Our bouquet of various succulents, grasses, snowberries, leucodendron, bersillia, calla lillies & gardenia

all images in this post courtesy of Sarah Rhoads Photography

THIS was SUCH a great wedding.  From the moment I met Kate (the incredibly talented designer/owner of Croak and Hum) and Nick (bassist for Death Cab for Cutie), I was excited and inspired!  First, they were SO fun to work with  – Very stylish, very creative, and totally trusting of my random, three-am in the morning ideas – like creating a living wall of succulents for their ceremony.  We had a few meetings where I could see Nick nod his head trying to visualize, but not quite knowing how it would turn out – thank you Nick and Kate, for trusting in me!

Their super stylish wedding was so full of amazing, personal details – Kate is an incredible graphic designer, so she created yummy paper goodies from invitations with tickets and press badges (as a nod to Nick’s band) to menus, escort cards and even adorable flags for the succulent favors we created for her.

From hearing Zoey Deschanel and Ben Gibbard (lead for Death Cab) sing at the ceremony, to watching Nick and Kate dance under the romantic lights – every part of their wedding was romantic and full of joy, in a stylish, modern way. If my aim is anything at the weddings I help design, is for them to be not only beautiful and stylish, but PERSONAL and full of love and joy.  Kate and Nick achieved that with ease and grace, infusing their loves and their personalities into every little detail.

I loved working with all the succulents and mosses – we had a blast!  The living walls were a great experience – I’m known for creating at least one piece of floral art for weddings, and this one was just so  unique!  Thank you, Nick and Kate, we had a such great time working with you on your wonderful day!

Here is Style Me Pretty’s feature…

How Stylish and stunning is Kate?   Swoon.

Above, one of the fun Bridesmaids bouquets with succulents,
Crespedia, bersilia, airplants, ranunculus…

Nick’s Boutonierre – I wanted to give him something masculine, stylish & modern!

Nick wearing his Bout, and one of the fabulous tablecards designed by Kate, who is an AMAZING graphic designer.

Fabulous coasters by Croak and Hum -
great play on words, no?

Another bridesmaids bouquet, I
loved these textures and colors together!

Great place settings!  Kate picked these beautiful gold & glass chargers and gold flatware .
I love how the pink napkin underneath worked with the gold for the charger to match the menu – perfection!

Succulent Centerpieces on a bed of moss, illuminated by simple votives.
Shows that even a simple design can be stunningly beautiful.

I love this black and white of Kate and Nick!!

My favorite photo of Kate on her wedding day.

Which brings me to the photography – Sarah Rhoads was AMAZING.  The details, the emotion, the artistry.  We’ve seen a lot of photography over the last ten years, and we are SMITTEN! Thanks Sarah, for sharing your art!  And her photobooth with the lush gray ruffled background – too die for!

I always love browsing through Style Me Pretty’s blog, there is such a great variety of designs, weddings, and ideas showcased everyday!  We were of course delighted to have one of our favorite weddings, the October Wedding of Marissa and Dean on Fox Island, showcased! Thanks,   Style Me Pretty Little Black Book blog! (For more pictures of this lovely wedding, shot by the fabulous Mindcastle studios, click on the SMP link!)

It’s September, and autumn is teasing us already – hints of rain, leaves falling… Autumn has always been a favorite season of mine, I love the crisp air, the smell of the leaves, and most of all, the stunning colors: I am pulled towards the joyful, warm hues like deep yellow, burnt orange, persimmon and ruby red…ah, the composition of it all! So inspiring. Gray was a really big color this year still (I LOVE gray), and I like how the gray plays with the orange hues in this bouquet – even though gray has usually been seen as more of a wintery color (especially when next to burgundy or cream). The bouquet has contrast, but in a unique way, not as harsh as red and cream, for example.

For all you wedding professionals joining me at “Engage09, the Encore” (A luxury Wedding Symposium), this one’s for you – inspired by the “Poppy and Cement” color palette of this year’s event!

I think the gray next to the orange adds a nice sophistication, and an element of surprise. What do you think? What new color palettes do you want to see this fall?

Ah, summer bouquets.  Often, when trying to get the perfect color combination, we floral designers use flowers created just for us in the floral trade – roses that last longer, orchids grown hydroponically (in water versus soil), etc.  In the summer, we have the opportunity to use flowers fresh from the garden, and what we gain is that amazing, intoxicating scent of romance.  This particular bouquet was the best smelling bouquet I have ever created! The bride, albeit in her 20’s, wanted something old-fashioned, yet timeless; soft, gardeny, with gardenias, garden roses, sweet peas.  We were happy to oblige!  We called this our ‘tea-stained’ wedding, since she wanted everything with a just a hint of color; a blush of pink, a hint of beige, warm ivories and eggshell.

What stood out though, beyond the color palette, was that scent – the summery sweetness of the garden roses (that no standard rose can ever compare too!), the heady, rich perfume of the gardenias (my all-time favorite – hint to my husband!) the spiky scent of the sweetpeas and then that exotic tone of jasmine, which we wound through the edges of the bouquet, and which opened, bloom by bloom, throughout the wedding day.  I was worried that all these scents would compete, but mother nature knows best, and just like a perfectly layered perfume, this bouquet was complex and elegant in both hue and scent.  

The new issue of Grace Ormonde Wedding Style is on the newsstands, and as promised, here is our calla lilly bouquet that was featured. The bouquet was created with mini cream calla lillies and accented with black and white guinea feathers, and bound with a black and white grosgrain polka dot ribbon that perfectly accompanied the spots on the guinea feathers – simple, with a few unexpected twists!