Eden's Echo

Shanna and Zach's Azle Wedding

2011-08-04T11:59:00.000-07:00

Shanna and Zach tied the knot on July 23, at The Orchard in Azle, Texas. Shanna is the lovely sister of a married Eden's Echo bride, Jenna! Jenna and Travis's gorgeous hill country cotton themed wedding was recently posted on Style Me Pretty, so if the beautiful women in these pictures look familiar, that would be why!

Hay Bails = Awesome Photo Ops

Shanna's beautiful bouquet was made of full size and mini callas, snapdragons, ivory hypericum berries, scabiosa pods, dusty miller, curly willow, and turquoise stones.

The Thursday before the wedding, I set off on my road trip! I think it's the longest I've driven alone in years! I took 281 through a bunch of small towns and nice scenery, and got there in about 5 hours or so. :)

Friday I worked on flowers, then it was off to the rehearsal dinner at The Stockyard's Cattleman's Steakhouse, yum! Finally, the bridal lingerie shower, where the bride blushed and everyone laughed as she opened fun gifts from friends and family.

Saturday was working on more flowers, then the wedding! It was a fantastic weekend, and I was so happy to get to know Shanna and Zach a little better, plus see Jenna and Travis, and Belinda (the mother of the brides) again!

All the pictures above were taken by the talented husband and wife team of Sara and Rocky Photography. You can see more amazing photos from this wedding on the Eden's Echo Facebook page. :)

Carly's Vintage Charm Reception

2011-06-24T21:14:00.000-07:00

Well, I managed to completely forget to take pictures of Carly's amazing bouquets and such, but I took lots of pics at the reception! Please enjoy my teaser shots until we get pics back from her pro photographer. This isn't even half of what we did, but there was so much. I think I made about 65 small bud vase arrangements for this beautiful reception at Canyon Springs!

I just love all the little items that created each unique tablescape!

The end of peony season is upon us, so they're big and beautiful!

The itty bitty hydrangea and spray roses (bottom, center) was just about my favorite thing that day..other than the bird with the pearls and the centerpiece with the little trunk!

Bird wearing pearls = genius, and I love it!

Country Sugar + Eden's Echo

2011-06-13T08:11:00.000-07:00

Brandi Dunagan of Country Sugar is as sweet as can be. She founded her coordinating company on the concepts of Southern Hospitality and Grace. Yesterday the JW Marriott held a wedding fair, and she asked if I would like to make some flowers for her booth. Of course I would! Brandi has fabulous style and showed me her inspiration pictures and mock invitations for the look she wanted, and I was all over it! Plus, I got creative freedom of whatever I wanted to do, so all the better! Here's what I came up with for her gorgeous and original booth set up!

The Knot Texas Fall 2011 Edition

2011-05-30T14:35:00.000-07:00

I'm thrilled to announce that the latest issue of The Knot, Texas featured the wedding of Kira and Anthony (aka Turner), which Eden's Echo made the flowers for. It was coordinated by Stephanie Yandell of Your Wedding Your Way and photographed by Bend the Light, and was absolutely gorgeous. So go check it out, on page 58!

In addition, on page 19 you will see Eden's Echo listed as one of The Knot's Best of Wedding vendors! Thank you to all my brides for your love and support!

March-May that haven't made it to the blog yet

2011-05-30T06:38:00.000-07:00

(You've seen Christina's bouquet already, but not the rest of her wedding, so...) :)

Magical Coral Peonies, The Sequal

2011-05-25T16:58:00.000-07:00

I went to the office today and saw something A-Mazing! There was one peony out of the bunch I hadn't used to make the bouquet for last weekend's wedding, so 6 days after I originally got that bright coral bloom, it faded to this amazing ivory! I just had to share! The ivory on the left is 6 days after, the top right is day 2, and the bottom right is day 3. :) I wish I had remembered to bring the beauty home so I could have daily progression shots. Perhaps I shall do that this week, because one of this weekend's brides is using them as well!

Coral Peonies are Magical, Thought You Ought to Know

2011-05-24T09:49:00.001-07:00

It's true, they're magical color-changing flowers! The bouquet on the top left is the same bouquet the beautiful Christina is holding-but the picture on the left was taken about 24 hours earlier. When freshly cut, they are tight little balls that look like bright coral jawbreakers, and then Boom, they blow open in about a day to what you see there on the left. Given another day, they open up to reveal layers of ruffly petals and take on cream colored edges. If I'd gotten them a day earlier, they would have faded even more for a vintage-peach color (amazing!). It's all about timing, people! They're also MY FAVORITE FLOWER EVER. You know, just for the record, if anyone ever wants to get the florist flowers ;) Sadly, these amazing flowers have a very short period of availability in late spring, and then will randomly pop up unannounced for a week or two in random months. Which is infuriating. Peonies are a favorite among brides, and unless you're getting married in late April-eary June, they're probably just going to be unavailable. Usually earlier in the spring we can get smaller light pink or hot pink (but not these coral) and sometimes we can get the deep maroon around Christmas. No matter the season, even if they're the early spring smaller blooms, peonies come at a premium, but oh-so worth it!

Paige and Chuck's Texas Reception

2011-04-11T16:03:00.001-07:00

Paige and her new hubby, Chuck, were married in March in beautiful Florida! They hosted a reception here at Canyon Springs Golf Club this past weekend for all their local friends and family. :)

Joyce and Claude's Pro Pics - New York

2011-04-11T15:21:00.000-07:00

Anya from Anya Foto did an amazing job capturing moments from Joyce and Claude's New York wedding. Here are my favorite shots she's posted so far!

Joyce and Claude in New York!

2011-04-04T20:41:00.001-07:00

Here's a little teaser collage of Joyce and Claude's New York wedding. The couple was amazing to work with, and their wedding was so much fun!

Jenna and Travis's AMAZING Video by Joe Simon Wedding Films

2011-03-28T23:26:00.000-07:00

Wow. I am just seriously blown away right now! This has got to be the most beautiful, lovely, sentimental short wedding film I've ever seen. Their super talented videographer was Joe Simon Wedding Films. Now, I just love Jenna and Travis and I miss them now that their wedding has past, so I just had to share this with anyone who might see it here! I was very blessed to have been chosen to help out on their special day!

Jenna & Travis's Wedding Film - Austin, Texas from Joe Simon Films on Vimeo.

A Guenther House Wedding!

2011-03-15T06:03:00.001-07:00

H. and E. were married this past Saturday at The Guenther House at a beautiful wedding coordinated by Josie Sokoloff of Tie the Knot San Antonio. Earlier in the morning I delivered the bouquets to H. at the gorgeous suite where she was staying. She allowed me to snap a couple of pics of her in her rollers, which I love her for! :)

E.'s boutonniere included a couple of special charms. One was a small photo of his father, and the other was the golden heart aka "Lucky Pin" that is a tradition held in H.'s family. Little touches like this are always so special.

Here's a shot of the tables during set up. It was so windy, the table cloths kept flying up over the chargers! I just love the pink and green spring look Holly wanted. I love having lots of texture, and these centerpieces had varying shades of pink and green florals included roses, spray roses, snapdragons, stock, spider mums, hypericum berries, ranunculus, godetia, hydrangea, and a bit of greenery.

The cake topper was just so cute, from Etsy! The cake and gumpaste flowers were made by Cynthia of Cakes and More. On the mantle behind the cake we had some floating candles and a couple of little arrangements. Once the candles were lit, it added beautiful warm light that I loved.

The ceremony was held at sunset, so here's how the guests saw the reception!

McNay Set Up Video by Mark Thomas

2011-03-09T14:24:00.000-08:00

Check out this amazing video by San Antonio Videographer Mark Thomas of the set up of the wedding at the McNay this past weekend. WOW. A lot of work went into this by Stacey De Wine of Panache Event Group, Fresh Horizons Catering, Aztec Rentals, and of course us at Eden's Echo. I love this because it shows just how many people it truly takes to pull off a great wedding!

San Antonio Videographer Mark Thomas presents: Behind the Scenes from Mark Thomas Pro Photo and Video on Vimeo.

Leyvi and James' McNay Wedding

2011-03-06T10:04:00.000-08:00

Leyvi and James were married yesterday at The McNay. If you're a follower of the blog, I'm sure you saw their sample tree a couple of weeks ago and saw them right along with it. Well here they are, all dolled up for the wedding. Because the set up was so involved, I didn't get to see them until this moment during the cocktail hour, when their coordinator Stacey DeWine of Panache brought them into the room for a reveal. I was so happy to see them, and their reaction was priceless-I should have taken a video! But, I got some really cute pictures. :)

When they came in, it was a chorus of "Oh my God"s and "Look at that!"s. Leyvi almost started crying, and James was just all smiles.

I love that Leyvi opted to wear a corsage instead of carry a bouquet. I didn't get any better shots of it than this, but it was cymbidiums, monkey tail, ivory hypericum, crystals and ferns, on lace that went smashingly with her veil!

So..this is the head table tree. The base of it was actually on the ground, not the tables, and the tables were pushed up around it. Height from the floor was around 12 feet.

These were the tall guest table centerpieces. The colors really popped against that blue lighting! Lighting in the McNay is a must. Really, it makes any wedding look so fabulous!

And the low centerpieces were so fun! We did custom live-moss wrapped vases with a mix of the bright reds, magentas, corals, greens, and yellows. And there is monkey tail in them which is one of my all time favorite things, so of course I just loved these beauties.

This Exclusive Cake Shop cake was simply stunning! The gold painted details and little golden butterflies were so delicate and perfect, I was just so impressed with the work. All the roses were brought and put on by the baker, but we added the moss and succulents around the base to make it all come together. :)

Garden Heights Weddings and Events

2011-02-27T14:59:00.000-08:00

Today out at Garden Heights Weddings and Events they had a little event with Bartenders4You where they invited brides to come taste all the signature drinks they do for weddings! Fun, right?! Free drinks and snacks? Yes, please! The venue itself is a cute little chapel and separate hall out near Selma, and kind of out in the country and has a great shabby chic vibe. If you're into that sort of look, you'll love the charm of this place. I tried to do something to reflect that vintage country feel, and used a range of pinks, peaches, and yellows. I think it came out pretty cute! I don't work with gerberas very often, and haven't done too many 'country' looks, so it was a lot of fun to have the opportunity to make these. :)

Jersey's Blinged-Out Wedding

2011-02-27T14:28:00.000-08:00

Kristie, aka Jersey, and Joseph got married yesterday at Hotel Valencia. I love this woman, she is so funny and outgoing! She and her husband are from New Jersey, but tied the knot here in SA. :) Their intimate destination wedding was totally blinged out and fabulously coordinated by Josie Sokoloff of Tie the Knot San Antonio. Here are my snapshots of the flowers. She was still getting her hair and make up done so I didn't get any of her. Once we get some pro pics, I'll post those! She's stunning!

Kristie's bouquet, roses, callas, and BLING. She loved it so much she almost burst into tears and I had to take it away so she wouldn't ruin the make up job that Ashley from Blush was trying to do. lol I love that kind of reaction!

The bridesmaid bouquets were so gorgeous, and reflected the softer flowers used in the reception centerpieces. We used antique hydrangea, roses, spray roses, and hyacinth. So simple, so big, fluffy, and fragrant!

The centerpieces were simple, using antique hydrangea and curly willow as the only floral elements. Inside the vase we had dyed water, crystals, and submersible led lights (though the lights and crystals are hard to see here), and crystals hanging from the branches and scattered on the table added more fun touches. The cake (by Cynthia of Cakes and More) was also wrapped with crystal bands like the bouquet handle, and topped with stunning crystal monogram letters! Her toss bouquet was a simple bouquet of 3 huge callas. :)

Hilary's Samples

2011-02-16T20:19:00.000-08:00

Today we had another sample play date with Stacey DeWine of Panache Event Group and our bride, Hilary. :) Her JW Marriott wedding will be at the end of March, with a soft spring vibe. The samples were a hit, and I wanted to share! Enjoy!

Sample for Leyvi and James

2011-02-15T16:06:00.001-08:00

Since I don't run a day-to-day shop, I don't often do samples since it costs a lot to make one thing if you're just using a few blooms of this, and a few blooms of that, but you have to buy ten stems to get one or two. Because of this, we can do sample play dates but at a charge, and so not many people opt to do so. However, when you're doing something really outrageous, different, or a design you're not too sure about, you might just want to go ahead and pay for a sample. That's what Leyvi and James did. They're getting married in March at The McNay; the wedding will be coordinated by Panache Events (Stacey DeWine). Today we met up and I made a sample of the table top tree that will be the focal point in the octagon room. On the day of, it will be even more fabulous, with more curly willow, more branches, more flowers, and will also have fairy lights threaded throughout! This will be a taste of what's to come, as a super large version of this will be the main focal point for the room, and set on the head table. We had a lot of fun, so I just wanted to share these pics!

Re-purpose, Save Money!

2011-02-12T15:38:00.001-08:00

Hello my lovlies, and Happy Valentine's Weekend! These romantic babies are for tomorrow's wedding, and we will be re-purposing the bouquets into centerpieces for one of the tables (will be a gathering of three vases). I'm sharing these pictures to show just how awesome this can look. I suggest this all the time to couples with large weddings that need to get the most for their money, but surprisingly not too many people are keen on the idea.

But I think it looks gorgeous! Especially with julep cups!

Some people worry that it will be too obvious or it won't look nice, or they worry that there won't be enough time to get the flowers into the vases before the guests get there. As for the worry that the guests will notice they're bouquets, I don't think so, it all just matches what you already had. As for the time thing, if you're having a cocktail hour where guests won't be in the reception hall while you're doing photos, you're good! Most photographers prefer to take photos of the bridal party separately before the ceremony these days, anyway. Afterwards it's just the group shots, which shouldn't take too long. Alternatively, go ahead and get centerpieces for all the guest tables, and just use the bouquets as decor for the head table(s), sign in, and cake tables. Julep cups are super cute and are very affordable, but you can also use a different style of opaque vase, or wide tropical leaves to wrap inside of clear vases, if you prefer that look. :)

Lots of Love, Erin.

Jenna and Travis

2011-01-29T17:01:00.000-08:00

Today Jenna and Travis were married at the beautifully rustic Marquardt Ranch in Boerne, and I couldn't be happier for them. They're one of those couples that warms your heart when you're around them. Jenna came to me and said she wanted to do a wedding using natural cotton, still on the stem, so that's exactly what we did!

Jenna's beautiful bouquet was made up, of course, of natural cotton and bare cotton bols (I call them butterflies), along with sola wood flowers, dried wheat and money plant, a touch of fresh pussy willow and dusty miller, silver berzillia baubles, guinea fowl feathers, lotus pods, and one large seed pod flower! We wrapped it up in burlap and lace and accented it with some beautiful deep navy buttons.

Seriously, how cute are Jenna and Travis?! I snapped these right before heading out as they were coming back up from the river bed after they had taken their first sight photos.

The boutonnieres were so much fun to make, each one unique. The groom and groomsmen got cotton boutonnieres, while the additional honored guests got the less fluffy but just as fun boutonnieres below. The wrist corsages are probably my favorite I've ever made.

Their cake stands were built by Travis! So creative! The topper was so fun, and the toss bouquet was super cute. One thing about natural cotton still on the stem, is that the bol (the part of the plant which holds the cotton blossom) is extremely hard and sharp, so I used just the cotton buds without the bols for the toss bouquet. My hands would agree that getting cuts from the cotton is not fun, and I'd hate to see the bouquet toss turned into a cause for band aids!

We created three types of centerpieces for the event. My favorite was the cotton pouf with the money plant. :) Of course I liked them all, but I loved the simplicity of the design.

All the mason jars were wrapped in burlap and twine by the bride and her mom, and the little wood pieces with the brand were made by Travis. I'd also wager that the coffee favors were also done by the family!

The adorable sign in table!

And the ceremony arch.

Brittany and Brandon

2011-01-29T15:31:00.000-08:00

Brittany and Brandon tied the knot last weekend at the chapel at Incarnate Word. Beautiful church, so they didn't do much there, but they decked out their reception hall at St. Jerome's! I didn't manage to get a snapshot of our groom, as I had to pin 21 boutonnieres and was running around like crazy! I think that's a record for us! lol Luckily I managed to get a good shot of the father of the bride, Mark's, boutonniere, as well as a cute picture of him and his lovely wife Laura. This family was fantastic to work with, and I want them to adopt me! :)

The bride carried a fun bouquet of black magic and black bacarra roses, with ranunculus, tulips, and monkey tail accented with a feather collar. Brittany is crazy about feathers! Her bridesmaids carried iron crosses that we accented with flowers, and the flower girls carried little metal baskets filled with flowers to match.

Meanwhile, at the reception, the cakes were looking delicious!

The head table was for the bridal party, their dates, and important friends and family. I love all the iron they used. Brittany's aunt, Mary, has a decor company. They made all the purple linens and draped the room and a portion of the ceiling, as well as brought all the iron accents. There were so many great details.

I think the reception was set up for 500ish people. I forgot to ask the official head count. We interspersed the branchy centerpieces with low centerpieces, crosses accented with flowers at the base, and bud vases with a single giant rose and greenery, as well as votives.

First Wedding of the New Year

2011-01-08T13:55:00.000-08:00

Amber and Aussie husband David tied the knot today at San Fernando Cathedral. The bold royal blue bridesmaid and groomsmen colors were offset with soft sky blue and ivory.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-07T19:32:00.000-08:00

I've been woefully lacking in my blogging lately! But hello, and Happy New Year! Below are highlights from the last few weddings I did in 2010! I hope you like them!

First, we have Linda's awesome green, white, and black wedding at the JW Marriott. Her bouquet was fabulous with green hydrangea, green roses, white tulips, spray roses and mini callas, and black privet berries. I love the contrast of the black on green and white.

Her bridesmaid bouquets were very simple, just one stem of lime hydrangea with a few greenery accents. The toss bouquet was up to me so I went a little overboard with the privet berries, creating a full collar of them, which gave it a fun, bouncy feel! She had her doggie in the ceremony, and he even got a boutonniere, which is the simple one on the bottom right.

The centerpieces were elegant and artistic, done in lime hydrangea, green roses, white tulips, bells of Ireland, white stock, black privet, and folded aspidistra leaves.

Next we have Jenna's flowers, which were classic blue and white, with a country garden twist.

And finally we have Cathy's bouquets. I love working with purple and blues. :) The bridesmaid carried simple bouquets of white hydrangea to pop against their gowns.

Kira + Turner are Married

2010-11-17T10:47:00.000-08:00

I had posted a few of my own pictures to the Eden's Echo Facebook, but I really wanted to wait to blog any because the fabulous Bend-the-Light team were Kira and Turner's photographers. I LOVE THESE WOMEN! They are so talented!!!

Blogger doesn't want to cooperate with me right now, so this wedding will be presented to you in Reverse Vision! :D Starting with the reception shots, and working it's way up to the cute couple shots! :) I hope you enjoy!

Quick note about this ceremony set up. I had to climb a 12 foot ladder, that leaned up against the wall. But the lines which supported that 8 foot silver branch (which you can hardly see) had to be about 4 feet out from the wall. It was really scary. lol But it looked FANTASTIC!

I love love love this sweet photo of Kira and her dad!

But I think this might be my favorite out of the bunch. :)

I love first sights! :)

Venue: Sixth Street Studio

Coordinated by: Stefanie Yandell -Your Wedding, Your Way

Lighting: BP

Photography (in case you missed it): Bend-the-Light :)

Beth + Mario are Married

2010-11-11T08:12:00.000-08:00

Beth and Mario were married in Castroville at the lovely Hoffman Ranch. The weather could not have been more perfect for an outdoor ceremony! Their colors were fall tones with pops of lapis, with a lot of texture and rustic touches of curly willow.

Catching Up!

2010-10-04T21:34:00.000-07:00

Hello my lovelies. Sorry it's been a while since my last post, but I've been very busy-which is a good thing! Unfortunately the last two weekends I didn't have a chance to take as many photos as usual, but here are some teasers until we get pro pics of these beautiful and different weddings. :)

Who loves The McNay for weddings?! Me! Jennifer is the sister of one of my now married brides, April! It was nice to see her and her husband again, but this time as wedding party members. lol Teal, black, and white were the colors gracing the McNay that night. Jennifer wasn't too big on flowers when we first met, so I had to pretty much beg her to let me put hydrangea in the centerpieces about a month away from the wedding when we were firming up plans. Apparently the closer her wedding got, the more she was noticing flowers-so I didn't have to beg too hard. :)

Valorie had her reception at the International Center above Biga on the Banks. I love this venue. It's modern and has lots of beautiful windows and a terrace right on the riverwalk. :) She went for a classic red, black, and white wedding with roses and orchids.

Kristen's amazing reception was at The Bushnell. The place is beautiful. Who doesn't love a good skyline view? The only thing I don't like about that place..well, the two things-The elevator scares me, and it doesn't go all the way up to the terrace. This makes set up no fun, and take extra long. So Bushnell brides...that's why your set up costs more, I'm sure you understand!

Anyway, the flowers were fabulous. She had a head table that went from one end of the room to the other, wow. It was a grand effect! We had 3 large arrangements, plus 20 other vases filled with flowers or candles, plus lots of little votives and such once it was all said and done. Just stunning! I can't wait to see the pro pics because I noticed they had uplights set up! :D

Courtney's Southwest School of Art and Craft wedding was so beautiful! Forgive the redundancy of the couple's photos! She had 13 tables, all with unique centerpieces full of hydrangea, stock, garden roses, dahlias, queen anne's lace, scabiosa pods, allium bullets, snapdragons...! Gotta love garden style centerpieces!

San Antonio Bridal Extravaganza

2010-09-13T13:12:00.001-07:00

Haute Weddings (but, since we're Texans, we pronounce it "Hot" Weddings..lol) is a bridal consulting company run by the fabulous Lisa Morales. As her preferred florist, I was of course ready to help deck out her booth at the bridal show with lots of fun flowers. I suggested a whimsical forest theme, and we just ran with it. The booth attracted lots of brides, and we got to meet so many nice people. :) If you were at the show, I hope we had a chance to chat!

Details, details. :)

Such a simple thing, but one of my favorite touches was adding a fern leaf to the place settings, and covering with a moss rock. So simple, yet striking.

There were TONS of crystal trees at the show. But most of them were sporting fake flowers, or none at all. Of course, mine had loads of real flowers, and flickering lights tucked in amongst them to give an impression of little faeries hiding inside. I also had mounted their booth sign on a large moss covered mesh square, and accented it with flowers. So much cooler than everyone else's! lol

The bouquets were fun, and a little different. While hydrangea and roses are pretty common place, the snapdragons cascading down the front was different, as well as the snowberries. The bridesmaid bouquet was bright, fun, and caught a lot of people's eyes.

One of the little arrangements I had next to my laptop. When we were breaking down at the end of the event, I placed one of the orchids from the tree on top, and I was like 'OMG', because it made the centerpiece Perfect. And here I was thinking it was great before! Many people loved the birch bark container and the green moss or grass looking stuff is actually a flower called 'green trick'-a type of carnation!

A Red Carpet Affaire

2010-09-07T19:05:00.000-07:00

If you are still in the planning stage for your San Antonio Wedding, you do not want to miss A Red Carpet Affaire! It's a one-of-a-kind limo guided wedding venue and vendor tour, featuring the best people and places in town for your special day!

Heather's Sonterra Wedding

2010-09-05T12:50:00.001-07:00

When we arrived at Sonterra, Heather hadn't arrived yet, so we immediately began work on setting up her reception. She had tons of floating candle vases to fill, as well as submerged orchids to dunk into vases! Once we were most of the way thorugh that, I went to take the bouquets over to her and the wedding party, since they had arrived. Heather was halfway through putting on her eye make up when I walked in and asked if she wanted to see her bouquet. She jumped up squealing, gasping, laughing. Honestly, I never get tired of this kind of reaction. :)
She also fell in love with her bridesmaid bouquets. I'd used a rose that matched her girls' dresses to accent their mixed pink bouquets, and everyone went crazy for 'classic duet' and it's ruffly edges. While her photographers were snapping their shots, I hung back and grabbed a few of my own.

Heather ordered 18 boutonnieres. 18! lol She gave everyone special a flower. The gentleman here on the left was her videographer! On the right is her gorgeous mother, sporting her calla and spray rose corsage.

Her ceremony set up was simple, with rose petals and two arrangements on pillars. I love that they did the sand ceremony, because when I was married, we did, too!

They had 3 centerpiece types. One was a big fluffy ball of hydrangea, roses, stock, alstromeria, spray roses, and greenery set atop a trumpet vase with some submerged dendrobium orchids and an l.e.d. light. Another was a smaller centerpiece atop a 12" vase with submerged dendrobiums, and the third was a trio of vases with submerged orchids and ruscus with a floating candle. All tables got votives, small vases with floating candles, and rose petals. It was a beautiful set up.

I was delighted to receive a text from Heather today that said "Erin! I wanted to thank you SO much for the gorgeous flowers! You went above and beyond my expectations, it made my day! You are fantastic!!" I love that! I mean, really, that new bride texted me the day after her wedding just to tell me. Thank you, Heather, you made my day, too! :)

Vintage Elegance

2010-09-05T12:39:00.000-07:00

Amy and Cory had a their wedding at the Scottish Rite and then the reception in the Peraux Room at the St. Anthony Hotel. I would describe her style as vintage elegance. She ordered an exquisite vintage brooch for her bouquet handle, as well as lots of cream ostrich feathers to accent her bouquet and centerpieces. The centerpieces were packed full of hydrangea, roses, spray roses, snapdragons, stock, lisianthus, calcynia, veronica, and monkey tails!

Little Green Order

2010-09-05T11:59:00.000-07:00

Roslynn contacted me the week before her wedding and asked for a green and white bouquet, with orchids and an orchid boutonniere for her groom. And that was it. :) So that's just what I did for her! She came by to pick it up and I snapped a couple of pictures. I love that she was wearing sweats and a t-shirt, so cute. ^_^

Sarah and Justin's Wedding

2010-08-23T09:49:00.000-07:00

Somehow, SOMEHOW!, I never posted these photos from Sarah's April 10 wedding. Maybe I was waiting on the pro pics, since the set up was done by the caterer, but still, no excuse! I realized this when I was chatting with an upcoming bride (hello, Courtney!) who has a similar style to her floral order. Originally when I'd met with Sarah and Courtney, they were around the same time, and a couple of times I would get mixed up with who was who-because they used some of the same photos, and both are very organized with power point idea boards! lol None the less, I'm posting these now! First are a few pro pics from Picture Me Married photographer Ashley Palmero, followed by my snapshots.

Lovely professional portraits of the couple and one of the bride, which I love, in the little house at Ye Kendall Inn. And I think the next collage all belongs in some wedding magazine. The B/G letters-so cute, the bird with the rings and quote-awesome, and of course the details of her millions of jars filled with flowers-priceless!

And..below are my not so fabulous blurry cell phone photos lol..enjoy!

Sarah and her mom, getting ready. I loved her bouquet, the peonies were amazing.

Lovely bridesmaid bouquets! Lovely bridesmaid! These were really nice dresses, very re-wearable.

Top left we have Justin, our groom, top right a close up of the boutonnieres, bottom left the wrist corsages, and bottom right the bridesmaid bouquets all snuggled into their delivery box.

Here's my wonderful and amazing Josie, hard at work on the little jar arrangements. There were sooooo many! While she did those, I worked on the larger arrangements and the arch.

Here are two of the larger (but still modestly sized) arrangements, plus my favorite bottle of the event. The slight blue tint just grabbed me. Sarah, if you have that one, I wants it!

And, the arch. Sarah's mom brought this arch from her own garden. Is it called a pergola if it's not actually a round arch? Well, it was a focal point for the ceremony, in any case! We covered the top with potted Boston ferns, which is Very cost effective (I picked these up at Lowe's for about $8 each..we used 4) and then I just decorated the ends with hydrangea and rose clusters, and tucked a few roses in among the ferns. It was simple, and pretty.

Tara's Flowers

2010-08-11T11:36:00.001-07:00

So, most people who follow Eden's Echo probably noticed by now-but I really love hydrangeas, and big, frothy bouquets. Well, I also heart irises-especially the white ones. They're so ethereal and different, and if you look at them in sunlight, up close, they have almost a crystaline sparkle to them. Anyway, enough about how awesome irises are. :) I just thought this bouquet was fun with it's mix of white fluffy goodness and the smooth clean lines of the large calla lilies, all tied up with a bright turquoise ribbon!

The groom got an unadorned mini calla, and the groomsmen got unadorned roses. For the bridesmaids-carnation domes! I really do think carnations have somehow gotten a bad rap as being a "cheap" flower. While they may be one of the most affordable, long lasting, sweetest smelling blooms, since they don't cost much, people don't want to use them because they don't want to come off as cheap. Personally, I like to see them mixed into centerpieces and such, but my favorite way is the packed carnation look. Either in a dome, ball, or some other geometric flat form, a carpet of carnations is a fun modern approach.

Forgive the lighting on these centerpieces-florescence is hard to correct, so read the somewhat vanilla hydrangea as white/ivory. ;) Again, more happy fluffiness, hydrangea, roses, spray roses, carnations, and irises!

Nicki's Flowers

2010-08-09T11:02:00.000-07:00

Nicki's beautiful bouquet was big and full, made with orange and red mokara orchids, green cymbidium orchids, sumatra lilies, circus roses, crocosmia, burgundy ranunculus, red hypericum berries, and a single pincushion to top it off, collared with folded aspidistra leaves. Wrapped in ivory with a sheer burgundy organza ballet tied ribbon, accented with pearl pins.

The bridesmaid bouquets were fabulous with circus roses, orange and gold mokara orchids, a couple of burgundy ranunculus, a single pincushion and a single cymbidium, with purple alstromeria, collared in folded aspidistra and tied in a cheerful orange ribbon.

Clockwise from top left - The groom's boutonniere was a large green cymbidium with crocosmia and orange mokara accents and a burgundy ranunculus. The mother of the bride's corsage was a wristlet with the cymbidum and mokaras, plus a few poms, as well as the pin-on for the mother of the groom. The groomsmen wore a circus rose with crocosmia and cut horsetail reeds.

Flowers to accent the church!

And flowers to accent Tre Tattoria where the reception was held. :)

Michelle's Country Wedding

2010-07-25T18:00:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Michelle tied the knot at Rio Cibolo Ranch in Marion, which is a small country community halfway between San Antonio and Seguin off I-10. It was SO HOT and humid, I felt bad for Michelle having to be outside in her gown, but she was all smiles and didn't mind at all. Her cheerful personality was reflected in her choice of venue and flowers.

Her bouquet was beautiful, featuring creme de la creme roses, white peonies (omg, white peonies in late July!), white majolica spray roses, white stock, white lisianthus, and white daisies-her favorite. :)

Her bridesmaids carried fluffy blue hydrangea dotted with daisies french tied with raffia, which looked great with their pale yellow gowns.

I really do love decorating cakes! Using the same flowers that were in her bouquet, I dressed up her pale yellow and white cake. I don't know who the baker was but it smelled so good!

The groom's boutonniere was a creme de la creme rose with white spray roses and solidago accents. The 13 other boutonnieres were cute daisies with solidago and raffia, while the corsages were daisies, solidago, asters, and spray roses.

The ceremony structure (I don't know the proper name for the four pillars with dome top-I don't think it's gazebo..anyone?) was already Covered with biting climbing rose bushes which unfortunately weren't in bloom and just liked to scratch me up. lol Either way, I accented the two front posts with hydrangea, daisies, solidago, asters, greenery and raffia. :)

Adrianna's Flowers

2010-07-25T17:39:00.000-07:00

Dark purple and bright green is such a fun color combination! Adrianna's bouquet had a cluster of purple mini callas, tulips, stock, and lisianthus ringed in green hydrangea, berries, kale, spider mums, and Italian and Israeli ruscus.

The bridesmaids were round domes of purple 'moonvista' carnations.

The groom got a purple tulip with berries, spider pom, and greenery.

The other bouts were simple spider poms with berries and greenery, and the corsages were a purple calla with a spider pom, berries, and greenery. :)

Vanessa's Flowers

2010-07-25T17:01:00.000-07:00

From the raw materials...

Which in this case are orchids, gardenias, mini callas, gladiolus blooms, and hydrangea....

To the beautiful end result... Vanessa's bridal bouquet is truly stunning with it's almost pink orchids, fragrant gardenias, elegant mini callas, fluffy hydrangea, ruffled gladiolus, and a few snow white dendrobium orchids thrown in; a simple black satin ribbon with white pearl pins wraps the stems. She didn't have any bridesmaids, but she did get a toss bouquet. The boutonnieres were white dendrobium orchids and the corsage was a cymbidium orchid, to match hers.

Pro Pics of Marissa's Wedding

2010-07-17T10:11:00.000-07:00

Please enjoy these photos, taken by Jason Speros, of Marissa's wedding. There are more on the Eden's Echo Facebook page!Marissa's mom was so sweet, I just adored her! I love the ceremony shot here, with the beautiful stained glass!
She had another type of centerpiece that was white hydrangea and roses, but I don't have one of the shots. I think it's nice to have a few different types of centerpieces, it adds interest. The mixed floral arrangements were beautiful, but I'm drawn to the simple roses and spray roses with greenery arrangement. Maybe it's the big pink fluffy roses, called Bubba. They're my favorite pink rose. Or maybe it's just that it's classic and elegant and would look good at any themed wedding given a color change. :)
And the bouquets... :)

Cindee's Flowers

2010-07-10T19:45:00.000-07:00

Today Cindee renewed her vows in Castroville! It was super hot and humid, and her gown was one of those gorgeous numbers in heavy satin with beading and pick up details. Thank goodness the outdoor ceremony was short, so they could get back into the cool air conditioning! The theme to the party was country summer casual, and she went with fuscia and tangerine gerberas with lime spider mums for her flowers. Here are my cell phone captures of the day! Enjoy. :)

Cindee was one of my busy brides who booked me through email, so it was great to meet her after months of emails and Facebook wall posts. :) She exudes good vibes! Her bouquet and the bridesmaids bouquets also had white hydrangea, while the jr. maids were just gerberas, mini spiders, and greenery.

The Mary Grey Event Center in Castroville has a large gazebo. I didn't manage to get a good shot of the whole thing since it was backlit by the bright sun, but here are some close ups.

Her cake was classic with scrolls and dots, so I gave it some color via flowers. The cake table was looking somewhat bare, so I whipped up an extra centerpiece without much product, that would take up lots of room against the blank wall. Gotta love curly willow!

She kept her centerpieces cheerful and fun, more gerberas and curly willow. Gerberas under glass, floating mixed florals, and curly willow with a floating gerbera.

All got river rocks and orange tinted water. :)

These are great examples of using minimal flowers but while creating an eye popping impact. :)

Style Unveiled

2010-06-16T20:53:00.001-07:00

If you're not familiar with Style Unveiled, you should hurry and check it out! This is a phenomenal high style wedding resource blog. Their localized planning pages include Chicago, Los Angeles, San Fransisco, and Portland, and they will be launching an Austin page on Labor Day!

Since Austin is fairly close, they are also reaching out to San Antonio vendors and brides. One of my favorite sections is about local real weddings and couples. If anyone is interested in joining in the fun, let me know and I will make it happen! I want to show you all off to the world!

Trisha at Omni La Mansion

2010-05-30T22:37:00.001-07:00

Bright, Bold, and Beautiful - Three B words I would use to describe Trisha B.'s bouquets. :) I would also use those words to describe Trisha herself. Her face when I walked into the room with her flowers was priceless and is totally why I do this job. Wide eyes accompanied by a smile then a jaw drop, then squeals-oh yeah, that's the stuff, I never tire of it. I don't mean to toot my own horn, but..ya, no, I totally do. Look at it! Love it! I know you want one! When I asked Trisha for a picture, she exclaimed, "I better make your blog!" lol Nice to know I have readers. ;) Thanks y'all! This has got to be in my top 10 favorites I've made. Don't ask me the other ones, I love them all.. maybe I will do a list soon! If you want me to, post a comment! Her amazing bouquet was a mix of peonies, roses, stock, spray roses, mini callas, sweet pea, tulips, gloriosa lilies, mokara orchids, and phaelanopsis orchids. Trisha came to me with a photo she had taken with her iPhone from a magazine (probably Real Simple Weddings or some such, it was a recent issue) of a beautiful orange and hot pink bouquet. The original plan was to copy as closely as possible, but due to unavailability of a couple varieties of orchids, I altered it and made something similar but we both thought this was even more beautiful than her original ideal. Eat your heart out Martha..or whoever made it. ;) And here's the bridesmaid bouquets, baby versions of her own, with a little greenery added, plus the boutonniere and corsage. Now, the boutonniere is an exact copy of another unknown florist. Apparently her groom saw it and said he wanted THAT boutonniere. It's always cute when they have opinions on these things. :P The corsages were so cute, that's my own design. ;)

Her father in law either used to be a florist or his family owned a flower shop, and he did her bridal portrait bouquet, and also was going to put together arrangements of silk phaelenopsis orchids for the reception. Phaelenopsis are sooooo pricey. Normally I'm not an advocate of silks, but in this case I was like 'go for it!'. I did a few centerpieces for the cocktail tables of submerged dendrobiums and mokaras, but of course totally didn't take pictures. Go figure. It's ok.. Caitlin will get those shots. ;)

Again, Caitlin and I share a bride! That's two in one weekend!!! I'm going to have to visit her blog and count all the ones we've shared. Off the top of my head, there's Monica, Amber, Lucy, Nikki, Trisha, Naomi, and Elizabeth. But I feel like there's more I'm just not remembering. :P

Lucy and Darnell at the Club at Sonterra

2010-05-30T21:56:00.001-07:00

Finally, I got to do a full wedding at the Club at Sonterra. I've had brides pick up flowers, but this time I had the pleasure of setting up a reception and ceremony there as well! To make things even better, it was Lucy and Darnell. Lucy is so ... vivacious! She has such a beautiful smile, and so does Darnell. You cannot help but smile around these two, and their cheery personalities were reflected in their color choices of lemon and platinum. I love this combo! Here are my snapshots. Caitlin's Creations was the pro, so you know I'll have way better pictures soon! Be sure to stalk her blog!!!

I haven't gotten to do too many yellow weddings that didn't include green, so this was really fun! The flowers included spider mums, irises, stock, hydrangea, roses, solidago, and button mums. The boutonnieres were craspedia, also known as "billy balls" which is the more common term. Darnell and his groomsmen made numerous jokes about that. The bridesmaids probably thought I was really weird taking a picture of their shoes, but the angle with them all lined up was just really cute! :) I love the shoes, too, peep toe yellow patent pumps!

A quick toast right before the ceremony!

The only corsage I had to make for Lucy's wedding was for her grandmother. Her and Darnell's mothers carried small bouquets. Here's Lucy with her dad, and Lucy's mom (she has her eyes).
Lucy is just so pretty! Here's a comparison of her bridal portraits vs the day of bouquet. Unfortunately the cattleya orchids she loves so much went off season two weeks before her wedding, but I was able to get them for her bridal portraits! Caitlin did such a beautiful job on the bridals (check out the blog!). I cannot wait to see the professional pics as I didn't get any decent ones this time. lol

Fun centerpieces, mixed floral with curly willow atop a lemon filled vase. She also had some pretty candlescapes and a smaller centerpiece, but I didn't get a decent picture of those.

The ceremony! :) Lucy had 6 bridesmaids, 2 jr. maids, and two flower girls! They had three ring bearers, the youngest is 18 months and he was pulled in a wagon, so cute!

I've said it probably a hundred times, but I'll say it again--I love putting flowers on cakes! Let me put flowers on your cake, too! :)

This Weekend's Weddings

2010-05-17T21:25:00.000-07:00

I sure was a busy bee this weekend! Our lovely brides Naomi and Marissa both married their respective fiances, and Lucy took her bridal portraits! The weather gave us a run for our money on Thursday and Friday, but Saturday was as beautiful as could be, so all was well. Here are my shots from this weekend. :)

First, since I have the most pictures of this one, I will share Marissa's wedding. I was excited to see Jason Speros was her photographer, as he was my photographer two years ago when I got married! :) I can't wait to see his photos. Marissa got married at St. Luke's, which I'd never been to, but they have a really great hall and a lovely church with lots of gorgeous stained glass.

Of course, the obligitory bouquet mug shots. :) To add a little bling, they brought me these brooches they'd purchased at Serendipity on San Pedro. Actually the one on her bouquet is a brooch, the one on the bridesmaid bouquet is a barrette. I think I will go buy some for my hair, I LOVE them!
FINALLY! I mananged to actually take pictures of the church flowers! Somehow I am either too busy or the sanctuary is too dim for me to get decent shots. Well hooray! To all my brides who just asked for a traditional church arrangement, and I suggested gladiolus, mums, roses, stock, snapdragons, and filler, this is it! :)

Here's Marissa, ready to get married, not rushed but wondering why they told her to get to the church a whole hour before the wedding. That's the sign of a good planner! Along side the bouquet line-up are the mug shots of her bouquet again (sorry for the repetition, but why not?). Not sure why I'm using police jokes here, but oh well. :) I think I'm just tired!

Three things Really make a reception hall look good. Flowers, linens, and lighting! She had all three. :) The vases and candle holders came from Pier 1.
Top left is the beautiful Hilda, mother of the bride. She was absolutely wonderful to work with, and I adore her. She helped Marissa with the planning and was always really sweet. She also brought me those blinged out bracelets to be the base for the wrist corsages, also from Serendipity! :) Top right was our groom, Zack, and one of the groomsmen. Unfortunate lighting makes for slightly blurry photos, sorry!

I didn't get to see Naomi on her wedding day, but I did see some photos on Facebook, and she was just lovely. Her hubby came to pick them up in the morning, which I think may be the first time I'd met him, and he was really sweet. Anyway, I just loved everything about her flowers. I totally forgot to take a picture of her bridesmaid bouquets, but they were just simple black magic roses, no greenery or anything fancy. Her bouquet is classic fabulous, black magic roses, white callas, and white orchids. The ribbon detail on her bouquet was so fun! And here is Lucy's bridal portrait bouquet. I'm so glad I went with the Cattleya orchids. She told me to surprise her, and the reason I'm so happy that I did them for her bridals is that it looks like in two weeks, I probably won't be able to get that flower! It's a shame, she loves them so. But either way, you can look forward to her pictures because you know whatever we do it will be gorgeous. I love yellow and white, I don't get to do that often. :)

fin.

For the love of Fall (colors)!

2010-05-12T14:20:00.001-07:00

October is the March of autumn. "Huh?" you may say, but really, my two busiest months are March and October. The weather's great here and the flowers are lovely. I was just going through pictures and caught myself smiling at all the fall-ish pictures, so here's a little collage for those of you who might be missing these bright golds, oranges and reds of fall.

More Fabulous Color!

2010-05-04T21:04:00.000-07:00

The JW Marriott Hill Country Resort (and spa) opened for business this past January, and I had my first wedding there this past Saturday. As usual, I took a few snapshots, so here they are to enjoy! Colorful, modern, and rustic is how I would describe Dana's flower style. I loved it! She's one of those awesome, brave girls who give me colors and a style and tell me to do what I want. :) Gotta love that! Her pro photographer, Philip Thomas promised to share pics once he gets them processed, yay!!!

Dana and Frank booked this venue before it was even complete, and WOW. This place was Massive! I was talking with another couple about it and they asked if it was as nice as La Cantera, and ya, I would have to say so. I didn't get to see very much of the place, but I saw acres of green and grand halls with fabulous decor lighting, including some from a local artisan.

Punch up the color!

2010-04-29T19:58:00.001-07:00

Alyson sent me about 20 pictures of different bouquets she loved. Her biggest request was that it be bold and colorful! The result? An awesome, one of a kind, bold, beautiful, wildly colorful bouquet! She loved it. ;) Her father in law arrived before I could get pics of the bridesmaid bouquets, so stay tuned for when I get some pics from her. For now, here's a shot of her bouquet and the groom's boutonniere.

Thumbs up, 7-up!

2010-04-29T19:42:00.000-07:00

Ahhhh! Lemon and lime, what a classic, refreshing combo, right? Cali's wedding was my first time out at the Gardens at West Green. Elizabeth got married there last month, but they'd picked up their order. I didn't stay to see these set out on the tables, but here are my snapshots of the bouquets, centerpieces, and cake inside the Winfield-Little offices. :)

Ah, the design process!

2010-04-18T19:57:00.000-07:00

Many times during consultations, my brides will have an idea of what they want, but they might not have a photo that exactly represents what they are thinking, or I might have a suggestion for them that I don't have a picture of. In these cases, I will draw little sketches. The bouquet below is yesterday's bouquet, and I thought to myself it might be fun to post the sketch next to the final product. Since I am posting that one, I decided to do a couple more! :)

Love this!

2010-04-13T14:15:00.001-07:00

One of my fall couples, Julie and Karl, had this awesome vintage car as their get-away-mobile. Julie emailed me yesterday with some pictures, and so I felt like sharing this one. Adorable, and oh my, what a fabulous fall bouquet!

A Whiter Shade of Pale

2010-03-28T20:58:00.000-07:00

I heard this song on an episode of House just now, and it inspired me to post some of my favorite white bouquets in one shot-some old, some new. Enjoy!

Photo credits, clockwise from upper left: Four Creative Studios, Erin McLarty, Erin McLarty, Jason Speros, Erin McLarty, Erin McLarty, Now and Then Photography, Erin McLarty, Erin McLarty, and in the center, Brandi Sutherland.

Nikki's Italian-Rustic Wedding

2010-03-26T21:36:00.000-07:00

I will start by saying that every once in a while, I will get a bride that just cracks me up. I like to think I have a rapport with all my ladies, but sometimes there are those who are a lot like me and my friends-Nikki is one of those brides. This woman is so funny, and her smile is so contagious, I just love her! She was one of my rare Friday night brides, and she married her sweetie tonight at the Red Berry Mansion. If you've never been there or heard of it, check it out because this venue is amazingly beautiful. Please enjoy my little snapshots if you can, and rejoice that Caitlin's Creations was her photographer today, which means of course we will get beautiful photos because Caitlin always shares her talent with me. :)

Up top is one of the awesome centerpieces, bright and colorful, Tuscan-themed with real grapes accenting the arrangement of one ginormous sunflower, red parrot tulips, terra cotta alstromeria, sahara roses, milva roses, and leonidas roses, solidago, yarrow, red hypericum, purple stock, Israeli ruscus, viking poms, and seeded eucalyptus! Bottom left is an arrangement I literally threw together in about 30 seconds for the caterer to help weigh down the tablecloth on the bar-two giant sunflowers, handful of parrot tulips, with purple dendros and red mokara orchids. Bottom right is the beautiful arch decor, which my cell phone camera just did not do justice. Thank goodness Caitlin and her crew were there! I also didn't get pictures of the cute chair decorations. Nikki found these beautiful cone sconces and they were filled with moss and accented with a small arrangement of flowers. So pretty!

Nikki's bouquet was fabulous with antique hydrangea, mango callas, sahara roses, her favorite parrot tulips, yellow solidago, red hypericum, purple stock, red mokara and purple dendrobium orchids, and seeded eucalyptus. As a special touch, she asked me to have two flowers she could remove at the beginning of the ceremony to present to her mom and her groom's mom. That was so sweet! The bridesmaids bouquets were of course a giant sunflower surrounded by roses, stock, solidago, and greenery. The flower girl carried a little basket I accented with artificial grapes, and it was adorable. :)

Nikki, you were gorgeous, congrats! Caitlin, I can't wait to see your photos!

Christa and Nick's Sneak Peak

2010-03-25T13:58:00.000-07:00

Photographer Brandi Sutherland has already posted some pictures up on her blog from Christa and Nick's McNay wedding! Check it out here for more beautiful photography of this lovely wedding. Can't wait to see more from Brandi Sutherland in the future!

Spring is here!

2010-03-25T12:10:00.001-07:00

Sarah wanted a bouquet that would be basically what she was getting on her wedding day (in just a few weeks!), so we went full out fabulous with her spring bouquet! Here are a couple of my shots of her when she came to pick them up. I can't wait to see her all done up and beautiful, holding this gorgeous bouquet. Sarah's bouquet is a garden style mix of cream and pale pink stock, peach, white, and pale pink ranunculus, pink bouvardia, jasmine, peonies, pale pink garden spray roses, pink sweet pea, two big cream roses, and lady's mantle greenery.

Patty and Edgar's Pro Pics

2010-03-15T09:55:00.000-07:00

In January, Patty and Edgar were married and FOUR Creative Studio was there to capture the day. Here are my two favorite pictures from the teasers they posted on their blog.

Glamor Girl Sylvia's Big Day

2010-03-13T20:40:00.000-08:00

I had two weddings today, both featured purple and hot pink. I only have snapshots of Sylvia's bouquets, though. I can't wait to see pics from Elizabeth's ceremony. :) For now I will have to enjoy these cute pics of glamorous Sylvia and her fabulous bridesmaids!

One of the things I loved about Sylvia's reception set up was this special made serving platter with an adorable caricature of Sylvia and Manny for the guests to sign. I got to make the first inscription. :) I have never seen a custom platter, just blank ones, I will have to ask where she had it made. :)

Becca's Bold Bouquets

2010-03-06T16:17:00.000-08:00

Here are my snapshots of Rebecca's beautiful bold colored bouquets. Her bouquet and her bridesmaids bouquets are made of Cherry Love roses, Ad Rem and pink Van Dyke tulips, seeded eucalyptus, and white heather. For the bridal bouquet, we added some white majolica spray roses and purple dendrobium orchid blossoms for extra contrast.

To the left is our groom Heath, looking only slightly nervous. :) That was photo take two, the first he blinked. lol The ceremony was held at Our Lady of the Lake's Congregation of Divine Providence. It was my first wedding there. :)

Here are some fun out take photos of the bridesmaids. :)

I will post pics of the centerpieces soon! Stay tuned!

Photos from Lindsay

2010-02-25T16:14:00.000-08:00

I got a happy surprise in the mail today! One of my December brides, Lindsay, sent me a disk with 171 photos of her flowers, taken by her photographer, Josh Fowler. I was amazed at how many flower shots there were considering she didn't order centerpieces, way to go Josh! I've never met this photographer, but I like his style. His website is www.joshfowlerphotography.com

It also made my day to see all her photos, because she is one of those brides I never had the chance to meet. Every once in a while I get a busy bride who books me through email and then I miss them on the day of. In Lindsay's case, her father picked up the flowers. It always makes me a little blue not to see the bride on her wedding high. Seeing the expression on her face as she sees her bouquet for the first time is my favorite part of my job. :)

New Digs, Part 3

2010-02-22T19:23:00.000-08:00

We're very nearly finished! After a week of hard work, the office is looking so much nicer! We have the basics for now. We would still like to replace the light fixtures and we need to hang photos on the wall and get chair covers for the chairs, but other than that, it's a totally workable front room. Dulce's office needs a second coat of paint, then we can arrange her furniture. :) In the next couple of weeks we will be having an open house happy hour, hope you can make it!

This was really late Thursday night.. we were soooo tired!

On the left half of the collage is my work area! Yaaaay! I love this antique bar I got, it's perfect with it's shelves and the top had been replaced at some point with laminate, so I don't have to worry about water damage to that area. Upper right is the seating area, and bottom right is what you see when you walk through the door. :)

New Digs, Part 2 - Remodel

2010-02-16T22:18:00.000-08:00

Today Dulce, Diana, and I chose the color for the walls, which we then painted and added paneling to the walls that needed it. It doesn't sound like much, but it really, really was a lot of work! To add the paneling you have to first rip out the baseboards, so there's some light demo involved. I found out I really enjoy these kinds of projects! I had no idea, having never had anything to remodel before. We had a lot of fun and are all very tired now. :) Tomorrow we will add chair rail and replace the baseboards, then paint all those areas and the doors. Here are some shots from today. Diana can be seen blending in with the wall in the top left, which was my favorite snapshot of the day. :)

New Digs, Part 1

2010-02-15T14:15:00.000-08:00

I'm happy to announce that Eden's Echo and Dulce's Photos are going to be sharing an awesome new space! Well, it'll be awesome once we're done with it! Right now, it's really boring. I thought I would share the before pictures, plus a collage of some furniture I painted to go in the space. :)

I got both of these on Craigslist for $45, what a bargain! I spent more on the paint and supplies to refinish them than the actual items, but all in all I think they turned out really cute and cheerful looking! They will certainly add that vibrant pop of color to the room that was a must for me. Ignore the blue painter's tape over the baseboards! That was before the plan for the walls. hehe

Not pictured here is a cool bar I bought, also from Craigslist, which will be my work counter area and section off the seating area (which will be by the window) from my work area (the corner with the desk). :) The suite used to be a dentist office, so there's a random sink in the corner (see behind the ginormous desk), lucky me!

As you can see, it's very standard and boring. Now, the walls in this suite have A.D.D. One has floor to ceiling paneling, the other has half panel and chair rail, and then three others don't have either. Dulce and I are going to tackle that tomorrow! We're going to and also add panel and chair rail to the walls that need them! The panel and rails will be a bright white and the uppers will be a color to be determined, probably in the green-blue family. Stay tuned for updates and more pictures of the new office transformation!

Sylvia's Bridals by Dulce's Photos

2010-02-06T20:33:00.000-08:00

My darling bride Sylvia is getting married next month, so she had her bridals a couple of weeks ago. I've been waiting on pins and needles to see them, because they were taken by photographer Dulce of Dulce's Photos. Dulce has photographed my flowers many times, and she does a great job at capturing detail shots-which every florist loves! And the brides love her, too. She takes Tons of shots and is very affordable for such high-quality work, so you know your album is going to be full of wonderful memories. :)

Bouquet Tutorial

2010-02-03T12:39:00.000-08:00

When walking down the aisle and for photos, try to hold your bouquet at your waist line. If you hold it at bust level, it gives off a feeling that you are nervous (which you probably are, but they don't need to know!) You might feel strange doing this, since your hands will be lower than comfortable, but it's temporary and it's the best way to show off the detail on your bodice and the flowers themselves.

You will also want to avoid holding the bouquet directly against your gown to prevent damage to the flowers, as well as keeping the ends of the stems away from fabric just on the off chance there is any moisture remaining in them. I recommend leaving your flowers in water until about 30 minutes prior to your procession.

Fun poses with your flowers include: holding the flowers toward the camera so your photographer can get a shot of the blooms with you slightly out of focus in the background; while looking back over your shoulder, hold your bouquet near that same shoulder you are facing; and of course a group photo with you and your bridesmaids showing off all your flowers-too many poses to describe, be creative and have fun with it!

Don't forget to ask your photographer to take specialty shots such as your wedding rings nestled in the blooms, details of the wrap if it is unique or you are using an heirloom locket or rosary, or some interesting shots of the bouquet in unlikely places. My favorite one of these is the photo of Alexandra's bouquet with the resident cat of Fair Oaks Ranch Event Center. You should also get some shots of the bridesmaids bouquets, bouts, and corsages to round out your photo album!

Shalom's Wedding Photos

2010-01-31T22:56:00.000-08:00

Back in October, Shalom and her husband renewed their vows in a church ceremony surrounded by close family and friends. Tonight she shared her photos with me, so of course you know I have to post some! I love the bright and cheerful fall colors, and especially in this bleak February weather, they bring a smile to my face. :) To see the blog post where I showed my detail shots and descriptions of the flowers, click here.

Katie's Weston Wedding

2010-01-16T16:51:00.000-08:00

The Weston Centre in downtown San Antonio is one of the city skyline's tallest buildings. The first floor is a bank lobby by day during the week, but on the weekends it's a popular venue for weddings. Outside has a beautiful fountain that faces the river. This is the scene for Katie's wedding. And of course, I left my camera at home. Lucky for me, AJ with AJH Photography is her photographer, so I will get some decent shots at some point. For now, here are my cell phone snapshots of Katie's flowers. :)

2010-01-07T16:36:00.000-08:00

The second day of the new year brought my second wedding of the new year! :D I'd say that's off to a pretty good start, wouldn't you? Sarah and Aaron tied the knot at the Hotel Contessa, a venue I'd never been to before, so that was exciting! I would describe Sarah as down to earth, with a simple-elegance sense of style. Her green, brown, and ivory wedding was accented with white and green goddess calla lilies, green spider mums, curly willow, and lovely folded aspidistra leaves.

Here we have the bridal bouquet and the groom's boutonniere. Callas alone are beautiful, but I really feel these aspidistra leaves added so much style.

Petite bouquets of green spider mums with folded aspidistra and galax leaves, and the boutonniere of a spider mum and galax leaf looked so good together!

The mother's corsages were a single calla with lisianthus buds, seeded eucalyptus and a galax leaf with petite organza bow. Here are the parents of the bride, looking like they're having a great time-just as it should be!

I took these right before Sarah walked down the aisle. It was the night of the Alamo Bowl, and the area was packed with people wearing red in support of Texas Tech!

Here's the room all dressed up with the centerpieces, which were callas, curly willow, with accents of hydrangea, spider mums, and leaves. The cake was by Cakes 'n More, and topped with my own design to match the rest of the wedding. I'll say it again, I love to decorate cakes!

New Year's Day

2010-01-07T15:48:00.000-08:00

Gabby got married out at Granberry Hills on the first day of the new year. And oh my gosh she was just tooooo cute! Her order was only personal flowers and one small arrangement for the sign in table, as they used the candlescape centerpieces rented from the venue. I always say if you're on a budget, use what your venue provides for free or for a small fee, it's a great way to save money. :) Here are my snapshots! I had left my camera at the office, Again, so these were taken on my cell, forgive the quality.

The bouquet was an all-white version of another bouquet I'd made a few months ago. It's made of hydrangea, roses, lisianthus, and calla lilies, accented with a rhinestone heart buckle. Who says all-white bouquets are boring?!

From top left, clockwise: Groom's boutonniere, a vendella rose with spray rose and white button mum accent, wrapped with a black and white stitch grosgrain ribbon tied in a love knot, then two shots of the additional boutonnieres made of white spray roses and button mums, the corsages also of spray roses and button mums, and finally the sign in table arrangement.

Look at that smile! I love to see smiles that big on brides! Absolutely adorable!d

Michelle and John, revisited

2009-12-30T19:57:00.000-08:00

Back in May when Ausitnite lawyer couple John and Michelle tied the knot here in San Antonio, I posted some of my snapshots. Phillip Thomas is responsible for the photos you see here, which I turned into collages! :) To see the post with my shots, featuring the centerpieces, click here. Many thanks to Phillip Thomas and John and Michelle for sharing these photos with me. :)

Rachel Getting Married/Lindsay's Flowers

2009-12-20T23:01:00.000-08:00

I had a total of three weddings this weekend (I'm so tired!)!!! But somehow I was only fortunate enough to see one bride in person, which was Mrs. Kimber! Rachel and Lindsay also chose this pre-Christmas weekend as the perfect time to get married. This weekend's weather was absolutely perfect, too! Rachel got married at the Mc Nay, and I did a small ceremony arrangement for the chuppah (which I didn't get a good picture of), and Lindsay's dad came and picked the flowers up from me Sunday morning. Here are my shots of their flowers. :)

There's something to be said for simplicity. Lindsay's blue and ivory wedding flowers were clean and classic. Above, the bridesmaid bouquet of blue hydrangea and ivory roses, the groomsmen boutonniere with vendella rose and white mini mum, and spray roses with lepto, delphinium, and ruscus for the corsages. Below, her own bouquet of ivory hydrangea, vendella and polar star roses, delphinum, and lisianthus, along with the groom's boutonniere.

Rachel's flowers followed suit, especially the bridesmaid bouquet. Only it was white hydrangea with pink and champagne roses. Her own bouquet was just a large mass of ivory, white, champagne, and pink roses. The groom had an ivory rose with lepto and greenery accent, a champagne rose with greenery for all the other gents, and then some wrist and some pin on corsages for the ladies.

One note about wrist corsages. I prefer to make them on ribbon with a long tail that wraps around the wrist and ties again on top. It's so much more comfortable than the elastic band types that are so common.

Romantic Wedding

2009-12-20T17:36:00.000-08:00

Hello all! Today Kimber tied the knot! Here are my captures of the day!

Here's Kimber with her awesome bouquet! Let's face it, Monkey Tail is just plain cool! In this bouquet, Black Magic Roses, Monkey Tail, Artichokes, Red Ranunculus, Tinted Safflower, Eggplant Mini Callas, Green Hypericum, Red Leucadendron, and Buck-Eye Bell Peonies.

Cute shots of the bride and groom, taken prior to the ceremony.

Our charming groom holding the bouquet, and a close up of his calla and monkey tail boutonniere

These were the reception centerpieces, but since the ceremony was held in the same room they doubled as ceremony decor. The clusters were compiled of Green Hulk Hydrangea, Black Magic Roses, Hanging Amaranthus, Purple Mini Chrysanthemums, Purple Lisianthus, and Tinted Safflower. These were tall, but the ones below were taller!

Three tables got extra large centerpieces!

A Wedding at the Bushnell

2009-11-15T13:57:00.000-08:00

I've been working as an independant floral designer for over three years in San Antonio, and somehow I've never done a wedding at The Bushnell. Lucky for me, Lindsay got married there yesterday so that's another venue I can check off the list. :) The banquet room itself is a bit small, so it's perfect for an intimate wedding, but there's also seating upstairs on the terrace that boasts a gorgeous view of the San Antonio skyline. Here are my snapshots from yesterday. :)Lindsay and her maid of honor. :)

I fell in love with this romantic bouquet. I know, I know, I am always falling for my own flowers, but I just love them so much! The bridal bouquet is always the most important thing for me when I'm designing, and this one was so soft and feminine with tons of my favorite flowers - hydrangeas, roses, spray roses, stock, and orchids. Instead of the traditional white or ivory wrap, she had requested champagne. Well, I found this fabulous trim at a fabric store and added it to her bouquet, which just added an extra touch of fabulous. It's all about the details!

Detail of the bridesmaid bouquets. I used the trim around the middle of their wraps as well!

There were several centerpiece types, including these great gardeny topiaries.

Bouts and corsages

The various low centerpieces and the cake :)

Ceremony on the terrace. I really liked these altar arrangements, very different.
The day before the wedding, they also ordered flowers for the bridal luncheon. The little table setup looked so cute, I also grabbed a shot of that. :) It was at Magiano's in the Rim shopping center. I was impressed with their banquet rooms.

Quick snaps from Julie and Karl's Wedding

2009-11-08T20:27:00.000-08:00

Julie and Karl got married this weekend in Victoria. Lisa Woods, one of my favorite photographers, was there to capture their big day. I cannot wait to see the pictures! In the mean time, here are a few quick pics from this fabulous fall wedding!

Black Tie and Rustic Fall

2009-10-19T18:21:00.000-07:00

My other two weddings this weekend.. Jane's was a small order of black and white flowers, and Anabel's was a full wedding with plenty of centerpieces. Sadly we didn't get a good shot of the bouquets for the fall themed wedding (can't wait for the pro shots!), but we got some ok pics of the reception set up at the St. Anthony. :)

Jane's formal bouquet, inspired by Shanna's black and white bouquet that I made a few months ago. :) Using the same concept of white and ivory flowers with black silk leaves, beads, and ribbon accents. I really do look forward to seeing the professional shots of this one!
Jane's one and only bridesmaid carried a beautiful, simplified version of the bridal bouquet. She spared no expense, and when I was done, I thought this could definitely be a bride's bouquet. :) If I didn't know any better, I would guess it was just that. The personal flowers were with mini callas and the same black silk leaves, with little seeded eucalyptus accents. The cake topper mimicked the bouquets perfectly.

And here we have a few shots of Anabel's reception set up in the Georgian Room of the St. Anthony. Fall, rustic, simple. The ballroom was so inviting and warm looking, though quite cool temperature wise. :)

Julie's Portrait Bouquet

2009-10-18T21:45:00.000-07:00

Once we have some shots from Julie's photographer, I'll post them. I LOVE ranunculus, it's a smaller flower (unless you get French variety in the month of March) so you really have to pack it in. This bouquet was one white hydrangea topped with about 35 stems of lovely, ruffly, feminine ranunculus. The simplicity of this design makes me smile, and the white hydrangea peeking out around the bottom adds a little something. Not sure what that something is, but I like it. ;)

Tis the Season

2009-10-18T12:59:00.001-07:00

Yup, more fall flowers! This weekend I had one full wedding and two orders for personal flowers. For now, here are the flowers I made for the lovely Shalom. I took these with my cell phone since my camera wasn't with me at the time.

This bouquet is rustic chic, with its circus roses, orange tulips, red coxcomb, berzelia berries, orange French marigolds, sunflowers, solidago, safflower, yellow rush, curly willow, and grevillea.

The groom and groomsmen wore boutonnieres with a spiral fern rod, French marigold, grevillea leaves, berzelia berries, and montbretia pods (left), while the fathers, grandfather, and brother wore a French marigold accented with bronze button mum, grevillea, and berzillia berries.

The bridesmaids carried single flower bouquets of large sunflowers surrounded with yellow rush, solidago, grevillea, montbretia pods, curly willow, and a folded aspidistra leaf. All flowers in the wedding were accented with the bronze swirl ribbon to tie the look all together.

Sarah and Aaron's Wedding

2009-10-13T10:11:00.000-07:00

Sarah was referred to me by a friend of my sister's, and honestly, Sarah is so cool (I mean, the woman wore silver Doc's under her gown at the reception)! Her wedding was out at Don Strange Ranch in the hill country, and the house was packed! I've never been to a wedding where guests ran out of seats, because more people showed up than RSVP'd, but it made for a great party. :) Somehow I managed to not get a decent photo of the groom, but once my new buddy Philip Thomas sends me some pictures, I will for sure post them.

For now, please enjoy my snapshots from the wedding!

Sarah carried an awesome bouquet of black magic roses, accented with curly willow, white cymbidium orchids, and white and burgundy mini callas, wrapped in silver to match her silver-platinum gown.

I love spider mums; they're such a fun texture flower. Another fun texture is seeded eucalyptus, and I paired the two to create this bridesmaid bouquet. The seeded eucalyptus is flexible and had a lot of movement, so when the bridesmaids walked, the bouquets shivered.

The groom got the black magic rose, accented with seeded eucalyptus and curly willow. The cushion mums wrapped in leaves were for the groomsmen and corsages, and the leaf-wrapped waxflower was for the bride's son.

The tables had simple centerpieces of white hydrangea and silver mitsumata branches.

Just before the ceremony, which was just at sunset.

Sarah posing in her silver boots, and, Sarah and me. :)

More Fall Flowers

2009-10-13T06:39:00.001-07:00

Amanda's bouquet was a mix of lipstick, circus, and cherry brandy roses. It was wrapped in ivory and accented in eggplant organza ribbon criss crossed and accented with pearls down the front. Classic, clean, and simply elegant. The groom had a boutonniere with wrapping to match, and while the fathers were wearing the same shade rose, the groomsmen wore ivory roses, to match the color of the single stem ivory calla lily the bridesmaids carried. The ring bearer had a mini orange rose, the mothers carried a single stem of ribbon accented cherry brandy rose, and she tossed a mixed rose bouquet with seeded eucalyptus. Since the order was small they opted to pick them up, I hope to see some photos from the actual wedding sometime. :)

Fall is in the air!

2009-10-09T15:45:00.000-07:00

I am in love with these flowers I made for Brittany!

Her bouquet is so pretty and simple, elegant and classy!

Instead of screaming, "Here comes the bride!" it whispers, "Isn't the bride beautiful?" The bridesmaids are gorgeous fall mums with a few accents and cool
aspidistra and gallax leaf collars, and the bouts are awesome.
The groom gets a mini calla with gallax accent to match, and the groomsmen have
mini mums with gallax leaf wraps. I love gallax leaves! They have so many possibilities. :)

Oldies, but goodies

2009-10-01T17:29:00.000-07:00

Just for fun, here are some older pictures. A reception at the Navajo Grill in Fredericksburg, fall 2006

One of our Joint Cheif of Staff's son's wedding. So of course they went navy/yellow. :)

I think it was in the spring of 07, well, it was sometime that year.

Above, Lauren and Travis, more recent, April of 08 :)

The ones above and below are Maryanne and Chris, fall 2006, The Trois Estate

The remaining weddings were all at the Trois Estate, located across from Enchanted Rock in Fredericksburg in 2006 (except Sarah, who's champagne dress is to die for, that was 07). This is where I began my floral roll, when I was working at the beautiful bed and breakfast, and helping whenever they had weddings. So many DIY brides found out at the last minute how hard things were to DIY, and so guess who did them? Yep, me. After realizing I had a knack for it, I took some courses, and here we are today!

Pro Pics of Stephanie's Wedding

2009-09-28T17:50:00.000-07:00

My lovely March 2009 bride, Stephanie, surprised me by mailing me a disk of photos seemingly out of the blue. I say she surprised me, but it's only because it was so long after we'd talked about her sending me one. It was there, in the back of my mind, the question of when I might get some of her pro shots (along with several other busy newly-wed couples). The note enclosed was so sweet, but of course my favorite line was, "Thanks again for everything you did. You're amazing, and please let me know if you ever need anything (especially a referernce)." So there you have it folks, another happy bride, even months after the wedding, yay!

Needless to say I was thrilled and immediately began drooling over the pictures Alamo Photographic took on the day of the wedding. Way back in my blog I have the snapshots that I took, but they just don't compare, of course! :) I loved so many of the photos, there are a ton of collages for you today!

The Beautiful Bride

The Gorgeous Groom The Elegant Ceremony

On the roof of Marquardt Ranch

Fun Bridal Party Silly Shots
Flowers

Kristi, Richard, and Seth

2009-09-27T05:56:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I had the honor of being a guest at Kristi and Richard's wedding. I'm always flattered when I am invited to the weddings I decorate. :) Castle Avalon in New Braunfels was the setting for the wedding and reception, and while I'd delivered out there before, I had never stayed for the event. Kristi and Richard also included Kristi's son, Seth, in the ceremony. That warmed my heart a lot, because when Jason and I got married we also included our sons during our wedding. Ok, enough mushy stuff, on to the flowers!

Here we have our groom Richard, Seth (who had just lost a tooth that week and very proudly told me so!), and one of the groomsmen, for good measure. :)

Shots of all the types of wearables! Mini callas might cost more than roses, but they're oh so nice! I loved Kristi's purple, black, and ivory color scheme.

When I went to art school and learned how to critique, one of the big aspects was emotional response and impression. These centerpieces give me the thought 'exploding garden'. And I love it. :) The dahlias were a last minute addition, not in the original plan, and so were the folded horsetail reeds. But when I went to pick up the flowers, I saw the dahlias and said 'YUM', and the reeds were just begging to be used. :)

Originally we were planning on having only the purple mini callas with the white waxflower. But again, the wholesaler had thse awesome open cut huge callas and I wanted to throw some in there. I called, and Kristi said I could do as I pleased, yay! I also grabbed a couple cattleya orchid blossoms and surprised her with those. The picture frame brooch, outlined with little crystal accented dragonflies, held a picture of her father.

About a week before the wedding (maybe less time?) Kristi emailed me with the realization that she needed an extra bouquet. The original plan for the bridesmaids was going to be simple white hydrangea with 5 of the purple mini callas, but there wasn't going to be enough to go around and at such short notice I couldn't get more of the same shade mini callas. So, plan B, I did something totally different, she left it up to me, and she loved the results. When you like your vendors, and you feel they 'get' you, always trust they will do their best work for you. :) We want to make you happy. True story!

And in true Erin fashion, while I brought my camera-my batteries died! I thought I had back ups in my bag, but alas, I did not. So, please enjoy (tolerate?) these little videos I took on my cell phone. Because until the photographer gets Kristi her disks, this is the only way you will see how beautiful she looked-even though since it's a cell phone video, you can't begin to get a good enough impression. Incidentally, her make up artist was the same as Rachel's! The name escapes me. I think it's Roseanne, I know it's not Roxanne-because Kristi was telling us, as she was getting her hair done, that she always called her 'Roxy' and then would kick herself for it immediately, because she knew that wasn't right. lol Kristi is so funny. ^_^ I wonder how many other of my brides she might have worked on, and I never knew! She's another popular knottie recommended vendor. I get most of my referrals from word of mouth on the knot boards!

Quick vid of the ladies posing for pics on the staircase. The bride is beautiful and the flower girl is so adorable. Oh, and the flowers are nice, too! Look at the flowers!

And here they are, the newly-weds! I just love her gown, all lace. Gorgeous.

How Pretty is Rachel?

2009-09-22T15:45:00.000-07:00

Rachel and her mother had a not-so-fun experience. They picked up the gown (in Houston) and drove here for portraits. When they got here they realized the bridal store had forgotten to include the laces for the inside corset panel of Rachel's gown! So, they had to run to Hobby Lobby to get something to replace it. Then, she got to change in the parking lot, always fun. I had to do that for my portraits, too. Her mom and I teamed up to cinch her into her gown, laughing the whole time as Rachel tried to be modest and not too embarassed whenever a vehicle might drive by (which was only once or twice). Finally, we got her into her gown and shoes, and we were ready to roll!
Rachel chose talented photographer Amy DeYoung out of dozens of dozens of photographers. Amy has been featured on Platinum Weddings and The Knot TV! I am so excited my flowers will be captured by such an amazing photographer. The pictures here are all my own, though-I just felt like tagging along for a bit. Can't wait to see the official bridals! :) Fully blown-open roses in cream, ivory, and blush pink were hand tied in ivory and accented with a beautiful brooch of Rachel's grandmother. It was so glamorous!

Seriously, how pretty is she? Those eyes just kill me, she got them from her mom. :)

Alexandra's Wedding

2009-09-22T14:32:00.000-07:00

Hot Pink and green, together again! I love this color combination! Alexandra has a fun, whimsical personality. Because of set up times, I didn't get to see her on the wedding day, which was a little sad for me, because I love seeing the bride's reaction. But I hope she loved everything as much as I did! Her reception was held at River Rock Event Center, in Fair Oaks Ranch-I love that venuue!The bridal bouquet was a hand gathered bouquet of fluffy white hydrangea, with white calla lilies in the center, with hot pink roses, white and light pink lisianthus, and pink and green mini cymbidium orchids. She had seen a photo of a bouquet I had ballet tied like this, and asked if I could do that for hers. In a strange twist of fate, the bouquet she had seen was also from a wedding I did at River Rock Event Center. Her bridesmaids carried simple and chic bouquets of hot lady roses with an aspidistra leaf colloar-which I love doing. It's a great way to add a big impact and a lot of style to an otherwise simple arrangement. The mothers carried small posies of hot lady roses and white spray roses, also with folded leaves. This sort of bouquet would also be great for people on a budget with a big bridal party. The groom wore a green cymbidium orchid to match the bride's bouquet, and it was accented with greenery and curly willow. A hot lady rose with greenery and curly willow for the groomsmen, and pink cymbidium orchids, spray roses and greenery for the grandmothers.

For the reception, she was going for a fun butterfly garden theme. We just created another variation of the hydrangea and curly willow topiary, which is becoming a popular item among Eden's Echo brides. Alison was our trend setter-she had done hers without the butterflies. Then Dionne did white butterflies, and now Alexandra did it with bright jewel tone butterflies! We had the tall, the low, and then a lantern centerpiece. Those lanterns are fantastic, and the candles I have for them are battery operated.

Cynthia from Cake's and More made this simple three tier white cake for me to decorate. I had no idea what I would do before I began adding flowers, willow, and butterflies. Originally I was just going to add a few to the top and here and there, but Alexandra had said she trusted my creativity and that I could do what I wanted. Creative people love hearing that almost as much as 'Oh my gosh, I love it!' so I went to town on that cake! When I was done, I stepped back and was like "Wow, now THAT is gorgeous!" I hope she loved it as much as I did. Can't wait to hear from her! :)

Amber and Enoc

2009-08-26T21:50:00.000-07:00

I've posted Ambers gorgeous bridals here, but I didn't manage to get any good shots on the day of the wedding. Luckily for me, she had about 500 awesome shots from her photographer and friends for me to choose from! :) Here are my favorites!

Spotlight on Simply Chic Weddings

2009-08-20T21:00:00.000-07:00

I first met Meghann Dibrell, owner of Simply Chic Weddings, before she had even registered the business. During my own quest to launch a business I had emailed several people I had seen advertising on the various wedding websites as coordinators. Hey, even Craigslist has some gems to discover-that's where I found Meghann! We met for some Asian food (Help me out with the name of the place, Meghann!), and I got horribly lost and was late. Not a good first impression, I'm sure. Despite my lateness, and the rain, we had a really nice chat and I knew she would be someone I would love to work with. And I have, many times since. :)

I would describe Meghann as outgoing, organized, cheerful, and very serious about her job. She really cares about her clients. Her staff is well-trained and professional, and I truly would recommend her to any bride. When I got married, she was my day-of coordinator. Working with her as both a bride and a vendor, I can really say she knows how to handle anything that might come up.

I am lucky to know a lot of really wonderful coordinators and other vendors as well, and I will write spotlights on them in the future, so stay tuned. In the mean time, here are some photos from the ribbon cutting party at the Simply Chic office. And yes, of course I did the flowers. ;)

Featured Wedding

2009-08-14T13:10:00.000-07:00

Recent bride, Sonia, emailed me today to let me know San Antonio Weddings featured her event in an article on their website. How cool is that? Check it out here.

Pretty as a Picture

2009-08-10T17:08:00.000-07:00

Alexandra had her bridal portraits today. Until I get some of the official photos, here is what her bouquet looked like. On the wedding day, the hydrangea will be green and she will also have orchids!

Tweet!

2009-08-10T15:13:00.000-07:00

I just signed up on Twitter! Now you can follow the exciting adventures of .. oh wait, ok, not exciting adventures-just my daily stuff. :)

Dionne's Decor

2009-08-08T17:09:00.000-07:00

For her wedding, Dionne went with the pink, champagne, bronze color pallate. Awesome. The ceremony was held at Mission Concepcion, with the reception at the International Center on the riverwalk. It was my first event at the International Center, and I was really impressed. It's a beautiful oft type space full of light, right by the river, complete with balcony! And as reception sites go, it's affordable! While we were setting up there were quite a few brides to be checking out the spot. I really would recommend it!

And now, here are a few collages of Dionne's flowers!

Dionne's bouquet had 5 different types of roses, two types of spray roses, lisianthus, and was accented with crystals. The stems were wrapped with ivory and then accented with a fun bronze spiral pattern ribbon, and bronze beads.

Like the bridal bouquet, the bridesmaids had the same five types of roses, plus a few spray roses and bronze mokara orchids. They were wrapped in a blush pink, and accented with the same bronze spiral ribbon used on the bridal bouquet, and accented with gold pearl pins.

The groom wore a Vendella rose accented with a white spray rose wrapped in bronze wire, while the groomsmen wore champagne colored Sahara roses with greenery. Corsages were blush spray roses with seeded eucalyptus accented with gold beads and the stems were wrapped in bronze wire.

Dionne wanted her reception to have multiple types of centerpieces. For the tall centerpiece, we created a white hydrangea topiary accented with a few roses and curly willow. The water was dyed pink and the branches were accented with white feather butterflies. For the medium centerpieces, we submerged bronze mokara orchids, white and pink spray roses, and pink larkspur accented with curly willow and a butterfly. The low centerpieces were our large flat sided bowls, with pink water, a floating rose, three floating candles, curly willow, and a butterfly.

And just for fun, here's a shot of me at work!

A Lively Wedding part 2

2009-08-06T14:03:00.000-07:00

Azini Photography was also there to capture the day of Rebecca's wedding, along with Caitlin's Creations. These are my favorite shots (containing flowers) that Erika Schlager was kind enough to share with me. I can't help it, I just love seeing the professional shots of my flowers!

A Lively Wedding

2009-08-05T19:48:00.001-07:00

Quite often I meet a bride who is in need of only a few items. In Rebecca's case, she needed her bouquet, 3 maids, and 5 bouts. That's it! Her wedding theme was out of this world (Space!), and as I looked at the photos by Caitlin's Creations, I found myself smiling over and over. What a fun group! I think my favorite thing were the cakes. The groom's cake isn't pictured here (black fondant with a swirl galaxy and stars icing design), and I don't know who made them, but they were brilliant! Rebecca was great to work with, and I'm so happy to see she had so much fun at her wedding. :)

Photo of the day

2009-08-04T06:36:00.000-07:00

I will say, that as much as I love central Texas, the weather in North Nebraska in the summer time is so nice. My trip to visit Jason's family went great, and I enjoyed the highs in the low 80's! One thing that stood out in stark contrast was just how many flowers I saw. I actually saw green and oak leaf hydrangea (which is somewhat cone shaped and green and rust colored) just growing on bushes, unaware of their own value. Hydrangea just doesn't grow down here, sadly, so it's more expensive in this region. Lilies grew in people's front gardens like weeds, poppies, phlox, and zinnias overflowed flower beds. And all this in the height of summer! I can imagine all the tulips, lily of the valley (so expensive here!), and hyacinth in the spring. Makes me sigh! This picture was of some delicate garden roses along the walls near the campus side entrance of the Nebraska State football stadium. There were tons of garden rose bushes in every place I visited, be it Omaha, Sioux City, South Sioux City (where we stayed), Lincoln, and the surrounding area. On the drives between the cities, soybeans and corn waved happily in the wind. It was so green! No crunchy yellow grass for them! I lament my sharp yard while we go into stage three of our drought, and long for bare foot firefly hunting in grandma's soft springy grass. It was a good time!

Portraits from Urth Studio Photography

2009-07-22T21:42:00.001-07:00

Courtesy of my friend Kristin Radicke of Urth Studio Photography. I am such a fan!

Teaser Pic

2009-07-17T18:27:00.001-07:00

Kristin Radicke of Urth Studio Photography uploaded a teaser pic to her website. I am excited to see the rest!

Eden's Echo on Facebook

2009-07-16T18:10:00.000-07:00

Today I created a page for Eden's Echo on Facebook. Check it out here, and be my fan if you love my flowers! <3 Random photo I took of the bamboo trees at the zoo.

2009-07-12T18:36:00.000-07:00

Collage of my favorite green wedding flowers. Sonia (top left), Ashley (center bottom), and Leigh (bottom to the right).

2009-07-12T17:51:00.000-07:00

Today I downloaded the new version of Picasa, which allows you to make collages really easily. I decided to show off some of Monica's bridal portraits in collage form. Kate L. did a fantastic job, as always.

Sonia's Flowers

2009-07-12T12:59:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Sonia said "I Do." Here are some shots of her personal flowers, done in green, lavender, and ivory. I really love succulents, and she had a few in her bouquet. I definitely plan to use them more in the future. :) Click the collage to view larger.

Windfall

2009-07-06T21:23:00.000-07:00

I got a completely random phone call today from one Kristin Radicke, of Urth Studio Photography, asking if I would be able to help out with some bouquets for a photo shoot tomorrow. In the upcoming issue of San Antonio Wedding Guide there will be an 8 page fashion spread of gowns, and I was asked to provide four bouquets for the shoot. How exciting! The other four will be provided by Botanika, so I am in great company.

In typical 'me' fasion, I didn't have my camera, but snapped a quick shot of the bouquets on my cell. Here's a teaser, sorry the color is SO off, the red roses look brown! But I promise, they are 'cherry love' red. :) Be sure to check back in a week or so for some sneak peeks at Kristin's photos for the magazine!

Catch up!

2009-07-04T18:21:00.000-07:00

Amber and Enrique tied the knot at the patio at the Riverwalk Marriott last weekend. It was so hot, but their ceremony was at 11 in the morning. Her hot pink, black, and white brunch wedding was full of her personality, with little touches of damask and personality everywhere.

Here's Amber, waiting for the green light for the ceremony, looking totally glam and fabulous!The groom with the ring bearer and his mom.

Yay, I got to decorate an arch! It was a small arch, and it wasn't an elaborate accent, but it sure did look nice!

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Later that day... Ashley got married in New Braunfels, and it was even hotter! Her outdoor ceremony was at 7pm, and as I was setting up the reception she and her bridesmaids were taking pictures and trying to stay cool. Her black, white, and bright green theme lent itself to some fun centerpieces. She wanted groupings of white and green flowers, and told me to get creative using just a few flowers on each table. The result was fun, funky designs created on the spur of the moment, and all 25 tables were different!

Here is Ashley about to leave for the ceremony. Her fresh green and white bouquet is one of my favorites. It's soft, delicate look went perfectly with her gorgeous lace accented gown. What a beautiful bride!

I love this shot. Who knew 3 mini spider mums and two pieces of grass could look so cool!?

I bound the Star of Bethlehem with a leaf from a stock flower and pinned it with two black pins, that one thing might have been my favorite thing in all the 25 tables. :) Ah, it's the little things.

Having two weddings in one day requires a lot of handwork in itself, but for Ashley's wedding alone I made 18 orchid boutonnieres. I thought my hands were going to fall off from all the wire and tape work, haha. But making all the bouquets was fun. I'm sad I forgot to take pictures of the 9 bouquets for the bridesmaids all lined up. :)

The groom's bout. :)

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So here's a funny story. Marisa only needed her bouquet, two bridesmaids bouquets, and five corsages. Easy peasy. She doesn't live too far from me, so I just made them at home, and she was supposed to pick them up at 11am. I'm lounging, enjoying my Sunday, and I keep looking at the clock. 11:00 comes and goes, the noon hour flies on by, 1:00 gets a little ansy. At 2:30 I called to see if they were still picking up the flowers, I was thinking the ceremony was at 4. Marisa answers the phone with an, "Oh my gosh, the flowers!!!!! I'll call you right back!" About 30 seconds later her mom calls and asks where I am so she can come get the flowers, and I asked what time the ceremony was and she said 3:00!!!! I knew there was no way they could come and get the flowers and make it back in time, so I made an emergency flower delivery and got there at 2:57!!! I was so happy I called when I did, I can't imagine them realizing they were missing the bouquets just a few minutes before the ceremony!

Erin²=742009, today...

2009-07-04T17:58:00.000-07:00

Today, as per usual, I rushed out for the delivery forgetting my camera. Unfortunately I was so pressed for time I didn't have time to stop and take pictures of the centerpieces on my phone before heading to the church. But at least I had plenty of time at the church to snap some pictures. When Erin and I did our samples, I posted the pictures in the blog. But I think today's centerpieces were even nicer!

Very fortunately, Erin hired the talented Jason Speros as her photographer, so I know I can expect some great photos of her flowers. Jason was my photographer when I got married, and he also photographed another of my bride's weddings, Leigh. :) Sorry, I got distracted..oh look, something shiny! haha, Ok, time for pictures!

Erin looked so beautiful!

Her lovely white on white bouquet was soft and feminine, with hydrangea, stock, bouvardia, lisianthus, scabiosa, and vendella roses, accented with Swarovski flat backed crystals for a little bling. She attached a locket and handkerchief of her grandmother's to honor her memory.

Here Erin pins the boutonniere on her father. He was very sweet. Actually the whole family was nice, I got so many hugs, and even a kiss from a dad or an uncle or someone! lol

Erin saw one of the bridesmaid bouquets first, she told me it was the prettiest bouquet she'd ever seen and she almost cried. I said, well let's go see Your bouquet! Of course she loved it, too.

Pretty maids all in a row.

I don't get too many requests for pew decor, but Erin asked for some really cool ones. The color here is a bit off since they were taken with my phone. They are black magic roses, with aspidistra and gallax leaves. In the fuller ones, there is also pink bouvardia and blush spray roses with burgundy mini carnations.