For the Love of Flowers: Moody Bridal Shoot

My friend bon bon Betsy e-mailed me the other day saying that they would be doing a bridal shoot at the antique store in Westport, and needed a bouquet.  When I asked her what the theme/color scheme was, she said there wasn't one, but the best way to describe the atmosphere of the shop would be "moody" and obviously antique/vintage.  So I went to the wholesaler, which was pretty much wiped out because of Valentines Day, and managed to grab a few lovely blooms.

For some reason when I thought "moody" the first color that popped into my head was a deep magenta, red wine color.

I wasn't sure if I was going to like the light pink peonies with this mix, but I think they provide a nice counterpoint and break up the bouquet a bit.

I also got to use carnations, which I've been a big advocate for.  These ones were a deep magenta/purple inside with white outsides.  And the smell of this bouquet was delightful.

I grabbed some hand dyed Hanna Ribbon, which I was introduced to by Julie of Coordinately Yours.  It really gives bouquets a more luxe feeling than the usual satin wrap.  

And I just had to include the usual Hazel photo bomb pic.  She's such a curious pup, she has to investigate anything and everything I'm up to.

love, emmy-ray

For the Love of Flowers: Favorite Bridal Bouquets

In the next week or two I'm going to be showing a round up of some of my favorite floral designs from 2010.  I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'm new to the floral business, but 2010 was 4x busier than 2009, and I can't wait to see what 2011 will bring!  

Today's category is bridal bouquets.  I worked with lots of different brides this year, some were friends, some were strangers, but all were fantastic to collaborate with.  I'd like to take a moment to thank each and everyone of these ladies for choosing me for their weddings and supporting my small business.  

Here they are in no particular order:

Ellen and Brian, September 2010.  Ellen's bouquet was beautiful and sentimental.  She requested to carry white roses, and white stephanotis, the flowers that were in her mother and mother in-laws bouquets when they got married.

Tracy and Chris, May 2010.  I'm a big fan of color, and these flowers were some of the most beautiful I had an opportunity to work with this year.  With one bloom more beautiful than the next including peonies, ranunculus, and huge roses.

Joanna and Andy, June 2010.  Joanna gave me total freedom with her bouquet, and it's one of the most textural I created.  The lilies were fantastic and dramatic, the dusty miller and amazing scabiosa's added a little sweetness, and her bouquet was wrapped in a little ostrich feather trim to match her dress.

Laura and Aaron, August 2010.  I'm pretty sure the color on this pictures been tweaked a bit, but this was by far one of the most saturated bouquets I created this year.  Cool colors like purple and blue were a big trend this year, and this one color bouquet came out full and dramatic.

Claudia and James, May 2010.  There's not a whole lot that needs to be said about this beauty.  Claudia wanted something soft and romantic, and loved peonies, and this bouquet included all of these elements.  

Heidi and Zeb, August 2010.  Last but not least, Heidi was the funnest bride to collaborate with this year.  She was super enthusiastic about all my ideas and willing to experiment with out of the box ideas.  The dahlias for her wedding were to die for, and the color palette, a mix of purples, blues, and whites was to die for!

Thanks for looking at my favorite bridal bouquets of 2010.  Next up, boutonniere's!

Love, emmy-ray