Fall Florals

We tend to focus on spring and summer when we think about wedding floral arrangements but it's fall now and there are some wonderful ways to incorporate the dark beauty of nature in autumn into fall weddings! We're talking darker pinks, deeper reds, feathers, prairie grasses... the list goes on!

Love the birch bark!  {source}

boutonnières from Martha Stewart Weddings

Center piece from The Ritzy Bee Blog

Wheat arrangements {source}

Cotton Blossoms!  Great for fall or winter!  {source}

The above 3 designs are from Saipua Floral Design in Brooklyn, NY

Monday Monday

Okay so it's Monday & I'm finding myself saying, "Wait. What the heck happened to my weekend?"  The answer is I worked thru Saturday and Sunday flew by so fast before I knew it, it was time for bed.  I'll be honest. I'm not in the greatest mood this morning.  Our Mayday in Minneapolis was a frightful 34 degrees and there were even a couple snow flakes spotted.  On this gloomy Monday it feels more like October than May!  So to add some cheer to the day I'm swiping some beautiful floral photos from 100 Layer Cake's post of an Atlanta wedding.  The flowers are just too pretty for words and you can see the full post here.

Fresh from the Garden

It's summer time and one way to bring summer into your wedding is by using flowers. I know you're thinking, "Gee Laura, flowers at a wedding? Boy, how original! Duh..." But I'm not talking about bouquets or center pieces. I'm talking about edible flowers! There are actually many different edible flowers and beautifully shaped herbs. In the days before elaborate fondants, shaved chocolate, and spun sugar sculptures it was common to decorate cakes and garnish food with flowers fresh from the garden. My 92 year old grandmother still presses Black-eyed Susan's into my mothers birthday cake each summer. You can even freeze tiny blooms into the ice cubes for cocktails! Not every flower is safe (or desirable) to eat but Better Homes and Gardens website has a great list of edible flowers. (And of course never use flowers that were treated with pesticides.) Using edible flowers can give even simple foods a home-spun feel that's also very elegant! Below are a few examples.

Lavender Ice Cream

Flowers garnish champagne cocktails and daiquiris.

Rose petals on white chocolate fudge, marigold vanilla cupcakes, violet topped meringues, & sugared rose petals on almond cupcakes.

Mint is a delicious & beautiful addition to lemon bars or vanilla ice cream.

Oh So Pretty Flowers!

I first came across Saipua's floral designs on the blog Sunday Supper, which sometimes features beautiful tablescapes along with amazing recipes. I have no association with them, they're not paying me to do this post, but I am so much a fan of their flowers I feel compelled to share them with you! Saipua is based in Brooklyn and started out selling handmade soap(still available) but began doing flowers in 2004. They do some of the most beautiful bouquets and arraignments I've ever seen. Their style is completely unlike that of chain florists, selecting a mix of traditional and non-traditional plants for a look that is wilderness tamed. Designs feature such blooms as dahlias, English heritage roses, and (my favorite) ranunculus. You'll not find the tired and overused carnations & baby's breath here. A bridal bouquet by Saipua looks as thought it was just freshly gathered from the prairie or from a Victorian English garden. They feel like they were plucked out of an impressionist painting. They are simply dreamy!