Showing posts with label By Invitation Only. Show all posts
Showing posts with label By Invitation Only. Show all posts

Monday, June 4, 2012

The Bouquet

I have been in the special events industry for over twenty years and have been graced to work with an incredibly creative special events decorator during that time. 
Pieter Bouterse's work is up there with any famed floral decorator you can throw at me- of this, there is no doubt in my mind. His standards are high, his work ethic unequaled. (Did I say Picky?) Because of this, I guess you could call me jaded.

For me to write a post for Splenderosa's By Invitation Only on weddings is almost impossible. I could feed you photo after photo, but decided I best not. I narrowed it down to the flowers and, specifically, the bouquets. 

May I share with you just a small sampling of the bouquets Pieter has made in the past 9 months? 
Tradition is that Pieter always creates the bridal bouquet. I usually create the attendant bouquets, but that is open to discussion and/or a guest floral decorator. 
And did I tell you that one of the best parts of working a wedding is to hand the bridal party their bouquets right before they walk down the aisle?
Never fails to make me teary-eyed. 


By far, the most popular request for the bridal bouquet is all white. Here are a few:





Spring and summer tend to go perky and bright, lots of pink and lime.



 Fall and winter usually are somewhat darker, more serious. 
Equally as beautiful, though.



Of course, the wedding I recall most fondly was my daughter's almost three years ago. A reasonably sized bridal party was refreshing (don't get me started on that subject!), the weather finally cleared out an hour before the ceremony started and we had a blast!


 And, yes, Beth requested a large bouquet. Having worked with Pieter during college to earn spending money, she had seen many a bouquet and knew exactly what she wanted. It was gorgeous!


What are your favorite bouquets?

Tuesday, April 3, 2012

Nature's Artwork

I, am a gardener. From the heart.
As you can imagine, for me- spring is a season like no other.
 I think because of its hope and promise, 
I cheer on the tiniest bud amazingly poking out of hard, brown wood.

Spring also makes me chuckle- just look at this gal with her hat.



Early morning brings great rewards to those of us crazy enough to go for a walk in the garden. Sometimes the light is just right- to catch the dewdrops looking like glass beads.




I love discovering the buds. They can be easy to pass right by.




Have you ever wondered what part of that aggressive wisteria plant you want to keep? The part that flowers.... here they are. Its hands. If you prune these off, you've pruned off the wisteria's prize blooms.


These average looking leaves are the precursor to the incredible, huge flowers of the tree peony. Not to be confused with the peony that we all know and love. Check back in about three or four weeks and I'll show you what I mean.




                 A more unusual flowering bush with such dainty blooms...




The flower buds and opening flowers of the holly:


And my favorite of the day- this darling little miniature daffodil.




How is your garden growing?

And now, I invite you stop on over to Splenderosa's monthly By Invitation Only party to see what spring means around the world.



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