Tablescaping Ideas for Parties or Weddings

We recently partnered with Connie from Atmospheres by Design to put together this beautiful tablescape for a client. Sadly, the client chose a different look but we couldn't let this go that easily so we wanted to share it with the World!

Components included reflective mercury glass containers, lots of candlelight and elegant flowers. The butterscotch garden roses were an unexpected hit paired with the blue hydrangeas and Patience garden roses (which incidentally have an amazing fragrance). We fell in love with Connie's idea for napkin rings. They started life out as miniature picture frames...take a closer look!

April Showers

Well, the weather is not so nice here today...chilly and rainy. However I can't complain since I was wearing shorts and a T-Shirt to work out in my garden yesterday when it was 75 degrees. Besides, as they say, April showers bring May flowers. I'm so excited to see all the tulips I planted last year as well as the giant alliums, peonies, and viburnum. The great thing about being a florist and working on weddings is that I get to see all of those beautiful specimens even before they bloom in our local climate. Last weekend I got to use amazing peonies in pink and white as well as the most spectacular purple lisianthus I have seen in several years. One of the brides this week is a personal friend and I was so happy for her as she had a top ten day for an outdoor wedding held in Mt. Vernon Gardens here in Omaha overlooking the river and the bluffs across the river followed by a picnic lunch reception. The other bride had a beautiful church wedding with an evening reception. Here's a peak at some of the flowers from the past week: White peonies, white dendrobium orchid blossoms and white hydrangeas formed the bridal bouquet. Japonica formed a color around the creamy white blossoms and added just the perfect amount of movement in the bouquet as the bride walked down the aisle. It doesn't show up in this picture too well but I loved the simplicity of the ribbon wrapping. It was white satin ribbon with a very narrow light ivory satin ribbon criss-crossing down the handle with pearl pins accentuating each 'X' on the stem.

Giant anthuriums and orchids were shipped in by the Bride's Aunt directly from Hawaii. I added soft pink lisianthus and stock, green Bells of Ireland, and two-tone pink and white snapdragons for this large garden urn arrangement in the middle of the colonnade at the park to serve as the space for the ceremony.

In Progress Wedding

Well, I was going to try to post these pictures as I was working on this wedding, but with a co-worker gone during the week of the wedding, I fell behind. So here's a look at some of the bouquets while they were being made. I'm going to have to figure out a better backdrop because it's hard to see them with the workroom in the background. I'll work on that for our next wedding which will be the first weekend in April.

Just as a fun side note, when I got to the church and inserted the candles into the unity candle arrangement shown above, one of the candles was cracked and broken. I had to run back to the store for another candle. Such is the life of a wedding florist on wedding delivery day!

Here are the altar bouquets in progress:

And in place at the church:

And here was the bridal bouquet with these amazing purple Vanda Orchids:

Purple is definitely the hot color this wedding season. Here are some of the purple flowers we used for this wedding: Dendrobium Orchids, Moon Series Carnations, Vanda Orchids, Stock, and Gladiolas. If you are planning a purple wedding and want to learn more about what flowers are available, call our Wedding Coordinator at 402-397-4585.

2011 Wedding Season Kickoff

Get your chips and salsa and a comfy spot on the sofa...it's just about time for kickoff...Wedding Season Kickoff that is! (And believe me, after running around all day delivering wedding flowers, I'm usually ready for chips and salsa and a comfy spot on the sofa.)

Our first wedding of 2011 is this Saturday and we are all preparing for the big day. Rental vases are being washed, flowers are being ordered, ribbon and supplies are in place just waiting to help make our bride's day spectacular.

We have some brand new glassware being used for the first time this week so I'm excited about that. I keep describing them as a tall bierstein shaped vase (shown above)...that doesn't sound very romantic so if someone has ideas on another title for this new wedding rental, please let me know. These are great vases because they can also be flipped upside down and used as more of a pedestal base for candles or tall centerpieces designed in a dish that would sit on the glass that usually serves as the base of the vase when right-side-up. Hard to explain in words but one of these days I'll post some pictures of two different ways to use the vase. For now, here's a simple picture of the new vases. Check back Wednesday for pictures of the flowers arriving from exotic lands for this event! Purple is the color of the week (and the color of many weeks to come...it's a hot color for weddings this year!)

12 Days of Valentines

Why not spread out the Valentine's Holiday...Send your special someone a gift every day from now until the big day...February 14th. Start and end with a dozen roses! Or check our website for more ideas: http://www.gobeyondthevine.com/

Winter/Holiday Wedding from December, 2010

I wanted to post the pictures from my December wedding for all those bride's planning a Winter wedding next year. There are some great inspirations here with everything from fireplace mantles to topiaries with strings of fresh cranberries. The ceremony was held on the campus of Creighton University at St. John's Church. The reception location at the Joslyn Castle was perfect for this style which the bride referred to as Colonial Williamsburg. If you aren't familiar with Williamsburg at Christmas (which I was not before I did this wedding) you should definitely check out this website: http://www.history.org/visit/christmas/

The bride's bouquet consisted of Cymbidium Orchid blossoms, Vendella Roses, burgundy Miniature Calla Lilies, Antique Hydrangeas, green Hypericum berries, and Spray Roses with a collar of fresh Magnolia foliage and Flat Cedar. The centerpieces mimicked the bridal bouquet with the addition of pinecones, boxwood and assorted evergreens arranged in a cylinder vase.

The fireplace in the Grand Hall was the focal point for the entire reception venue. Large column candles glowed in tall glass vases filled with fresh cranberries. Clove studded oranges, pineaplles, apples and other fruits filled the niches of the ornate carved wood mantle. Rustic reindeer constructed of twigs were nestled in fresh evergreens and looked out over the guests all evening.

The bridal party and a few of the guests were beginning to arrive at the Joslyn Castle. The chandelier in the Music Room was ornately decorated with fresh evergreens and hanging pepperberry along with fresh orchid and rose blossoms.


There was fresh snow on the ground the day of the wedding which made the whole event seem all the more magical this time of year. Luminaries adorned with fresh pine and magnolia leaves lined the drive leading to the front door where guests entered the Castle.

New Year...New Focus on Wedding Inspirations!

After spending ten hours on my feet yesterday at the bridal fair at the Mid America Center I am ready to kick off the new year with a new focus on creating some amazing wedding inspirations for all the brides out there planning their weddings. Check back often for new ideas on colors, flowers, centerpieces, and general inspiration collages for all things 'Wedding.'

Here are a few of the bouquets I showcased at the bridal fair to highlight upcoming trends in wedding colors. Turquoises and teals are continuing in their popularity this year as well as purples, mainly eggplant and darker shades. I had a yellow and lime bouquet that the girls were in love with so we shall see if yellow continues this year.