A Family Wedding in the Summer
I was honored that my sister in law asked me to do the flowers for her wedding in July 2020. This was my first time doing flowers for a formal engagement and I was both excited and nervous. When we talked about the details of her big day, she mentioned she would love to have a floral archway to frame the photo booth that the groom and her future father in law were going to build (this archway would become my favorite piece from the day!).
Isn’t that beautiful?! This was a 7 foot photo booth wall that the groom and the future father in law built. The night before the wedding I attached soaked foam blocks to the wall with zip ties, and then the morning of the big day I built the arch!
The flowers were fresh and beautiful all day long, because their stems were in the foam blocks. The morning of the wedding was very sunny and hot, but toward the afternoon we got a rain shower that freshened the flowers up even more!
I was worried all day that the rain would cause the flowers to get heavy and droop but really it made them come alive. During the reception, there were rain droplets on the greens and roses that made it feel like the flowers were freshly watered.
Since the wedding was set for the end of July, she had this vision of incorporating reds, whites, greens, and very subtle blues. She was adamant that she didn’t want the flowers to scream fourth of July but we both agreed that a nod to the holiday was a great idea.
Did I mention that I was also a bridesmaid for the wedding? Ha! It was a chaotic day but so so special. I was so grateful to have the opportunity to celebrate the happy couple in not one but two ways - building out their floral arrangements and standing up next to them during the ceremony.
My sister in law asked for a few very specific details:
Floral arch framing the photo booth wall
Greenery wreaths to hang on the back of the bride’s and groom’s chairs
One bride bouquet
One groom boutonniere
Three bridesmaid bouquets
Three groomsmen boutonnieres
Mother of the Bride, Mother of the Groom, and Grandmother of the Bride boutonnieres
Father of the Bride and Father of the Groom boutonnieres
Greenery for the ceremony
Floral arrangements for the reception tables
Greenery for the reception
We ordered many of the flowers wholesale from Fifty Flowers and then the day before the wedding, we visited a wholesale florist in Denver to pick up a few extra bunches of flowers. The florals we used were:
Eucalyptus (Fifty Flowers + more purchased from the wholesaler - and we had more greenery than we could have ever wanted!)
Burgundy Carnations (Fifty Flowers - the plan was for these to be bunched together to look similar to peonies, as a cost effective option. They were great as singles too in the boutonnieres.)
Light Pink Spray Roses (Fifty Flowers - these accented the wall, the boutonnieres, and all arrangements.)
Eryngium (Wholesale florist - these were the blue nod to 4th of July, they were so subtle but so beautiful. They were a very dark blue so they weren’t super bright, but still noticeable. They also added a beautiful texture to each arrangement!)
Burgundy Hypericum Berries (Wholesale florist - more deep red for the arrangements, again another interesting textural element.)
White Limonium (Wholesale florist - white filler flower that just takes your breath away! It was great in the arch, in the bouquets, and the boutonnieres. I loved the wispy shape of the stems and how they look a little dried for a unique texture.)
It started pouring while the bridal party was taking photos outside and didn’t stop the rest of the day. The original plan was for the ceremony to be outside, but we rushed to move it inside the art gallery that was on the property. We lined the eucalyptus down the aisle which made everything inside look as organic and natural as possible.
