When you see something you LOVE, sometimes it’s impossible to explain why. Maybe it’s the style, or the color, or the….. well, whatever it is, it’s just right. Perfect really. Kim at Geranium Lake Flowers manages to hit that mark all the time. Which is even more of a feat, considering that some of her clients are wild and some mild. Kim’s event designs are like a really awesome Pandora station. Oodles of variety, unique, and perfect for the tone of the celebration.
This was our first chance to shoot a big event at the relatively new Leftbank Annex. With a woodland theme in mind, Kim transformed the open space for a Elliot’s Bar Mitzvah celebration. Kim deftly split the space: scrumptious blue and chocolate decor on the adult side. On the other, a groovy space for youngsters complete with faux blackjack tables.
In the gallery below, you’ll find all the lovely details from this gorgeous event. I hear that Kim will appear on “The Today Show” sometime in July. Do you think she’ll remember us when she’s famous? Well done Kim!
Oh, what a pretty wedding this was. The smart Northwest bride knows that the only sure thing about Portland’s springtime weather is that it is unpredictable. Consequently, Ashley’s plans for her wedding to Nick included all the major festivities to take place indoors. The Crown Ballroom is such a rich and luscious place, a wonderful spot to be on a breezy first day of May. Lucky for us, though, was that the afternoon cleared enough for portraits outdoors in the park blocks. Since this couple’s wedding date coincided with a May Day, we all shared a laugh when our primary portrait location was the scene of a pro-labor rally. No problem for this wedding party though, since all the park blocks are equally pretty.
All the beautiful details for this wonderful day were carefully planned by Ashley with a little help from Molli Barss at Soiree. The most memorable detail for me was Ashley’s gorgeous bridal bouquet made of vintage brooches. Besides being beyond fabulous, they suited a bride who is allergic to flowers. In fact, the florist, Lillypilly, created all kinds of lush, textured beautiful flower decor with nary blossom in sight. And in a twist on tradition, Ashley and Nick choose small individual cakes for every guest. What a sweet little treat.
Congratulations to you both, Nick and Ashley. Thank you for having us along on your sweet and lovely wedding day. Visit this link to see a selection of our wedding favorites.
UPDATE JUNE 1, 2010. Ashley and Nick’s wedding gallery is now available. Visit this link to see the photos from their lovely wedding day.
Last weekend, we presented at the Bravo Bridal Event, a little wedding show. The way Bravo designs the show is by assigning a florist and planner to create a theme and decor for each room. We were lucky enough to be assigned a room with Adria Sparhawk, the lovely talent behind Lavish Flora. While I had seen her work before, I hadn’t meet Adria in person, and was glad to finally do so. Our room’s theme was Vintage Spring, beautifully executed in a sweet and pretty butter yellow, red and white.
Lavish created the floral designs for Roger and Lynn’s lovely wedding last summer.
If you’re looking for a florist with a unique eye, loads of creativity and tons of personal attention, check out lavishflora.com.
The phone is beginning to ring and I am getting the feeling that people are starting to think about weddings again. And if you’re planning a wedding here in Portland, you might take inspiration from this summer wedding at the Town Club. Tropical flowers and vibrant warm colors played a role in the gorgeous wedding flowers and decor in a way that was both simple and dramatic.
Adrian’s bridal bouquet included white, pink and and acid green orchids in a classic round shape with a colllar of sturdy dark green foliage. The groom’s bout’ was a single shapely orchid backed by glossy straps of foliage and beargrass. Check out the sweet floral headdresses on those oh-so-cute flowergirls. I’ll bet you can imagine how hard it was to keep those little dudes inside their mini madras sportcoats.
The table flowers were especially handsome. While I didn’t picture the huge (5 or 6 feet) vases towering with curly willow branches and long stems of white orchids, I thought the smaller, companion table flowers were worth noting. Simple, sculptural and dramatic, each square vase contained a spray of hot pink orchids with a ruff of tangerine dahlias all anchored with beach pebbles.
Because orchids are widely cultivated as cut flowers, and because the companion greens are always available, this would be a great look for any time of year in Oregon. However, in this instance, the orange dahlias suggest later summer, so this particular combination would be more of an August or September option. But let’s say you’re getting married in June or July. You could substitute salmon colored roses for the dahlias for a similar look.
You can always call us for ideas and inspiration for your Northwest wedding. Over the years we’ve worked with all the best florists, caterers, bakers and stylists in the area. Drop us a line anytime and we’re happy to share our opinions with you.
While cruising though our photo archive, hunting for bright color story, I rediscovered Amanda and Alec’s cute-as-ever images from their wedding at Kruger’s. What struck me for this post, was not only how lovely the flowers were, but also that it might be possible for a crafty gal or guy to tackle something similar as a do-it-yourself project. Of course, that would come with a warning that you’d have to be insanely organized or a masochist to want to, but hey, you could.
I think the key to why these flowers are so lovely is that they don’t try too hard to be anything but simple. There’s nothing exotic or overly-constructed. Every flower pictured here is readily available in the Portland area in the summer, and based on the look, it wouldn’t matter if you had a particular bloom. For example, if you had more dahlias and fewer gerberas, it wouldn’t change to the whole look. The key, in my opinion, is keeping the color scheme tight–stick to a relatively narrow range of colors adjacent to each other on the color wheel.
I can see this working with a range of rosy colors, say soft pink through magenta and purple. Or white through cream all the way to pale yellow. Choosing your scheme this way insures that no matter what blossoms come your way at wedding time, you can surely find a pretty assortment without having to pay extra for a particular shade or shape.
One more plus: it’s easy to pick an accent color when your color scheme is analogous–for example here, Amanda used burgundy and yellow ribbons to tie her personal flowers, but nearly any soft color could have worked. Think about how well a soft, grayish blue would look with cream and white, or also be a great companion to a pinky purple scheme.
Brave? Try it.
I love wedding flowers! And photographing the bridal bouquet is fun from our perspective because, well, the flowers are so pretty to begin with. Picking out your personal flowers is one of the most enjoyable part of planning your wedding.
Here’s a year’s worth of my favorite flowers from our last season. I loosely named each photo based on the month when you might find those flowers in the market. Drop me a line if you have any questions about any of them in particular–I can look up which Portland-area florist created that bouquet. Stay tuned for a future post on my favorite boutonnaires from 2008.
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Tags: bridal bouquets, flowers, freesia, gerbera, hydrangea, hydrangeas, lillies, orchids, personal flowers, roses, wedding flowers
When months of rain and grey skies make me blue, I like to look back on this sunny wedding in Cannon Beach. Joe and Robin got hitched on a perfect, blue summer afternoon. Their florist constructed a simple bamboo canopy, decorated on each corner with a cluster of orchids, white roses, hypericum berries, grasses and a few other things I don’t know the names for. Robin’s bouquet, which still ranks as the prettiest I’ve ever seen, was mostly green orchids and white roses. Satin ribbons in shades of green and white accented all the floral decor.
The menswear in this wedding was particularly handsome and weather appropriate. The guys were reasonably cool in their khaki cotton suits, and I am certain the flip flops were a hit with both the men and the women. (By the end of the ceremony, I think I was carrying about 3 pounds of sand in each of my shoes.)
The cake was decorated with calla lillies and sprays of beach grass. The shape was unusual in that consisted of alternating square and round layers. Besides being yummy, it was elegant and lovely. Perhaps there’s an idea or two for you here is you’re planning a beach wedding in Oregon.
If I was getting married this summer (and I was worried about my budget) I would have a wedding just like the one pictured here. What I appreciated about this wedding was that it was both simple and elegant. It downplayed the formalities and instead emphasized the conviviality of the celebration.
Jennifer’s dress and flowers were clean-lined without being stark or spare. Her bouquet was a simple construction of lillies, gathered with plain satin ribbon. The flowing ends of her halter-style gown ties gave just a hint of a train. At the last minute, she decided to tuck two simple orchids into her loose updo, which I think was the perfect touch. The groom wore a yummy blue chalk striped suit. I think his suit /tie combo said “stylish” as much as it said “getting married”.
Shortly after arriving, the guests gathered in a lower meadow for a short ceremony. Since nature’s decor is pretty darn spectacular, the only set up required for the ceremony was about 50 white resin chairs for the guests. As the sun was setting, the wedding party and guests strolled up to the larger medow for wine under the trees, followed by a wonderful family style meal beside the lake. The caterer set up the meal on one long table, making the evening friendly and conversational.
Perhaps you’d like a simple lakeside dinner as your wedding celebration?
You would never know from looking at these photos that is was acually 105 degrees on Brian and Stephanie’s wedding day at the Waverly Golf Club. Everyone looks so fresh and unwilted. It’s a darn good thing there are not any pics of John and I, since we were both looking seriously wilted. The color scheme here, which is so soft and pretty, but not too girly, is based on the wonderful purpley-blue of summer hydrandeas. Besides being completely sturdy in the heat, these particular blossoms plays nicely with other colors, including acid green, pink, soft blue and true lavender. (Here’s a whoo-hoo to Geranium Lake Flowers for the pretty flowers)
Steph’s maids wore simple knee length black dresses (wouldn’t a girlfriend appreciate that!) and the guys were outfitted in basic dark suits. It was classy, stylish, personal and sharp without being too tux-ey or too matchy.
Check out the great colors from this September wedding in Portland. All the warm colors were there: red, orange, yellow, tangerine. It was like all of summer’s vibrant palette in one big dose of fabulosity. The venue was the Sculpture Garden at the Portland Art Museum. We’ve shot events there before, but never had we seen the area tented off in such a cool manner. EJP events and The Prop Shop collaborated on this decor, including this billowing entryway, which effectively screened the celebrations from the street. Just inside the entrance is the area where the ceremony took place and then later was transformed into an outdoor cocktail lounge with ottomans, tables and outdoor heaters. Geranium Lake Flowers created the floral decor. That fantastic cake was from the now-defunct Joseph’s Dessert Company.
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