Real Weddings: Elizabeth and Josh, Kansas City

Elizabeth is a DIY kind of gal, so for her wedding she just need a few personal flowers, and she handled the ceremony and reception decor.  A classic fall bouquet went perfectly with the simple black bridsmaids dresses and black tuxes.  We added in fun textural elements like green trick, and billy balls, and the giant orange dahlias were simply beautiful.  Photos by Lindsay Pierce Photography and emmy-ray.  

Thanks so much to Elizabeth and Josh for letting us be part of your day, and to Lindsay for the the referral! 

xo - Emily

Real Weddings: Courtney and Tim, The Foundation, Kansas City

Courtney was probably the most laid back bride I've had to date.  I met her for our initial consult, and then didn't hear from her again until our final meeting, at which she made no changes to our original concept.  Easy as pie!  However when you're using such classic, beautiful flowers, there's no need for muss and fuss.  A simple grey and white palette, in one of our very favorite spaces, The Foundation.  Photos by Nick Allen Photo and emmy-ray.

Courtney carried a bouquet that included white garden roses, dahlias, hydrangea, dusty miller foliage, and silver brunia for a touch of grey.  

Candles and mint julep cups full of white flowers greeted guests as they entered the venue for the reception.  

There were two types of arrangements, one was a mercury glass cylinder filled with fluffy white flowers, and the other was a set of floating candles with white hydrangeas, and a coffee filter pom pom hung overhead, and designed by Soiree Event Design.  

And I couldn't leave out a picture of that cake, just amazing (and made by the same company that made my wedding cake).  A big thank you to Courtney and Tim for letting us be a part of your day, it was beautiful! 

xo- Emily

Events: GoBlogSocial

I'm so honored to have been chosen to speak on a panel at Kansas Cities very first blogging conference, GoBlogSocial.  I'll be on the panel talking about blogging for business called "Taking Your Blog Offline-How to Build Your Business" on Friday August 2nd.  There's going to be so many fabulous speakers at the event.  Here's a little more about it:

"Go Blog Social is Kansas City’s first blog and social media conference taking place at the historic Hotel Phillips located downtown Friday, August 2 - Saturday, August 3, 2013. Go Blog Social was born by bloggers, for bloggers to bring together women and men passionate about the world of social networking.

Designed to inform, educate and inspire, Go Blog Social brings bloggers, social media experts and businesses together for a two-day event to connect-the-dots. Go Blog Social Conference is a destination to meet online friends in-person, connect with businesses, learn about the social industry and gain the tools to grow your blog, social network or business. Whether you’re just starting out or a blog veteran, interested in building your brand or a business, Go Blog Social offers the information, advice and expertise to help you do just that.

At Go Blog Social attendees will learn not only basic blogging techniques, but also how to build their brand, legal advice, branding tips, SEO, and much more."

Right now early bird tickets are on sale until June 15th, for just $99.  See a complete schedule, list of speakers, and more on the website.  If you're a blogger old or new, I hope you can make it to this great event!    

xo-Emily 

 

Follow my blog with Bloglovin

Real Weddings: Alison and Ryan, Midland Theatre, Kansas City

Alison and Ryan were an out of town couple getting married in Kansas City.  We consulted long distance, mostly via e-mail, and they booked me!  Yay!  I was so happy when I first met them to find that they are such a sweet, fun loving couple.  It didn't hurt that they laugh at all my silly jokes, and also an extremely laid back pair.  Alison's wanted a classic white bouquet for herself, including three white gardenia's, which her grandmother grew, and represented her and her two siblings.  Such a sweet and thoughtful addition to her personal flowers.

The bridesmaids wore bright red gowns, and we wanted to create bouquets that weren't boring, but also wouldn't compete with all that color.  Soft pinks, peaches, and ivory seemed like the perfect way to go. 

 

Corsages and bouts included pink and peach spray roses, and lovely white orchids, all wrapped in champagne/gold ribbons.

The flower girls got miniature nosegay versions of the bridesamids bouquets with big satin ribbon bows, and fresh floral crowns in pinks and ivories.

The ceremony was decorated with simple white hydrangeas and greens on every other pew, and long peach bows tied in satin.  

Alison didn't want the flowers to compete with the ornate reception space at the beautiful, historic Midland Theatre, so we went with classic white arrangements in varying shapes and sizes.

A huge Tuscan style table for the wedding party sat at the front of the theatre.  We created tall statement pieces, as well as a simple runner of greens, votives, rose petals, and gardenias down the center.

A huge thank you to Alison and Ryan for letting us be part of your guys day, and also to John of DePrisco Photo for the lovely images (unless marked emmy-ray).  

xo - Emily

The Money Pit: Summer Porch Makeover

It seems like forever and a day since I wrote any posts about this old house, and that's a shame because we've been doing TONS of projects to it over the last few years to spruce it up and make it our own.  Back when we were still house hunting, one of my main requirements was that we have a large porch.  When we decided to buy Matt's parents old house, I was thrilled that it met that criteria with flying colors.  We have a beautiful screened in sleeping porch that actually runs the whole length of our house.  It's one of the best features in the spring, summer, and fall months.  Whenever we are entertaining that's where people tend to congregate.  That's why it's surprising that I've never taken the time to really thoughtfully decorate and create the space.  It's always been an odd, mis-matched grouping of furniture/storage area.  This year I decided to do a whole makeover on our awesome outdoor space, to make it as beautiful as it is functional.  Here's my inspiration.

From top left corner:

1. For seating we've always had random folding chairs that we can pull out, but I spotted these great wooden club chairs at World Market.  The best part is you can change the canvas anytime you want.  I chose red and yellow to match the color scheme, a stylized version of primary colors, and I'll be adding pops of gold here and there.  Image from World Market.


2. A bright turquoise patterned rug will add a pop of color to our concrete floor. Image from rugsUSA.


3. Succulents and greens in fun, eclectic white containers. Image from Accent Decor.


4. Brightly colored tables will bring a pop of yellow.  Spray paint has been my best friend lately, I've been re-vamping tons of furniture pieces with it.  Image from Etsy.


5. I love the palms, black and white stripes, and pops of yellow in this outdoor space. Image from Cottage and Vine.

Ahhhh, so excited.  Can't wait to share our newly decorated space! 

xo - Emily

Real Weddings: Kelli and Nathan, Stoney Point Hall

Kelli is pretty adorable.  Everytime we met, she was nothing but smiles and a total joy to work with.  I'd never worked at the Stony Point Hall before, it was quite a ways away, but such a fun and unique venue.  She and Nathan were lucky enough to have a gorgeous September day for their outdoor ceremony.  With ivories, greens, and bright pops of cobalt blue her flowers were colorful, and and classic all at the same time.  Lovely pictures by epaga foto, and emmy-ray.

To make Kelli's bouquet special it was the only one we added bright blue delphinium to.  The green and ivory of the bridesmaids bouquets was set of beautifully by their cobalt blue dresses.

Kelli gave us sweet charms with photos of her grandparents to add to her bouquet.

The mens bouts were made up of a white ranunculus (our favorite bout flower) babies breath, greens, and a little blue delphinium just for Nathan, the groom, to match Kelli's bouquet.

We decorated the existing ceremony arch with sprays of green, ivory, and bright blue flowers that coordinated with the bouquets and arrangements.  It was quite an idealic backdrop for the couples vows.  

We placed a damask patterned lime green linen on the head table along with blue vintage mason jars collected by the bride for all the bridesmaids bouquets.

There were two types of arrangements for the reception.  One was a simple tall arrangement full of babies breath.  The other a mix of milk glass and cobalt blue vases, all collected by the bride.  Our lime green mulit-patterned linens add an extra layer of color to each table.  Blue uplighting at Stony Point Hall complimented the decor.

A big thank you to Kelli and Nathan for letting us be a part of your day, we had so much fun working with you!

xo - Emily

Real Weddings Carissa and Todd, The Elms, Excelsior Springs

Carissa and Todd's wedding was a true collaboration.  When I showed up to our first consult Carissa's mom, Dana, had already collected all the vases for the tables.  Talk about prepared!  Their event was taking place at the newly remodeled Elms Hotel, in Excelsior Springs.  A beautiful historic spot, with an outdoor space for the ceremony.  Unfortunately it was rainy and humid on the first day of September, but we made due in the ballroom with a beautiful ceremony (all the decor for the ceremony was created by Dana).  We were really happy with how everything turned out, and Carissa and Todd loved it, which was the most important part (and Dana as well).  

A big thank you to Dana and Carissa for collaborating with us on this lovely event, and to Morgan at Cornerstone Photography for the images.

Carissa carried a classic, romantic bouquet full of ivory dahlias, ranunculus, and garden roses.

Instead of traditional pin corsages we made brooches out of fresh flowers and incorporated vintage rhinestone jewelry for a bit of sparkle.  Bouts were textural with ranunculus, scabiosa pods, and berries.

The bridesmaids wore beautiful poppy orange dresses and had bouquets with garden roses, dahlias, and ranunculus.  

The ceremony took place in the grand ballroom, and all the decor was provided to us by Dana, the mother of the bride, we just set it up.  Loved those beautiful fabric flower pomanders!

Half of the tables had vases provided by Dana were filled with twig balls for a touch of brown, along with fluffy white hydrangeas, beautiful orange roses, and touches of pink, and accents of sparkling crystal.

The other half of the tables had pomanders in orange, peach, and ivory.  We wanted a sort of ombre effect.

If you notice the place settings Dana also made napkin wraps and menue cards for every guest, and butterfly escort cards as well.  

The sweetheart table was covered in a gorgeous ivory rose linen, super fluffy, and romantic.  We just added the flowers for a little touch of color.

Vintage glassware and tons of candles filled the mantel.  We supplied the blooms.

And although I had absolutely nothing to do with the cake, I just had to include it because, yes, Dana, the mother of the bride made it as well (she bakes cakes).

Such a lovely day, we were happy to be a part of it!

xo ~ Emily