A beautiful wedding and a thousand cranes

 

A year ago I received an email from a client who is now a dear friend. Her daughter was getting married the following August and she needed help. "I just feel you are the one that could bring magic to this wedding. I'm saying my prayers that you will be available. It would simply be bliss if I could count on you," she said. 

Because the bride lives in Australia, the mother and the bride's sister (who lives 2,000 miles away) were in charge of planning the wedding. They searched for venues, researched DJ's and photographers, went to food tastings and cake tastings, and the bride's mom started folding cranes. A thousand of them.

Japanese lore holds that a crane can live for a thousand years. Strong yet graceful, the crane, who mates for life,  is a traditional symbol of love in Japan. The ancient practice of folding a thousand cranes is called Senbazuru and when given as a wedding gift, is a wish for a thousand years of happiness and prosperity for the couple.

From my very first meeting with the mother of the bride, the cranes were going to be an integral part of the wedding. She, along with a lot of help from her family and friends had been folding these magnificent creatures for months. And once the cranes were folded ... all thousand of them, they had to be hung on fishing line. It is a true labor of love ... and one that was well worth it because they were absolutely spectacular.

The wedding took place at two separate venues; both of them outdoors. The ceremony, was in a country club setting overlooking the greens of a beautiful golf course. The reception was at a beautiful museum, steps from the ocean. We used soft peaches and pinks with ivory and white. 

The flowers in the aisle mason jars were removed after the ceremony and re-used in blue mason jars at the reception.

I made paper cones lined with Shakespeare plays to hold the rose petals . The guests threw the petals at the bride and groom as they walked back down the aisle.

 Because of the hot August sun, we put fans an every seat.

The bride walked down a stone staircase and we lined the railings with a single hydrangea. 

We were able to keep them alive in the hot sun by soaking the heads in water first and then putting water bubbles on the stems. The bubbles were not visible from the ground. 

The father of the bride waited for his beautiful daughter at the foot of the stairs ... 

This was one of the sweetest moments of the day.

 

Aren't they a stunning couple?

(Come back on Wednesday and I will show you the reception at the museum).

Photography: Prizer Photography.

Wedding bouquets and centerpieces

The wedding was, as the bride said, "magical". The night before, with the help of my assistant and a good friend, I made 21 centerpieces, 16 mason jar arrangements to go on the ceremony chairs, a dozen arrangements to use around both venues, and two bouquets; one for the bride and one for her sister who was her maid of honor. 

The lace is from the bride's mother's wedding dress.

Although I was worried about the flowers staying just the way I wanted them (I had visions of all the petals falling off the roses), they did well. I kept them in my refrigerator as long as possible.

 

I couldn't be happier with the way they turned out.

 I should have the professional photos to share soon ... aren't they a stunning couple?

Flower Mart day

The Flower Mart was outstanding today ... I could not have been happier with what we found. I had told the bride a couple of weeks ago ... sorry, there are no more peonies. They are gone. But surprisingly they had them. However we did not get them - they didn't look like they would open in time for the wedding. But we found beautiful garden roses, David Austin (my favorite) roses, and roses that looked just like peonies. I took the mother of the bride with me ... and we had so much fun!

It was fun to experience the Flower Mart through the eyes of someone who has never been before.

As usual they had a ton of Hydrangeas - and in just the right color for this wedding. We are using peaches, soft pinks, creams and white. 

My little car was filled to capacity!

And so is my refrigerator! My husband is a good sport. Sorry honey... we have to eat out for a few days!

I am crossing my fingers that the flowers stay perfect until Friday.

Hope your week is going well ... Happy Wednesday everyone!