Fresh Flower Rings!

We are excited to unveil our new offering for the 2009 wedding and prom season-- Fresh Flower Rings!!!

These are a super-cute alternative to a corsage. Or, an addition to a corsage package if you want to go all out. Over and over, I have heard clients express less than enthusiastic feelings about corsages in general, but they really didn't know what else they could do to honor the important people in their lives at their wedding or to make their date feel special for the big dance.

The Fresh Flower Ring is our answer! The ring itself can be made in just about any color, and the fresh flower possibilities are endless. From button mums (like the green ones pictured below) to orchids, many different types of flowers can be fashioned into rings.

Here are a couple of pictures of my first attempts to give you an idea:






As always, if you know anyone who is planning a wedding or event, please give them my name! I appreciate all of your referrals!

Top 10 Tips for an Amazing Wedding

I've been in the wedding business for a long time. I've also been a bridesmaid 7 times and had 2 previous jobs where a lot of event planning skills were required, not to mention planning my own wedding 3 years ago. So, while flowers remain my passion and main area of expertise, I have also become something of an expert on weddings in general. I recently took some time to sit down and write out my top 10 bits of advice for planning an amazing wedding. Please enjoy this list, and pass it on to any friends you may know who are currently engaged!

1. Let go of the idea of a perfect day-- it doesn't exist!
2. Hire vendors you trust and like-- this will ensure you get as close to a perfect day as possible.
3. Stay within your budget by prioritizing-- remember, there is life after the wedding, and you don't want to start out in debt.
4. Go on dates with your fiancee and specifically choose NOT to talk about your wedding-- just enjoy each other.
5. Make choices that reflect who you are as a couple-- incorporate your personalities in the details.
6. Accept the help offered to you by family and friends-- find them jobs to do!
7. Steal a private moment together at some point during the day-- no photographers allowed!
8. Don't forget about your family & guests-- after all, you wouldn't be who you are without them. This is their day too.
9. Remember to relax, take a deep breath, and take in the day-- it all goes by so fast!
10. Always remember that no matter what else happens, you will be getting married to the love of your life. That is the most important thing about your wedding!

There you have it-- my best advice for wedding planning. If you are currently engaged and feel that you could benefit from the level of service Paisley Petals provides, please contact me today to set up your complimentary consultation.

Laura & Kyle

Laura chose a fun black and white damask theme for her wedding and accented it with bright "wildberry" pink/purple accents and bridesmaids dresses. With so much going on in the other decor, Laura and I decided to keep it simple with the flowers, sticking with white bouquets for her and the bridesmaids.

One of our biggest challenges was finding centerpieces that would fit with Laura's vision of big, fluffy flowers, but still stick within her budget. If you know me, you know that in general, I am not a fan of carnations. Laura felt the same way. However, when used en masse, they can be beautiful and they are starting to grow on me. As you can see from the centerpiece picture below, they can be quite stunning. I guess I need to give them a chance-- but ONLY in this style-- NOT in mixed bouquets!

This wedding was another chance to work with one of my favorite photographers, Luke Rutan. Check him out at http://www.lukerutan.com/








Thank you Laura and Kyle for the chance to be a part of your special day!

Rachel & Ben 8.2.08

I met Rachel back in February and knew I would love working with her. She was so excited to marry Ben which made the planning so enjoyable! My favorite weddings are always the ones where the marriage is more important than the event that's being planned to celebrate it.

The wedding took place at the estate of a family friend. It was absolutely breathtaking! The house was indescribably beautiful, and the large lawn stretched right down to the sound! It's always fun to get to work at a unique venue like that. I was also excited to be working with one of my favorite photographers, Luke Rutan. Check him out at www.lukerutan.com. Luke does an amazing job with weddings in general, but I am always impressed with a photographer who can make the flowers look as good in pictures as the did in real life!

Rachel picked a unique and vibrant color palate of peacock blue, red, and cantaloupe. We decided to accent with some bright green, which really made her colors come to life. Rachel's bouquet was made of a stunning combination of blue hydrangea, red gerbera daisies, cantaloupe dahlias and green buplurum.











Congratulations Rachel and Ben! Thank you for allowing me to be a part of your special day!

Allie & Chris

My cousin Allie got married on August 15th and I got to do the flowers! It's always especially fun to put together wedding flowers for someone you've known forever-- it makes it a lot easier to reflect their personalities in the arrangements. Allie has always been a very sweet, thoughtful, fun-loving girl. I was so happy for her and Chris and so blessed to get to be a part of their special day!

My thanks to Christy Pelland with c.pelland photography for these amazing images! Christy not only does a fantastic job taking great pictures, but she really invests in her relationship with each couple and cares about their story. She's the type of vendor I love to work with and I recommend her very highly. Check out her web site at www.christypelland.com

Allie's bouquet was the star of the show- as the bride's bouquet should be! The bridesmaids were wearing red, so to make sure we kept a summery rather than wintery feel, we decided to use lots of orange and bright green in the flowers. I used red and orange roses, orange mini calla lilies, orange freesia, orange dahlias, green hypericum berries and buplurum in the bride's bouquet. The colors really work well together, don't you think?










Here are some shots of the girls in their red dresses. I definitely think we accomplished the summery look we were after! Allie's sister- my cousin- Kate was the maid of honor. As you can probably tell, she had the baby not long after the wedding-- she was a trooper!









Here's one last shot of the flowers on the cake:




Congratulations Allie and Chris!!!

Jen & Nate

Jen and Nate were married in early June at the Inglewood Golf Club. They wanted to create a classic, timeless feel with lots of candle light for a romantic atmosphere.

Jen's bouquet was a classic white hand-tied bundle of roses, lissianthus and sweet peas. She was stunning, and her bouquet was the perfect accessory!






The bridesmaid's bouquets, centerpieces and ceremony pieces brought a big pop of color to the reception with lots of raspberry pink and bright green. It was just the touch of color we needed to breath life into the day!








I had a blast working with Jen, her mom Sue and their coordinator Heather to put together a beautiful wedding.

Congratulations Jen and Nate!

Chantelle & Sebastian 4.26.08

I just got pictures from one of my first weddings of the 2008 season and thought I'd share them with you. All of the photos are by Christy Pelland-- Check out her website at christypelland.com. She does great work!

Chantelle and Sebastian were married in April at the Hanson Place in Sumner. I had never worked at this venue before. It doesn't look like much from the street, but it is surprisingly beautiful inside. Chantelle had chosen a cinderella theme with white, turquoise, and tiffany blue for her colors.

The bridesmaids bouquets were made up of white roses, white stock, white tulips, blue delphinium and loops of lily grass.





When I deliver flowers for a wedding, I label all of the personal flowers (bouquets, corsages & boutonnieres) to make it really easy to distribute them so that I don't have to bother the bride to find out what goes to which person. Bouquets are delivered in vases to make it easy to display them at the reception.




Chantelle's bouquet had a slightly cascading shape and was made up of white roses, white oriental lilies, white stock, blue delphinium, grape hyacinth, loops of lily grass and rhinestone accents.








Congratulations Chantelle and Sebastian!