Taylors October 2020 Wedding

Sharing a few highlights from the Taylor’s October, 2020 wedding at Mont Lamm Events, 7501 W Enoch Rd., Clayton. Photos shown here were taken by Oxana Brik Photography.

First I want to say how proud I am of all the couples who had to make so many changes to their dream wedding plans last year and those who are still facing changes in 2021. Your positive outlook, joyful attitudes and willingness to embrace the changes is commendable. Though your dream wedding plans have gone through major shifts you still are celebrating love in beautiful ways.

Oxana Brik Photography did a lovely job of capturing the Taylors wedding and beautifully showing their love story through photos. Today I wanted to share how she captured not only a couple in love, enjoying their day but also the beauty of their venue and how it complimented their style. I love how she used elegant sweeping willow branches of Mont Lamm Events large willow tree to create such a romantic airy frame for a variety of the couples pictures. I like how she tied in the venues sunflower garden with the Taylors and her sunflower bouquet. It’s a charming photo next to the weathered wood fence and sunflowers peeking over don’t you think? Then the way she displayed Leslie’s boots and bouquet on the wine barrel next to the reception hall window. A perfect spot for making the reds in her bouquet pop next to the red siding. And the venues far corner birch arbor lightly adorned with sunflowers added a little more floral interest to the ceremony area that is nestled in the privacy of deep green arborvitae shrubs. The last photo I choose to share is of Leslie with her bouquet on the porch of the sweet little bridal suite cabin. I appreciate Oxana’s eye for lighting and locations at the venue that really enhanced the couples vision for their wedding day. And the folks at Mont Lamm Events do a beautiful job of upkeeping the grounds, planting pots of flowers and in beds that provide additional fun spots for some of those special photos.

I think it’s valuable when couples start to consider venues for their wedding that they really consider what is the look and feel they want for their wedding day. Take time to explore venues that will easily support that vision. There are so many beautiful venues here in the Inland North West that have their own unique flare that I’m sure couples will find several that would be perfect for their day. Same with selecting photographers. Don’t just do price shopping, look at their work and how they showcase the couples and select photographers to visit with that you feel would get your vision, whose style of work excites you and of course read the reviews. Reviews for all your vendors and venues will give you good insight into what other couples experienced and may help you narrow down your choices. Your vendors are all experts in their field and I think when you take time to really inquire about them as individuals and their passion for their work, you will find the ones that are going to be a perfect match for you.

Benefits of Trusting Your Florist

I want to share with you some of the benefits couples experience when they choose to fully trust their florist with their wedding flowers. Let me start with sharing why I ask you for an inspirational photo of the floral designs you like. I’m not asking so that I can copy that bouquet style from Pinterest of another designers work but to get a feel for the styles you envision for your wedding. Photos help me have a starting point to build from in creating designs that will fit your vision for your special day within your budget. I want couples to have flowers that are uniquely designed for their day not a copy of someone else’s. Seeing the styles and hearing your vision and knowing what your floral budget is, is helpful for me to known whether or not it is going to come together easily or if there may need to be some creative modifications for the order to fit into the budget.

Your wedding color palette may include multiple colors so when you discuss the colors that will be used in flowers, clothing, linens etc. your florist will have suggestions that may help your flowers be more complimentary to your overall look and feel than you originally had thought of. Be open to listening to their guidance and look at all your options before deciding on whether your flowers need to include all the wedding colors in your palette. Sometimes leaving a few of your colors out of the flowers and using them in clothing, draping, table clothes, runners and napkins will bring the look together more beautifully.

Take time to look through your florists albums of wedding designs. You want to see their work and read the brides reviews. Look for comments like “they went beyond my vision…., the flowers were more beautiful than I expected….., I loved the designs they created for me.” These types of statements will help you feel more trusting that your florist will be attentive to your vision too.

Trust that your florist is going to be looking for the highest quality flowers in your colors for your special day. Flowers grow in seasons too and they aren’t all available 12 months out of the year. Even your greens like seeded eucalyptus for example have a period during the year they are off. When the quality of seeds are sparse and small. When you’re looking at photos for inspiration that photo may of been taken during a different season of the year than your wedding will be taking place in. Not all flowers look fabulous all year long. By trusting your florist to select the best in the season your getting married in, I’m sure you will have a gorgeous bouquet.

Maybe a style of a bouquet you like has mostly traditional flowers like roses, carnations, hydrangea in it and your wedding date in the middle of July. That is a time of year here in the Inland NorthWest that our local flower farmers have an abundance of beautiful blossoms for us to work with. Maybe you really like those traditional flowers and that’s great if you do, if you’re trusting your florist to create something unique for you than be willing to trust them in selecting a few local grown flowers to add in to your bouquet. I think you will love it even more when you see those sweet little extras that really make your bouquet pop with originality and style. Some of my favorites to add are sweet peas, lavender, fama scabiosa, gyposphila, dara, strawflower, asters, phlox, and Madame butterfly snapdragons to name a few. These are like the icing on the cake type of blossoms. Those that add that sweet little dancing extra flair that catches your eye and makes your heart sing. Florists who have good relationships with their local flower farmers love to use these in wedding designs. So be sure you ask your designer if they know what types of local blossoms will be available during the week of your wedding that they may be able to include in your designs.

Sometimes couples call to get an estimate on flowers and are simply price shopping between florists. I understand everyone wants to get the most bang for their dollar but there is more to booking a florist than just the price of the bouquet. I encourage couples to talk with different florists and get a feel for personalities and their style of designing. I can’t over emphasize the importance of reading reviews because buying the cheapest flowers doesn’t always mean giving you peace of mind that your flowers will be everything you want them to be. You want to feel good about the company that will be designing for you and feel confident that they are going to handle the details professionally and with dedication and passion to making your designs fit your vision for your day.

Trusting your florist with items that are meaningful to you to be incorporated into your designs. Some couples have lockets, charms, fabric, vases, or items from nature like dried flowers and branches they want woven into their designs. If this is you, ask your florist if they do this and if they have photos of examples from doing this. Bringing in touchstones from your life that are meaningful to you can add a special touch to your day. I enjoy the opportunity to be creative with my couples treasures. Last summer for example I had a couple who got married at the brides families lovely country home. They wanted to use pine branch limbs on the guest tables as part of the centerpieces. Because the home was nestled among pine trees. They had a budgeted amount for me to work with and totally trusted me to come up with something that would be lovely. I made garlands of greens to twin in and around the branches and tucked dahlias in water tubes here and there with strands of twinkle lights woven through out so their outdoor nighttime reception on farm wood tables would have a touch of sparkle to it. The photo included is from this wedding.

Trusting your florist I believe will allow you to have the most gorgeous floral designs that may even exceed your dreams. I’d love to hear from you if you’re planning a wedding. Please fill out the wedding inquiry form and I will look forward to hearing about wedding vision soon.

Sayde & Cameron's Winter Wedding Flowers

February 17, 2018 a winter storm was brewing outside but inside their hearts were overflowing with so much love and excitement for this special day, I doubt Cameron and Sayde noticed it much.  She choose a mix of eucalyptus greens for her brides maids to carry and wanted a king protea as the focal flower in her bouquet along with a mix of lovely burgundy blossoms.  I included Black Magic roses, scabiosa, chocolate queen anne's lace, anemones, hellebore, cymbidium orchids, service berries, jasmine and seeded eucalyptus. It was a gorgeous winter bouquet.  Her break-away tossing bouquet included love quotes she choose printed on ribbons that tied around each of the 5 clusters of flowers including one queen protea.  The plan was that she would untie the burgundy ribbon that held it together before tossing it and as she did it would scatter so 5 different people would get to have a piece of her bouquet.  It worked too!  It surprised everyone.  She had greenery boutonnieres with seeded eucalyptus and tiny pinecones as the focal point for all the men.  Italian Ruscus  swags were aisle markers with burgundy ribbons and orchids at the church.  After the ceremony they were taken to the reception and used as a garland for the head table with her bridesmaids green bouquets added in and her bouquet in a vase in front of her.  The reception was held at the Red Lion at the Park in the Skyline banquet room on the 12th floor with  lots of windows offering guests a beautiful view of the downtown Spokane area.   I can't wait to see the photos  of their special day that their photographer captured.  Here's a few pictures I took prior to delivering her flowers.  It was a joy to be a part of your special day Sayde!