For the Love of Flowers: Melissa and Ben, January 2012

If there's one word I could use to describe Melissa and Ben it would be classic.  Melissa knew that she wanted lots of white for her wedding.  A traditional white bouquet for her and a crisp, clean palette for the reception at The Berg Event Space.  We had a bit of fun with color though, using various shades of plum, and berry for the bridesmaids, who all wore different colored shoes, and pashminas.  The peonies, ranunculus, and garden roses were gorgeous.  We had to get a bit creative with the lighting, since candles are not allowed at The Berg.  We used mini christmas light strands inside cylinder vases with vellum, and they created such a lovely glow on the tables.  A big thank you to Melissa and Ben fore letting us be a part of their day.

xo ~ Em

My So Called Life: Chicago in December

From reading my posts it seems like I pretty much split my time between Kansas City and Chicago, which I guess is partially true.  I don't travel all that much, but when I do Chi-town seems like the perfect destination since it's got some of my favorite people living there.  We got into all kinds of shinanigans including shopping at Top Shop, and bumping into a super cute and super pregnant Beyonce (no joke she brushed against us), having the most delicious waffles EVER, cocktails with the best view of the city, a silly photo shoot, and of course some crafting.  

 

The selection of shoes at Top Shop is cray-cray. I could hardly decide which pair to try first.

Michigan Avenue looked so lovely with all the lights on the trees.

Breakfast at "Waffles" with this lovely lady.

Dark chocolate waffle with orange zest. Totally craving them now.

Took a pic of this cute W sign. Might be a fun DIY project to try out.

The view from the top of the Hancock Tower where we had cocktails.

We definitely had a silly photo shoot in the lobby. Love the lady below, miss her every day!

 

Made this yarn and ornament wreath as a thank you to my hosts.

Thanks so much for sharing my Chicago adventure.  Now to plan my next trip...

xo ~ Em

Phonography: December 2011

December is definitely down time for weddings, but it turned out to be a super crazy month because I was trying to play catch up with all the projects I put off throughout the year.  Plus it's the holidays, which means lots of social gatherings and projects.  

Little nuggets. I can't tell you how many dog pictures I take. It's too many...

Decorated for the holidays right after Thanksgiving. I like to be able to leave these decorations up as long as possible.

I got some purple in my hair. Totally temporary with Color Bug hair chalk.

Made my first trip to Nell Hills and found these little cuties.

White Elephant gift that I couldn't pass up. It was a hit.

Tiled the backsplash in our upstairs bathroom. I'm so handy (not really, it was super easy).

xo~ Em

For the Love of Flowers: Rachel and Adam, November 2011

I'm still playing catch up from last years weddings, and I'm really excited to share this one.  Not only was it such a fun wedding to work on (the red roses were AMAZING), but it was for one of my husband and I's dear friends.  Matt became friends with Rachel during law school.  Her and Adam are a great couple, they really compliment each other, and have a long history together as friends.  They got married at The Vox Theatre, an old silent movie theatre that has been turned into an event space.  The stage has a huge red curtain so Rachel decided to embrace the color palette.  We also thought it would be fun to embrace the "old hollywood" glamour look, and added dramatic black feathers and hanging crystals.  A big thank you to Adam and Rachel for letting us be a part of their day, we love you guys!

(images by Lacey Crough Photography and guests of the wedding)

xo ~ Em

Romantic red bouquet with roses, calla lilies, ostritch feathers, and rhinestone ribbon.

Hanging crystals we added to the tall centerpieces.

 

 

Pillar candles for the ceremony.

 

 

A view of the ballroom.

 

 

Beautiful ladies with their bouquets (that's our lovely friend Bethanie on the right as well).

 

 

Ranunculus, rose, and hydrangea bouquets for the bridesmaids wrapped in silver ribbon.

 

 

And a group shot of all our friends together. Such a fun night!

 

 

Floral Friday: Gold Leaf and Sherbert

When KC Weddings does their bouquet photo shoot they contact all kinds of different floral designers around Kansas City.  Usually there's a theme in mind, for instance I made this bouquet for the last shoot which was all about using items other than flowers.  This time the challenge was to create an inexpensive bouquet to show budget brides that they can have beautiful flowers without spending a fortune.  I've been really loving the soft pastel color palette that's been so on trend for next year, and of course I had to throw in a few bright touches with sherbert colored zinnias as well.

The flowers that I chose are what most people traditionally consider filler flowers such as carnations, stock, chrysanthemums, and baby's breath.  However used in a similar color palette, and lots of them they make a big impact, and a charming display.  I also added in some dusty miller leaves, and home grown zinnias from my own backyard, and wrapped it all up in grey satin ribbon with a vintage trim of gold leaves.

 

Here's the final shot in KC Weddings.

Don't you just love that amazing mantel and silver tray?  A big thank you to KC Weddings for asking me to take part in the Spring/Summer Issue!

xo ~ Em

Phonography: November Part II

 

We got an H&M. Happy dance...

Sweet fall arrangements for my friends engagement party.

Visited my little sisters school for special friends day.

Went and watched the Plaza Light's test at 2am the day before Thanksgiving.

Enjoyed the holiday with my family, look at the adorable centerpiece my mom whipped up.

I am thankful for...too many things to count.

xo ~ Em

Phonography: November Part I

November was the month that I finally downloaded instagram to my iPhone.  Needless to say things got out of hand very quickly, so I divided this post into two parts...

 

Peonies returned to the wholesalers. Happy day, they are my favorites!

I participated in the "Girls Night Out" holiday show at a local gallery ARTichokes selling some of my jewels.

Basement renovations continue. I absolutely cannot wait to share the before and after with you guys!

The very, very last yellow rose from my garden.

Tried some new beer. I'm not gonna lie I mostly picked it because of the name (and I love Goose Island's brews).

Experimented with some fleurs.

xo ~ Em

 

Floral Friday: Trader Joe's Bouquet DIY

For today's Floral Friday post I'm sharing with you a little video that I shot last week.  This video was a bit of a test of my new camera's capabilities (can you belive it's a digital point and shoot?).  I was at Trader Joes, I saw these lovely peach roses, and got inspired.  I love working with flowers, and I think sometimes people believe it's a much more complicated process than it really is.  I thought this DIY would be great as a sweet little bridesmaids bouquet, or a Valentines day gift for someone special.  Hope you like it!