Woodland Garden Wedding – Part I

O.k., FINALLY I have narrowed down the selection of images from last weekend’s wedding to include to a few quite lovely ones. But it was so hard to decide! Apryl and I had the best time designing the arrangements for this wedding.

Oncidium Orchid Spray with Tree Stump & Moss

Our inspiration was ‘a walk in the woods.’ We imagined lots of soft beautiful mosses, the way the ground is sort of springy under your feet with all the pine needles and organic materials gently breaking down over time…ferns at the bases of trees, wild Lady’s Slipper orchids on a forest floor.

Lady's Slipper Orchids with Maidenhair Ferns

We had so much fun sourcing the materials for this wedding, foraging for moss near Petalena Studio and up in Maine and New Hampshire when we were there visiting friends and family (thank you to Christine especially!).

Terrarium with Orange Cattaelya Orchids

We did three different style for the tables (1) low bronze trays filled with mosses, tree stumps, and orchids; (2) large glass hurricanes filled to create a terrarium of orchids, mosses, lichen, and ferns (3) low cork containers filled with mosses, ferns, and orchids. Kind of picking up theme here? Yes, we used A LOT of mosses, orchids, and fern! But what was so fabulous, was that despite having only three primary materials, each arrangement was so unique from the next.

Low Cork Vessel filled with Phalenopsis Orchids, Maidenhair Ferns, & Mosses

I love this photo because although it is a little hard to see, there’s Apryl in the background, wearing a deep magenta top that is practically the same color as the orchid here. We always joke that we subconsciously dress to match each of weddings – but we actually do!

I had gobs of fun creating the entry table arrangement, which despite my fancy camera, I could not get a decent shot – so fingers crossed the professional photographer might have take a few lovelies. Stay tuned on that one…

Entry Table Arrangement

I’ll show a few more here so you can see all the fabulous detail, plants tucked here and there, it really looked like I didn’t even create this – it looked like it literally was plopped right out of the forest.

Entry Table Arrangement (detail)

Backside of Entry Table Arrangement

Lady's Slipper Orchid (detail)

It was so fun making this design. As staff, other vendors, and clients walked by, people would stop and say, “Did you make this? Good for you!” Or these two big guys who were delivering this massively heavy photo booth who actually stopped, looked at the entry table and said “Dude, that is freakin’ cool!” You know something is pretty unique when even a random guy feels compelled to say something!

Blood Orange Cattaelya Orchids (detail)

Oh sign, Shannon & Troy, thank you so much for having us be part of your day, it was fantastic!

Photos & Design by Petalena

 

Sneak Peak at Our Woodland Wedding

We’re still resting our minds, hands, and feet after this weekend’s wedding with a fantastical woodland theme. The bride had a vision for flowers and design that would evoke stepping into the forest – lots of mosses, ferns, and orchids. We have soooo many photos from this wedding that I’m still going through them and struggling to pick our faves. Since I need a few more days, here is one lovely shot of the small posy bouquets we did for the six bridesmaids:

Bridesmaids' Posy Bouquets of Fantastical Orchids

It was so completely lovely. More soon….

Photo & Design by Petalena

 

Classic Beauty at the Union Club

A favorite timeless color palette of ours is warm ivory, peach, and silver. It’s so classic – yet a bit different than doing straight up ivory/white flowers. Peach and ivory flowers complement the silver of the table and container perfectly and contrast subtly with the navy rimmed porcelain plates of the dinner settings.

Hydrangea & Garden Roses in Ivory & Peach

Not to toot our own horns too much, but isn’t this gorgeous?
Of course not for everyone, some like things a bit more festive and bright – but this is perfect for a  couple looking for a classic and gorgeous style for their wedding.

Peach and Ivory Table Design at the Union Club

I think the Union Club might be our new favorite wedding locale. In addition to being just next door to one of my fave restaurant treats, No. 9 Park, this beautiful private club is small in scale but still grand with boutique rooms for a dinner party-feel. Gorgeous. Simply gorgeous, oh and it’s perfectly downtown!

Hydrangea & Garden Rose Table Design

So, what’s in these lovely arrangements, hmm? Well we have lots of lovely ivory hydrangea paired with a fave garden rose “Juliet” and petite little deeper peach spray roses. Plus we have a few warm “Majolika” roses too for another ivory tone.

And of course the bouquets for the bride and bridesmaid – quite similar actually to the table designs but with some touches of champagne roses and peach and white ranunculas:

Bouquets wrapped for travel

And the bride’s bouquet:

Beauty Bouquet

Such prettiness! I hope these photos hold everyone over to till our next wedding – it is going to be wild forest glen inspired!

Design & Photos by Petalena

 

Autumnal Wedding at the Lyman Estate

Here are a few lovely images from a wedding we just finished at the Lyman Estate – a Historic New England site – in Waltham, Massachusetts. With lots of beautiful period rooms, the mood for the wedding was to be a  festive dinner party complete with lots of jars informally filled with pretty seasonal blooms and tied with ribbons:

Tulips & Dahlias by Evening Sunlight

Pomegrantes with Dill & Astilble

The color palette for the table arrangements was primarily deep plums, burgundies, greens, and soft neutrals.

Hydrangea with tulips and pomegranates

Each table was a bit different from the next, for an informal and slightly eclectic feel.

Festive arrangement of peach dahlias and mint

Tulips in sunlight

Lovely, lovely fall flowers. Cheers to the fabulous bride and groom – it was wonderful to be part of your day!

Design & Photos by Petalena

 

Wedding Arch for an English Style Elegant Wedding

Just a few photos from a wedding this fall where we used a new iron arch we purchased over the summer. Clients often ask us about recommendations on where to rent an arch or chuppah and aside from a few places, there just aren’t a lot of good options in Boston. So, when we found this one at a high-end garden store, we jumped it on it! Now it’s great because we can offer it to our clients who appreciate having another option.

Detail of flower "cuff" on wedding arch

We used several varieties of roses here for the flower ‘cuffs’ and some insanely beautiful hydrangea that one of our favorite vendors at the flower market hooked us with from Holland.

Wedding Arch with Urns

Here you can see the full arch which we draped in a soft blush fabric. I just adored the urns we did for this wedding too – antique black with lots of different roses in tonal pink and antique colors.

Detail of Ceremony Urn Arrangement

I just think these colors are so sublime. They are colors, but so quiet and subtle, it’s just so beautiful and classical while still being a bit unusual with the taupe roses and incredible hydrangea.

Flower Cuffs for Wedding Arch in transport

And lastly, just a kooky little behind-the-scenes shot of me hanging out in the back of the van before we head off!

Julie with flowers (and other sundries) in the Petalena van

Happy fall! Stay tuned for next week’s wedding – it’s going to be just gorgeous. Lots of seasonal flowers and branches of persimmons and pomegranates in a European market-place style. Ceremony and reception will all be at the Lyman Estate in Waltham, one of the most beautiful venues (at least we think!) in the Boston area. We’ve very excited!

Design & Photos by Petalena

 

One perfect photo, one beautiful bouquet

We did a wedding back in July for a wonderful couple – one American, one Canadian. They met in Montreal, had a moment, he left and went back to Boston, she stayed. He couldn’t get this girl off his mind once he was home, so he tracked her down only with the information that she was a middle school science teacher in a suburb outside of Montreal. He found her. They met again, they fell in love, and now they are married!

Celeste's Celestial Bouquet

Our friend Connie Miller of studioatticus took the photos for their wedding and we just fell in love with this image she captured. The bride wore a stylish shorter gown with beautiful lace and fabulous Christian Louboutin heels for an extra bit of style! Connie captures her here, bouquet lowered, so lovely against the beautiful lacy contrast of the gown.

Her bouquet by Petalena featured lush deep pink peonies, magenta  mokara orchids, blush pink cymbidium orchids, and accents of green mint and silver dusty miller foliage.

Photo by studioatticus

Bouquet by Petalena

 

Vintage Inspired Bridal Bouquet

Following up on our blog post from yesterday on our wedding at The Boston Harbor Hotel, here is the lovely bridal bouquet in blushes, warm ivories, and silver:

Blush Bouquet

We used lovely, lovely roses like pink Vendela roses, fragrant gardenias, soft ivory Majolika roses, plus a few ivory calla lilies, and pink cymbidium orchids for good measure. The bouquet was accented with silver foliage – an elegant look for brides who want to avoid greenery in their wedding design.

Blush Bridal Bouquet

We did a lovely vintage style handle  for a more formal and elegant look. The trick (and the painstaking part) is that many of the flowers need to be wired so the ends of the flowers will fit into the small narrow handle. It’s a great, high end look – perfect for more formal weddings.

Detail View

Is this just timeless?

Photos & Design by Petalena

 

Cameo & Pink Bouquets

We just finished up a lovely wedding at the Boston Harbor Hotel this weekend. One of our favorite color palettes of cameo pinks, silvers, and beige-y mauves. Here are photos of the bouquets. Something about this palette is just timeless, like right out of a vintage photograph…

Bridesmaid Bouquet with Hydrangea & Roses

This wedding introduced us to a fabulous rose “Quicksand” – the most subtle warm taupe that looks gorgeous with pale pinks but could also be used in an incredible variety of palettes.

Close Up of "Quicksand" Rose

Is that just magical and vintage?

Photos and Design by Petalena

 

Garden Party Wedding in Connecticut

Oh sigh….we’re smitten.

We just finished the most lovely wedding in Connecticut (yes, we do travel beyond Massachusetts!) for the most darling and creative couple. The bride  made all the tablecloths for her wedding and her Maid of Honor’s gown too! Her husband is an artist and travels all about the country painting customized murals on people’s vintage VW buses. Seriously, how could we not love them?

Bouquet detail - Gorgeousness in Peaches, Pinks, and Yellows

For the color palette we looked for a balance of color and flowers that evoked that transition from late summer to early fall. So oranges and yellows, yes. But paired with deep pinks, peaches, and lots of unique foliage to keep the palette bright and a bit summery.

Our bride’s bouquet was similar to her Maid of Honor’s but with some touches of lovely vintage-y gardenias. We hadn’t used gardenias in this way before – in a more garden-style, less ‘vintage modern’ but it totally worked:

A Bouquet for Jessica

And just one more detail of the bouquets before we move onto the reception:

Up Close and Gorgeous

The reception was held at the Hill-Stead Museum in Connecticut. The ceremony took place there as well in a beautiful sunken garden, thank goodness the rain stopped! The entire museum site is beautiful with an old historic house museum, gardens to peruse, and the “Makeshift Theatre” where our couple’s reception took place. It’s an old Arts & Crafts style structure, originally designed as a theater with lots of beautiful woodwork.

Salmon-Hued Table Centerpiece at the Hill-Stead Museum

Table designs were done in two styles – one an rustic-style ivory metal garden urn; the other, antique bottle collections filled a few perfect blooms. Over the summer months Apryl and I collected about 30 or so antique bottles on our travels and day trips around New England. The bride and groom wanted the design to fit with the old character of the space and it worked beautifully.

Collection of Antique Bottles filled with Dahlias

Urn with Dahlias, Cosmos, & Sunflowers

And just a few more because I couldn’t make my mind up!

Wildness Table Arrangement (there's always one)

Apryl & I always joke that for every wedding there is always one table arrangement that just ends up bigger than the others.  I think for this wedding, it was this arrangement above. It was just a little more wild and exuberant than the others.

We call these arrangements our “Jane Mansfields” – a reference from Apryl’s mother’s days as a floral designer. Many years ago Apryl’s mother designed an arrangement made entirely of deep pink feathers shaped into peonies for the movie diva Jane Mansfield.  Geraldine, Apryl’s mom, always talks about how Jane Mansfield wanted a HUGE arrangement of these feather peonies – totally fabulous, but totally over the top. So now, we have our “Jane Mansfields” too!

Salmon Dahlias with Sunflowers

Dinner Plate Dahlia Detail

Another beautiful day, we love what we do!

All photos & design by Petalena

 

Petite Orchids

Apryl & I are bit obsessed right now with teeny tiny phalenopsis orchids – they are divinely small but spectacular in bouquets. And on their own, they are such a precious treat:

Mini Phalenopsis Orchid in Urn

We’re doing something similar to this for one of our fall brides but we’ll be painting the urns an antique bronze for deeper palette and adding small bits of manzanita to hold flower stem up.

Lady's Slipper Orchids and Mini Phals in the Studio Window

And here, another one of my ’studio still lifes’ of dramatic lady’s slipper orchids and the miniature phalenopsis orchids in one of our studio windows. Lovely, lovely.

Petalena