A Benefit for Kristen
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
Two days after Valentine’s Day there was a horrific and saddening robbery and stabbing at Asrai Garden – a flower shop we both love and look up to. It was senseless and terrifying. Monday, March 5th, is a fundraiser to benefit Kristen, the girl who was attacked. She is recovering from surgery and healing.
Leaping
Wednesday, February 29, 2012
It’s Leap Day, and the word “leap” is sticking out today. The strides we’ve made (especially in the last few years) are large & long. Although sometimes tiring, we’re so very proud of all our work and so very grateful for your support. Thank you!!!
~~~
In other news, here is a beautiful Chicago wedding from this past November. When I met Anna, I thought she was a designer. Her ideas were so beautiful & well thought out. Mix-matched metallics & crystal embellishments contrasted with soft blooms and deep textures. Enjoy!
Anna’s bouquet, above, is rich in texture.
~~~
The following photos are dreamy, and all from Pen Carlson.
~~~
~~~
~~~
Congratulations to Anna & Chris!! And a lovely nod to Courtney Callahan Paper, Chicago Lighting Design, Dettagli Weddings, Spiaggia, & Pen Carlson!!
Baby Critter
Wednesday, February 22, 2012
My friend Joan from Five Grain Events is expecting a little critter any moment. Jaclyn Simpson (Photography) had a great idea to host a little wedding industry get together, and shower her with some sweetness for the wee one, soon to be! We chose a woodland theme, knowing right away to call Suzy (Lily Red Studio), requesting some adorableness for the paper items and invites! Jaclyn took lots of photos of the afternoon, teatime potluck. Here are just a handful for you to enjoy.
~~~
~~~
~~~
~~~
~~~
(Bootleg wasn’t too thrilled with all the ladies in the house…)
~~~
It was a lovely afternoon, celebrating with the sweetest ladies. Joan, we’re so excited to meet the little one soon!!!
Be Mine
Monday, February 13, 2012
Darling.
Love.
Sweetheart.
Honey.
We’re still taking orders. We’re open until 7:00pm on February 14th.
xoxoxoxox
~~~
~~~
Confessions of a florist: French lentils and stuffy noses.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
Sneeze. Blow nose. Wipe & repeat. Four days leading up to Valentine’s Day, and I’ve quite the cold. I’m sitting here in bed with my laptop, Davey’s laptop (playing Law & Order SVU…many of you know this not-so-guilty pleasure of mine), a box of tissues and a file folder filled with invoices for quickbooks. However, productivity is non existent.
This cold has me foggy and slow, and so rather than continuing to work on my accounting duties I began considering travel plans. A happy little diversion. Cities to explore, roads to walk, and tonight it was rivers and ruins. Bannerman’s Castle to be exact. Flooded & falling apart, a small island in the Hudson River. Over grown with foliage and mystery. Tendrils and vines climbing through the decrepit, possibly haunted walls. Such a curious place, and thanks to Shaun O’Boyle for capturing the above image. You can see more of this historic, floating mansion right HERE.
Despite the runny nose and pressure in my head, I’m looking forward to this weekend. Valentine’s day seems daunting when we first think about all the work, but each year we’re more and more organized. And the variety in the boutique is exciting. Plus, I’m still feeling really good after attending a two day workshop for wedding professionals. Working on efficiency and a business plan for a new endeavor. Still a ways off, but you have to start somewhere.
Today while processing we were talking a lot about color and a lot about meals. Caleb mentioned the beauty of french lentils. (This photo is taken from HERE)
All of us found them immediately intriguing. Flecks of blue, shades of champagne and slate. A fantastic palette, and I wrote some thoughts for later. Wouldn’t it be wonderful to write a book based on meals with flowers inspired by the ingredients? I hope I just didn’t give that idea away.
Anne & David
Monday, February 6, 2012
Anne & David were married last September and Caleb designed some beautiful arrangements in the sweetest color palette. Thank you so much Anne, for sharing them with us, and thank you to James Julius for the photos!!
~~~
~~~
~~~
Anne & David’s Americana vision was right up our alley. Simple and sweet, with the prettiest colors. Also, a little nod sent over to Lily Red Studio who designed all the gorgeous paper goods.
Congratulation Anne & David!!!!
Mollie Makes Magazine
Sunday, February 5, 2012
One of my dearest friends, Jessie from Simply Jessie Photography and I work on very simple shoots from time to time. They’re my favorite kind. A real couple, simple styling and a few sweet kisses. Naturally I was elated when Jessie contacted me to share that a photo shoot we worked on together from last year was going to be featured in Mollie Makes Magazine! You might remember this *adorable* couple, Leanne & Gordon, from the Elizabeth Anne Designs feature inspired by heart shaped cookies, peonies, anemones and her fabulous red hair.
I was even more delighted when we discovered how absolutely darling the magazine is! Serious cuteness with wonderful tutorials (A cactus pincushion?!!) and inspiring couples. Making, doing, and loving! Some of my favorite verbs!
I don’t want to give away all the goodness, so here is a little shot of the first page.
Aaaand, why not enjoy some additional Valentine inspiration that didn’t make it into the print, but I knew you’d enjoy anyway.
~~~
What are you doing for Valentine’s Day? This weekend I’m pulling out my paint brushes and canvas for a little surprise. I’m glad that Davey rarely reads this blog, so he won’t have a clue of my plans. I’m excited for the Valentine shipments to arrive. Something sweet is definitely in the air.
xo
Indie Wed with Fleur & Greatest Expectations
Friday, February 3, 2012
A week ago we participated in Indie Wed, a really fun bridal show in Chicago. Fleur shared a booth with our dear friends Greatest Expectations, basing our look on a wintry theme. We were thinking snowy castles with crystals and lace. Blues, ivory, cream and grays with touches of a natural woodland brown. We stayed away from the rustic trend, and kept it warm with glow and sparkle. Our lovely friend Jaclyn Simpson took some wonderful photos for us!
Caleb and are are honestly quite a little camera shy, we think the booth behind us (also featuring Sugar Chic Designs and Ruby the Fox) is way better looking.
The neutral colors make us really so happy to be around. And we were very excited that so many attendees enjoyed the display, commenting on the cotton accents.
The overall look was a little bit magical and a little bit elegant.
Our bridal bouquet was wrapped with a maypole ribbon trimming.
A few bleached peacock feathers and lovely lace ribbon and delicate doilies were scattered among the collection of blooms and candles.
A crystal canopy draped across the doors that Davey and I picked up from The Rebuilding Exchange. We painted them and made them stand on their own, creating an intimate backdrop. We’ve really been into magical moments lately. Giraffes wearing bonnets, fancy tea parties with a fox and a loon, children’s books and mysterious mirrors.
It was a fun day, a long day, an inspiring day and an overall great day. We loved meeting so many couples, hanging out with our friends in the industry and just getting down with some creativity. Thank you to everyone who visited our Indie Wed booth!!!!
~~~
These days we’re catching up on a lot of paper work (right.., it’s not all creativity over here, sadly), and starting to sharpen our pruners for valentine’s day. Reds and rubies, blush and fuchsia, chocolate and plum. Garden roses and sprays, tulips and ranunculus. We’ve ordered our favorite floral goodies and are anticipating the shipments arriving. Whether you’re looking to bring out your inner vampire with blood red roses and dark accents, or your soft and romantic side with ranunculus and gloriosa lilies in milk glass, it’s going to be pretty no matter what.
Winter inspired shoot
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
During December we were very lucky to create some flowers under the design of Katie from Jayne Weddings. It was a dreamy, almost sad vision. Simply Jessie caught the moments so beautifully. Today it was featured in Ruffled Blog!
Below is one of our very most favorite images! The gown was designed by Mignonette Bridal.
~~~
Above, the beautiful and slightly dramatic paper design is by Ruby the Fox.
~~~
Thank you so much to everyone for all their hard work on this afternoon! It turned out so beautiful!
xoxox!
