Birch Blooms

Happy Holidays!

2011-12-30T07:52:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

I have so many weddings and events from 2011 to add to the blog, but our sweet little blog has fallen behind cookie decorating parties, Christmas programs, wrapping presents and spending time with family on the 'To Do' list.

The first week of the kids' Winter Break, we drove up to Kansas to surprise my husband's side of the family. We had an amazing time with friends and family, and we got to take the kids to experience a lot of the things we loved as kids (i.e., Kaleidoscope, Crown Center, and the Plaza Lights). We got home two days before Christmas and enjoyed Christmas in our own home. It was a beautiful day filled with screams of joy over the gifts Santa Claus brought.

By Christmas evening, I started to feel sad, as I do every year, that all the anticipation and excitement was over, however the next day, we drove up to a cabin my parents rented in Helen, GA to spend time with my side of the family. We spent the week opening gifts, sitting around talking and laughing, watching the kids play and antique shopping. It was exactly what I needed to combat the 'after Christmas blues'.

Now, I am back home and ready to tackle the New Year!

I am also excited for all the weddings we will be part of in 2012.

I hope you all have had enjoyed the holidays, and I wish you all love, joy, success and happiness for 2012.

xoxo

Christmas card photos by Melissa Schollaert (http://msp-photography.com/)

Christmas Card Design by Silly Me Design (http://www.facebook.com/sillymebaby)

Count Your Blessings

2011-11-18T06:02:00.000-08:00

Birch Blooms recently participated in a Thanksgiving Tablescape contest, hosted by Occasions Magazine.

Our design focused on Counting Your Blessings, and we incorporated numbers that could be meaningful to a family, like "57 years grandma and grandpa have been happily married". We also incorporated elements from our own families, like grandma's place settings and great grandpa's toolbox for the centerpiece filled with flowers, like dahlias, ranunculus, dusty miller, stock and daisies.

The walkway to our table

We worked with the super talented Maria Stacks, and all the gorgeous pictures were taken by Nikki Banik.

We are so honored that our table made was a finalist, and today is the last day to vote for our table. If you want to vote, you can go here. Each 'Like' counts as a vote.

We hope our table inspires your own tablescape for Thanksgiving next week... and more importantly, we hope it reminds you to count all your blessings.

xoxo

Real Flower Accessories

2011-11-15T05:00:00.000-08:00

In June, Birch Blooms collaborated on an exciting project with Melissa Schollaert. It started with a simple brainstorming session at Starbucks. During this meeting, we discussed all the amazing wedding gowns that featured flowers made from fabric or ribbon. From there, we decided create a photo shoot featuring real flower accessories, ranging from bracelets, headbands, necklaces and belts to garters and anklets.

The picture on the right is one of my favorite creations! I love the giant peonies cascading down the train of the dress!

Here is our list of all the amazing vendors that participated in this project:

Photographer: Melissa Schollaert Photography

Makeup: Andrea Carter Artistry

Flowers: Birch Blooms

Gowns: Chaviano Couture

Concept & Styling: Melissa Schollaert + Birch Blooms

Makeup: Andrea Carter Artistry

Hair: Robn Johnsen

In addition, our work was featured on The Wedding Chicks Blog!

We love this wedding blog! What an honor!!

See the full post here!

As always, we are so blessed to be able to work with such amazing people!

A Fairy Tale

2011-11-07T11:07:00.000-08:00

Late summer, Birch Blooms had the opportunity to collaborate on a fairytale wedding photoshoot, featuring all the most wonderful elements from the classic tale, Snow White! It was such an fun project, and we got to work with a dynamic team of vendors! While pursuing lots of fairytale glamour, we wanted to feature a 'woodsy' feel. I love the red apples and mushrooms married with dianthus and ranunculus in this bouquet!

Here are some of our favorite images taken by Janet Howard!

Amazing makeup by Andrea C Artistry fro the Moore Agency.

I loved arranging these gorgeous blooms on this old branch.

Just a side note, this shoot took place the week of my dad's successful brain surgery, and my sweet husband found this giant branch along the road driving back from the hospital.

I love the mirror place cards and other amazing table details designed by Ashley Pepitone.

Amazing cake by Sweet Sensations.

Of course, just taking the day to create 'fairytale magic' with other vendors you love is so rewarding, but when a magazine, like Occasions, loves your work and features it, it is out of this world!

See the entire post here.

As we already mentioned, this magical photo shoot was the collaboration of amazing vendors:

We are blessed to work with such talented people!

Have a Fairytale day!

xoxo

Friday Loveliness....

2011-11-04T12:44:00.000-07:00

I have so many weddings and news to post, my brain feels like it is going to explode!

However, I am going totally out of order to share this image with you today.

We always love to share images of our flowers, and yes, Birch Blooms created that lovely little boutonniere.

The REAL reason I am sharing this image with you is because I AM IN LOVE WITH IT!

Melissa Schollaert posted this image on her blog today, and based on previous posts, you know how much we all adore her work.

The gorgeous woman in this picture is the ultra talented Andrea Carter. Not only is she one of the sweetest, most kindhearted people I know, she is funny and an EXTREMELY talented makeup artist. I have never met her husband, Nate, but he must be a great guy.... otherwise, he never would have caught Andrea's eye.

See more images from Melissa's sneak peek here.

aahhhh...... swoon.

xoxo

Photo by Melissa Schollaert Photography (www.msp-photography.com)

Sabina + Sidney

2011-11-03T06:09:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to finally post the images from Sabina + Sidney's wedding! I absolutely loved their color palette (green, fuchsia, and purple), their photographer (Jamie Howell) and their venue (The Georgian Terrace!)... of course, they are pretty adorable too.

Here is our lovely bride, Sabina, with her bridesmaids.

Don't you love those bold colors!?

I adore these bridesmaids bouquets.... I think I just love those little pops of green from the green button mums!

Look at that stunning bride!

Sabina's bouquet featured antique purple hydrangeas, purple stock, purple lisianthus, fuchsia dendrobium orchids, and green cymbidium orchids! I love those colors!

Amazing lighting!

I love this picture....

Sabina and Sidney seeing each other for the first time....

Sidney wore a green cymbidium orchid boutonniere.

I LOVE this shot of the bridesmaids bouquet flanked by these other glittery accessories! The bridesmaids bouquets featured green hydrangeas, fuchsia dendrobium orchids, green button mums and purple lisianthus.

The divine Georgian Terrace

The tables featured purple centerpieces....

and green centerpieces.

Our sweet bride about to throw the bouquet

(can you believe those structural details!?)

Bouquet in flight...

Great shot!

Congratulations Sabina + Sidney!

Best wishes!

xoxo

All photos by Jamie Howell Photography (www.jamiehowell.net)

Awww.... Shucks

2011-11-01T07:21:00.000-07:00

I consider myself a southern girl, so of course, I absolutely LOVE Southern Weddings Magazine. Besides the fact that it oozes everything southern (it says "gooder than grits, y'all" on the spine of the book!), it features some of the most gorgeous southern weddings.

Be sure to check out Natalia + Levi's wedding on page 190, which was photographed by my dear friend, Melissa Schollaert!

Also... while you are flipping through the pages of this fabulous magazine, be sure to check out the bouquet on the bottom right of page 27... it was created by your very own Birch Blooms!

This little yellow beauty was also photographed by the talented Melissa Schollaert.

Thank you Southern Weddings for featuring our bouquet in your Beautiful Bouquets section.

We are blushing...

xoxo

Cover photo by Jose Villa (www.josevillaphoto.com)

Birch Blooms bouquet photo by Melissa Schollaert (www.msp-photography.com)

Happy Halloween!

2011-10-31T09:10:00.000-07:00

As a little girl, I loved Halloween! In fact, my first 'real' job was working at a Halloween Costume store. As much as I thought I loved Halloween, having kids made me absolutely BONKERS for Halloween.

The first year, I dressed my little baby up like a cow, and took him around the neighborhood to Trick-o-treat, even though he was less than 6 months old! I ate all the candy.

FUNNY FARM

The next year, I was a crazy busy mom with an 18 month old and twin 6 month olds, but it was so fun creating a little theme for our costumes. My oldest was a little farmer and the twins were little farm animals (a duck and cow).

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME

Surprise! Surprise! The next year, we added another baby to the mix and another character opportunity! With my husband being from Kansas City, it made total sense to dress the kiddos like the characters from The Wizard of Oz:

JUST THINK HAPPY THOUGHTS

The following year, my costume obsession continued, and since the kiddos were into Peter Pan, our decision was easy! I love and cherish these gorgeous shots taken by the talented Janet Howard.

TO INFINITY AND BEYOND (or not... )

Last year, my Toy Story obsessed children made their first visit ever to the theaters to see Toy Story 3. They were all pumped to dress like the characters, and I was equally excited! To capture this moment, we had Janet come back out to take their pictures!

Woody

Buzz

Mr. Potato Head

A very sad Jessie

This is where all my fun came to a screeching halt. My little girl, who was so excited to be Jessie, boldly walked into her little preschool classroom for her little Halloween party to show off her costume. As the first girl at the party, all the teachers made over her, and she was just so proud!

Proud, until every other little girl walked in as a princess.

I could see her fighting back the tears, and then my 4 year old looked at me and said "I don't want to wear this anymore". She spent most of the party wearing her normal clothes.

I felt so horrible!

That night, my boys went trick-o-treating in their Toy Story costumes, and she went dressed as Snow White. She agreed to put the Jessie costume back on for these pictures, but you can see that she was less than thrilled.

At that point, I realized that my babies were growing up, and Halloween was more about them... than me!

So, it was the end of an era...

I have had SO MUCH fun over the years going out trick-o-treating with my little themed troop, which is why I am using this blog post to skip down memory lane.

HOWEVER, I am equally excited to see my little ones pick their own costumes!

Tonight, I will be out and about with Spider Man, the Green Lantern, Belle, and Woody, and I really feel like I couldn't have come up any better combo of costumes!

Happy Halloween!

xoxo

Cow, Funny Farm and Wizard of Oz pictures by Picture People (www.picturepeople.com)

Peter Pan and Toy Story pictures by Janet Howard Studio (www.janethowardstudio.com)

Laura + Brian

2011-10-18T06:59:00.000-07:00

2011 was the year of the succulent! We had quite a few brides request to have these little lovelies tucked into their bouquet or the decor, and I LOVED IT! We did this bouquet for our sweet bride, Laura, who married her handsome groom, Brian, up in Tate, Georgia, followed by a reception at The Chimneys at Big Canoe.

Aren't they lovely?

Laura's bouquet featured cream peonies, pale pink peonies, Echeverias succulents, white ranunculus, green hypericum berries, cream roses and blue thistle wrapped with burlap and lace from her grandmother's wedding gown.

Brian's boutonniere featured white ranunculus, baby succulents and green berries.

Laura and her bridesmaids glamming it up!

Of course, I adore Laura and Brian's wedding photographer, Project Duo! This duo is made up of two super sweet gals that always manage to capture the cutest shots!

I loved this idea for the table names:

Thank you Laura + Brian for letting us be part of your special day!

Best wishes for a long, lovely life together!

xoxo

All photos by Project Duo Photography (www.projectduo.com)

Published!

2011-10-10T18:32:00.000-07:00

Being featured on Style Me Pretty is always an honor!

Recently, Style Me Pretty Georgia featured one of my favorite weddings ~ Mary and Mark's wedding at the Farmhouse Inn.

I absolutely loved this adorable couple and all the vendors involved, like Melissa Schollaert Photography & Ashley Baber Weddings, so having this gem featured on SMP is just icing on the cake.

* * *

Speaking of Melissa Schollaert... this lovely lady swung by my house today to snap some pictures of my crazy little family. She was so sweet and patient with my little kids, and I can't wait to see what she caught on film, since I adore all her work!

In addition, I had my makeup done this morning by the ULTRA talented Andrea Carter from Andrea C Artistry. Besides being talented with the makeup brush, she had my kiddos cracking up and singing songs. If anyone is thinking of getting portraits done for the holidays, you have to call her. I didn't have to worry about my gorgeous making smearing or smudging.... it was incredible.

As always, thank you for swinging by our blog. We love all our followers and readers.

xoxo

They grow up so fast....

2011-09-19T17:52:00.000-07:00

Growing up in Kansas, my sister and I spent our childhood playing with two sisters, Rebecca and Abbey, that lived across the street. The story lines we created for our Barbies and My Little Ponies were epic...

Recently, Abbey got married, and I just HAD to share pictures. Of course, her flowers look incredible (I don't know who did them yet...), but those earrings!!! Look at those green earrings!

Fabulous... Barbie would be proud!!!

Here is an adorable picture of Abbey with her bridesmaids. You can clearly see the vivid yellow bouquets!

Congratulations to Abbey and her groom, Jared!

Best Wishes!

To see more pictures of this crisp, bright wedding, click here.

All photos by Jeremy Arnold: (http://jeremyarnoldblog.com)

DIY Peacock Feather Fascinator

2011-09-17T10:03:00.000-07:00

Hey y'all! Julia here again. You might remember me from my last DIY project here on Birch Blooms, which featured Faux Milk Glass. I'm back and I've got another fun tutorial for you!

Our colder months are quickly approaching, and that means jewel tones. It seems that year after year, a peacock motif seems to creep its way back into style for fall and winter weddings. And it's easy to see why! Peacock feathers are classic but exotic, and they make every ensemble look a little more chic. In addition to their fashionable nature, their cultural significance makes them perfect for weddings. You see, peacocks are native to India.

{source}

According to Hindi tradition, the peacock is associated with Saraswati, a deity who is associated with patience and kindness. Is that perfect for a wedding or what?

I found a tutorial on Ruffled and put together a little peacock feather fascinator for a wedding I'll be attending as a guest. I was hesitant about this tutorial at first, because it involves a needle and thread (I hate sewing), but it also involves melting things so I figured it was worth a shot! You will need:

Two peacock feathers, trimmed
Synthetic (not cotton) fabric scraps, cut into three concentric circles
Iridescent beads
An alligator clip
A glue gun
A needle and thread
Scissors
A lighter

First, you need to melt the edges of your fabric circles. This will prevent fraying, and help them curl to create a more petal-like appearance. Use your sewing needle to hold them upright in order to prevent burning your fingers.

Then, hold the lighter close enough to the fabric so that you can see it melt, but not so close that it catches fire.

Next, stack the concentric circles of fabric so that the smallest is on top. Sew them together in the middle of the circles so that you create a flower.

Then, sew the beads onto the middle of the flower.

Warm up your hot glue gun and glue the feathers onto the alligator clip. Then, glue the flower on top of the feathers.

I can't wait to wear mine with my taffeta teal dress this weekend! What would you wear it with?

Be sure to check out my personal blog for more DIY projects and my musings as life as an Atlantan newlywed. See you next time!

Weekend Treat!

2011-08-21T18:41:00.000-07:00

Besides celebrating my wedding anniversary, I got a special treat this weekend! Julia, our DIY guest blogger (remember the DIY Faux Milk Glass post?), had her wedding featured on Style Me Pretty Georgia!

http://www.stylemepretty.com/2011/08/18/whimsical-wedding-by-three-ring-media/

Besides absolutely being so excited for Julia and Dave, it is always nice to have our flowers featured on such an incredible blog!

Congrats Julia & Dave!

x o x o

Photo by H. Photography (www.evanhampton.com).

Jenni + David

2011-08-16T06:23:00.000-07:00

I am so thrilled to share one of my favorite weddings with you today!!

In June, the lovely Jenni and David were married at Stone Mountain, and they were one of the sweetest couples to work with. Jenni had such a laid back, elegant vibe about her, and every detail of her wedding was just as gorgeous as her.

I absolutely love how bright and happy these flowers look! They were such a joy to create!

For her bouquet, we featured white hydrangeas, white anemones, blue hydrangeas, bright yellow tea roses, white roses, hot princess roses, dusty miller and green hypericum berries.

Her bridesmaids carried bouquets of white hydrangeas, blue hydrangeas, yellow and white

stock, green button mums, white roses, hot princess roses, dusty miller and green hypericum berries.

All of these incredible images were captured by the talented Nikki Banik.

I love these pictures...

From each of the weddings I am so lucky to be part of, there is always something that stands out in my mind...

a sweet moment...

a lovely detail...

This time, it was a song.

When Jenni danced with her father, Bob, at the reception, they danced to a song many of us have heard by UB40 -

Red Red Wine.

I never realized that this song was written and originally preformed by Neil Diamond. When Jenni was a baby girl, Bob would rock her to sleep and sing this song to her. It has now become one of my new favorite songs and gets a lot of play time in our house.

Awww... that song is incredible.

Congratulations Jenni and David on your gorgeous wedding

and

best wishes for a lovely, happy life together!

Thank you for letting us be part of your wedding!

xoxo

To see more photos of this gorgeous wedding, check Nikki Banik's post here.

All photos by Nikki Banick Photography (www.nikkibanikphotography.com)

Falling in Love Rocks

2011-08-14T15:56:00.000-07:00

My 7th wedding anniversary is next weekend... yes, I have been married for (almost) 7 wonderful years to my sweet and wonderful husband, Jim.

You may know that I met my husband when I was just 7 years old. He was two years younger and happened to be in my younger brother's kindergarten class.

Jim and my brother became good childhood friends, and long story short, we became friends.... and then years and years later more than friends :) Now we are married and have four gorgeous children. I love him more than words could ever express. Six years ago, we look a 'one year anniversary trip' to Hawaii. It was stunning. One of the things everyone said we HAD TO DO was the Drive to Hana. We encountered gorgeous waterfalls and winding roads that hugged the Pacific. At one point, my husband slammed on the brakes and hopped out of the car. He spotted this sign while driving and had to take a picture of it. I love it. We used to have it hanging on the wall in our first apartment, but these sorts of pictures were quickly replaced by pictures of our little ones.

Our love story is unique and wonderful, even though I was blind to seeing that this good man was there in my life the whole time. However, my father was always in the wings rooting for Jim. When we were still friends, my dad would ask me why I didn't date Jim... he would tell me that Jim was such a nice guy. Turns out he was right. My dad is a smart man.

On the evening of August 4th, my mom called to tell me that my dad had suffered a seizure and was taken to the hospital by ambulance. My dad is rarely sick, so the whole evening was surreal. After running blood work and a CT scan, we discovered that he had a large brain tumor. He was admitted to the hospital, and thankfully, an MRI on Friday morning confirmed that his tumor was benign... but it still had to be removed. He had his tumor removed on Tuesday, August 9th.

This week has been very emotional and exhausting. I have always been so close to my father, and he is truly one of my best friends:

On my wedding day...

He is also a loving grandfather that is adored by his grandchildren:

I love this picture of him holding my daughter making silly faces, while she looks at him so adoringly...

before he absolutely cracks her up...

My husband, Jim, with my oldest son and my dad (Halloween 2007)....

Here he is goofing around my middle son at a restaurant....

Here he is holding my youngest son (Thanksgiving 2009).

I am so proud of my dad for facing this major surgery and the unknown... and for being a fighter. He tackled some tremendous feats this week, and the great news is that he came home from the hospital today.

As my husband says, the real hero in this story is my mother.

My mom is a very emotional person. She cries at any greeting card you give her... even if it is a humorous card. This last week, she was a tower of strength. She was constantly at the hospital, holding his hand, rubbing his legs, and telling him how handsome he was, even while wearing hospital scrubs and a 'Brain & Spine Institute' blue bandana on his head. Her love for him was on full display this week.

I guess my long, sentimental post can be wrapped up like this...

Remember while planning your wedding that you are also planning a marriage... one that will promise to be true in good times and in bad,

in sickness and in health...

Because falling in love rocks, but being in love and staying in love really rocks too.

xoxo

Translation: Ikat

2011-08-05T14:23:00.000-07:00

Hi again, friends!

I'm back to share another inspiration board, along with

some fun and exciting floral designs that coordinate with

this super trendy look.

For this board, I was inspired by the explosion of ikat we've

seen on the runway,

via

in home design,

via

...pretty much everywhere lately!

So, without further adieu,

here is my inspiration board for an ikat-inspired wedding:

Translation: Ikat by ashleypepitone featuring one shoulder evening dresses

Isn't it fun???
I'm usually so girly and feminine and traditional but this look
is just too eye catching and exciting to ignore!

Ok, here are my floral design picks to go along with it:

via

Those colors and textures! This gorgeous bouquet features hot pink English roses, mango calla lilies, green cymbidium orchids, pink nerine lilies, yellow billy balls and green trix dianthus. It just makes me smile.

And then there's this beauty:

via
That blend of traditional (hydrangea) and funky (kangaroo paw) gets me every time!

And anyone in the wedding/celeb know has heard about
the recent nuptuals of Nick Lachey and Vanessa Minnillo.
Her bouquet would work quite nicely with this look, as well:

via

So what do you think? You've seen two boards now. Are ya pickin up what I'm puttin down?

xoxo

- Ashley

Danielle + Justin

2011-07-26T08:34:00.000-07:00

In April, this gorgeous couple, Danielle and Justin, were married at The Mansion on Peachtree in Buckhead. Danielle chose a very classic (yet stunning) color palate of black and white. Every detail of the wedding looked so clean and fresh....

And the bride was absolutely gorgeous!

I loved creating these bridesmaids bouquets! Each bouquet featured one type of white bloom - calla lilies, roses, hydrangeas and tulips! They look so stunning grouped together here!

Danielle carried a bouquet of white hydrangeas, white roses, white calla lilies, white tulips and anemones...

At the reception, we featured tall cylinders filled with submerged crystals topped with hydrangeas, roses, anemones, tulips and calla lilies. I love the pictures of the couple on each table... so sweet!

We also created centerpieces consisting of a trio of cube vases featuring tulips, hydrangeas and roses.... so simple and fresh.

While the wedding was absolutely gorgeous in every way, the love and happiness that could be felt was incredible. I don't think I have ever met a happier wedding party!

Everyone was laughing... everyone was just so full of joy. Danielle's parents were so funny, and you could tell that it was one of those weddings that people would talk about for ages with a smile on their face!

All of these incredible details and moments were captured by the ultra talented Lens Theory. You can see more details and photos on their blog here.

Thank you so much, Danielle and Justin, for letting us be part of your magical wedding!

Best wishes for a life that was as fun and spectacular as your wedding!

xoxo

All photos by Lens Theory (www.lenstheoryphotography.com)

DIY Faux Milk Glass

2011-07-20T06:27:00.000-07:00

Hey y'all!

I'm Julia, and I'm absolutely thrilled to have the opportunity to share some easy (but lovely!) tutorials with you here on Birch Blooms. I blog regularly about life as a newlywed here in Atlanta but I have a soft spot for wedding planning, so most of my DIY projects will be items you can use on your big day!

I'd like to kick things off today with one of my favorite motifs in wedding decor: milk glass.

{by Glam Lamb / via Pinterest}

Milk glass originated in Venice (surprised?) in the 16th century. It became popular in America during the Gilded Age but stayed popular during the Great Depression, as it was more affordable than most other decor. Today, minimally-detailed milk glass reminiscent of the designs of the Great Depression brings an air of rustic Americana to decor. More intricate designs reminiscent of the Gilded Age, however, bring vintage elegance to any tablescape. The versatile nature of this breed of glass helps it to fit into any theme.

{by Flores del Sol / via Pinterest}

{by Buckets of Burlap / via Pinterest}

{by Martha Stewart / via Pinterest}

My favorite variety of milk glass (and the type we'll be making today) is the staccato variety, which involves a polka-dotted motif. Without further ado, here's a tutorial inspired by both Ruffled and Pure and Noble:

You'll need:

An old vase
A glue gun (or puffy paint)
Tweezers
Glossy white spray paint
Newspaper or paper towels
The great outdoors

First, make sure your vase is nice and clean. I recommend wiping it down with a little bit of rubbing alcohol.

Next, use your glue gun or puffy paint to create texture all over your vase. I chose to create graduated staccato dots, starting larger at the bottom and becoming smaller towards the top of the vase.

Once the glue/paint dries, use your tweezers to remove all of the stray strings or marks that are not part of your design.

Take it outside, lay down some newspaper or paper towels and spray liberally until the entire vase is covered.

Stuff with some beautiful blooms and enjoy! Please note: even if your vase was dishwasher safe, I highly recommend hand-washing your new faux milk glass to preserve the life of the paint.

Have any of you ever used milk glass in your decor? What's your favorite theme to incorporate into it?

Translation: Plaid

2011-07-16T12:51:00.000-07:00

Oh, hi there!

I'm Ashley, and I am SO excited to have this new creative outlet and be able to share my ideas for the perfect inspired event with you!
There are lots of things that influence brides as they strive to create their day. Hollywood, fashion, and home decor trends are the three big ones. With each post I will show you how to translate a particular inspiration into your day.
It's about creating a feeling, not a theme.

I want to show you how to take the trends and fit them into a gorgeous event, not fit your event into an over-the-top theme. I hope you enjoy!

The first trend I've chosen to share with you is going to be big in fashion for the upcoming year: Plaid.

I know what you're thinking, but there are no kilts or bagpipes involved.

See? Pretty, huh?
Plaid is a strong and masculine pattern, so the trick is to stay soft and feminine with the colors and flowers.
Here are some bouquets that would be lovely with this look.

via

I love the mix of colors in this one, as well as the way the floral designer kept each type of bloom separate from the others. It provides a more modern twist on a collection of pretty traditional flowers like roses, spray roses, hydrangeas, dahlias, peonies, and dusty miller.


via

How pretty and unique is this all-berry bouquet?
These are snowberries, and I just love them. They are a dramatic and cost-effective way to get that "wow" effect. People will remember this bouquet!
And what about for the boys?


via

Eep!
So adorable!
This mix of snowberries and scabiosa pods is organic, beautiful, but still masculine.

Speaking of scabiosa pods...


via

Lush, unique, and simply gorgeous.
I particularly love the way the pods create a stripe down the center of the bouquet. Just a little arranging technique that makes you think "Oh! Haven't seen that before!"

That's it for me this week.
What do you think? Inspired yet???

Exciting news!

2011-07-14T06:57:00.000-07:00

I absolutely love my job. Most days, I am working with gorgeous blooms or looking at amazing pictures, and I think I am so lucky to work with so much 'gorgeousness'! We have been so blessed to work with so many sweet couples and inspiring vendors. There are just times where I feel like my brain is going to burst with all this creativity!

We are also blessed that our business has just grown more than we ever thought it would! Being that my primary role in life is to raise four little ones, I thought that a little floral design business would be just a little creative outlet for me. Now, I feel like I am hardly keeping up with things!

I am so excited to announce that we have expanded our team! We have added more designers to focus on particular elements of the total design. Over the summer, I will be introducing our fabulous additions.

Additionally, we will be introducing Guest Bloggers! I am so excited for this feature. Over the next couple of weeks, you will meet two of our guest bloggers.

First, you will meet Ashley Pepitone.

(here is Ashley with her baby girl)

Ashley has dabbled in wedding design, and her work has been featured on Elizabeth Anne Designs, The Sweetest Occasion, Brooklyn Bride, Hi Fi Weddings, and Occasions... twice.

Here are some pictures of her incredible creations:

She will be providing Design Inspiration Boards and showcasing 3-4 bouquets that could work for each look. It is going to be such a fun feature!

Then, you will meet Julia Hurtado.

(here is Julia with her handsome groom)

Julia was one of our April brides and a Weddingbee blogger. Her DIY projects blew my mind!

You may remember this window from a previous post... I just love it!!

Her creativity is just incredible!

Lucky for you, she will showcase a DIY for our blog readers each month!

Thank you to all of our brides + grooms, fellow vendors, and sweet blog followers. We love you all!!!!

xoxo

Photo of blue jar with hydrangeas and billy balls by Melissa Schollaert.

Photo of Ashley and Delaney by Janet Howard Studio.

Photo of Ashley's work (except the daisy picture) by Janet Howard Studio.

Photo of daisies on the chair by Michelle Gardella.

Photo of Julia by H. Photography.

Photo of Julia's incredible window taken by my cell phone :)

Love Birds

2011-07-11T07:37:00.000-07:00

While I LOVE creating flowers, I think my greatest joy comes from seeing pictures of the weddings we do. Of course, we love to see pictures of our work, but we also love to drool over the small moments or details we didn't get to see.

In May, we were part of Reagan + Ryan's wedding at The Houston Mill House in Decatur, which was one of the sweetest weddings ever. The sweetest couple. The sweetest details. The sweetest touches.

Reagan choose a fresh color palate of yellows + whites + greens.

For her bouquet, we featured white roses, yellow roses, yellow tulips, white sweet peas, yellow freesia, white lisianthus, yellow ranunculus and white ranunculus

Reagan's bridesmaids carried bouquets of the same white and yellow blooms.

I have to admit that I am quite in love with their photographer, Michelle Gardella, from Connecticut. Her work is amazing, and I could get lost in her website & blog all day. It is just bursting with cuteness and creativity!

Here is our sweet bride, Reagan, getting all 'made up'.

Gorgeous!

Isn't she just so stunning?

So sweet.

Our newest designer, Ashley, tied these daisies to the chairs along the aisle. I just love the freshness and simplicity of this look. I also love that the daisies were tied in a corset fashion, similar to the bride's dress!

Groom's boutonniere consisting of a yellow ranunculus and green hypericum berries.

How cute is this?

Reagan did all of her own centerpieces, and I think she did an amazing job! She had little birds featured all over her wedding, and I love how she incorporated the little nests into the centerpieces! So sweet!

Look at the table numbers! I love them!

Congratulations to Ryan + Reagan!

Thank you for letting us be part of your sweet, sweet wedding!

You can see more of this sweet wedding in Michelle Gardella's post here.

All photos by Michelle Gardella Photography (www.michellegardella.com).

Megan + Michael

2011-06-29T19:32:00.000-07:00

As the Spring wedding season starts to wind down, I love to look back at the weddings that took place during this whirlwind! All of my brides are so sweet, and each couple holds a special place in my heart.

My good friend, Danielle, from Danielle Copeland Events introduced me to Megan, our sweet bride in this lovely post. Megan has a heart of gold and teaches special education at a middle school in the town next to mine. I feel like her career choice alone speaks volumes about her character. One day, I had to run up to her school to pick up some items for her wedding, and she spent most of the time talking to my 'tagging along' kids. They loved her.

She had forgotten one of the items she needed to give me, so she offered to run it by my house later that week. When she came by, she brought her adorable dog, and my kids went bananas. We all hung out and played in my front yard, and I will never forget that sweet afternoon.

When I met her groom, Michael, he had the same kind disposition, and their wedding reflected their sweet, laid back style.

Their April wedding took place at Fair Weather Farms in Monroe, GA

(one of my favorite venues!)

The gorgeous pictures were captured by Hailey Nix Photography.

Megan carried a bouquet of white hydrangeas, pink peonies, Queen Anne's lace and white lisianthus, while her bridesmaids carried bouquets of white hydrangeas, white lisianthus, Queen Anne's Lace and pale pink stock.

I loved creating these simple centerpieces. They were simply bouquets of pink lisianthus, white lisianthus, white stock, pale pink stock, Queen Anne's lace, pink tea roses, white tea roses and dusty miller placed in glass ball jars.

How sweet are these invitations?!

Megan hired etsy designer, Puddleduck Designs, to create these sweet simple invites. I love them!!

I loved meeting this sweet couple, and what an honor to be part of their wedding day!

Best wishes to Megan and Michael!

xoxo

PS: To see more pictures, be sure to check out Hailey Nix Photography's blog post here!

With the exception of the invite photo, all photos by Hailey Nix Photography (http://www.haileynixphotography.com)

The Knotty Florist

2011-06-12T18:49:00.000-07:00

It has been an exciting week over here at Birch Blooms Floral & Design! On Thursday, we were part of an incredible shoot with some mega talented vendors (Melissa Schollaert, Andrea C Artistry, Chaviano Couture and Robn Johnsen). I can't wait to see the images!

On Saturday, we were so thrilled to be part of Jenni & David's beautiful Stone Mountain wedding. Their colors were so vivid and bright. I can't wait to share images of her bouquet! Her dress was incredible!

To top this great week off, we just found out that our Pink and Paper Flowers bouquet was featured on The Knotty Bride!

The fun gals from Style Unveiled were guest bloggers on The Knotty Bride and did a fun feature called:

One of their top 10 'ultra now' things they adored was florists incorporating paper flowers into bouquets! Our bouquet was featured along with the ultra gorgeous bouquet created by Therese Jacinto Design out of San Francisco Bay area.

Here is what they had to say:

We’ve noticed that florists have really stepped it up recently with all sorts of incredible additives to bouquets {ha! It makes it sound like they’ve got Splenda in them or something} We’re thinking something a bit more darling … like making paper flowers to include in them!! Below are two beautiful examples of this idea … the soft and whimsical gold and blue one was designed by Therese Jacinto Design and the frilly pink and white one with the newspaper flowers was designed by Birch Blooms. It’s a way to achieve colors and shapes that just can’t exist in nature. Therese photographed her own bouquet and Melissa Schollaert Photography snapped up the Birch Blooms ones :)

We are seriously blushing!

What a fun feature! Be sure to check out entire post here to see the other 9 "ultra now' things they adore.

The Knotty Bride post is partially the reason I named this post The Knotty Florist. The other reason is because I have been so bad about blogging about all my recent weddings! Since April, I have been fully entrenched in wedding season. Each week, I have had multiple events - weddings! engagement parties! photo shoots! bridal showers!

It has been a whirlwind... a very fulfilling, exciting whirlwind.

While I still am booked back to back through the 4th of July, things are starting to slow down a teeny weeny bit. I am hoping to blog a couple weddings this week, so be sure to swing back by.

By the way... all of OUR BLOG READERS are on OUR LIST of 10 'ultra now' things we adore :)

Excuse Me, Button Mum!

2011-05-29T18:10:00.000-07:00

So, I have used button mums in my designs at lots of weddings, but I was so surprised that at a recent wedding, the green button mums stole the show!! When I used the button mums for the flower girls' kissing balls, they looked so dynamic and bold! So, excuse me, button mums! I will no longer think of you as a background flower!

Of course, these adorable flower girls could make anything look fabulous. Aren't they just darling?!?!

I have SO many weddings to blog about, but with back to back weddings, I have had little time for blogging.

Therefore, stay tuned! Lots of fabulous weddings to come and amazing details to share!!!

We actually were just part of a gorgeous wedding at the Georgian Terrace today, and guess what...

The floral designs included green button mums!

XOXO

Picture by Jamie Howell Photography (www.jamiehowell.net)

Mr. Birch Blooms

2011-05-21T17:14:00.000-07:00

As I have said a million times, I have always had a little passion for flowers. Out of college, I got a marketing job at an ice cream company, and while planning my wedding, I told my fiance (now husband) that one day I wanted to start a floral design company... I even told him I had a name for it. Birch Blooms.

My wonderful sweet man told me "You should do this... you CAN do this!" After having my first baby, I left my company and along with my new baby, Birch Blooms was born.

While I am the face of my company, my husband, Mr. Birch Blooms is EVERYTHING behind the scenes. After giving birth to my twins and being stuck in the hospital, he had to go deliver flowers for a wedding and set up all the tables. He listens to all my crazy ideas and plans for the business. He funds all of my projects. He stays up with me through the night while I work on flowers, and most of my flowers are arranged while listening to Dog the Bounty Hunter, Deadliest Catch and Kitchen Nightmares (his favorite shows). He takes care of our little ones while I put the finishing touches on everything before we walk out the door. He loads the car. When I called him to tell him that my Wizard of Oz bouquet was on Martha Stewart's Circle, he told me how proud he was of me... and that he felt like Stedman.

Most weddings, he is with me to deliver the flowers. He is the man behind the wheel. Which is great, because I spend my time in the passenger seat going over all the flowers and details one more time. He gets us there on time and helps me set everything up. He is my muscle that gets all the heavy vases in the building.

A few weeks ago, after setting up everything at the church, we were on the road to take all the centerpieces to the reception. While leaving the church, we ran over some cones. I knew it happened, but I was in the passenger seat going over all my notes for the next wave of set up. Mr. Birch Blooms was behind the car prying a cone from under our bumper. Jamie Howell captured this picture, and while it cracked me up, it made me smile.

Birch Blooms is a team effort. I do the flowers. He does everything else.

And I love him.

Photo by Jamie Howell (www.jamiehowell.net)

Oh My Martha!

2011-05-11T10:55:00.000-07:00

After having the Wizard of Oz shoot featured on Style Me Pretty yesterday, I was sure it couldn't get any better...

Until it was featured here today:

Yes! The Wizard of Oz inspired photo shoot was featured on Martha Stewart today!

I am just over the moon.... See the actual post here.

Somewhere Over the Rainbow

2011-05-10T19:03:00.000-07:00

As you may know, I spent a majority of my childhood in Kansas, where I also met my husband. He was in my brother's kindergarten class. All of his family lives in Kansas, so you will find me back there a few times a year.

Due to this, I have quite a fondness for everything 'Kansas', because as we all know,

"There's No Place Like Home".

When one of my favorite photographers in the world, Melissa Schollaert, asked me to be part of a Wizard of Oz inspired photoshoot, I was thrilled.

When I got to the shoot and met the other vendors, I was so impressed! All of the vendors were so creative and created gorgeous MAGIC!

Enjoy our collaboration:

The most exciting news is that this photo shoot was featured today on Style Me Pretty!

See the post here.

And here is the fabulous vendor list:

Concept and Table Design: Lindsay Pitt, TOAST www.toast-events.com

Design and Coordination assistance: Melissa Schollaert Photography www.msp-photography.com
Photography: Melissa Schollaert Photography www.msp-photography.com

Venue: The Farmhouse Inn - Madison, Georgia www.thefarmhouseinn.com
Flowers: Birch Blooms www.birchblooms.com
Rentals and Linens: Classic Party Rentals www.classicpartyrentals.com
Stationery & Signage: Hi Note www.yourhinote.com

Hair & Makeup: Luxe Beauty Co www.luxebeautyco.com

Dessert: Tasty Pastry Bakery www.atastypastry.com with design by J. Park Events www.jparkevents.com
Poppy Flower Shoe Clips: Juja Crafts www.etsy.com/people/JujaCrafts

Gingham Bowtie: Handmade by Emy http://www.etsy.com/people/handmadebyemy

Dress: BCBG www.bcbg.com

Lovely Kate's bouquet

2011-05-01T13:46:00.000-07:00

As a huge fan of Lily of the Valley and Kate Middleton's, I am in love with her wedding bouquet! I am so thrilled that Kate is so naturally beautiful, yet ultra glamourous! Her elegant wedding style is sure to have a huge impact on the wedding industry! So exciting!

Here is more about her wedding bouquet:

Kate's simple yet elegant bouquet was designed by Shane Connolly - a florist based in Kensington - and included myrtle, lily-of-the-valley, hyacinth and Sweet William.

The flowers were chosen for their meaning and their significance to the Royal Family, the Middleton family and with a nod to the language of flowers.

Lily-of-the-valley signifies a return of happiness, hyacinth means constancy of love and ivy is for fidelity.

Sweet William stands for gallantry - and, of course, was added to celebrate the groom.

Kate's bouquet is also believed to have contained stems from a myrtle planted by Queen Victoria in 1845, as well as a sprig from the myrtle used in the Queen's wedding bouquet of 1947.

Reported by Bonita Turner

Dress Inspired Bouquets

2011-04-26T05:53:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, one of our favorite wedding blogs, Style Unveiled, asked to be part of the Bouquet Dress Challenge. The challenge was to choose one of the seven dresses provided and design a bouquet inspired by that dress.

Of course, we were so inspired and created three bouquets!

Our first bouquet was inspired by a BHLDN dress.

And here is the bouquet we created!

This bouquet featured pink ranunculus, pink lisianthus, pink tea roses, vintage paper blooms wrapped with antique lace and vintage paper accented with an old key lock and skeleton keys.

~*~

Our second bouquet was inspired by this gorgeous Alfred Angelo dress:

This dress inspired this bouquet:

This bouquet featured white hydrangeas, white tulips, white calla lilies and scabiosa with a collar of dusty miller and wrapped with white satin ribbon and white pleated ribbon.

We also added a special 'Muse' black wrap.

~*~

This third dress was this gorgeous number by Monique Lhuillier:

And it inspired this bouquet:

This bouquet featured Buplereum, yellow lisianthus and orange protea pin cushions accented with crystal buttons. The bouquet was wrapped with old letters and a sheer ivory ribbon overlay (with some ribbon and button detailing).

~*~

Our bouquets, along with some other gorgeous bouquets, were featured on Style Unveiled today! See the entire post here!

A special thank you to Melissa Schollaert who captured all of these gorgeous pictures!

We love her!

XOXO

All photos by Melissa Schollaert (www.msp-photography.com)

Up, Up and Away

2011-04-19T06:03:00.000-07:00

Things are busy over here at Birch Blooms Floral Design! Our new website is under construction, our weekends are packed with weddings, and our creative juices are flowing with all the photo shoots we have on the horizon!

A couple weeks ago, we were part of an amazing Modern Tablescape concept for Brooklyn Bride, a wedding blog dedicated to modern style. Ashley Pepitone and Lauren Davi came up with the elegant, edgy idea to suspend crisp, white paper airplanes over a black and white table. I love the crisp, modern details, like the clear menus, created by Little Byrd Lettering! Incredible!

The design was captured by the fabulous Janet Howard, who we just adore.

Brooklyn Bride just featured this design on their blog yesterday! So exciting!

You can check it out here.

All photos by Janet Howard Studios (www.janethowardstudio.com)

Awwww....

2011-04-08T19:02:00.000-07:00

Nothing like a teaser...

Today I got one picture of the wedding we did last weekend.

(Remember the window? Yes... that wedding!)

Doesn't our bride, Julia, look incredible!

This just makes me yearn for more!!!

But then this evening, I saw this:

http://threeringweddings.com/toomey-hurtado

I have never seen our flowers in a movie trailer before! Incredible!

Wasn't that adorable.. and kleenex worthy!?!

Awww.... Have a great weekend!

xoxo

First photo by Evan Hampton (www.weddingsbyevanhampton.com)
Other photos from the Three Ring Weddings video (http://threeringweddings.com/toomey-hurtado)

A bit of beauty

2011-04-03T13:16:00.000-07:00

I don't have a wedding to share today, but I do have a bit of beauty to share.

First, I had the one of the busiest weeks of my life. To start, my little sister, Adrienne, came from Arizona with her baby, Holly (11 mos) to stay with us for some 'girl time' and 'R&R'.
It was a fabulous week filled with coffee, fun dinners, late night chats and girl movies.

Adrienne & Holly

This week was also 'Teacher Appreciation" week at the twins' preschool. What do you give your teacher if your mom is a florist? Bouquets of flowers of course! I can't say enough about my kiddos' teachers. They are lovely ladies!

On top of this busy week, I had a wedding on Saturday (April 2nd). Do you remember sweet Julia, the adorable bride I featured in this post? Well, Julia and Dave were married yesterday at Anthony's Fine Dining. I can't wait to share their wedding, but until I get the images from their photographer, I did have to share this sweet picture:

Don't you LOVE it?!!
Every detail of Julia and Dave's wedding was THIS incredible!

I had such a wonderful week filled with so many happy moments. Today, I was outside playing with the kids, and I noticed these little white flowers blooming amongst a bunch of pink and fuchsia dianthus. I plucked one and breathed in its intoxicating scent.

What were these little blooms in my yard? I kept running through the types of bulbs I planted last fall, and then it hit me that it might be a Spanish Bluebell. I googled the image, and yes, I have little white Spanish Bluebells blooming in my yard. While looking for the image, I also saw that the meaning of this little flower is gratitude.

Isn't that perfect?

The perfect little punctuation to end a wonderful week.

XOXO

Red, White and True Blue

2011-03-30T09:31:00.000-07:00

I am so excited to share pictures of our first wedding of 2011, because I think I will always treasure this couple! Christine and Steve originally booked Birch Blooms for their May 2011 wedding, but when Steve was called up for duty in Afghanistan, their wedding date was moved up to January!

The week before their wedding, Atlanta was shut down for days due to snow storms, and trucks and planes carrying our flowers were delayed or halted!

Yet, the day before their wedding, the sun started to shine, the snow started melting and the flowers made their way to Atlanta!

And without a hitch, Christine and Steve were married!

Aren't they lovely?

And I absolutely love the bold photography by Robin Gaucher!

I just love how vibrant these images are!

For the bouquets, Christine wanted orange voodoo roses, red tulips, red roses, orange ranunculus, Mango calla lilies, and white stock (one of my favorite blooms!).

They celebrated their union at The Georgian Terrace, which hosted the premiere gala of Gone With the Wind. So historic and gorgeous at the same time!

You would never guess that these flowers were stranded days earlier...

Thank you Christine and Steve for letting us be part of your wedding day.

More importantly, thank you for your strength, bravery and service.

All photos by Robin Gaucher Photography (www.robingaucher.com)

Double Take!

2011-03-07T18:07:00.000-08:00

This wedding may look familiar! These flowers are from Ashley + Jason's gorgeous October wedding, and we featured this wedding our blog late last year.

However, Ashley just e-mailed over some pictures (taken by the lovely Nadia D.), and I just HAD to blog them! Therefore, this post includes the new pictures...

and some of the previously posted pictures we just love!

Love love love the lavender tea roses featured in the bridesmaid's bouquet

Ashley's divine dress and bouquet

Their reception was held at the Lawrenceville Historic Courthouse, and we featured three different centerpieces. The first centerpiece was a black lantern that was filled with one large candle surrounded by lavender tea roses, purple hydrangeas, purple lisianthus, pink lisianthus, white roses and blue thistles.

We also created arrangements of purple hydrangeas, purple stock, magenta stock, pink lisianthus, purple lisianthus, white roses, blue thistles, and lavender tea roses in large cylinder glass vases.

Again, I absolutely loved being part of this wedding!

Thank you Ashley + Jason for letting me be part of your day..

and thank you for the additional pictures!

XOXO

All photos by Nadia D. Photography (http://www.nadiadphoto.com/)

Cake Flowers

2011-02-08T09:02:00.000-08:00

I love to check my blogger stats and see how many people visited my blog that day, where they came from and what posts they checked out.

The Birch Blooms post that gets the most hits is a post simply titled Cake Flowers. It was a a post that I did early in my blogging days, and unfortunately, it featured just a few cakes.

So! I decided to give the post a facelift and feature new pictures! Also, the cake flowers usually mirror the other flowers featured at the wedding. So in addition to sharing these cake flowers, I am going to show a few of the bouquets that go with each cake!

Sarah + Steve's Cake Flowers

Here is Sarah + Steve's cake. I love the simplicity of the cake and the blooms. Each tier of this cake was adorned with a cream rose and cream gerber daisy.

All the bridesmaids placed their bouquets around the cake to get the table a little more color.

Here is the Sarah's bouquet!

(Photos by Melissa Schollaert Photography)

Meg + Will's Cake Flowers

This is one of my favorite cakes! It is from Meg + Will's wedding. The cake was from Celso's and topped with large pale pink peonies.

Here is Meg's bouquet!

(Photos by Jessica Giblin Photography)

Angie + Jorge's Cake Flowers

This stunning cake was from Angie + Jorge's wedding. The cake was created by Sweet Sensations and decorated with purple hydrangeas and purple sweet peas.

Here's a closer look!

Here is Angie's bouquet...

And here is a bridesmaid's bouquet.

(Photos by Janet Howard Studio)

Casey + Craig's Cake Flowers

This cake was from Casey + Craig's ultra modern wedding at Ventanas. The cake was created by Publix and topped with Green Fuji mums.

Here is Casey's bouquet.

(Photos by Alison Church Photography)

Lisa + Kelvin's Cake Flowers

Awww... Another one of my favorite cakes! This cake was from Lisa + Kelvin's wedding!

This gorgeous cake was created by Celso's and topped with gold roses! Really!

We took white roses and painted them gold!

(It was a Martha Stewart idea!)

Heidi + Ruben's Cake Flowers

This fun cupcake display from Heidi + Ruben's wedding was created by Eileen Carter, one of our favorite vendors. With Eileen, we decorated the cupcake stand with purple hydrangeas, orange gerber daisies, red ranunculus and red hypericum berries.

Here are the bridesmaids' bouquets

(Photos by Lauren Wright Photography)

Ashley + Joe's Cake Flowers

Here is another stunner from Eileen Carter! This was for Ashley + Joe's wedding! This cake is so gorgeous and was topped with green hydrangeas, pale pink roses and dark pink roses.

Here is Ashley's bouquet

(Photo by Lynn Brown Photography)

Not Cake Flowers, but...

Okay... we didn't put cake flowers on this cake, however it is one of my favorites! This is the cake from Stephanie + Robby's Wedding! They decorated their January wedding cake with adorable snowflake ornaments! Fabulous!

(Photos by Janet Howard Studio)

Thanks for visiting our blog!

Happy Wedding Planning!

Heather + Corey

2011-02-08T06:25:00.000-08:00

I am so thrilled to share the images from Heather + Corey's September wedding!

The first time I met Heather, I loved her sense of style! She was wearing a bright yellow cardigan, adorable red flats and bold red necklace. She looked like she jumped right off the pages of a J.Crew catalog. Just by looking at her, I could tell her style was classy, simple and fresh.

As expected, she had the same vision for her wedding!

Heather's bouquet consisted of white hydrangeas, white roses, white calla lilies
and lots of fresh green hypericum berries.

The bridesmaids carried bouquets of white hydrangeas, white roses,

white spider mums, green button mums and green hypericum berries.

Each of the bridesmaids bouquets were wrapped with white satin ribbon

with a little green & white polka dot ribbon detail.

The adorable flower girl carried a flower wand!

This was the first time we ever created one of these, and I loved it!

We created this adorable wand topped with a little pomander

of green and white button mums! So fun!

The adorable Heather and Corey captured by their photographer,

Christina Young with Photographic Expressions.

Heather and her bridesmaids

Heather and Corey were married at Inman Park United Methodist Church.

This is one of my favorite churches to work with, and this is one of my favorite pictures of this church!

I absolutely love this picture of the bridesmaids with Corey, because

(1) I love how animated their faces are and

(2) I love how bright their bouquets look!

Congratulations to Heather + Corey!

Thank you for letting us be part of your fabulous day!

xoxo

All photos by Photographic Expressions (www.photographicexpressions.org)

What a day...

2011-02-06T19:29:00.000-08:00

I was born in Milwaukee, so I should be going crazy about the Packers winning. I am excited that my grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins have such a sense of pride right now about their home team!

However, I don't watch the Superbowl for anything football related.

I watch for the National Anthem (no comment), the Half Time Show (The Time by Black Eyed Peas... FABULOUS!), and the commercials.

There were lots of great entertaining commercials.

However, the Eminem Chrysler Commercial was incredible!

(To view these commercials on YouTube, just click the image)

In fact, I am absolutely taken with Chrysler's entire campaign.

I am in love with their Arrive in Style commercial:

Last year I posted my favorite commercial, which was from Google, and since I still love it and the romance it envokes, I decided to share it again:

Not only is today Superbowl Sunday, but today is also my birthday!

I have to say thank you to everyone for all the birthday calls and cards.

Thank you to my parents for the wonderful dinner and fabulous presents.

Thank you to my kiddos for the great wake-up hugs and kisses... you all bring me such love, joy and happiness.

Most of all, thank you to my husband, Jim, for making today so special for me. From a childhood friendship to a long distance relationship to a great marriage, I am a lucky woman to have such a loving man to support me and celebrate me.

Football. Commercials. Birthday cake.

Such a nice break....

Now back to wedding flowers!

xoxo

Personal photos by Janet Howard Studio (www.janethowardstudio.com)

Chrysler photos and Google photo from Youtube.com

The Stars Aligned...

2011-02-04T08:27:00.000-08:00

Every once in awhile, we get to be part of a wedding that is just truly magical. Mary + Mark's wedding was just that... magical. Every detail was perfect and just filled with so much love!

When I first met Mary and her mother, Betsy, to discuss the flowers, it was an incredibly fun meeting! It was just the most energizing brainstorming session! My brain was going a mile a minute on the drive home!

In fact, I was so consumed thinking about this wedding, that I ran out of gas on the way home! I didn't even see that my tank was on empty! Luckily, I had enough momentum to coast off the highway and on to the side of the road about 100 feet from a gas station!

I told my husband that I just had to get this wedding! I would be so sad if I didn't! Well, I happened to be back in Kansas City driving by my childhood home, when I got the e-mail that Mary was booking us for her wedding! I was thrilled! I was also thrilled to hear the line up of the other vendors she booked!

Photography: Melissa Schollaert Photography

Venue: The Farmhouse Inn at Hundred Acre Farm in Madison, GA

Day of Coordination: Heather Lakes from Ashley Baber Weddings

Mary wanted flowers in hues of blue, orange, and yellow... with hints of green

For the boutonnieres we featured billy balls, orange tea roses, green hypericum berries.

And some blue thistle for the groom!

Mary's bouquet featured antique blue hydrangeas, white hydrangeas, yellow ranunculus, orange tea roses, and green hypericum berries

The bridesmaids' bouquets featured white hydrangeas, orange dahlias, orange tea roses, yellow billy balls, blue thistles and green hypericum berries wrapped with burlap

Isn't our bride lovely?

Flower girl basket made of BIRCH and filled with yellow and orange petals

Lovely bridesmaids

How darling is this flower girl?

I love the bow ties for the boys!

Mark hanging out with the ring bearers

Down the aisle, we hung arrangements of white stock and yellow billy balls in blue ball jars

Each ball jar was accented with a little twine and a cute button

During the cocktail hour, the high boys were dressed up with simple white vases filled with billy balls

The lovely couple

Baskets filled with hydrangeas were placed around the venue

Mary and Mark also hired Epting Events for the catering and design.

They do a FABULOUS job... look at those chandeliers!

Swoon.

Tables were topped with arrangements of flowers in blue ball jars upon beds of moss.

Don't you love those votive holders? Mary's mom, Betsy, found them at Pottery Barn.

I loved the cupcake set up by Cami Cakes!

Look how they displayed each different kind of cupcake!

Adorable!

Their cupcake toppers by Goose Grease

Mary + Mark!

Thank you for letting us be part of this spectacular event!

Best wishes for a beautiful life together!

xoxo

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Psst!

We weren't the only ones who LOVED this wedding!

Weddings Unveiled featured this wedding on their blog!

Read the post here.

All photos by Melissa Schollaert Photography (www.msp-photography.com)

The Essence of Seville, Spain

2011-01-31T22:16:00.000-08:00

I love to be challenged creatively, so when Erica, our lovely bride, asked us to design flowers that captured the essence of Seville, Spain, the location where her groom proposed, I was very intrigued!

Erica wanted vibrant colors like orange and yellow.

I love how the billy balls mirror the color and shape of the orange trees all over Spain!

For Erica's bouquet, we featured mango calla lilies, orange VooDoo roses, purple stock, and yellow billy balls with a collar of greenery.

Here is our lovely bride, Erica, holding her bouquet!

A lovely picture of the Erica and William!

They look so happy and in love!

The ceremony and reception were held at La Bam.

Of course, I love this shot!

A sweet moment of Erica with her mother captured by Derek Wintermute!

I just had to share this one last picture... Here is Erica showing off her bouquet to her friends.

Congratulations and Best Wishes to

Erica + William!

All photos (except the Seville photo) by Derek Wintermute Photography (www.derekwintermutephotography.com)

Heads Up!

2011-01-29T20:16:00.000-08:00

First off, Birch Blooms was part of an incredible photo shoot today with the talented Melissa Schollaert, Toast Events, hi note, Andrea C Artistry, J Park Events, and Tasty Pastry.

I can not wait to share these images with you all!

Secondly, this is a busy weekend for brides-to-be! There are quite a few wedding shows taking place tomorrow, but the one I am going to tell you to check out is the Ultimate Bridal Show in Athens.

No, I won't be there. I won't be at any of the shows tomorrow... but it is hard not to support a show that features a photograph including a Birch Blooms bouquet on all the promotional material!

Yes, that photo is of the lovely Alaina and Nicholas who were married in March 2010, and the bouquet that Alaina is holding is ours! The gorgeous photograph is by the talented Courtney Goldman!

Here is a closer picture of that bouquet captured by Courtney Goldman.

Whatever you do to prepare for your wedding, we certainly appreciate you swinging by our blog!

Have a great weekend!

XOXO

All photos by Courtney Goldman (www.courtneygoldman.com)

Thank you!

2011-01-26T19:30:00.000-08:00

I already posted this on Facebook, but I did want to post this on the blog too! As you may know, Style Unveiled holds their Local Love Awards each year.

One of the categories is for Best Bouquet, and Birch Bloom's bouquet for Sarah and Steve's Wedding (the cotton wedding) was in the running!

The votes are in....

I am so excited to announce that our bouquet won!

We are honored and appreciate of all of you lovelies that voted for us!

Thank you!

XOXO

Photo by Melissa Schollaert Photography (http://msp-photography.com)

Emily + Mike

2011-01-21T18:26:00.000-08:00

What a lovely way to start off the weekend!

Isn't that such a romantic kiss? I love it!

The gorgeous couple is Emily and Mike, who were married in May 2010. We were fortunate enough to be part of their lovely union!

The first time I met Emily she kept convincing me that she didn't know anything about flowers, and while she didn't know all the names of the blooms, she was able to articulate what she was envisioning for her flowers. I must say... I love her vision!

Together, we created a slight cascading bouquet of white lisianthus, white dendrobium orchids, Queen Anne's Lace, blue delphinium, grape hyacinth, and purple stock!

The bouquet was so vintage with a silver tussy mussy handle!

Our lovely bride

The bridesmaids also carried tussy mussies of white lisianthus, white dendrobium orchids, purple lisianthus, blue delphinium, grape hyacinth and hot pink sweet peas.

Fabulous picture by Atlanta MediaWorks!

We loved being part of this gorgeous wedding!

Best Wishes to Emily and Mike for a wonderful

Happily Ever After!

All photos by Atlanta Mediaworks (www.atlmediaworks.com)

Hello Honeysuckle!

2011-01-16T17:05:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, we shared with you some predictions about the floral trends for 2011. In that post, one of the designers mentioned that Honeysuckle is Pantone's Color of the Year for 2011. So, I thought I would save everyone the trouble of going to search for this fabulous hue!

And it is fabulous...

You can check out Pantone's website to see what they have to say about this great color here or you can just scroll down:

A Color for All Seasons

Courageous. Confident. Vital. A brave new color, for a brave new world. Let the bold spirit of Honeysuckle infuse you, lift you and carry you through the year. It’s a color for every day – with nothing “everyday” about it.

While the 2010 color of the year, PANTONE 15-5519 Turquoise, served as an escape for many, Honeysuckle emboldens us to face everyday troubles with verve and vigor. A dynamic reddish pink, Honeysuckle is encouraging and uplifting. It elevates our psyche beyond escape, instilling the confidence, courage and spirit to meet the exhaustive challenges that have become part of everyday life.

“In times of stress, we need something to lift our spirits. Honeysuckle is a captivating, stimulating color that gets the adrenaline going – perfect to ward off the blues,” explains Leatrice Eiseman, executive director of the Pantone Color Institute®. “Honeysuckle derives its positive qualities from a powerful bond to its mother color red, the most physical, viscerally alive hue in the spectrum.”

Eiseman continues, “The intensity of this festive reddish pink allures and engages. In fact, this color, not the sweet fragrance of the flower blossoms for which it was named, is what attracts hummingbirds to nectar. Honeysuckle may also bring a wave of nostalgia for its associated delicious scent reminiscent of the carefree days of spring and summer.”

Honeysuckle is guaranteed to produce a healthy glow when worn by both men and women. It’s a striking, eye-catching hue that works well for day and night in women’s apparel, accessories and cosmetics, and in men’s ties, shirts and sportswear.

Wedding Apparel

A flattering hue for wedding attendant apparel and accessories, Honeysuckle is now one of the nearly 200 PANTONE WEDDING Colors available from Dessy, a leading manufacturer of bridesmaid, social-occasion and flower-girl dresses. PANTONE WEDDING exclusively from Dessy provides a collection of color tools to make it easy for brides to achieve perfectly color-coordinated weddings – from inspiration to “I do.” See www.dessy.com for more information.