney & Sam’s gorgeous wedding at Wester’s Family Vineyards and Winery. Captured by Kelsey captured some gorgeous moments - can’t wait to see the full gallery!

E & O had a gorgeous wedding at Zingerman’s Cornman Farms. I love these intimate weddings filled with special touches and details, and one of the wonderful things about this space is that we can often repurpose feature florals for the ceremony and reception when they are in the same room. After the ceremony, guests go downstairs to enjoy cocktail hour and games on the patio, while upstairs, we “flip” the room from ceremony to reception. The tables and chairs are moved into reception position and expertly set, while we can add and/or move decor for the reception. For E & O, the meadow flowers were the focal decor for the ceremony, and then “flipped” to in front of the sweetheart table to be the focal decor for the reception. It’s so great to be able to invest in a focal piece of decor and use it beautifully for both the ceremony and reception! These textured grasses and dusty mauve and blue worked so beautifully to just bring a little color inside the barn. Thank you to Adore Wedding Photography for these beautiful images.

Jenna and Jacob had an autumn wedding of sunshine on the rooftop at The Circ in downtown Ann Arbor - it’s such a special place to celebrate! A hidden gem with an urban, downtown feel, allowing out of town guests to enjoy downtown Ann Arbor. It was a joy to create the light and airy pieces to carry color and warmth through from the outside ceremony into the reception. Thank you Kathy Davies Photography for these beautiful images.

It was a stunning summer celebration for Courtney and Dennis - so excited to share this one! So many beautiful details in this warm palette of sunset tones, and it was so beautiful against the backdrop of tall grasses and wood details at Frutig Farms The Valley. The chuppah decor was soft and elegant - making it feel special in the summer sun. The elevated pieces in the reception gave it a focal splash of color in the barn. This was such a wonderful group! Thank you so much to Heather Jowett for these beautiful images.

Connie and David’s wedding was that time in the fall when the dahlias just sing and the vibrant colors against the changing leaves in Michigan are so perfect. Locally grown dahlias, textures, and foliages, and pops of my favorite blue viburnum berries. It was a bold, beautiful collection of fall flowers for a beautiful celebration at Zingerman’s Cornman Farms. Captured so beautifully by Lola Grace Photography.