, ,

On to the details, and DIY flower tips!

Happy midweek, beautiful readers! I’ve really enjoyed contributing the blog so far, and I especially love reading all of your feedback! Please let me know if there’s anything I mention that you’d like to hear more about.

So, Sunday I gave you some general inspiration I had used to contribute to my wedding vision. Today, I wanted to show you the details of the inspiration board for my big day! The plateful of plums represents the accent color. We’ll be pulling it into the reception tables by placing a simply perfect plum on top of each plate at the table. The centerpieces will consist of natural-looking, overflowing white and sage flowers in silver vases or cake stands.

green, cream, brown, and plum inspiration board
Clockwise rom top left: Martha Stewart; Moss Wreaths from Fresh Floral Arts; Mint Julep Vases from Weddings Things; Bouquet from Saipua; Ceramic Pine Cones from Coe & Waito; Boettcher Mansion; Table Setting from Project Wedding; Pronovias gown detail; Plums from Anstruther; Bridal Party from Jennifer Skog Photography

The photo in the bottom right is what started it all: my wedding venue, Boettcher Mansion, in Golden, Colorado. The first thing I looked at after deciding on my venue was the flowers. I am a HUGE flower nut; I fought like crazy to get a spot at my community garden so I could get my fix!

As I mentioned, I’ve gone back and forth so many times on flowers. Because I’m designing and preparing all our centerpieces and bouquets myself, I’ve done a LOT of practicing! I usually purchase my flowers from Whole Foods, because they have a really wide selection. In fact, the Whole Foods market near the venue is where we’ll be ordering some of the flowers for the wedding (check with your local Whole Foods to see if they’ll order flowers for you!).

My inspiration board flowers weren’t always so consistent. For the first few months of our engagement, I was trying many different color themes and bouquet types. Here’s just a sampling of some of the arrangements I attempted:

DIY flower samples
Photos from author’s personal collection.

The bottom middle photo is the closest to the flowers we actually will be ordering; though we’ll be throwing in anemones and purple scabiosas for some color. My recommendation to you if you’re trying to do your own flowers is to practice them over and over again, with different flowers and vases, until you feel confident in your choice! You’ll probably find that each time you look at the arrangements you’ve created, you’ll find something you want to add or tweak. Some flowers also hold up a bit better than others, and some last longer without water. By starting in advance, you’ll be able to discover all these things…and also score some pretty centerpieces for your kitchen table at the same time!

Did anyone else do their own flowers? What lessons did you learn?

-B