Katherine and Brian - Zingerman's Greyline

Congratulations Katherine and Brian!  It was such a pleasure to get to design in Zingerman's new downtown Ann Arbor space in the old greyhound bus station - the Greyline.  Katherine and Brian had a beautiful wedding day and it was so wonderful to be able to add lush, natural greens and splashes of burgundies to the space.  So many lovely green textures, including giant foliage garlands draping the mirrors in the entryway and at the cake table.  Lots of lovely details - I just loved how the copper toned terracotta pots turned out in the centerpieces!   Thank you so much to Ester Cobe Photography for these beautiful images!  

Becca and Marc - Zingermans Cornman Farms

I just loved starting off 2017 with Becca and Marc's wedding flowers.  I loved creating these natural, elegant, classic bouquets for their celebration at Zingerman's Cornman Farms.  I'm so excited to share these gorgeous photos with you from Lola Grace Photography - they just sing with sophistication and warmth and joy.  Congratulations Becca and Marc!  

And this last one has no flowers in it, but how gorgeous!  Beautifully done, Lola Grace Photography!

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!

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!  

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

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!  

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.

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.

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

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.  

 

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!

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!!

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?

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!

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

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!