Now for the fabulous reception! … (see previous post for ceremony) … Details, details, details…

A few details worth noting: Black chivari chairs with leatherette cushions and white silk linens were brought in from Toronto. Exclusive Events covered Sunningdale’s curtains in black and white silk. They also created a fabric canopy above the head table which I then decorated with orchids and crystals! The centerpieces were a combination of lavish tall and lush low. Each centerpiece was surrounded by 3 vases filled with either hydrangea, succulents or orchids. Atop each guest napkin is a green and white orchid. Crystal candle holders along with regular votive holders were used to add sparkle and tie in all the crystal details. Even the table numbers aren’t simply numbers, they are Italian places and food the bride and groom would be experiencing on their honeymoon!

No matter how many weddings I do, I’ll never get over how much life flowers can bring to an ordinary reception room. This wedding demonstrates what a powerful impact flowers have in transforming a room.

Flowers abundantly surround the guest seating chart.

Some shots of the amazing crystal and orchid canopy! This sure had the guests talking!

I absolutely love what I do but most people are not aware of the time and labour that goes into creating and setting up the flowers for an event. Here are a couple of rare shots of us in action! I’m on the left and my fiancé was brought in (on the right) for crystal duty! His engineering skills come in handy when it comes the mechanics of wire tension vs. weight of the crystals… and “technical” things like that! Plus I just like his company!  He was one of the 4 workers who along with myself, worked to transform this room.  For those of you interested in the process: Usually I get the flowers on Wednesday for a Saturday event. Because they are perishable and I want them to be as fresh as possible, I don’t have the luxury of starting earlier. On Wednesday, the entire day, right into the night is spent conditioning the flowers, cutting and putting them into buckets. Thursday and Friday are usually long days of designing, for a big event like this one, I would have only slept a few hours Thursday night and gotten no sleep Friday night!  Saturday, the entire day is spent setting up and going from bouquet drop off, to church, to venue, and back again! Sunday is pick-up day. Monday and Tuesday, my studio gets put back into order- recycling of boxes, sweeping, washing buckets, sorting supplies, washing any rental vases etc. I also must prepare for the next weekend of weddings and meet with clients for upcoming weddings. And then Wednesday it starts all over again! When do I rest you ask? I don’t- not during wedding season!  You really have to be passionate about what you do to stay in this business. As my massage therapist can attest, standing and designing for 2-3 days straight, can sure do a number on your back!

You’ll have to forgive my appearance here- At this point I’m on day two of no sleep!

But the hard work is totally worth it when I make a bride and groom’s dream wedding into reality!

- Samirah

Professional photos courtesy of Ralph Heinze Photography.

Lauren and Chris were married at the magnificent St. Peter’s Cathedral and then celebrated their early June wedding at the beautiful Sunningdale Golf and Country Club. Sunningdale was the perfect backdrop for this elegant wedding.  Lauren came to me a bit frustrated after having met with a couple florists and event decorators. Well, I’m glad she found me!  We immediately “clicked” and I just knew I’d be able to incorporate her ideas, colours etc. to create something fantastic!  Flowers were very important to Lauren and the key element in making her dream wedding a reality. No detail was left unattended to.  I have to say, it was great fun planning this with Lauren!

We worked with colours that could be considered “classic” (whites and greens), but threw in some unexpected twists like succulents, gorgeous eggplant callas and deep plum cordyline leaves.

The bride’s bouquet consisted of roses, peonies, aubergine callas, orchids and jade plant.

The bridesmaids carried bouquets of aubergine callas that looked amazing with their gorgeous blue dresses!

Lauren was a stunning bride!

St. Peter’s really is awe-inspiring; a perfect place for this grand wedding.

We flanked the altar with two spectacularly lush arrangements. Flowers also adorned the pews.

The groom and groomsmen wore green orchid boutonnieres.

I just love this shot of the two mothers waiting in anticipation by the church doors. The mother of the groom wore a large white cymbidium. The bride’s mom wore her favourite flower: a gardenia.

The bride switched from a white flower embellished sash to a black sash for the reception.

Reception pics to follow in a separate post…

- Samirah

Professional photos courtesy of Ralph Heinze Photography.

There is something very serene about the colour combination of this early May wedding.  I did a couple blue, green and ivory coloured weddings last season, and I must say, I am very drawn to the colour palette.  It is one of those rare combinations of colours that can be both fresh and fun and yet charmingly vintage at the same time!

Beth LOVES hydrangea (as do I!!) and wanted a bouquet of ONLY hydrangea, without it being too plain.  The combination of ivory hydrangea, blue hydrangea and snowball vibernum is simple yet elegant and lush!

How gorgeous is this bride!? I love the vintage inspired accents, right down to the red lipstick of the bride and the pearl necklaces worn by all the lovely ladies!

The groom’s boutonniere was a simple cluster of green berries in a leaf wrap.

- Samirah

Photos courtesy of Last Forty Percent Photography.   See more photos from this wedding on their blog here.

Another fabulous wedding at Bellamere!  Fall weddings are some of my favourite.  On this warm October day, you could almost feel the fruit ripening and the colours depending.  For Karen and David’s afternoon wedding, we combined rich berry tones to create bouquets perfectly suited for a winery wedding!  The always amazing HRM Photography captured this picture perfect day.

As each wedding by Designs in Bloom is custom designed, it can often be hard to envision what the end combination of flowers will be. For Karen, we wanted lush berry shades that drew inspiration from the rich grapes and wines found at a vineyard.  Often I will create an outline for my clients that can help them to picture the overall design and medley of colours.

Here is the “storyboard” or outline of flowers picked to achieve the “vineyard rich look” this bride wanted. We incorporated deep tones of burgundy, merlot and plum along with rich pinks.

And here is the outcome!

We couldn’t let go of the fresh summer greens yet! – For the two bridesmaid bouquets we incorporated a bit of summery green by bringing in the green berries and cymbidium orchids.

I always love when personal details can be incorporated into the bouquets. Here we used lace from Karen’s mom’s wedding dress. Karen also purchased crystal monogrammed letters that were attached to all the bouquets. Here is Karen’s:

The rings were carried down the aisle in a wooden box that had special meaning to the couple. We filled with moss and pinned the rings in!

Combination centerpieces have become very popular. Why pick one centerpiece when you can have two? For this wedding we had an earthy wooden box of moss, floating candles and orchids on half the tables and a full floral centerpiece arrangement on the other half.

Vintage family wedding photos were hung in the Manzanita tree along with crystals and orchid bloom.

Another amazingly delicious cupcake display by Razzle Dazzle.  All that was needed were a few orchids to top it off.

If you love candy, you’ll love these custom made candy bouquets. (I think I’ve admitted in a previous post to snacking just a wee bit when making them!) Looks like the guests at this wedding love candy as much as I do!

- Samirah

Professional photographs courtesy of HRM Photography.  See more photos from this wedding on their blog here.