white wedding bouquets

This week two different brides have asked me if they should carry an all white bouquet or a bouquet with color. I always say, "It's your day, carry your favorite blossoms!"

My good friends Carolyn and Cathy at The White Room and I have an ongoing discussion over white blossoms vs. color on the day of the wedding. The White Room girls have me outnumbered ~ here are a few of the white bouquets Lillie's has made just for their brides xo . . .

But remember, even white bouquets can vary in shades, textures and hues. The bouquet above includes a  true white casablanca lily, a vanilla Virginia rose, an ivory mini calla and, at the very top of the bouquet, a snow white peony. The touches of green in the bouquet are found in the fronds of southern shield fern and the buds on white freesia stems.

So, since all colors, including white, vary tremendously, the only way to achieve truly even color is to select a single type of blossom for your bouquet. The bouquet below is limited to Amelia roses - one of my favorites because of the feminine scallop on her petals. 

Thank you's to Arden photography

This bouquet photographed by Emily Kicklighter is a neat mound of white Akito roses with a collar of waxy green galax leaves.  Akito roses are one of the purest white and, according to growers, the most popular variety of white rose for weddings.

Other popular white rose bouquet choices include:

Bianca - medium sized and ivory in color  

Eskimo - medium-small sized head and snow white. Eskimos make great boutonnieres!

Garden roses - glorious white garden roses vary in size and shade, but most are fragrant and lend that full-blown lushness to anything they adorn

Spray roses - again, lot's of whites to choose from, but one of Lillie's favorites is white majolica. Their tint is chalky blush, and though they might start out small, they open wide and (when most would have long-ago dropped their petals) they keep on smiling

And, if you are willing to add a little texture to your white bouquet, one of my favorite "white" additions is Queen Anne's Lace, which adds wonderful movement and whimsy to a bouquet.

Thank you's to Simple Color Photography

Breakfast at Bromberg's

We at Lillie's have gathered lots of fun things to include in our tablescape. Julia and Janis at Bromberg's in Mountain Brook Village have been so kind to help us. 

Birmingham brides remember, Saturday, February 18 ~ the bride dressed the most like Holly Golightly from Breakfast at Tiffany's wins a beautiful strand of pearls!

http://www.al.com/living/index.ssf/2012/02/wedding_wednesday_breakfast_at.html

Today we are working on the flowers for our tablescape and we can't wait to share photos of the finished product. Several things on our table are truly one of a kind. Stay tuned for pictures . . .

La Bella Luna Wedding

One chilly evening last week I grabbed up Mr. Kitty (my rickety kitty-cat named by the kids when they were young) and nestled deep into my green sofa to watch an old romantic flick and get myself into a "Valentine's state of mind". So there we were, just me and the cat, watching Moonstruck. In the story, Cher and Nicholas Cage fall under the irresistible sway of La Bella Luna...the beautiful moon.

So here is my Valentine's gift to you: A lovely image by photographer Greg Hawkins of bride Lora Leigh and her groom under the glorious, romantic Bella Luna

And, this clip from the movie celebrating la Bella Luna...
Enjoy!

~ happy anniversary lora leigh ~

Happy Valentine's Day from Lillie's

Pin It

"Flowers are love's truest language"

~  Park Benjamin

Trouver l'amour et la joie tout autour de vous sur Saint-Valentin et tous les autres jour.

 À vous de partir Lillie's


The bicycle is parked in front of one of our favorite Birmingham Wedding venues Avondale Villa

Beautiful wedding bouquets

Pin It

As fashion changes, so does wedding fashion. Even flowers change in popularity and style. Wedding bouquets over recent years have loosened from the tight, single-flower orbs that were popular for so long. More and more brides are asking us at Lillie's to create bouquets incorporating elements with texture, personality, and mixes of flowers that look hand-picked straight from a field or grandmother's garden. 

Pin It

I absolutely adore this Juliet rose bouquet we designed especially for wedding planner Ginny Au of Bits & Bobs, photographed by David Shirk.The shape of the Juliet bloom is perfectly cupped containing a swirl of luscious pale petals. And, if there was a rose worthy of the name Juliet, it is this one. 

 

Pin It

One of the most interesting trends we've seen is the addition of unusual botanicals such as seeds, pods, thistle (above) and succulents (below) 

Pin It

Brides will surely always love roses and stephanotis, but this is a savvy generation that has come to expect personalization and creativity and we love it!

Behind the scenes video with Engaging Celebrations & Alabama Weddings Magazine

 

Pin It

One of the fun things we do occasionally at Lillie's is collaborate with other vendors to "create" events for video or print. I guess you could say, I get to plan my own fantasy wedding celebrations. For this Behind the scenes video by Main Street Productions we teamed up with the queen of details, wedding planner Beverly Andrews of Engaging Celebrations, who kept things chugging along like a well-oiled machine.

Pin It

 (Bev contemplates calmly while I wave sharp objects...)

Pin It

The exquisite bride was a natural at the part, of course, since she had walked the aisle only months earlier with her "real life" groom. The watery blues of summer hydrangeas served as a color theme for the floral display. I love this bouquet which was constructed in stripes of blue-gray brunia and antique hydrangea alternated with stripes of white roses, spray roses and evening stock.  

But the REAL color inspiration for the shoot came from this fantastic vintage VW beetle belonging to photographer friend Jerrod Brown, who also captured the beautiful still images which appear in the 2011 issue of Alabama Weddings Magazine.

Shannon Pardo of Sweet Spot Confections created a heavenly pale blue wedding cake and these luscious treats while Andy Tolar from Design Productions lit each of the many venues scattered all over town.

Here we are at Hart and Soul Cafe in the quaint shopping district of Edgewood. I love this place. It's the kind of local coffee and gnosh joint that just makes you want to hang out all day. In fact, we at Lillie's are big fans of supporting local business. Nothing against big, box stores and chain restaurants, but for my money, give me a 'mom & pop' shop any day. It fits our Lillie's philosophy of personal service and craftsmanship.

Pin It

Our other terrific vendors included: 
The White Room

Misty Smith

Bama Balloons

Double Oak Community Church

The Historic Pumping Station

Weddings 2011: Blue thistle and a Greek Orthodox wedding

January is anniversary month for Alex Petelos Vakakes. Alex married on a beautiful sunny January day at the Holy Trinity - Holy Cross Greek Orthodox Cathedral in downtown Birmingham. Thank you Amber Ford for sharing images of the day. 

Alex carried a hand tied garden bouquet of Amelia roses and thistle with touches of seeded eucalyptus and fragrant freesia.

Alex requested slate blue thistle with Akito roses for her bridesmaids.

Pin It

a girl and her daddy . . .

~ father daughter dance ~

If you look closely at the boutonnieres the men are wearing you will notice a tie of tartan plaid in honor of Alex's Mother and Grandparents from Scotland. Of course the blue thistle was also a nod to her European heritage.

Anita of AK Brides and her team kept the wedding day running on schedule and we were happy to be on the wedding team.

~ happy anniversary Alex Petelos Vakakes ~