Tangerine Tango was Pantone's Color of the Year for 2012 and it is still hanging around as one of this years spring go to's. As spring is winding down tangerine is a great introduction to summer. It pairs nicely with soft pastels and blush tones that are so common at this time of year. We really like the idea of using the color in literal terms and adding pieces of fruit to arrangements or place settings. Tangerines or even kumquats, which are much smaller, would look incredible amongst lush florals. Carve out an opening for a tea light or slice the fruit open for more added interest and texture and you can also enjoy the fresh citrus aroma.
Naked Cakes
Naked cakes are still having their moment and this is a look we aren't mad at. Completely bare or letting just a little bit of the cake peek through they all look equally delicious as they are stunning. This look tends to go really well with rustic or vintage weddings. Since the cake is so plain this is a great opportunity to add your specific style to this focal point.
Michael and Dan's June 14th Wedding
Often times weddings have some sort of feminine flair, whether it be lace overlays on the table or flowers trailing down the cake. However, for Michael and Dan this was not the case. Dark Horse Distillery was the perfect location for their masculine and sophisticated style. The mix of brick, wood, stainless steel and leather really gave them that vibe they were looking for. White roses, hydrangea, and calla lilies were grouped together on the tables in wood containers that lent to the couple's classic style. To keep the cakes from being too simple but still not over the top, boxwood sprigs were added as a final touch.
Ceremony & Reception
Dark Horse Distillery
Photographer
Cornerstone Photography
Pantone Spring of '15 Color Inspiration: Lucite Green
Pantone's Lucite Green can be seen to some as mint, seafoam or aqua. However, most can agree that this is a refreshing and clean color. Succulents, eucalyptus and air plants are a good way to use this color naturally without looking tacky. Let this color take center stage or pair it with a spectrum of other vibrant colors and your event will have a unique flare that many will remember.
Stacy and Ryan's March 28th Wedding
Small rustic touches like burlap and sunflowers are what Stacy and Ryan were looking for on their special day. Sunflowers seemed to be the theme and were everywhere from the bridesmaids bouquets and centerpieces to the wedding cake and escort "cards". 28 Event space has a really cool Kansas City mural. And once the lights were dimmed after the ceremony the bistro lights and paper lanterns that were generously strung gave the illusion of the moon and stars amongst the Kansas City night.
Ceremony & Reception
28 Event Space
Photographer
Freeland Photography
Sunflower Place Cards
Chocolate Bizzare
Emily and Peter's September 7th Wedding
Emily's parents, Sandy and Steve, were one of our first weddings 32 years ago! There were so many memories reworked into Emily's day. The mix of pretty pastels paired with brighter shades turned out so beautiful and gave Emily and Peter a timeless look for their wedding day. We kept Emily's bouquet soft and romantic with a mix of pinks, purples and creamy yellow; the stock added a lovely fragrance. We added coral hypericum berries and coxcomb to the bridesmaids bouquets to brighten them a bit. To transform the chuppah into a lush floral piece, southern smilax was attached on all corners and then draped down and filled in with flowers. This is a great way to duplicate the feeling of spring time wisteria. Tiny twinkling lights were also strung in to give it a little sparkle.
Ceremony & Reception
Kehilath Israel Synagogue
PHOTOGRAPHER
Freeland Photography
Pantone Spring of '15 Color Inspiration: Custard
Enter the world of custard: a cheerful and sunny color of a softer shade of yellow. Without being too bright or overpowering custard brings the same happy effect of yellow. It's hard to go wrong with custard; very versatile and can be easily used as a neutral. We love it with pale pinks, lavender and grey for a vintage look. Instead of bright white, custard can be the palest color in a bouquet of bright colors.
Fresh Easter Ideas
Have you dyed your eggs or decided how to set the table for Easter yet? If not, here are some ideas that will give the day a unique look that wont take you forever.
Go Natural with Farm Fresh Eggs
Who said you have to dye your eggs for Easter? Farm fresh eggs come in lovely shades of light browns, tans, and blues. Gold or silver leaf would look elegant or use a white paint pen like the picture below along with feathers for that boho vibe.
Simple Floral Display
You really don't have to work too hard at making a spring themed floral display. This display is simple and would be easy to add your own spin to it. Here, all you need are a few small clear glasses or vases, some blooming stems, eggshells, and of course a little water.
Don't Forget About the Kids!
Easter morning is always exciting for the little ones. Grab their baskets and off they go to find the most candy filled eggs. Why not change it up a little this year? Apartment Therapy has 9 ideas that are sure to give the kids and you a good time.
Table for...
No matter how many people will be sitting at the table it is always fun to do it up right with name cards and beautiful food. How about eggshell place cards and a cute dessert display.
Art Theme Bat Mitzvah
As a florist, every once in a while, we get requests for non-floral custom designs. This bat mitzvah is one of those occasions. The young girl has a real love of art and wanted to display her own masterpieces. So instead of floral centerpieces and buffet arrangements we created one of a kind props that went with her rainbow and art theme.
Draped fabric hung from suspended paint cans to give the affect of spilling paint at the entry of The Gallery Event Space and also at the dessert table. Each table had larger than life paint brushes, palettes, tubes of paint and more suspended cans of "paint".
Lighting
Innovative Lighting and Design
Balloons
BalloonsByLaurie@yahoo.com
Erin and Michael's August 2nd Wedding
We had 2 weddings on this August weekend that shared the same colors, yellow flowers and bright blue bridesmaid dresses. Erin and Michael were one of those weddings. The yellow and blue looked so summery together!
The weather was hot but still perfect for outdoor shots. I love how lush the Kaufman Garden looks with a small bit of Kansas City popping out in the background. Once we moved indoors the blend of yellows looked great with the modern setting of The Gallery. We used local zinnias in shades of yellow. The freesia really made the room come alive with it's fragrance!
Ceremony
Cathedral of The Immaculate Conception
PHOTOGRAPHER
Chris Hsieh of La Brisa Photography
Spring Flowers In Bloom
Spring weddings on pinterest have proven to be a teaching opportunity for me. Brides find fabulous pins of bouquets created from flowers that are completely out of season or are quite expensive or difficult to ship. So many advice columns seem to beat the statement "in order to save money be sure to use flowers in season" to death. Since the 90's you can get almost any flower year round and they don't cost that much more. So for that reason I like to use flowers that are at their best and ONLY available a few weeks out of the year. Be more unique than your friend getting married in July. Sure you love roses, hydrangea, stock, and lilies but they are not specific to any season. When you are entertaining ten years later, I would want saavy guests to look at your silver framed bridal portrait and recognize through the bouquet what time of year you were married.
Tulips are first shipped starting around Thanksgiving and are waning by Mother's Day. That is a long season but seem to be most prolific February through April. Like roses, there are a huge variety of shapes and colors and their sleek texture and sheen can add so much. But in warm weather they will blow wide open and look just like a lily! They are also one of the only commercially grown flowers that continue to grow after they are cut. I find that desirable but if you are a roundy moundy domed girl then they might not look right to you.
Yellow daffodils [also called jonquils or narcissus] are around for just a few weeks. They do not like warm rooms and in a bouquet they can "leak" so be sure to seal the ends with layers of ribbon.
Hyacinths are extremely fragrant so a few stems go a long way. We like to cut their individual buds and glue them into bouquets or corsages. There is nothing like a punch of pink or purple Hyacinth to amp your style to the next level!
Ranunculus are also a cool weather favorite. They look like very fragile mini peonies but are sturdy enough for boutonnieres. Since they look so much like a miniature rose, I tend to use them in different colors from any roses I am working into the design
Now on to my biggest "ask". Peonies are everywhere in print! Not so much in reality!! I love them just like you but here is my quandary. They are shipped April through June but are at their best in May. The pink ones tend toward a bluish cast so if you are adding them to a yellow based grouping they may be a little "off". Then New Zealand ships their crop Oct. and Nov. and, like lobster, are at market value. So if $20 a bloom is a lot to you, move on.
Sweet Pea is not very tall but oh are they wonderfully fragrant. The Japanese are growing some at almost 12 inches! Again, warm weather is not very friendly to their tender petals.
Locally grown purple, lavender and white lilac is so sweet and fits in perfectly with vintage weddings. The long, thin stemmed varieties have little fragrance, are grown in greenhouses, and sometimes just won't drink water. Maybe it is because they are shipped from Europe and that long ride gives them a headache!
Anemones are one of Mother Natures' few true blue posies but their availability is not consistent. That deep blue center is so velvety and unique but if they are open too long you get to watch black crud fall out of your bouquet. Just sayin'! Last Memorial weekend I had a bride who insisted on adding white anemones to all of her bridesmaid bouquets and the third replacement batch I found that week was just adequate.
As the spring season moves into consistent warmer weather the flower world flips into a whole different set of choices. Maybe April was your first choice for a wedding date but the church bumped you to July.....we florists do what we can to give you that amazing look you have had in your head for years. But if the day is 85 degrees my spring flowers will be very angry with you!
2 Different shades of pink Peonies- blossoms and blooms. Paul Versluis
Fully opened soft pink Majolica Roses, white open Ranunculus, blush pink Stock, pink Mini Callas with fresh water pearls. Paul Versluis
Tulips, White Hydrangea, Coral Hypericum, fully opened Free Spirit Roses, Yellow Viking Mums, and Hens & Chicks. Freeland Photography
White Peonies, Juliet David Austin Roses, White Hydrangea, Pink and Blush Spray Roses. RPM Photography and Cinematography
Forcing Branches
A long winter season calls for a special celebration when spring starts to arrive. Bringing dormant branches indoors and watching them burst into bud is a simple pleasure anybody can have!
The whole process lasts about a month- it could get you hooked on needing nature in your home.
When looking for your branches remember, the more buds the more blossoms you will have. Also, longer stems will make for a more dramatic design.
Cut the branches at an angle. This will help increase your branches water intake.
Fill your container with room temperature water. If you have floral preservative packets left from past bouquets be sure to use them. But a splash of hydrogen peroxide will keep the stinky stem clogging bacteria from growing.
Keep in sunlight to help the opening buds remain stronger.
Eventually leaves will emerge as the blossoms pollinate and fall. This can extend the arrangement a few more days.
Along with obvious flowering choices like cherry, crab, magnolia, forsythia, and spirea you can try shade tree branches too. Red maple is really cool with its long seed clusters.
Fun Etsy Finds
Etsy seems to be the home of homemade nowadays. And for something custom this is a great place to start with everything from vintage wedding rings to custom stickers. Here are a few of our favorite finds that help ease and add to your wedding day.
Mother Knows Best
I admit it- There are no new ideas! We absorb influences around us and recreate them to make them our own. I have learned so much from mothers who have brought very useful suggestions to our meetings.
Erin and Richie October 25th Wedding
Erin and Richie celebrated their wedding at the Berg event site. As is so popular today they took pre-ceremony photos off site and they choose the grounds of the Nelson Art Gallery. We met them there with bouquets. I noticed that Erin picked up on one of the best trends- her bridesmaids choose whatever style white cocktail dress they preferred. The wedding party went back to The Berg for their ceremony under a Chuppah that we created with 4 birch poles and floral medallions. For the reception we took off their tallis and moved the 4 individual columns to flank the huge windows which made a backdrop for the dance floor. You could see them throughout the reception.
RECEPTION AND CEREMONY
The Berg Event Space
PHOTOGRAPHER
Paper Crane Photo
