Sarah & Clayton
July 29, 2017

​Sarah and Clayton had a beautiful summer wedding at Herrington on the Bay. It’s an absolutely stunning venue – the palm trees and the little stretch of blue water make it look like you’re at a tropical resort, when in reality, you’re on the Chesapeake Bay in Southern Maryland! My stepsister got married here too about a year ago, so I was already familiar with the venue and had a great time revisiting this slice of paradise!

​Sarah had two requests for her wedding flowers: hydrangeas and lily of the valley! She loved hydrangeas, and her fiancé specifically asked for lily of the valley for sentimental reasons. I love it when couples choose flowers with meaning to them – whether it holds a special significance or is simply their favorite – though it does sometimes make the job tricky! Since lily of the valley is an early spring bloomer, but this wedding was at the end of July, it was a bit of a search to find the flower. But find it I did… all the way in Poland! I ended up using it in her bouquet and his boutonniere, just a little touch with a lot of meaning!
 
In addition to the lily of the valley, I also used white hydrangea, blue delphinium, white ranunculus, pink spray roses, champagne sweetheart roses, and baby’s breath for Sarah’s bouquet, resulting in a soft arrangement with a whole lot of charm! The bridesmaids’ bouquets were matching smaller versions of her bouquet, though with blue hydrangeas as the base and without the lily of the valley. Sarah’s style leaned more on the rustic side, so she painted some mason jars and wine bottles to use as the centerpieces. I filled these with hydrangea, baby’s breath, spray roses, delphinium, and campanula bells (to mimic the look of the lily of the valley at a more affordable price tag!). The arrangement for the sweetheart table was one of my favorite pieces of the day. I brought all the stems with me and created it on site, and the result was a cascading waterfall of blooms and greenery!

​Thank you to Sarah and Clayton for having me as part of your day! And I also want to say a huge thank you to my mom! Not only is she my go-to assistant when I need help with a delivery, but this wedding happened to fall in the middle of a move for me, so I ended up making all the arrangements in her basement (fun fact: baby’s breath gets its name from the fact that when you have a whole bunch of them together it smells like, well, baby’s breath after they’ve had a bottle. Now imagine a whole basement filled with it… sorry Mom!). Speaking of moms, this was my first wedding where the mother of the bride cried when she saw the flowers – I was so touched!
 
Venue: Herrington on the Bay
Photographer: John Heredia

Forgive me if I’m drowning you in pressed flower photos, but I’m so pleased with this Floral Memories concept! I previously shared Laura & Andrew’s final piece (what an awesome couple for letting me try out this service with their wedding), but one proof of concept isn’t enough!

For this second example I took inspiration from my bestie / social media helper Heather! She dug up one of her wedding invitations and I pulled flora that spoke to the aesthetic of her wedding—bright colors and lots of energy—such as orange roses and yellow mums.

​When creating the dried floral art by hand, it’s not just about using the flowers and greenery that spoke to you for your big day, but arranging the pressed pieces to compliment your invitation and the feel of your day.
 
With Heather & Matthew’s piece, I placed the invitation in the bottom right corner to let the birds create the beginnings of motion across the frame! Then I added petals across the frame to mimic the birds’ motion, and placed the mums in the top corner because it reminds me of the sun.

Don’t forget, If you book your wedding with me by Dec 31, 2018, you can ask for this pressed flower service completely free as my gift to you.
 
Fun, right? I’d love to be able to work some magic on your wedding flowers, too. As a reminder, this service is available to my upcoming clients only, as that’s how I’m able to acquire fresh flowers for you.

​When most people think of preserving their wedding flowers, the first image that comes to mind is a freeze-dried bouquet in a shadow box. That’s an option, for sure, but pressing your flowers in something more similar to what you’d see in an herbarium is an incredibly alternative.
 
A few weeks ago when I first announced a pressed flower service, Floral Memories, for wedding clients, I mentioned that I had flowers from Laura & Andrew’s drying in my office. Well… they’re dry enough to mount!

​Gorgeous, right? I press and dry one of each type of flower and greenery from your wedding and artfully arrange it in a modern frame with a copy of your invitation (or print of your choice). This beautiful memory of your wedding will last longer than a freeze dried bouquet and fit with more décor styles than a shadow box.

​As I gaze back at Laura’s stunning bouquet, I know these framed pressed florals are not a substitution for what she carried down the aisle. They’re another way to remember the wedding through colors, motion, moments, and beauty-filled joy.

​Honestly, and I know I’ve said this before, I wish I had thought of this for my own wedding.
 
You can add this onto the handcrafted floral design of your wedding for $150! As pressing and drying times vary, I can promise to have your framed floral art available eight weeks after your wedding.
 
I’m also offering a special through the end of the year: If you book your wedding with me by Dec 31, 2018, you can ask for this pressed flower service completely free as my gift to you.
 
Let’s make these gorgeous framed florals the trend in wedding memories.