"I Do" Flowers

It’s been a long time since I updated the blog, and I promise going forward I will be better about posting updates and sharing new pictures of the fabulous weddings I’ve been working on this year. There have been a lot of weddings this year, but I’ve been too caught up in the chaos of life to attend to the website.

I have to share some exciting news though… We recently bought a new house in Lakeville, MN and are officially moving the workshop “in-house”!! Originally the workshop was located in Inver Grove Heights while we were living in Eagan, but I am super excited to have everything in one location again and we will have a lot more space to expand.

This weekend will involve a lot of moving and organizing, thanks to the help of our friends and family. And while everyone is moving the heavy boxes I will be off delivering a beautiful wedding to another wonderful bride! Stayed tuned for new pictures and updates. I hope to add new content to my galleries soon and feature a few weddings on the blog. Hope you are all having a great summer!

It was beautiful day for a wedding on September 12, 2009. The day was perfectly sunny and unseasonably warm for that time of year. I had the opportunity to do wedding flowers for a very fun and creative bride named Nathalie.  She had a vision for her wedding to incorporate a vintage and romantic feel in a garden-like setting. Her wedding took place on Harriet Island in a outdoor ceremony that overlooked the St. Paul skyline. Nathalie knew she wanted lots of textures and colors, but more importantly wanted the flowers to feel romantic, vintage, and like they were just plucked from the garden.

The bouquets had black magic roses, orange unique roses, solidago, green hypericum berry, light pink lisianthus, white button mums, vendela roses, orange spray roses, cream spray roses, and white ostrich feathers. They were finished off with a beautifully rich gold satin ribbon.

When Nathalie met with me to discuss her flowers, she really emphasized that the boutonnieres and corsages should be unique and non traditional, while encompassing the theme of her vintage garden wedding. We decided to forgo all flowers and use feather, greens, berries, and curly willow to make the boutonnieres really stand out.

To further emphasize the vintage look, Nathalie had collected various sized mason jars in different colors which were used to hold the centerpiece flowers, the pew flowers, and hundreds of candles. It was the perfect  finishing touch to create her romantic, vintage garden wedding.

Nathalie was one of my favorite brides to work with in 2009! Check out Nathalie’s website at www.nakdesigns.com to see all the creative things she can do with invitations. The photos for this blog were provided by Jennifer Cress at www.jennifercress.com Jennifer does AMAZING photography and I highly recommend her!

It’s the week of Christmas and just shy of the New Year and I wanted to take a moment to wish everyone a holiday greeting.

It’s been a great year for “I Do” Flowers! I’ve had the chance to work with some wonderful brides and fabulous vendors! Thank you to everyone who helped support my business this year and I am yet again amazed at how much I grow and learn each wedding season. I am looking forward to the endless possibilities of the coming years.

Thank you also to the wonderful vendors who I’ve had a chance to to meet and work with. You make this business a delight to be apart of!

I hope each one of you enjoys your time with family and friends this holiday season. I look forward to working with many of you in 2010! Take care and Happy Holidays!

Jamie and Dan were married October 9th in St. Louis Park at the Marriott. When I first met this couple, I knew they were going to be really fun to work with. Jamie knew that she wanted a palette of rich red flowers for both her bouquet and her bridesmaids bouquets.

Her bridesmaids dresses,  which were a beautiful shade of sage green would be complimented nicely by the rich red flowers. Jamie was using lots of candles and different shades of red flowers to create a really romantic feel for her ceremony and reception. The flowers she chose for her bouquets were red dahlias, red carnations, red ‘Freedom’ roses, red ‘Peter Pan’ spray roses, red ranunculus, and fern coils.

Jamie chose two different styles of centerpieces to add interest and depth to the ceremony and reception site. The taller centerpieces, which doubled as decor at the ceremony, were tall cylinder vases filled with curly willow and edged in rich red roses and carnations. These centerpieces were also surrounded by a carpet of red rose petals and votive candles.

The shorter centerpieces were a cluster of different cylinder vases each containing a floating candle and surrounded by a carpet of red rose petals.

Jamie had a fabulous idea for an alternative type guestbook. Rather than having a book for her guests to sign she came up with the idea of a wish tree. Each guest would write a wish for the couple on a piece of paper and hang it from the tree. This tree was constructed from manzanita branches painted gold and secured in a chocolate brown terracotta cube.

Jamie and Dan’s wedding turned out beautifully. I have to give credit to their wonderful day of wedding coordinator Kirsten from Fab.you.lous Event Design. She did a great job of setting up the ceremony and reception site and provided hundreds of candles and cylinder vases that added to the dramatic romantic feel of both rooms. Additionally, Emma Freeman was Dan and Jamie’s photographer and did a fabulous job of catching the special moments of their wedding day.

With the hint of early summer in the air, I had the opportunity to create the flowers for a great couple, Jackie and Chris, for their May 24th wedding. Their wedding was very elegant, classic, and clean and took place at the Carlson Towers in Minnetonka. The backdrop of their ceremony was the amphitheater and the reception area featured a stunning fountain.

Light blue, white, and silver were their colors, and what better flowers to pair with these colors than Hydrangea in shades of white and blue as well as white Orchids.  Jackie wanted the bouquet for her bridesmaids to be simple and very clean looking. We achieved this look by gathering white Hydrangea together with light blue ribbon to match the girl’s dresses. Her bouquet was a stunning assortment of white standard and mini Cymbidium Orchids each hand wired into a beautiful bouquet.

Of course, we can’t forget about the groom! Chris was very involved in the flower selection and I really wanted to make him stand out with a stunning boutonniere. His flowers were comprised of white mini Cymbidium Orchids with white Dendrobium Orchid accents.

Since the ceremony was outdoors in a large amphitheater the couple really wanted to create the presence of an altar. We achieved this by creating some very large and stunning arrangements which included Oriental Lilies, Dendrobium Orchids, and Tulips all in white. These were placed on top of two white columns to give it some height. The couple also brought the arrangements into the reception area for added decor.

The centerpieces featured clusters of white and blue Hydrangea and taller Eiffel Tower vases with white Tulips and Dendrobium Orchids.

The finishing touches to this classic and elegant wedding were the cluster of white Peonies atop the couples monogrammed cake.

I really enjoyed working with Chris and Jackie. Their enthusiasm and clear vision of what they wanted in their wedding decor really made all the elements come together flawlessly! The couple’s photographer, Lara Leimbach, did a amazing job on the photos which she has so graciously allowed me to use in this blog!

Hello everyone! This is the launch of the “I Do” Flowers blog. I’ve been creating wedding flowers for many happy couples for over 4 years now and absolutely love what I do. I am very passionate about this business and really hope that I can connect with potential brides as well as past brides though this blog.  I hope to focus on different weddings that I’ve taken on over the year and provide some insight into the whole process from the moment the flowers arrive at my workshop to the first time the brides sees everything come together. I hope you enjoy this blog and the pictures too! Please feel free to leave comments and suggestions.

~ Alissa

Welcome to my new blog, more content to come! I will be featuring a summer wedding here soon!!