Rustic Elegance on the Bay

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