Marisa Boyd's Bridesmaids

 

Marisa Boyd's bridesmaids. All the dresses were in the same color and fabric but in styles that were great for each girl's figure. End result, they all look beautiful and have a dress they can wear again. I had been looking forward to making these bouquets since Marisa and I finalized the flowers; orange mini calla lilies, terra cotta roses, safari sunset luecadendron and green hypericum berries. The handles were finished with raw silk ribbon then overlaid with a burlap-style mesh. Rustic yet very chic. More to come.

Marisa Boyd

           

Here we have another beauty - Marisa Boyd. Her wedding was at The Meremac Learning Adventure Ranch, a gorgeous lodge-style facility in the middle of nowhere in Steelville Mo. Other than the bouquets everything was created on-site. In my first meeting with Marisa she brought in a power point presentation of her vision. My kinda girl! It will take several posts to give you a feel for her day but we'll start with Marisa and her bouquet. I showed her bouquet shot against black last post so you could really look at the bouquet, but when a smiling girl holds a bouquet the flowers smile too!

a lovely white bouquet

Ranunculus, roses, some perfect mini callas and hypericum sprayed white. Using more ranunculus than roses along with the berries gives these classic girls some nice, color and texture variation. Aside from the bouquet and the dress nothing else in this wedding will be white...

stranger

This rose actually is called "stranger." It opens quickly, fully and has a lovely classic rose scent. I've always thought monobotanical bouquets collared with babies breath just look so sweet.

soft lavender

A lovely, soft bouquet of phlox, lavender roses and dusty miller. The recent rains have revived the phlox and of course brought back the predatory swallowtails. Thanks for the new tech T.D.

picked bouquets

Thanks to the rain, some flowers from the yard hand arranged while they were harvested.

monarch and admiral

I know this is supposed to be a floral blog but I have become completely enamored with butterflies. When prowling through the backyard (with a camera around my neck) it just seems silly to pass opportunities like these up. They are however all on flowers so I believe this redeems me. Top; the mighty monarch on a Mexican sunflower-Tithonia rotundiflora, actually a member of the daisy family (there's your flower info.) Middle; the rather aggressive red admiral drinking from a lantana bloom and giving me the "that's close enough boy look." Bottom; the same guy on a zinnia with some great light behind him.

garden roses

The juxtaposition of  delicate peach garden roses and yellow ranunculus against the rougher textured green button mums and pink astilbe makes this a fun bouquet to look at. You can take in the bouquet as a whole or focus on individual blooms. An excellent designer once told me that the most important aspect of design is choice. With today's round bridal bouquets this is especially true. Without the opportunity to use linear elements to make the eye move through the design it's good to focus on texture and color. Choose your flowers carefully and know what job each one is doing.

roses and lantana

I noticed the lantana blooming outside of the shop and thought it would make a pretty accent flower in bridal bouquets. Top: hot pink roses, pink stock and lavender lantana. Bottom: lavender roses and lantana.

yard swallowtails

 A Tiger from the front yard. A Missouri Woodlands and Giant from the back.