Real Wedding: Stefanie and Gregor

Tuesday, June 23, 2009

This is the lovely Stefanie and Gregor as photographed by Jennifer Kirk Photography from Vancouver. Stefanie and Gregor were married May 16, 2009 at the fabulous Laurel Point Inn.The perfect venue to host your wedding and reception in one place. To see more of the floral details for this wedding please view my sneak peek of this wedding in my blog.Their floral details were fresh, beautiful and springlike !
A lovely shot.
The beautiful girls.

The handsome boys.
What exactly is going on here?!! They look like their having fun.

The cake was made and decorated by the pastry chef at the Laurel Point.

The guest book table. View my sneak peek to get a close up of those candlesticks.
The centerpieces in the venue.

Congratulations to Stefanie and Gregor! Wishing them both much joy and happiness. Also, a big thank-you to Jennifer Kirk Photography for sharing her photos with us.

Labels: Jennifer Kirk Photography, Laurel Point Inn, real weddings, Spring Weddings 2009, wedding photography

posted by Bella Fiore @ 8:56 PM

Sneak Peek: Villa Marco Pollo Floral Details

Sunday, June 21, 2009

I have found a new wedding venue to love. It is called the Villa Marco Polo Inn. It is a lovely five star bed and breakfast with beautiful Italianate gardens and interior decor full of Persian and antique styling; from the moment I first saw it I was in love. It felt like home. This venue is perfect for an intimate garden wedding.I discovered this venue thanks to my lovely bride and groom who held their wedding there this Saturday. This is just a sneak peek of some of the floral details while we wait for the professional photos.
I made this turquoise bead curtain to delineate the entrance to the gardens for the guests as they arrived. I did not want to spend too much of the bride's budget on the entrance but still wanted to have something elegant and tasteful. I think this fit the bill!
I attached these lovely chartreuse orchids just to add another pop of color.
And tied back the curtain with turquoise satin ribbon. The bride's colors as you can guess were chartreuse, white, turquoise and touches of silver.
The bride's bouquet full of roses, berries and two different kinds of orchids.

A close up shot of the flowers.
The bride wanted a floppy satin bow and a bit of bling on the wrap.
One of the boutonnieres. I made four different kinds.
The corsages.
The venue had this sweet little tree that I couldn't let go naked; so I dressed it up with turquoise and chartreuse satin ribbon. I also made these custom crystals to tie onto the ribbon and to catch a bit of light. I think the tree was happy to be dressed for the occasion!
The centerpieces were made in tall fluted glass vases that had submerged orchids and chartreuse wire.
Spilling forth from the top were white orchids and hydrangea. So elegant.
This one with it's mate were waiting for the banquet table to get dressed.
A close up of the wire detailing.

The sweetheart table had this lovely centerpiece.
Three types of orchids were used in this wedding.
Some more crystals attached to the ceremony gazebo.
The gazebo looked so pretty all dressed up.
The altar piece was placed on a nice white Italianate pillar.It was made in a tall silver fluted vase.
Here is the total effect. My pictures do not do it justice. Click on the pictures to enlarge the images.



The garden has this beautiful fountain in the middle and I was chomping at the bit to do a fantastic floral feature in it, but one thing a florist has to do, is stay in budget! Sigh. Maybe next time.

The lovely grounds.
Thanks to my son for taking all the garden and building shots for me while Mom worked he photographed. My daughter is the one who actually helped me by passing me flowers, scissors and ribbon when I needed it. We worked like a fine tuned machine. I'm a lucky Mom.
My son had a fascination with all the garden statues. Could it be because they were women in various states of undress, or because they were simply beautiful?
I wish I could be a lady lounging around in this garden; the problem is, I am not very ladylike, but I could pretend!
Best wishes to my latest newlyweds Stacey and Chris! I can't wait too see the photos !

Labels: B.C., bed and breakfast in Victoria, floral details for weddings, floral sneak peek, garden weddings, orchids, Villa Marco Polo Inn

posted by Bella Fiore @ 10:28 PM

Cake Inspiration

Thursday, June 18, 2009

I was wondering if Bride's thought about their wedding cake as an extension of their style? Quite often when I talk to brides they have not thought about their wedding cake in very much detail. When I think of the wedding ceremony and focal areas that absolutely need substantial floral pieces I always think of the front altar or where the ceremony is taking place. I absolutely cringe inside when a bride says she is forgoing altar flowers. Sorry, but I do. I almost always try to convince them otherwise. Sometimes they listen, sometimes they do not. The reason why altar flowers are so important is that it frames the ceremony. It creates the focal point for all the guests at the wedding to look at while they are seated. Also, and most importantly it frames the wedding ceremony photographs. I understand there is a recession going on and that not all brides have big wedding budgets; but I would even go so far as to suggest cutting the flowers from somewhere else to avoid forgoing altar pieces. The good thing about altar pieces is that they can be reused at your wedding reception in so many ways. But this post is not about altar flowers; it's about wedding cakes!
I view the wedding cake like I do the altar flowers. Quite often it is one of the first places your guests look after they have entered the reception site and oohed and awed over the centerpieces and decor. Not to mention the huge photo opportunity the cake cutting ceremony actually is. I also like cupcakes. I like anything that extends the bridal couple's personality. An artful cake is one way to extend your style no matter what that style may be.
These fabulous cakes were made by Allyson Meredith Cakes from Toronto. A very fine cake artist in my estimation! I think they illustrate the very many different styles and ways you can express your personality at your reception and like altar flowers should not be brushed off as dispensable.
A little pink and green whimsy.
Perfect for an orchard, vineyard or fall wedding. Understated elegance.
Patterns on your cake can mirror a pattern else where in your wedding....linens,lace, dress or china.
Look at the gold damask pattern on this one. Ooh la la!
Did you know I love cherry blossoms but they make me sneeze!
So many different styles of cakes, so many different kinds of brides. Please have a look at all the different styles of cakes on Allyson Meredith's site you are sure to be inspired to think about cakes in a different way.
Your wedding ceremony may only last half an hour and your cake cutting ceremony 10 minutes but the memories you will have through the photographs will last forever. Make your memories beautiful and rethink cutting those altar flowers from your budget! Oh yeah, this post is supposed to be about wedding cakes......

Labels: Allyson Meredith Cakes, altar flowers.wedding flowers, cake inspiration, wedding cakes

posted by Bella Fiore @ 12:39 AM

I Love Fall Weddings

Monday, June 15, 2009

Time to get you thinking about Fall weddings. I love Autumn weddings. I love how it is still sunny but the air has a crisp,cool feel to it.I love how my apple trees bare so much fruit I have to knock on all my neighbor's doors begging them to take some. We eat a lot of apple crisp in the fall and my daughter makes apple sauce in old spaghetti sauce jars with handmade labels. The trees are dressed in their coats of many colors and every flower shop has bunches and bunches of dahlia. I always search for the largest showiest bloom to display. My birthday falls in Autumn and I always manage to draw out the celebrations for at least two weeks; all though, I always try to push it for a month. No one buys into it though. Sigh.Maybe this year!
I love the colors available to us in Autumn. The oranges, golds and burgundies. Just yummy.
Kim Kalyn Photography took the professional shots and yours truly took the floral detail shots.
For this wedding that took place last fall I made altar pieces in giant pumpkins. They were so heavy! There is nothing I love more than pumpkin patches! That's not entirely true. I love my kids, lavender fields,wildflower meadows, weddings, babies of all kinds, dancing barefoot, good music and certain kinds of cheesecake! But I do love pumpkin patches a lot! This is not a personal ad because I have not mentioned long walks on the beach!!!
Another thing I love about Autumn is the color hydrangea turns and all the different grasses and cat tails that become available to floral designers.
I love those almost black dahlia and black baccarra roses. So rich and deep.
Here's a box of all those apples I was talking about. Look at the fabulous physallis (Chinese lanterns) in this bouquet....another item I love that comes available in fall. If you are planning a fall wedding, book a complimentary consultation with us soon. We still have a few dates available for September and October but they are going, going, gone! If you book with us you'll probably get a wedding present of some gift wrapped apples! Please. Please take them.I'll even give you my top secret apple crisp recipe to impress your groom with! I love Fall weddings!

Labels: autumn weddings, fall flowers, Fall weddings, Floral Design

posted by Bella Fiore @ 11:39 PM