Debi and Dave's Wedding

I've been remiss in updating this blog. Life happens and blogs don't it seems. Easter has come and gone and I forgot to take a picture of my church arrangements. I've made a few arrangements for friends and housewarmings, but alas I forgot to take pictures of those as well. Thankfully, I remembered last week. My friend and colleague Debi married her longtime sweetheart Dave in a beautiful backyard ceremony on July 4th which is their favorite holiday. Dave proposed July 4th 2013 and if I remember correctly their first date was on July 4th. I may have made that up, but it sounds good. It was a simple ceremony with family and close friends.

They have a beautiful backyard. Hurricane Arthur came through the night before and thankfully gave us rain and no wind, so everything looked fresh and green. The weather was perfect! The patio below was a perfect spot for the ceremony. Debi wanted me to use tissue poms on shepherd hooks to bring a festive and fun element. She invited guests to come in flip flops and shorts and sundresses or whatever they wanted to feel comfortable.

Debi asked for a breakaway bouquet. It seemed as though she was holding one bouquet, but as she came down the aisle she gave a rose to her aunt who is like a mother to her, she gave another rose to her new mother-in-law, and a third rose to a niece who holds a special place in her heart. She wanted a red rose, a white rose, and a pink rose. The picture makes the pink and red rose look similar but there was a slight difference.

As guests arrived they were invited to complete cards with "well wishes" for the couple and to pick up a bottle of bubbles. The bouquet mimicked the pink, red, and white rose theme. For this beautiful yard I decided to go with a simple loose arrangement that looked as if it had just been picked from the garden.

The beautiful bride with her bouquet. The necklace was given to her by her husband and was his great-grandmother's.

The happy couple with Debi's niece and Dave's mother as witnesses. You can see each one holding the rose that Debi presented them with. Dave's shirt was a light aegean blue though my phone camera makes it appear white. The ribbons on the pom poms and flowers matched his shirt. Congratulations Debi and Dave!!

CPC's 25th Anniversary

Last night my church celebrated it's 25th anniversary at the Hilton. It was a fun night with former pastors back for a visit, delicious food, and a glorious cake by Little Sister Cakes. I was asked to do the decorations for the tables, stage, and cake table. They wanted something simple and elegant. What better colors for a silver anniversary than silver, white, and green. I also used a lot of natural elements.

One of the table decorations was a wooden candlestick spray-painted silver with a globe of baby's breath.

A second table decoration was simply a vase of branches spray-painted silver with rice to anchor. Silver painted leaves were also in the vase.

A third table decoration was a simple cylinder of pine cones with battery operated white lights. (Not the greatest picture and I evidently only took one.)

There were three reserved tables that had simple arrangements of blush roses, baby's breath, and greenery.

For the stage I used two large tulip shaped glass vases that had curly willow spray-painted silver with cream roses, bells of ireland, and baby's breath.

For the cake table I used grape vine that I found in the woods behind my home that was sporadically spray-painted with silver. I strategically placed silver leaves and pine cones to appear to grow out of the vine.

Fall is Here

It has been a busy summer so I haven't done much in the way of arranging until recently. It was time for a new arrangement for church and a wreath for the door at home.

I just created one arrangement because the stage area gets a lot of use in the fall with our fall fest and the children beginning to practice for the Christmas program. Luckily this arrangement only looks heavy. I used a mix of dried and artificial flowers in this piece. The eucalyptus, seed pods, yarrow, and cat tails are all dried. The mums, dahlias, artichokes, and leaves are artificial. The container is a barrel, which I think is fun for fall. 

Our church is hosting the area presbytery meeting this month so I was asked to make an arrangement for the foyer too. I found this great large cornucopia at the pottery several weeks ago and just had to have it. I decided this was the perfect use for it. I created some asymmetry with an arrangement containing a cream rose, a pomegranate, a seed pod, an artichoke, an ornamental cabbage, some leaves, and wheat.

I had three more pomegranates and some chinese lantern flowers that I removed from their branches. I placed these items in a glass bowl. I love these colors!

After the fun at church, I was in the mood to make something for the house. I used the rest of my wheat and some red and orange grass. I added a curled bit of bamboo for interest on the right side of the wreath. I used a greenery base. This picture was taken with my phone so it's a little fuzzy.

Happy Fall!