Herb Wedding

This past August I had a really fun request from a bride who was getting married at the beautiful Sea Cider Farm. She wanted an all herb wedding. Everything was to be herbs, including her bouquet! I was very excited to do something different and even more excited to source everything from local gardens. A herbal wedding is such a "green" concept. Everything can be grown in your garden or neighbour's garden, and after the wedding day you can dry some of the herbs for a keep sake or throw the rest in a batch of stock! The timing for this wedding was perfect to be able to catch a few herbs in late summer bloom. 

(bay leaves, rosemary, oregano flowers, variegated thyme and mint, parsley flower and purple sage)

Amy Merrick and Floret Farm Workshop 2013

A short while ago I went on a small adventure down to Washington to spend the weekend with a bunch of flower loving women! Two of my favorite bloggers Amy Merrick and Erin Benzakein were co-hosting a weekend floral workshop and it turns out I was just one beautiful ferry ride away.

Seeing Erin's farm in real life was really cool! I have been drooling over all her flower farming photos for years and just to actually see the whole operation and how it runs was fantastic. She is amazing with what she pumps out on 2 acres!

The coveted Cafe au Lait dahlia....

We spent the first morning cutting buckets and buckets of flowers which we then later turned into beautiful hand tied bouquets. A friend of Erin's was generous enough to let us use her beautiful 1906 barn for the workshop. The setting was idyllic. 

(Tara McHugh Flora)

(Amy Merrick)

(Student work)

I absolutely love Amy's loose style of flower arranging. It is much harder than it looks and it was a real treat to be able to just watch her in action! She really wanted us to be thoughtful with flower placement and to give each flower enough space.  

(Tara McHugh Flora)

(Tara McHugh Flora)

(Tara McHugh Flora)

(Student work)

(Student work)

It was truly a memorable weekend. The food, wine, location, company were perfect. For our final night we spent the afternoon dressing the barn for the most magnificent salmon dinner. Linen runners, tree branches, hop vines, the table flooded in candle light and fruit. And of course lets not forget all the beautiful guests adorned in our flower crown creations. I will post a link to some professional photos once I receive them. My photos would not do it justice!!

Summer wedding - Pine Lodge Farm

Here are a few photos from a recent wedding at Pine Lodge Farm. I had no idea this beautiful outdoor  venue in the Cowichan Valley existed until now and I am in love with it! 

Ameris Photography

Ameris Photography

Ameris Photography

Ameris Photography

Ameris Photography

The idea of being married on a bridge, over water, surrounded by gardens is just dreamy. And look at how happy this beautiful couple is.....

Ameris Photography

The bride's request was a bouquet that looked like it had been "hand picked". So nothing too perfect, a little bit wild looking and some purple. I chose to use purple veronica, scabiosa, deep purple lisianthus, peonies, queen ann's lace and various fern and hosta leaves.

Ameris Photography

Ameris Photography

The boutonnieres were lisianthus, lavender and astrancia.

Tara McHugh Flora

Ameris Photography

What a happy couple! Wishing you all the best J & D.

Garden Themed Bridal Shower

I was recently part of a group effort to throw my best friend a "garden themed" bridal shower. She is a new home owner and loves gardening so I thought, forget lingerie, lets do plants and flowers!

Her mother in law hosted the event and was more than happy to bring out her heirloom silver and dishes, we all pitched in for food and of course I brought over a few flowers to finish it off. 

Gorgeous bunting made by a girlfriend, check out her other creations here Finch and Delilah

Peony and lichen branches

Oh yes, and lets not forget the drink of the evening was prosecco! I wrapped a few glass bottles in wrapping paper and filled them with various juices as an option to mix with the sparkling wine.

I opted out of buying a plant or flower so instead I contacted a local artist Laura Lavender. I gave her a quote and asked her to do a painting using lily of the valley and roses, and this was what she came up with. I put it in a simple Ikea frame and I think it turned out really sweet.

K & K's beautiful garden wedding is happening in a couple of weeks, I'm getting excited!! Can't wait to use garden roses and sweet peas!

Party Flowers - carnations and peonies

I recently was hired to provide flowers for a Campus Infinity car dealership party. The dealership is quite modern so I went with a bold palette of colors. I was very excited to use the orange buddleia (also known as butterfly bush) from my neighbours garden as it's an unusual flower not readily available as a cut flower.

Other flowers used were peonies, green spider mums, hydrangea, carnations in three shades of purple, green dianthus and some maple tree foliage.

Eryngium - Sea Holly

What is eryngium? Eryngium is a blueish purple thistle flower, also known as sea holly. It actually is a rare color in the flower world, which is one of the reasons why I love it! As a cut stem flower it has a good long vase life, around 7-14 days depending how fresh it is. The flower itself grows on an odd irregular shaped stem, so they don't look their best displayed on their own. But they do however compliment many other beautiful flowers.

Anemones, parrot tulip, berzelia, eryngium

 Hellebore, eryngium, grape hyacinths

 Eryngium and parrot tulip boutonniere

They are a great flower for wedding work as they don't ever wilt!

Indoor weddings at Butchart Gardens

Victoria is home to one of the most famous gardens in the world, Butchart Gardens.

I just found out recently, you can actually have an indoor garden wedding and reception at Butchart Gardens between January 15th and March 31st. The garden recently hosted some of us wedding vendors and gave us a tour and information about hosting weddings at their venue.

The wedding ceremonies happen in the "spring prelude garden" which is a lush indoor garden full of beautiful fragrance and spring blossoms. The number of guests allowed is 60, so it's perfect for an intimate wedding, or vow renewal. Once the ceremony is over receptions are held in the historic dining room of the original Butchart family home.

Another beautiful room that just blew me away was the "breakfast room". I think it would be perfect for a bridal shower, with the tables full of pink peonies!

My visit there was in prime daffodil season. And believe it or not, some lucky person's job is to pick flowers from the "cutting garden" and arrange them using the garden's collection of beautiful vases. Could be one of my dream jobs I think!

Butchart gardens would make a lovely venue for an early spring wedding. All the benefits of an outdoor garden wedding except for the rain of course!