maybe you can’t decide on a design, or are afraid things are going to turn out looking a little too homemade. it could be as simple as not knowing how many flowers it actually takes to fill a vase. no prob. i gotcha covered. just let me take over your kitchen, like the lovely chiara did.

i love the geometry and the details in this collection by erik gutter via artiflor. reason enough to tear some attention away from the flowers and shower it on the vessels that hold them. click through and browse some more, there are some beautifully understated and utilitarian pieces waiting for you.

bride’s bouquet with peonies, patience garden roses, champagne roses, and sweet peas, collared with salal and tulle.

centerpieces with hydrangeas, stock, larkspur, roses, queen anne’s lace, and cotinus in mason jars. chiara and her bridal party put together the centerpieces once i got them going. didn’t they do a fantastic job?

ah king estate. i could live in this picture.

i’ve already shared these on twitter, but not everybody who wants to see is there.

if it’s true what they say about rain on your wedding day being good luck, then chiara and justin have more good luck than they know what to do with. the sky must have opened up just for them–saturday was the only rainy day we’ve had for a bit. i did hear yesterday that this has been the second wettest spring in something like 115 years.

chiara hosted a diy party for her flowers, and she could not have had a more talented, helpful, and fun group of friends and sisters to call upon for the occasion. our design time flew by as everybody put together bouquets, centerpieces, and boutonnieres before we turned the flowers over to the gentlemen to take up to king estate. their genius decision: hire a uhaul to transport piles of diy decor, cases of beer, boxes of flowers, and all the other wedding day stuff that tends to accumulate.

jayme elsevier was on hand at chiara’s to capture all the flower designing process. her and her husband, the couple behind the lenses of harvest moon photography, are serious about documenting the entire experience of your wedding–not just the ceremony and reception. they photographed mine a couple years ago and did a phenomenal job at our rehearsal picnic, and they’ve even tagged along with a couple as they applied for their marriage license. i can’t wait to see the photos they snapped this weekend!

p.s. wishing a very happy birthday to my gal tara. *hugs*

everybody’s favorite flowers are the most finicky, most fleeting. hydrangeas fall victim to only the former condition, since at least they’re available more or less year round. they’re best in the fall, by the way. you can find the prettiest colors then.

even still, the demands of the hydrangea are well worth the trouble. its giant pouf of a flower is so easy to design with, complements so many styles, that sometimes i have to force myself not to use them. i wish i’d snapped a few photos of these blooms when they first arrived, but there was just no time. they come packed in boxes, their poor little heads smooshed and thirsty. one by one, unwrap, dunk, chop chop, plop. and the next day, the flowers thank you.

these are for a wedding this weekend, i promise there’ll be pictures of actual arrangements. join me over on facebook to see ‘em as i make, ‘em, or tune in here next week.

ready for a new wedding look? i am.

clockwise from top left: samm blake via style me pretty; pam sattler via ffffound, via grumblr…i mean tumblr;  via oncewed; via tumblr after clearly being scanned from some magazine; edyta szyszlo via the collection event studio

this board is inspired the lovely sara and chris, who happen to clean house every time they go to vegas and take a seat at a blackjack table. the look is old vegas, with free flowing champagne, lots of sequins, and dashing young men in tuxedos that sound like sinatra. there may or may not be a marquee involved. the palette is soft and shimmery, in champagne, ivory, and twinkle lights, accented with gold. i’m calling twinkle lights a color from now on.

who thinks this could be pulled off in jackson hole? yeah, raise those hands up there. (that might explain the inclusion of the photo on the bottom right.)

p.s. let it be known that i don’t like tumblr. perhaps, i’m just biased since i use pinterest, but when things have been pinned after they’ve been tumbl’d a few times, it’s basically impossible to track down the true source of an image. so if you know something i don’t know, please do share.

p.p.s. if you only click one link in those credits, let it be the one to edyto szyszlo’s website. it’s maybe the cutest, most inventive site for a photographer i’ve ever seen.

i have more ideas in my brain than i have time and money to execute, so i figured i’d share some here as an outlet. there’s nothing like inspiration boards to express a little creativity and some good ideas without going gang busters buying flowers, expensive dresses, and lots of beer. ok, i might have some of the latter later today. it is friday, after all.

love oregon? here’s a classy pacific northwest theme for ya. mossy, ferny, shroomy table decor and stationery. puffy clouds of baby’s breath. and beer. this imaginary wedding has beer tasting set up at the bar and boutonnieres made out of hops. the rainy theme certainly doesn’t match the day we’re having in eugene right now, but i can’t say i mind one bit.

i could put together about a bajillion more of these. leave a comment and let me know if you want to see them. like this board? get married and i’ll help you make it happen. :)