Winter boutonniere - Leucodendron

This beautiful winter wedding boutonniere is a very hardy leucodendron flower. Although the flower is available other times of the year I think it's particularly lovely in the winter season. The boutonniere is finished with gold wire. A great way to tie in with gold elsewhere in the wedding.

Old Field Farm Wedding

Here are a few shots I took this past weekend at an Old Field Farm here in Victoria. A great setting for a casual, outdoor farm wedding. I had so much fun creating the baby's breath wreath for the barn door!

Hydrangeas, lisianthus, and gerbera daisies were used for the "white, red and sky blue" color scheme. A color scheme obviously inspired by the location.

 

 Raffia, mason jars, burlap and lace were also used to add rustic charm.

Ring Bearer Ideas

There are so many great ideas out there for the ring bearer. Here are a few of my favorites...

Tara McHugh Flora - driftwood, mum and ribbon

April Hiler Designs

Source: http://www.polkadotbride.com/

I really love the sign idea! Super cute and easy to customize to the style of your wedding.

Victoria Bridal Fair

For all you brides going to this weekend's Victoria Bridal Fair, here is a little floral inspiration.....

Classic red roses combined with vibrant green moss. Bold, classy and west coast all at the same time!

This would be a great scheme for a winter or Valentine's wedding. Change up the color of the rose and it would work anytime of year!

For an interesting twist, add in some air plants. Not only does it add something unique but it is a great choice for the Eco Bride, as you can keep the plants after the wedding!

Flower girl purse

It is that time of year when summer brides everywhere are in full planning and research mode. And each bride has many decisions to be made. Venue, guest list, colors, flowers, dress, food, favors, entertainment .... the list seems to never end. With so many big decisions to be made the little stuff can often get shoved to the sidelines. But often, it's the small details people remember. One of those memorable details can be what the adorable flower girl was carrying! Traditionally flower girls have worn crowns of flowers and carried small bouquets. But the imagination is really the only limit here. Floral wands are especially cute for little girls in the wedding party, but older girls deserve something unique also!

This past September I made a flower purse for a 10 year old flower girl. I covered it in yellow and green kermit mums and finished it with some nice striped grosgrain ribbon. Sort of Kate Spade meets Carrie Bradshaw! This could be made half the size and used for a smaller child also. And of course customized to the season. Just imagine some velvet ribbon or fur trim for a winter wedding!

Yellow wedding

This will be the last post on my sister's wedding! There were just lots of fun details I had to share. Like this sign below which I requested of my brother-in-law, and he made it with old wood just like I wanted! Thanks Rick!

 All the floral designs I made did double duty. They were first used for the backyard ceremony and then we hauled everything up to the golf course hall. These were used on the refreshment table.

I kept things simple because I didn't want to spend to much time "arranging" flowers. The easiest way to keep things simple is to buy lots of one type of flower and mass them together. Like I did with the gladiolas above.

I had ordered some green carnations (which do not look like this) but being in a different city and dealing with a different wholesaler I got the wrong flower. With flowers having so many different names it happens. Anyways, these carnations were too pale for my color palette, but by putting them in a patterned vase it helped spruce them up. I hate to waste any flower!

I have never used spider mums in a wedding before and I really enjoyed it. They were nice and hardy and managed in the heat very well. Not to mention they last well out of water so are great in bridal bouquets too!

Well I think that covers it! Oh wait, one more picture.........my mother did a candy buffet which was very colorful and not only did the kids love it but the adults did too! That's my daughter stealing a jelly bean!

Pinwheel Wedding

My sister's wedding a few weeks ago went off without a hitch thanks to the hard work of family. Especially my parents! My mother who is the super duper scrapbooker/crafter of the family took my idea of a pinwheel wedding and ran with it. Her and my dad made about 200 pinwheels of various sizes which we used to decorate my sister's backyard, where she had the ceremony. After the ceremony (with the help of cousins) we moved them up to the golf course hall where the reception party and dinner was held.

Something that was really "sweet" was to see the 100 tiny pinwheels that my mom made for the cupcakes........

thecupcakeladybc.com

For decor we also placed two pinwheels back to back in glass vases filled with sand for the tables...... (note: the table markers my mom also made, each one had a different picture of the bride and groom)

We just couldn't do pinwheels! So we also used paper bunting, that yes my mother made! I know, I know, she must have been cutting paper for weeks. My dad was her crafting side kick, and thanks to him the pinwheels spun beautifully. We ended up having some wind that day to test them too, and not one of them broke! The bunting on the other hand we did start to get worried about but it survived too!

For the ceremony we hung the bunting off a tree in the shape of a tent to sort of act as an alter. As a surprise to my family my sister had asked my uncle to do the ceremony for them!

For this casual, fun DIY backyard wedding I think we scored a 10! I can't think of one thing I would have changed (except for my wine consumption..haha!) and I hope my sister feels the same way.

Stay tuned for one more post on my sister's wedding, last one I promise! What can I say, too many great details and shots for one post.

Yellow Bridal Bouquets

This will be my first of probably a few posts on my sister's wedding this past weekend. I have too many great pictures to do just one post on this lovely event. So, I am starting with the wedding party flowers. My sister did not want to wear a traditional white dress so she opted for a beautiful cocktail length pewter grey dress which fit her perfectly! The main color throughout the wedding was yellow which has always been her favorite.

beautiful sister and beautiful niece

white freesia, white spider mums, yellow mokara orchids, 

billy balls, berzillia and yellow kermit mums

It's always nice to be able to add a special touch to a bride's bouquet. For my sister I added my grandfather's wedding ring so that he could be apart of her important day in spirit as he is no longer with us.

For her Maid of Honor I did a simple bouquet of spider mums and freesia tied with a bold striped ribbon.

And lastly, the final touch were these golden yellow mokara orchids in my sister's hair! Just gorgeous!! 

Brentwood Bay Lodge Wedding

A beautiful sunny day at Victoria's Brentwood Bay Lodge was the location for this wedding. The ceremony was held on the dining room patio with a backdrop of blue skies, soaring trees and boats in the marina.

dahlias, mums, green hydrangea, hypericum berries,variegated pittosporum & curly willow

I loved the modern black chairs used on the patio for the ceremony! A nice change from the typical white which is often used. And that giant awning is a great touch, it really helps to keep your guests comfortable and dry!

Bridal Bouquet - dahlias, ornithogalums, dendrobium orchids

Bridesmaids - Solid purple in various shades using dahlias and mums

Centerpieces - white and green hydrangea with a touch of purple topped with curly willow

The reception dinner for the 40 guests was held in a private dining room with it's own deck over looking the hotel's pool and Brentwood Bay. I am sure everyone enjoyed themselves, how could you not at such a beautiful location!

         http://www.brentwoodbayresort.com/spa

Spring bouquet - Deep purple lisianthus

The trend of various shades of purple in weddings is still going strong! This small bouquet features only two flowers but the striped ribbon adds a nice finishing touch. Deep purple lisianthus and berzelia were used. I love the berzelia balls because they are so unique. I think a bouquet of just berzelia would be great too.

Winter boutonniere - mini cones

This boutonniere consists of wax flower and these lovely mini cones. Perfect for a fall, winter wedding or woodland weddingl! The cones would also be beautiful dotted throughout the bridal bouquet.

Strathcona Lodge Wedding

I know, I know, you're all thinking "Summer Wedding"?? Yes, it is autumn but I just received some pictures from a wedding this past July that I had to share! It was a four hour drive from Victoria up-island  to Strathcona Lodge, the wedding location, and I was blown away with the scenery. To be married beside a lake, surrounded by forest, with mountains in the distance is absolutely dreamy. Not to mention arriving to the ceremony in a dug out canoe is pretty romantic for a west coast wedding!

Michael the bride didn't want anything tight and formal, no roses and nothing too big. The color palette was green and ivory/white. To keep things from being too fussy I used dahlias, lisianthus, astillbe, stocks and scabiosa throughout the wedding. Her bouquet was a mass of cream astillbe, lisianthus buds and one large focal dahlia.

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It's always great when the ceremony flowers can be moved and also used in the reception. These designs did double duty.

This picture of the bride and groom is one of my favorites! That dress just looks soooo gorgeous sitting in the grass and the red kilt I must say is perfect. I would like to give credit to Brawns Photography for such an amazing job of the photos.To see more of Michael and Jesse's wedding go to http://brawns.ca/blog/2010/09/05/jesse-and-michael-married