Branching Out Event Florist - Chicago

Wedding & Event Florist for Chicago and the Northwest Suburbs

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Sweetheart Tables and Why We Love Them!

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Sweetheart Table or Head Table?

That is a question that many couples wrestle with. With 40 years in the wedding industry, I’ve seen enough weddings to have a good idea of how to answer that.

A sweetheart table will always be my choice and there are two simple reasons why.

1. It may be the only time you get a moment alone(ish).

Weddings are hectic; everyone wants to talk to you and share their love and best wishes. That goes both ways; you want to greet and thank all the amazing people that showed up to celebrate this one perfect day. But don’t you both deserve just a moment to sit back, look around, and just soak it all in? You, alone together, sharing your first meal as a married couple. The pre-ceremony nerves are gone and you are off your feet with a refreshing beverage. Take a moment to breathe and really enjoy the moment.

Sweetheart Table_BW EventsSweetheart Table_The Grove at Redfield Estatescouple kissing at Sweetheart Table with hanging Installation _Brix on Fox

2. The sweetheart table is the focal point for your reception.

Just like the decor you use for your ceremony is a focal point,  so too is the sweetheart table.

Think about this for a minute: this is where you will be sitting when everyone gives their speeches and toasts. All eyes on you to see your expressions. Photographers LOVE those moments. Some of the best pictures of the two of you are taken in this one spot. Well then let’s make it gorgeous!

Sweetheart Table Toast Sweetheart Table_The Standard

Flowers in front of you! Flowers behind you! A vase for your bouquet(s)! Candle for a warm glow that makes your skin radiant!

Wait, you ask, isn’t that really expensive? Maybe not as much as you think.

Nearly every couple I talk to asks what they can repurpose from the ceremony; this is your answer! Aisle arrangements? Of course. Archs? Probably. Staggered arrangement on columns? Yes Please!! Having a gorgeous Sweetheart Table is your excuse to blow up the ceremony site.

Here is a tiny taste of some of the Sweetheart Tables we have made magical recently

Hey, we can do head tables too, if that’s your thing!

Head table at Lacuna Loft reusing the flowers from the ceremony

 

 

 

 

Margot & Kyle’s Fabulous Winter Wedding at The Brix on Fox

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There is just something so yummy about a Winter Wedding.

It’s time to break out all the different tones of white, the ever so palest pastels and the deep rich sheen of gold.

From the moment I met Margot I knew she was going to be a fun bride and that I was going to love her wedding. She loved classic elegance but wanted it to be unique. Well now, that is right up our alley.

From the soft pastel garden roses nestled down into snowy white hydrangeas of Margot’s bouquet to the massive floor arrangement that framed the head table, everything spoke of winter elegance.

I hope you enjoy these fabulous photos from Adams Photography. If you are looking for a wedding photographer, be sure to give Josh and Alexa look. I love their attention to detail.

Speaking of details, don’t miss the clutch purses we adorned for the Moms. They loved them!

 

hydrangea and rose bouquets
Winter bridal bouquet

 

A Very Jurassic Wedding

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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.summer-wedding-centerpiece
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?

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

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My favorite moment of every wedding I design is when I hand the bride her bouquet.
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Alexis, we wish you and Michael many bright sunny years as husband and wife!

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A Rustic Woodland Wedding at Pinstripes, South Barrington

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A little moss, a few candles, and some amazing pink roses are sometimes all it takes to create a rustic woodland wedding vibe just about anywhere.

Erin & Joe’s wedding at Pinstripes in South Barrington was one of those times. When I met Erin, she had a very clear idea of what she wanted for her wedding, think lanterns, moss, twinkle lights and loads of green, like a woodland garden at twilight. The pops of light pink made it all the more romantic.

We used one of my all-time favorite roses, Esperance. They open so full and lush that Erin told me her guests kept touching them to see if they were real! The moss covered wood slabs, twinkle lights and those roses brought a bit of rustic woodland charm to the tables and the ceremony.

Erin had a lovely banner made for the ceremony which we accented with garland, moss and more roses. During the cocktail hour, we moved it all to the reception so they could use it as a backdrop for the sweetheart table.

Sara at Pinstripes was kind enough to capture this for us. Don’t they make the sweetest couple!

rustic woodland sweetheart table

Major shout out to Brooke Rumbold of Brooke Alaina Photography for sharing the pictures in the gallery below. You can read more of Erin and Joe’s story on Brooke’s blog.

To find out more about Branching Out visit our About page or shoot us an email.

Flower Crowns Come in All Sizes

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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!

Flower Crown