I've always dreamt of bride, what girl hasn't? I knew, when the big day came I wanted to have a hand in as much as possible... And my dream came true! I'm a very creative and artsy person so I had a CLEAR vision of how I wanted the decor to look... but also, a budget. I'm always looking for ways to make something my own, or finding inspiration and recreating something. Looking back on my wedding day, I am so proud that everything was so personal to my husband and me. My sister-in-law did my hair, my maid of honor made our cake topper (little cork versions of us!), my father's band played our reception... everyone's talents were utilized! I designed and printed the invitations, handcrafted, stained and lettered all the signage, folded 1,000 paper cranes into a display, and created my seating chart from my husbands grandfathers suitcase among other projects... so, to me doing my own floral arranging wasn't even a question... it was just something that was going to happen. I did a ton of research, watched a LOT of YouTube tutorials and felt VERY confident in my abilities to make this fairytale flower dream a reality! For our centerpieces my stepfather helped me spray paint mason jars a beautiful metallic gold which we placed on rounds from a tree that was cut down in our backyard. (Don't worry, the tree had to come down...being able to use the wood slices was a happy accident!) Our Venue, The Lodge at Welch Allyn in Skaneateles Falls, NY has a HUGE fireplace about three stories tall and a sprawling huge dining room with Floor to ceiling windows. The venue itself had the rustic feel I wanted, but I knew we would need a ton of florals to bring in a soft, cozy feel to the day that I really wanted. My husband trusted me the whole way. I had two calls with Violet who truly guided me and helped me make my vision a reality. She nicknamed me the "Texture Bomb" Bride. I was so drawn to soft, feminine fluffy blooms (especially garden roses) in contrast with cool unique textures like thistle, astrantia and the GORGEOUS Evening Sun Dahlias. I was very thankful that she steered me away from the anemones, which I had originally planned on having as my focal flower. When the flowers arrived, we turned my mother's basement into a full-fledged nursery. My stepfather and I sprayed the dahlias (who were already full and beautiful) nightly with crowning glory and kept all the flowers hydrated and with fresh flower food. I loved looking after the blooms, watching them open up and preparing them for the big day - arrangement day! My maid of honor helped me turn the boxes the flowers were shipped in into transportation for the vessels on the big day. Everyone stepped up to help! We all had gloves and a pair of shears. We had so much fun creating the bouquets and centerpieces! It was a LOT of work but paid off in a big way! We had SO much filler left over I sent my brother to the dollar store- he came back with more tall vases and we used as much as we could transport. These arrangements ended up on the entry tables, fireplaces, you name it! Any blank space with filled in with beautiful blooms!. I even started wiring together eucalyptus garlands last minute with all the leftovers- this was my favorite because they fit perfectly on the fireplace where we ended up doing our "First Look" photos due to bad weather... and it looked perfect! I felt like a real live Disney Princess walking down the aisle. If anyone tells you you're crazy for wanting to do you're own flowers- you're not! I wouldn't change a thing and I would absolutely use FiftyFlowers again, probably sooner rather than later since I'm now the honorary florist amongst my friends, and my maid of honor is tying the knot next year! The quality of the flowers was top notch and the selection was unbelievable. Grab your creative friends and family members and have fun!
