Fun

Garden Style Design for a Style Shoot

March 17, 2021 by Christine

How we created a Garden Style Design in the dead of winter.

We were honored to be a part of the Fox Valley Styled Bride photoshoot. Beth at Element’s Preserved wanted a spring look that incorporated her fabulous vintage columns. Now mind you, there was a foot of snow on the ground and the temp was in the single digits! My southern girl heart was longing for the lushness of a garden in full bloom.

Hmmm, vintage columns, a venue bathed in natural light. I knew that the wonderful Janet at Dish and Decor Vintage Rentals would be bringing her amazing collection of vintage china and glassware to the shoot. How could I make this special?

Did I mention that this was for a friendly competition of 5 wedding venues in the Fox Valley? No? Well, it was, so I knew It had to be different and amazing.

The idea came to me to create the garden-style ambiance of a formal luncheon in the abandoned garden of an antebellum mansion. The perfect definition of shabby chic!

First off, was to create a climbing rose bush run amuck, up the column, and off to the wall it went! Next, we juxtaposed that with an almost formal arrangement in a vintage compote that had spent many years in our “garden”.

We used those same climbing vines to enhance a structural column at the venue and the wall behind Beth’s antique setee.

Our original plan for the farm table was to do a series of arrangements in gold compotes in keeping with the formal vibe in our abandoned garden. At least that was the plan until I spied 3 perfectly old cement urns sitting on the floor. Bingo! A perfect juxtaposition to Janet’s china and glassware.

Take the talented model Anna Page and put her in a gorgeous gown from The Crystal Bride and you have everything the talented and creative Mary Rose needed to capture a perfect early summer day in our indoor garden style set up.

I hope you enjoy these images of my abandoned garden style wedding.

Instagram for all the participants below gallery.

Garden style wedding backdrop and bouquet

Spring garden-style bouquet

Spring garden urn arrangement

Elements Preserved Styled Shoot by Mary Rose Photography-172

Photography: @mary_rose_photography

Venue: @elementspreserved

Gowns: @crystalbrideofficial

Cake: @ekcakery

Charcuterie: @forkitgrazing

Vintage China Rentals: @dishanddecorvintagerental

Stationery: @pretty_script

Jewelry: @shockeyjewelers

Hair: @tamaraholdenhair

Makeup: @danielakostabeauty

Model: @annanpage

Venue, Planning, Styling, Rentals: @elementspreserved

A Very Jurassic Wedding

November 9, 2018 by Christine

As a florist, designing a wedding is what I love most. One of the sweet brides I have been honored to design for just happens to be an anthropologist. When Alexis hit me with a dinosaur theme, I just knew it would be a very Jurassic Wedding! From ferns to moss, tiny dinosaurs to great big dinosaurs we had a ball putting this one together.
The colors Alexis chose were as bright and sunny as her wedding day. Big, bold, bright yellow roses and blue delphinium would be nestled in deep green ferns and accented with sunflowers.
Then Alexis hit me with the real kicker! To really top of her theme of a Very Jurassic Wedding, she was enlisting the aid of a dinosaur named Norm, on loan for the day from the Field Museum! Well, we figured if Norm was going to be a guest at such an auspicious event, he needed to dress for the occasion! It isn’t every dinosaur that can pull off a rose and sunflower flower crown, but Norm made it look great!

Even in all his fossilized glory, Norm still could not compare to a bride as beautiful as Alexis! Don’t Alexis and Michael make a stunning couple?

Everywhere you looked was that sunny yellow and blue color palette, from the wrist corsages to the barrette in the flower girl’s hair.
Don’t you just love the little dinosaur table numbers? Too cute!

My favorite moment of every wedding I design is when I hand the bride her bouquet.

Alexis, we wish you and Michael many bright sunny years as husband and wife!

A Wedding Bouquet for the Desert

July 5, 2018 by Christine

I have done a lot of wedding bouquets and every one is special, but when your best friend calls and says she is getting married you just know it is going to be epic.

Then she tells you she is getting married in the desert.

At Lake Havasu Falls, which is an 11-mile hike in.

Avid hikers, Amber and Kyle decided to get married in a private ceremony at Lake Havasu Falls, which is an 11-mile hike through the desert, up and down cliffs in the heat of summer. Ok, weight and durability would be an issue. Amber’s first choice for a wedding bouquet was succulents. There are some pretty realistic one made out of silicon that would work.

Here is the boutonniere I made for Kyle out of the faux succulents.

Amber loved her bouquet.

The problem with succulent wedding bouquets is they weigh a bloody ton!

When you are hiking 11-miles in the desert, every ounce matters. So with weight being an issue, we decided at the last minute to go another direction, silk wildflowers.

Here is her bouquet and gown drying on a rock after the ceremony.

Kyle’s wildflower boutonniere.

The original succulent bouquet found new life as cake decor! That’s fitting.

Every wedding is unique, this one may be a little more than most. As a professional, my role is always to figure out a way to make it work and we did. Thank you, Amber and Kyle, for letting me make your wedding more beautiful, one bloom at a time.

Flower Crowns Come in All Sizes

June 20, 2018 by Christine

Flower crowns are one of our favorite thing to make and we recently discovered that they really do come in all sizes. One of our sweet brides is an anthropologist and went full Jurassic on her wedding. She even managed to get the loan of a full-size T-Rex skull! Well, we just thought that if a T-Rex was coming to the wedding, it should be dressed in style, so we made Norm a flower crown with a 72″ diameter.

We promise we’ll make yours a bit smaller!