Flower balls and Osiana roses : A photo shoot for Alabama Weddings

Loving the outdoors as I do, a photo shoot outside is always my first choice. This was just the case when Alabama Weddings Magazine contacted me about creating a bridesmaid's luncheon for a shoot. 

A stately old oak tree provided the perfect framework for us to set our tables and hang the large, ribboned balls of green hydrangea. 

Flower balls have been so popular with brides, but most are tight and a bit contemporary looking. My idea was to loosen up the look with luscious antique hydrangeas in varied textures and shades. Even the balls are slightly irregular in size and shape. I love the effect. So soft, these flowers almost beg to be touched! 

 

Our color inspiration for the bride's luncheon was the perfect melon of the osiana rose. 

Osiana is a Lillie's favorite because, in addition to her ladylike color, she carries large blossoms of velvety petals that curl back as they open like old-fashioned garden roses.

 

  

We were grateful to have great team members on this shoot. Cantaloupe colored linens were provided by BBJ Linen and the delicately wreathed china "Rothschild" was courtesy of Bromberg's. The sweet invitation and calligraphy place cards were designed by the talented Melissa Hill of Weddings Etc. in Homewood, Alabama.
Melissa also shared the little birds nests with us.

 

The tiny script banner on the moss-filled birds nest at each bridesmaid place setting reads:"Thank-you for being my bridesmaid"

In the South, no bridesmaids luncheon is complete without a beautiful bridesmaid's charm cake. Angel's Cakes designed this one just for this shoot. When I called Janet to ask for the cake, I struggled to find  the best name for the color of the shoot. It wasn't pink, it wasn't orange...so, I told her it was the color of cantaloupe. 

When Janet arrived with her wonderful creation, she announced, "Here is your canta-loupey colored cake!" 

Imagine my excitement when the image of her beautiful cake made the cover of the Fall issue of Alabama Weddings Magazine.

Lush swags of spray roses, osiana roses, daisies, ropes of green hanging amaranthus and tiny kermit mums make these chivari chairs look fit for royalty.

The air was filled with the most delicious scent thanks to our own Alabama-grown Sand Mountain tuberoses.

Perhaps the real magic of the event was Terry Bruno's photography. By looking at these serene and breezy images, you'd never guess the mercury in Saint Clair County hit 100 degrees that afternoon! 

Behind the scenes video with Engaging Celebrations & Alabama Weddings Magazine

 

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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.

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

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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.

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Our other terrific vendors included: 
The White Room

Misty Smith

Bama Balloons

Double Oak Community Church

The Historic Pumping Station

Lillie's on the cover of Alabama Weddings

 

I hardly thought there could be a bigger thrill than seeing our Lillie's wedding shot by  Fotowerks on the cover of Alabama Weddings Magazine in 2011...

 

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but then, my mailman brings a delivery of the 2012 edition to my doorstep, and hooray, there is Lillie's again! 

 

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This was such an honor for us because the 2012 issue is the Ten Year Anniversary issue of the publication.

Many thanks to Michelle at Alabama Weddings Mag and to the oh-so talented Frank Carnaggio who shot this cover, which hit the newsstands in January.

I have to say, I'm partial to a blue cover, and apparently I'm not alone. My dear friend and publishing guru, Phyllis Hoffman of Hoffman Media told me once that blue covers are among the most popular. Certainly, we folks in the flower business know just how much blue flowers are in high demand. 

Who knows, maybe someday blue delphinium bouquets will overtake red rose bouquets at Valentine's.........Nah. 

Behind The Scenes: A Tuscan Wedding Dinner for Southern Bride Magazine

 I was kicking back after a busy holiday season with my latest guilty pleasure -- Pinterest 

(Lillie's has its very own board here) -- just searching around, and what should pop up but this photo shoot of a Tuscan themed wedding dinner...a photo shoot that I had done with Southern Bride Magazine! So, I thought I should share more of it here. 

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Oh how I wish we'd been in Tuscany, but alas, we were not. Instead I set up the shoot at an old Spanish Colonial home tucked away in an unlikely part of Birmingham. Gabrella Manor, as it is now called, had the right bone structure to give us our night in Tuscany. 

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Each element on the table shares a common theme of elegant rusticity synonymous with the Tuscan countryside. Textured linens, raffia, hand-thrown pottery, dark wood and hand-painted tiles form a backdrop for an abundance of fruits, herbs and late summer blossoms. 

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These wonderful baskets tied to black chivari chairs are filled with rosemary, tomato red rosehips, antique hydrangea, garden roses, fushcia beautyberry (or pokeberry as we call it down south) and tiny sunflower-looking mums called vyking.

 

 Here (above) is wedding planner Anita Kanellis of AK Brides who worked with me to pull the look together with wonderfully rustic place settings from Peter’s Pottery,  linens and chairs from Aztec, and beautiful invitations by The Invitation Place. 

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Diane Olexa of Olexa's Cakes baked this stunning gold wedding cake - almost too pretty to eat....almost. Bridesmaids dresses by Dalia McPhee, and of course, to set the mood, Andy Tolar of Design Productions hung strings of cafe lighting.

Natural light was provided by the Alabama sun, which refused to dim for most of the very balmy evening. I suppose this should have helped me get into character, but in my dreams Tuscany has less humidity.

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The folks at Southen Bride Magazine brought in The Foto Altelier  to shoot stills and these shots are straight from the video made by the always fun, John and Angela Deaver of Main Street Productions who documented the event on video here on Vimeo.  Enjoy - Ciao!