Last spring I was walking through our wholesale market looking for a great vessel to house a multiple orchid plant design for a favorite client. She receives several orchid plants a year and I was hoping to find a fresh way to present her Mother’s Day orchids. Out of the corner of my eye I spotted an attractive square grey basket (I LOVE grey; but that’s another post). A basket? I was slightly afraid to walk into freshdesign with it, fearing KC and MG would think I was completely off my rocker. However the soft yellow orchids looked beautiful, we decided to go for it and I had expanded my horizons.
Three days later we received a request for a large lush Mother’s Day design – tightly designed monochromatic premium flowers. Easy. Oh and it needed to be in a basket. “A basket,” I repeated. Cool as a cucumber – no problem.
It was cold the other day, really cold. So instead of thinking of all the bad things about winter (like my frozen face while out walking the dogs) I gave some thought to the good things – like winter weddings. While the cold months might not be an obvious choice, for those who brave it the memories can be magical.
We had the privilege last winter of being part of Kate and Steven’s sophisticated wedding day, designed by the ever-creative David Caruso of Dynamic Events. The rock-n-roll inspired event was full of warm texture, ample candlelight and personal touches. Our talented friends from Front Room Photography graciously shared their images with us and these are among my favorites:
Kate and Steven are as warm and kind as they are gorgeous so I was not surprised when Kate’s photo appeared on the cover of Veil Magazine. Definitely cover-girl worthy!
Recently we have seen wedding design soften, with renewed interest in vintage vessels, movement in the flowers and an eye toward sophisticated romantic style. About two years ago a gorgeous couple arrived at freshdesign for a consultation appointment with inspiration photos in hand. The photo that sticks in my mind still was a galvanized watering can overflowing with Queen Ann’s lace, dahlias and pods from InStyle Magazine. As I did a slow blink, all I could see was our shelves and shelves of clear glass square vases. Oh boy. But this couple was so engaging and sure of how they wanted their day to feel, that it quickly made sense to me as well. Months later they dropped off an eclectic mix of vessels they had spent the summer collecting and we were on our way. It goes without saying their wedding day was a stylish affair at the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center, but if I had to pick one word to describe it, I would choose “inviting”. We were thrilled to be their florist, but I would have loved to be a guest.
The gorgeous photos are courtesy of Craig John Photography. It was at this wedding that I met Craig and he was the perfect fit for the day – an incredibly warm personality with a sharp eye behind the camera. We are grateful for these images of the day. Since then we have enjoyed this vintage-inspired trend, but for us, Erika and Michael were the original.
Having spent Friday and then some watching the splendid, inspired, romantic wedding of Princess Catherine and Prince William it seemed like the perfect time to write about my English friend.
Last year we worked with a bride who brought us an unusual and very pretty inspiration photo from a magazine for her bouquet. Lush roses, fabulous texture and these delicate black crystals. Those crystals. There are crystals and there are delicate black crystals and the difference is oh so important. I looked and looked and googled and googled and came up crystal-less. Next, I emailed the florist, in England, in the hopes she could tell me the manufacturer’s name. Instead she offered to send them to me and one week later they arrived in my mailbox. Really! In lieu of payment she asked for — Butterfinger candy bars. It is one of my favorite (see, that word again) stories of 2010 and a good personal reminder (for me) that you are really never too busy to help. Thank you to Sarah at Leafy Couture UK for gorgeous bouquet inspiration and of course, saving the day!!
Photograph compliments of Artist Group.
It’s been fun to collect and organize the photographs and of course, reminisce about the events, the brides, the flowers(!!) of 2010. When you see the photos, in a physical stack on the conference table, it’s staggering to think about the sheer quantity of flowers that entered and left our studio. The photo below, taken by the talented Jessica Kaminski showcases a mere three mokara orchid blossoms, but to me the image speaks volumes. It’s simple, the angle is amazing and what I see first is not the flowers but the hands of a mother or grandmother who loved our bride and groom.
While the weather on this early summer day at the Schlitz Audubon Nature Center was not perfect, I am pretty sure no one noticed. The bridal party was fun, the palette was beautiful and Erin fashionably and thoughtfully wove our feathered friends into her wedding design. I am still on the hunt for something similar to the necklaces the bridesmaids wore. A few more photos (all taken by Jessica Kaminski) from a gorgeous day……
Last fall in the heart of it all, I found myself at a big pumpkin sale at a little church in Whitefish Bay. We were preparing for a fabulous, colorful wedding designed by the fabulous himself David Caruso of Dynamic Events. The design was a florist dream — colorful, diverse, sophisticated and the couple gave us plenty of creative latitude to do our thing. Mia and Luke — straight from LA and as kind as they were gorgeous, asked for a few baby pumpkins in some of their centerpieces to celebrate the season and on a 70 degree afternoon I was happy to go pumpkin shopping for them.
There was much to love about this day from the lunch reception at Lake Park Bistro to the tented evening event but I think the best is a true deep laugh from the bride. This is what weddings are about.
Remember when I mentioned creative latitude? — Mia and Luke , along with David, were enthusiastic about pairing the classics, like hydrangeas, deep red roses and tulips with kale, manzanita and of course, baby pumpkins. How much fun did we have? A lot.
Another big thank you to Front Room Photography for crazy gorgeous photos.
Full disclosure: I do not make bouquets. As a result I have tremendous admiration and respect for the talented freshdesign designers who create our bouquets. I watch these bouquets happen and truly appreciate the talent, design eye and patience required. Bridal bouquets are the showpiece in wedding flower design — much photographed, much anticipated and much appreciated. So it’s natural that bouquet photographs are an important part of our portfolio and warrant their own category on our website.
But. There is so much other beauty, thought and detail in an inspired wedding day that I thought it would be nice to talk about it in a little feature on our blog called, “beyond the bouquet.” I hope you enjoy.
I love a bride with a strong vision and a sense of humor to go along with it. As soon as I met Katie and her mom Maryann I knew it would be a fun collaborative process to design Katie’s wedding flowers. And by flowers I really mean candles and manzanita branches as this was her wish for her Pfister Hotel reception. The curvy hurricane candles paired with the architectural structure of the manzanita set the already gorgeous Imperial Ballroom aglow. It was a day of classic sophistication that we so enjoyed being a part of — captured by the amazing skills of Molly from m three studio. A thank you to her for sharing her beautiful images with us.
ps – if you would like to see Molly’s post of Katie’s wedding, check it out here. Molly’s blog is a must read.
On a gorgeous day last fall, we enjoyed a visit from Neil from Front Room Photography. He was kind enough to photograph centerpieces we designed for a 70th birthday party. I absolutely love how he captured the rich color and the soft reflection of these designs in our glass top table. This glass table is high maintenance – Windex, Windex, Windex! After seeing this photo, I Windex much less begrudgingly. So worth it.
