Weddings: tulip bouquets and Historic Rucker Place

I know what you're thinking...that picture of the blonde bride with the perfect smile and perfect yellow tulips is an ad for Lillie's, right? Could be, but no. Victoria is a real-life bride who married lucky fella Chris at the beautiful Rucker Place overlooking Birmingham, Alabama.

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The afternoon of our first meeting together Victoria told me about her groom Chris and his landscape design business. Loving the outdoors as I do, this completely intrigued me. Chris joined us at our next meeting and and the three of us worked together on a plan to give the wedding a natural outdoorsy feel using Alabama greenery and honeysuckle vine.

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The sunny yellow of tulips and freesia, everything about this wedding makes me want to smile.The tulips were a happy surprise for a HOT August wedding. Tulips are cool season, spring flowers. We honestly just "Hoped" for tulips. I ordered the tulips and "Begged" my suppliers to search. We were all excited to see Victoria carry a bouquet of her favorite blossom. 

Thanks to Daniel Taylor for capturing the essence of spring in a glass (even in August).

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 Bird's nest centerpieces on pintucked linens and a pair of kissing canaries atop a scrumptious cake by Dreamcakes gave the reception a decidedly aviary theme. 

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I guess I will forever think of Victoria and her yellow bouquet when a newly engaged girl asks me for tulips in a hot Alabama Summer.

Weddings 2011: spring showers and blue hydrangea garland

On wedding days sometimes we have an unexpected rain shower ~ this was the case the day bride Calley married her sweetheart Brian in Homewood, Alabama at Trinity Methodist on Oxmoor Road.

The rain shower that surprised us was a summer shower that drenched us completely in a period of 3 or 4 minutes. 

That's me on the ladder, mere moments before the deluge, wrestling a garland of hydrangeas under the magnificent stone arch.

 

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Fortunately, flowers (especially hydrangeas - hence the name "hydra") relish a generous soaking, and a flower junkie like me is used to playing in the water....but photo equipment is not so resilient. Leave it to gifted veteran photographer Jerrod Brown to not run from the soaker, but transform the moment into magic.  

Serendipity! Jerrod found an unclaimed umbrella and quickly handed it to Brian just as he stepped outside the church doors with his new Bride, Calley. The leaves on the trees dripping a bit and the sidewalks still wet, everything glistened like a Hollywood set...like it had been planned that way!

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Check out the full article on Calley and Brian in Alabama Weddings Magazine for more images from the wedding. 

Weddings 2011: Spring Lenten roses and historic Altadena Presbyterian Church

 March Weddings in Alabama have such a unique look. Our trees are still gray and bare from the winter and I find myself urging spring to hurry up by adding brightly colored flowers to Lillie's bouquets and boutonnieres. 

Beverly Andrews and her team at Engaging Celebrations knew this when working with Sarah to plan her wedding day. From the perfect weather with an aqua sky looking like it was ordered to match the wedding (how did Beverly do that?), to the popsicle truck that delighted wedding guests late in the afternoon, John and Sarah's wedding could not have been more delightful.

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To help John and Sarah welcome their guests to the historic Altadena Valley Presbyterian Church  we added a pair vibrant spring wreaths blooming with lenten roses and spiky purple veronica to the whitewashed church doors. This wood frame church oozes with charm and made for a picture perfect wedding!.

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Sarah's bridesmid's carried jonquills, lenten roses, veronica, gerber daiseys and kermit mums in apple green.

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The evening celebration was anchored by Geoff Carlisle of JAMM playing dance tunes that kept everyone on the dance floor.
A big thanks to photographer Emily Kicklighter for these beautiful wedding images.

flower day with kelli

January is the month to do things that I never seem to have time for during the height of Lillie's wedding season and a perfect time for a fun little "Field Trip!"

Last week Kelli Taylor of Daniel Taylor Photography and I took a little field trip to downtown Birmingham to the large floral supply houses. Take a peek at the fun we had . . .

http://www.danieltaylorphotoblog.com/wedding-florals-behind-the-scenes-with-carol-riley-of-lillies-flowers/

bouquet trends

Matt Jones Gallery played host this weekend to "A Whirlwind of Wedding Wisdom" sponsored by the Alabama State Florists Association. Darla Pawlak spoke on the new bouquet trends sweeping the nation. It was very interesting. She said bride's all across the nation are looking for texture and "Green" in their bouquets.
I would like to say, my dear brides are trend setters! Lillie's brides have been asking for green bouquets for years. I have lost count of the number of brides requesting lambs ear and garden perennials in their bouquets. 

It is always a joy to include a unique wildflower native to the state of Alabama, in a bride's bouquet. In Summer and Fall we often tie perennial blossoms in the bridesmaid's bouquets. We remember the groomsmen too when we incorporate a tiny piece of fern or rosemary in the men's boutonnieres.

The softness of lamb's ear, the elegance of dark green camelia or the feminine fronds of maiden hair fern are wonderful options to add texture to Alabama Bride's Bouquets.

Boutonnieres

Boutonniere also boutonnière ( ) n. A flower or small bunch of flowers worn in a buttonhole. [French boutonnière , from Old French. 

Rosebuds are always available for men to wear on a wedding day, but many of Lillie's brides think outside the box when choosing a boutonniere for their grooms.

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In keeping with the theme of the wedding, this bout gets its vintage look from soft lamb's ear, two types of silk ribbon and a tiny silver charm bearing an old family photograph.

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This groom wore a mini calla lily with stephanotis and varigated ivy when he married at the Sonnet House in Leeds, Alabama.

or, go green . . .

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This groom wears a boutonniere of boxwood, hypericum berry, seeded eucalyptus and wax flower for and afternoon wedding ceremony at Aldridge Gardens in Birmingham, Alabama.

Thank you Jason Wallis, Frank Carnaggio and Jim Little for sharing the boutonniere images with Lillie's

brides and grooms

Alabama has so many beautiful places to marry and Lillie's gets to experience them all! I so enjoyed my weekend at beautiful Lake Martin with the Owen's family. 

Bride Lauren married in the chapel at Children's Harbor carrying a hand tied bouquet of Anna roses, Eskimo roses, white calla and freesia.

Frank Carnaggio of Birmingham was Lauren's wedding photographer and kind to share these images.