anastasiaehlers

lindsay and john got married last july at king estates. there’s no need to gush about how much i love working there, let’s just look at the view, shall we?

this was one of the most memorable weddings to date. here’s a photograph of lindsay’s bouquet illustrating part of why:

not bad, eh? so let’s start at the beginning. i built a chuppah for this wedding out of birch poles and beautifully blustery chiffon. it stakes invisibly into the lawn, so there’s no awkward umbrella stand bases involved. this took some figuring and a really big drill bit.

that guy is about 18 inches long and over half an inch wide. it means business. there was also a backyard test run involved before the big day, with the help of my fantastic staff husband.

i made him do the thumbs up. he’s really the best sport, you guys. enough process, let’s see the pretty pictures. the ceremony overlooked the gorgeous vineyard and valley, decorated with the chuppah and glass globes filled with roses. (psst, i’ll set up the chuppah at your wedding if you like–it’s available to rent.)

lindsay chose the ombre effect for her pink bouquet after falling in love with the concept here.

garden roses, tea roses, peonies, astilbe, hydrangeas, and godetia. i love this one.

after setting up the ceremony at the top of the hill, i figured i’d just make the trek down to the pavilion where the reception was to be held on foot. this is a bad idea, and there’s a reason the employees at the winery are zip around in golf carts and vans. i do not recommend it, particularly the sultry weekend after the fourth of july, and extra especially if you’re pregnant. let’s just say it was a little warm. it was also, however, totally worth it. i ran into another vendor setting up for their contribution to the celebration. lindsay and john’s friends surprised them with a fireworks display at the end of the night, which is about the coolest thing ever. thanks for taking a peek. the dorky photos of the drill bit and chuppah set up are by yours truly, the fireworks shot is via king estate. the rest of the lovely images were captured by the spectacular amanda k, and you can see more of the wedding over on her blog. let’s sign off with one more look at that bouquet.

brianna and doug’s gorgeous wedding is up on 100 layer cake today! this was a pleasure to work on, and i’ve shared some behind-the-scenes photos from it before. here’s a few from today’s feature. head over to the beautiful blog to view some more.

photos by anne nunn photographers, cake baked and styled by carla reich of honey crumb, paper goods by mrs. brianna herself.

can we please fast forward to june so i can have buckets full of bearded iris again? the scent just slays me, and i love the pure seasonality of the blooms–they are only available for a few weeks, and really, one should only procure them locally. these were from one of my favorite farms in springfield and i’m proud to say i picked ‘em myself.

the rest of the ingredients were also fantastic fun–poppy pods, cobra lilies (those’d be the pitcher plants…not quite the same as the darlingtonia found on the wayside, but i love the connection), passion vine, muscari, and hydrangeas. better still, but not in this (rather sorry) set of photos, were the fuchsia peonies, picasso calla lilies, and delicate clematis in the bride’s bouquet. resolution for 2013: take more and better pictures, damn it.

i hate flash in photos, but that ruffly iris persuaded me to post this anyway.

as promised, so begins the recap. this cheery celebration took place at mt. pisgah last spring. spring time is dodgy around here, but that day was glorious. as i was rounding the big bend in i-5 heading south, the sky just opened up into completely spectacular sunshine.

the bride’s grandfather built the arbor for the altar with wood he milled himself! i hung little bud vases and bottles gathered by the bride from it. the glass caught the light in a way i couldn’t photograph properly. altars are always hard for me to get good snaps of.

the bride’s bouquet had tulips, craspedia, muscari, ranunculus, leucadendron, veronica, and grasses, with the world’s most fun pompom ribbon. the maids carried live plants potted in terra cotta with more of those darling little poms.

centerpieces were groupings of found jars, bottles, and vases. each table had a box of fresh berries for guests to enjoy. the whole vibe was casual, a little rustic, and a lot of fun.

hello again, dear blog. i’d say i’m sorry for being away, but it would be a lie. see above for the reason.

over the next little while, flowers shall return to the blog as i post what else i was doing while cooking up that little darling. look forward to bouquets and all the other accoutrements.

happy valentine’s day tomorrow, especially to my busy flower friends.

one last ode to these beautiful blossoms before we give them up for peach and cherry. mind the thorns.

A cheerful arrangement for your enjoyment. Maria Theresa garden roses, craspedia (aka billy balls, aka alien antennae), sweet peas, ranunculus, green trick dianthus, mimosa, tuberose, and maidenhair fern. If you can get past the mimosa, this one smells ah-mazing. Here’s to sunshine!

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What a week! Party in Vegas, launch a new website, featured on Wedding Chicks, then design design design for the Eugene Luxe Bridal Event on Thursday night. These gorgeous photos are by the very talented Erica of Erica Ann Photography. We met freshening up before the show and then she swung by the booth towards to end to get some snaps of my table and I am so grateful! There’s more beautiful images from the whole night on her Facebook page, so give it a like while you’re there.

The show was a blast, and I’m so pleased with my booth. It was all decked out in white and green (much thanks to Doodle Dog Creative for the new palette and logo!) and featured a make-it-yourself corsage station set up on my newly-refinished vintage desk (in grey and metallic silver, if you’ve been following the blog and are curious what I chose). I can’t even count how many women stopped by to make a corsage and it was wonderful to have the chance to chat with so many phenomenal gals. I am so looking forward to getting to know everybody better over the next couple of weeks!

Thank you so much to everybody that offered their time, muscles, and support to help me get everything together for the event. In particular, the always-enthusiastic ladies of Moxie Events, Jayme and Russ, Sharon at Office Max, Erica, my best pals Chelsea and Andy for being my “staff” for the night, my parents for stopping by, and Robbie for not minding that I haven’t cleaned up the aftermath from the show just yet. I am the luckiest gal I know.

Heidi’s beautiful purple bouquet is featured on Wedding Chicks today as part of their popular bouquet recipe series. Check it out here!