Spring Wedding Flowers- Pink Ranunculus!

I cannot believe that we are just about finished with March! And weatherwise- what an unusual March it has been!
This year I grew ranunculus... oodles of them. Trouble is Ranunculus DO NOT LIKE HEAT!!!
So as March comes to an end so do my beautiful beds of ranunculus. But while they were here, I sure enjoyed designing with them.
Today's post features some of the pink ranunculus. I grew a variety called Amandine that I purchased from Fred C. Gloeckner. Big beautiful plants with strong stems and brilliant pink blooms.
The centerpiece design features both pink and white ranunculus, hellebore, leucojum, viburnum and pieris. These are all spring bloomers. The variegated leaves are from Green Spice Heuchera.
Pink ranunculus are just stunning massed in a simple rounded bouquet. These flowers just shout SPRING... They are at the top of my list for March and April weddings!
Next post will feature some more designs with ranunculus and other spring bloomers.

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Daffodil Love!

This has been quite the year for daffodils. The first blooms started in mid February (see February 27th post- They're Back).
And while the season is winding down because of the above normal temperatures this spring- there's still about a week to ten days left... maybe.
Some new additions to the daffodil collection included some old favorites: King Alfred (actually a look alike of the renown heirloom) that produced gigantic blooms this year, Barrett Browning- a lovely narcissus with white petals and a dainty orange cup, and a large double narcissus called White Lion, (more about that one later).
So here are some two very different daffodil bouquets for weddings in March or early April.
I just love this all yellow bouquet above!!! These King Alfred blooms were HUGE this year and looked stunning with the black and white striped ribbon.
The next bouquet featured King Alfred daffodils, Paperwhites, Bridal Crown narcissi and Barret Browning- the fragrance was heavenly.
Vase life for flowers in the narcissi family is about five days... the cooler the temperatures the longer these flowers will last in a vase and in the garden.

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Weddings- Kirsten and Daniel, The Real Pictures

Meet Kirsten and Daniel... hard to believe their wedding was almost nine months ago.It's always great to share the real wedding pictures of my couples, (and these are by the talented Katherine Fallis of Furnished Photography ).
But today I get to share a little more- I get to share some of their story....

The how "how we met" parts and "what was really important in preparing for our wedding" parts.
A mutual friend introduced Kirsten and Daniel when they were freshmen at NC State. The very next weekend they attended at State football game together.  And that shared love for NC State football led to four years of getting together for sporting events, then going together to church, and helping each other get through college. Daniel created a slideshow that captured all those special "together" moments, and as the slide show ended, he dropped to one knee and proposed!
Kirsten and Daniel wanted to focus on the important things, and one of those was where to get married...
Because of his mentor, friend and youth pastor, (whom Daniel first met at University United Methodist Church), this "Wolfpack" couple chose to get married in the very same church in Chapel Hill.
And how wonderful to have this friend, Justin, perform their wedding ceremony. What a beautiful setting, and it now has special meaning to both Daniel and Kirsten.
Bridesmaids and Maid of Honor were easy choices for Kirsten, her best friends who also happen to be her sisters, Cori and Camden, and her new sister (in-law), Carolina, who over the years has become another dear friend.
Daniel's best man was his Dad, and his groomsmen were his cousins, TJ and Sawyer.You see, the most important aspect for this couple for their wedding day was the opportunity to be together with their family and loved ones. There just wasn't a lot of stress about little details.
The joy was in joining their lives together as husband and wife with mothers and grandmothers and
fathers and grandfathers and aunts and uncles and cousins and friends there with them-
The people that matter most in your life coming together from all over the place to celebrate with you on your wedding day!

It's a family reunion...  only better.

Here are some words of advice from Kirsten- "Don't stress about it. The day is about spending time with your friends and families. No one is going to judge you on what table settings you had, or where you had the reception... Also you will look beautiful no matter put on- the most important thing to wear on your wedding day is happiness!"

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Yellow Tulips and White Ranunculus for Spring Weddings

Last week I was so anticipating these beauties!!!They are early blooming tulips called Monte Carlo. I used some of these tulips last year for CeCe and Lee's late March wedding. But with the temps sailing past the 70's and into the 80's this week, these flowers exploded open very early!!!

I have picked them and used them in a few arrangements... Here are some pictures that show the fruit of my labor.
The design above features Monte Carlo tulips, muscari, hellebore and euphorbia from the garden along with Majolica spray roses. All of these garden flowers are ideal for early springtime wedding designs.
This spring bouquet is also a garden design of Monte Carlo tulips and white ranunculus with white snap dragons.
And here is another shot of the first design. Monte Carlo tulips are a lovely clear yellow. The flowers are double petaled (more petals than a regular tulip). The other yellow flowers peaking out from this design are pansies. Pansies have a short vase life (only about three days), and short stems, so I provide a hidden water source that allows me to place them where I want them in the design and take them out when they look faded.
Monte Carlo tulips or any other tulip are suitable for spring time weddings with moderate temperatures. If using them when the weather is warmer than normal be sure to keep them in a cool place!

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