Weddings: A Summer Wedding in Blue and Lavender

Once again, more proof that 2011 was the undisputed year of weddings in the color purple...

From the very start, Bride Courtney knew what she wanted. "Carol, please make the bouquets look like a bunch of wildflowers just picked from a field." So we fashioned these garden-fresh bouquets of lavender stock, waxflower and heavenly fragrant tuberose that absolutely popped against the bridesmaids' royal blue dresses.The color scheme was fresh, cool and easy on the eyes, even on a hot August afternoon deep in the heart of the south.

 

For the bride's bouquet, we paired the feminine Amelia rose with clouds of Queen Anne's lace that floated and moved at the slightest breeze.

I love having Brandon and Stacey Gresham's cameras snapping a Lillie's wedding. Stacey told me once that flowers were among her favorite things to shoot on a wedding day, and you can sure tell it here. I'm a sucker for crisp and clean color in wedding photography.  

The ceremony was held at this adorable white wooden church in Branchville, Alabama.

The church's simple white mantle was transformed into a flower garden with spires of larkspur, stock and bells of Ireland growing up through tufts of hydrangea anchored to a mossy base.

For the reception, we set out simple and blooms in a fantastic assortment of milk glass containers collected for the occasion by the bride's family.

As I write this, having just arrived home from a weekend wedding out of town, I am reminded of how a good wedding planner can make all the difference between a well-orchestrated event and a fiasco. Anita Kanellis, planner for both Courtney's wedding and our most recent event, was the string that kept all the moving parts connected. 

Check out the video by Cam Productions for a closer look . . . http://vimeo.com/16038965

Beautiful Wedding Bouquets : Color !

It's already a busy wedding season at Lillie's, but a promise is a promise! After telling a few of the new brides we've met with most recently that I would put together a special post featuring color in bridal bouquets, it's done! And it was so much fun. As a matter of fact, I might have to whip up another one...umm, later.

But for now, let's start with - pink:

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A rainbow of pink tumbles from this very ladylike bouquet of roses and ivy shaped into a tear-drop cascade.  Something about this conjures visions of Downton Abbey in my mind. Those tables laden with heavenly blossoms - oh come quickly Season Three! Bride Kimberly carried this bouquet at The Sonnet House. Thank you David Boyd for sharing the picture.

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For her wedding at serene Lake Guntersville last June, Bride Anna carried her favorite, a hand-tied bouquet of frothy pink and white peonies. Thank you Monica Dooley for the picture.

Brides-to-be often ask me if they should carry a white bouquet or color. My response is always ...  

"What are your favorite blossoms?" 

A bride should certainly carry her favorite flowers on her wedding day. That being said, many varieties of flowers come in a range of colors from shades of white to pastels and on to very intense hues - all within the same variety of flower. 

For instance, tulips, roses, gerbera daises, freesia, ranunculus, lilies and hydrangeas come in all hues from vivid white to ivory and on down the color spectrum.

So, if you've been dreaming of what to carry on your wedding day, consider a few of these pretty choices . . .

And, if a whisper of color is all you require, consider something like this...

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Bride Neilly carried the softest of colors in her garden bouquet of hydrangea, anemone, stock and roses for her elegant ceremony at Saint Luke's Episcopal. The Queen Anne's lace mimics the delicate lace overlay of her gown. Mixed with velvety-soft lamb's ear, her bouquet has an unusually feminine look. I love this shot by t-photographic.com.




For lover's of more intense color, we have yellows . . . 

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Above, Bride Angie carried her favorite as she walked down the aisle at Our Lady of the Valley. A bouquet of sunny yellow cymbidium orchids and calla lilies. Photograph, Simple Color.

Below, Whitney told us she loved firecracker red, orange and bright yellows. This bouquet glows with orange tulips, yellow freesia, billy balls and rosehips. Photograph, Frank Carnaggio.

The Lillie's wedding color of 2011 - Brides choosing bouquets in shades of purple . . . 

Bride Amy carried a simple, elegant bouquet of rich, purple hydrangea for her outdoor wedding at the The Sonnet House in early October 2011.  Thank you Ann Wade Parrish for the picture.

 

For her ceremony at our very own Birmingham Botanical Gardens, Bride Adrienne carried her heart's desire; fragrant purple lilac. Her bouquet also has a pretty, lavender pin cushion scabiosa and tufts of French hydrangea. Thank you Greg Hawkins for the picture.

Below, Bride Heather carried a fall dahlias in shades of purple and burgundy in her wedding bouquet. Alisha Crossley shared this picture with us.

 

 

And finally representing red, the color of love ~ Nicole's favorite blossom was an old-time favorite: the wonderfully fragrant stargazer lily. For her traditional ceremony at Saint Mark's Catholic Church in Birmingham she carried her Grandmother's rosary on the stems of this bouquet of lilies, red roses and snapdragons.

Weddigs 2011: A European Wedding in the Deep South

A crusty baguette and freshly cut roses fill the the basket of a rouge red bicycle rested casually against an old brick wall. At once, what appears to be an everyday scene from a quiet residential avenue in Provence is actually one of several vignettes designed to transport wedding guests to a European destination far from Alabama -- if only for a single evening.

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Joann and her wedding planner, Alene Gamel, brought Lillie's on board to set the scene for an evening in the South of France at the historic Avondale Villa in Birmingham. If ever there was a venue that exudes genuine, old world charm from corner to corner, it is this place. 

 

So how to make a charming spot more charming? 

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One vignette included an iron tabletop arbor with fresh flowers and a vine of smilax winding its way up. Sap buckets, wirework baskets and watering cans were set about with flower bunches and freshly cut rosemary to emulate a European market setting. Bride Joann had planted pots of French lavender and collected wine crates to use with our iron lanterns and candles. We worked with Natalie at Kathy G. & Company to complete the scene with purple cabbages and fresh cheeses.

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The mottled petals of this antique green hydrangea tucked into a box beneath the crudites  looks as if it has been sprinkled with nutmeg.

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The finishing touch...as a late night surprise, Joey and Joann had milk and cookies sent out to their guests. Yum

Weddings 2011: Elegance and purple roses at Ross Bridge Resort

gratitude ~

More perfect weather could not have been ordered for Kiella and Jamal's wedding day at Renaissance Ross Bridge Resort. The early fall sky was clear blue and the temperatures in the 70s with a little fall breeze in the trees. But the perfect weather was not the coolest thing about the day.

 A most unusual thing happened the afternoon of the wedding that the bride still probably doesn't know . . .

As I was cleaning up and loading the van after flowering the arch, the groom in his tuxedo came JOGGING towards me across that wide stone terrace at Ross Bridge!

. . . Big smile big guy . . .

Miss Carol, "Thank you so much, it is all beautiful!"

Wow . . . well that never happens, WHAT a SWEETHEART ~ what a gentleman!

I will never forget that. It's not often people express gratitude.

Honestly we really felt it was quite an honor to work on this wedding. Kiella is an event planner for a large Embassy Suites in North Carolina and has excellent taste. She knew exactly how she wanted the ballroom to look and I was thrilled she chose us.

Bride Kiella LOVED purple, purple and more purple.

Bridesmaid's bouquets of coolwater and bluebird roses with royal stock.

Ross Bridge is beautiful on a Fall afternoon don't you think?

Bride's bouquet of Amelias with a sweet ruffle on the petals.

The weather was PERFECT that day -- fall must be the best season for outdoor weddings, particularly here in the South!

Bride Kiella timed her ceremony perfectly ~ the pictures after the ceremony capture the long shadows and golden hue of the fall sunset.

A dozen large silver candelabra with Amelia roses and hydrangea gave the ballroom at Ross Bridge an elegant look with silver chivari chairs and elegant purple linens.

Dancing to the tunes of Just a Few Cats and Alvin "Cornbread" Garret.

The guest left for home with a sweet treat from Gigi's Cupcakes.

Perfect ending for a sweet girl with a dream of an elegant purple wedding.

Thank you Arden for the images from the day.