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

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.