White Gerbera's All Around

Thank goodness for a slow week. With only two weddings this week I had ample time to catch up on bookkeeping, blah, e-mails and all that other office management gunk.

With that being said, I had a great time putting together both events.

Funny enough, both weddings had a yellow and white color scheme and both weddings used white gerbera daisies. It was sometimes difficult in the cooler to know which flowers went with which order. Luckily, every flower found it's place.

Yellow and white has been a popular color scheme this year. Whether it's buttercream and ivory or bright yellow and white, it's a natural pairing.

The event pictured first above was held the IMU garden followed by a reception at Alumni Hall. The ceremony was kept simple with the bride and attendants carrying timeless bouquets of all white calla lilies. The only decorations at the garden were two large terra cotta pots filled with annuals and perennials at the front of the aisle. This was a really special treat for both the Mother of the Bride and the Mother of the Groom, who each took one of these pots home to enjoy.

At Alumni Hall they had all white flowers on yellow linens. Half of the tables had a mixed arrangement of football mums, white oriental lilies and alstromeria. The other half had one tall vase with three gerbera daisies surrounded by three smaller vases, each with a single variety of flowers. These vases were adorned with a stripe of yellow satin ribbon bringing the color up from the cloth.

Unfortunately, I didn't take many photos of the other event. The bridal bouquet was filled with white gerbera daisies, white roses and white stephanotis with a splash of light blue delphinium. The bridesmaids carried a mix of white and yellow gerbera daisies.

What a great week. Now, time to buckle down again. Watch for next weeks blog. It'll be a doosy.

Hot Pink and Orange

Hot pink and orange is a dynamic color combination. The bridesmaids carried a simple arrangement of bright orange gerbera daisies while the bridal was mixed with orange and pink gerberas with orange roses and pink mini callas.

They were smart with their budget and brought in pictures of these centerpieces. They provide a have high impact without a ton of money. Tall glass columns and low fish bowls filled the room with bright linens carrying the theme.

This room looked festive and fun. The bride really pulled it all together.

90 years deserves some flowers

90th birthday party at The Pointe. Loved the blue hydrangea and the yellow sunflowers, the clients suggestion.

Something Simple

Just a quick order for a bridal. Thanks for the business Bloomington!!! Keep it coming.

Nature's Bounty

This was such an exciting wedding to help with. A beautiful vision of wildflowers casually put together from a garden. Unfortunately, nothing is ever that easy. These bouquets took a lot of thought and even more concentration. To make something look effortless you certainly do have to put forth a lot of effort.

Planning and then some... revisited

Thanks to David and Cathy I have some new photos from my recent wedding for Lizzie and David. LOVE LOVE LOVE professional pictures of my work (especially good ones).

Ribbon Cutting

So... I opened May 1st, but just yesterday the Chamber of Commerce came by to do a formal ribbon cutting. I'm so very happy to be, not only a member of the Chamber, but to be a part of the downtown Bloomington Scene. It was great to have my husband and partner Justin Lutz as well as my babies, Claire and Sammy there to celebrate the event.

Pictured from left to right: Rick Schmitt, Janelle Gonyea, Pam Weddle, Justin Lutz with Claire, Andrea Lutz with Sammy, Beth Wrenn, Tim Frazier. Thanks to Katie Bruhn for taking this picture.

Thanks to everyone who came out and showed their support. And thanks to my daughter Claire for making the awesome banana bread we all enjoyed. Nicely done Claire :)

Planning and then some...

This past week I worked on a wedding where I was a double agent, florist and planner. Although I have helped brides in the past with vendor selection, invitations, favors and all the rest, I've never been involved to this extent. It was so much fun for my clients to include my input throughout the planning process. It was intimidating and a lot of work, but in the end it was gratifying to see it all come together so well.

We started by working together on style and vision and widdled our way down to details, like gift bags and menu cards. The wedding colors were navy and hot pink and came though in a variety of ways. The bridesmaids wore navy blue dresses that were summery and elegant. The hot pink gerbera daisies and roses really added a splash.

At the ceremony, less was more and they chose two larger arrangements at the front of the church.

At the reception, more was more, large bowls filled with blue hydrangea, blue delphinium and hot pink roses looked amazing opposite silver tableabras topped with the same. Candles on every table added an intimate feeling to the classic layout of the Tudor Room.

It all looked great at the end of the day and everything went smoothly. Of course, there were a few tiny hiccups but in my opinion tiny hiccups are welcome to the major catastrophes some weddings have to deal with.

David and Cathy were the photographers and were amazing to work with. All of the pictures at the top of this blog are compliments of them and aren't they great!!! If you think their pictures are fantastic, wait until you meet them!! (Don't hold them accountable for the horrid pictures at the foot of the blog, those are my fault.)

Thanks to everyone that helped make this day as great as it was!

Congrats Lizzie and David. You were so much fun to work with.

Menu cards and gift bag tags designed and printed by Boundless Design.

Simple but Beautiful

Too bad I didn't take more pictures of this one. I love the bridesmaid bouquets of white stock and ivory roses. The bridal had both of these with lavender roses giving it a bit of color. I really like the color combination.... simple but beautiful. Just another example to show that if you have beautiful flowers, you have beautiful arrangements.

Vintage Garden

This wedding was small but oh so beautiful. The Bride left it up to me to create a classic vintage look to the bouquets. She said she loved the look of peonies, but since they are well out of season by now, I went to my favorite replacement, garden roses. I added eucalyptus to the bridal to fill it out and add that, "gathered in the garden" look. The alter arrangement, to be placed in the beautiful Beck Chapel was placed in a ceramic urn and filled with seasonal flowers. Pink larkspur, buttercream stock (another of my favorites), pink, cream and peachy garden roses and some antique pink spray roses. I was very happy how it all came together and I just love it when my clients have faith in me as a professional to make thier vision a reality.

The Clean Outdoors

This weeks wedding was planned for Dunn Meadow, an outdoor field at Indiana University. The bride wanted a natural clean look and expected the green grass and bright sunshine to add to her vision. Unfortunately, like so many other outdoor weddings, we had to move to "Plan B". The weather was non-negotiable, so Alumni Hall is where the ceremony landed.

The archway and ceremony accents intended for the meadow were moved into the Hall where the dance floor space was plotted. It looked right at home with the burlap linens and the wheat grass centerpieces. Sand, rocks, natural fibers and grasses made this wedding unique and undeniably summer.

The Bride carried an all red bouquet consisting of dahlias, gerbera daisies, hypericum berry, scabiosa and cosmos. Her something old was her Grandmother's handkerchief wrapped around the bouquet stems. The Bridesmaids each carried a different bouquet using one or more of the elements in the bridal with a subtle burlap wrap. The centerpieces were alternating wheat grass and seasonal red flowers in glass.

In the end the space was well dressed and ready for a party. I don't think anyone noticed there was anything except a "Plan A".

It's Cool.... but it's Hot!

I'm always up for new experiences, and this week I created arrangements that I never have before... what fun! The color scheme for the wedding was hot pink/magenta, lime green and white. The bride wanted to have contemporary clean design with bright colors and a creative layout. She also brought in a picture of an arrangement she liked with clear gel in the vase. I've seen this gel used by other florists, but I've never used it before. When used in glass it looks like crushed ice and as an added bonus, it allows to create minimal arrangements without fuss.

Her bridal was white peonies, green cymbidium orchids, green roses and hot pink mini calla lilies, while the bridesmaids carried magenta orchids, hot pink mini calla lilies and green roses.

The centerpieces stopped the show with three arrangements per table, one long rectangle with a line or hot pink roses, a small square packed with green berries and a larger square topped with white peonies. It was a great compliment to the IU Auditorium.

Thank you to all the brides who push me to explore new design.