Brittany & Xylon’s Hollywood Garden Wedding

Brittany and Xylon’s vision for a Hollywood garden wedding filled with vibrant flowers, love, laughter, family and friends came to life this past summer. They found their perfect venue at Philadelphia’s historic Morris Arboretum. Everything about the day was perfect. From the bridesmaids’ sparkly dresses to the Art Deco Hollywood touches. And can we talk about the bride and groom! The day and all the dreamy details was photographed by the talented Lora Reehling.

Join me for a garden walk through their special day.

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Katherine & Shaine’s Sun Filled Wedding

Although the day started with an epic downpour, the rest of Katherine and Shaine’s wedding day was dappled with glorious pops of autumn sunshine.

Their wedding was held at the historic 1740 Duportail House in Chesterbrook, Pennsylvania. And photos are by the brilliant Lauren Driscoll. I hope you enjoy the images of their autumn wedding as much my team and I had pulling it all together.

Wondering what my team and I do to pass the time while waiting to break down an event? Check out the video at the end of the gallery. This is how we ‘break it down’. Oy vey.

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Creative & Budget Friendly Wedding Ideas

Planning a wedding on a budget can present challenges but with some creativity, time spent checking out YouTube ‘how-to’ videos, you can save a tremendous amount of money and achieve the perfect affair. Or you can hire me and I’ll do it all. 😎

However, to cut costs of your wedding without sacrificing style, here are some of my creative ideas worth trying.

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  Vintage flea market frame with chalkboard seating chart.

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  Search YouTube for easy DIY lettering projects!

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  Birch bark table numbers and signage.

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  Vintage painted furniture as wedding altars.

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  Fabric pennant garlands.

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  Make your own cake topper with craft store finds! PS-I made the little paper mache birdies. How to video coming soon.

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  Give a tree, plant a tree favors. Greenworld Project.

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  Create a custom rubber stamp on Zazzle!

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  Grab a leaf, glue two rocks together and voila!

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  Using your home printer, create your own programs and signage.

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  Place your drink list inside an open book.

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  Globe card drop.

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  Painted globe guest book.

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  For outdoor parties, cut some wine bottles and use them as lanterns.

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  Vintage bottles filled with flowers and greenery.

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  Centerpieces of plant nursery potted plants wrapped in burlap and twine.

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  Table numbers using glass frames with pressed botanicals.

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  Craft store wood rounds painted and hand lettered make the perfect seating chart.

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  Vintage flannel glued to paper leaf cutouts as guest favors.

Emily & Dave’s Mountain Resort Wedding

This gallery contains 6 photos.

I’m so blessed to have the opportunity to work with creative clients and Emily and Dave were certainly no exception. Last October, I worked with this beautiful couple to bring their vision of an elegant autumn mountain resort wedding to … Continue reading →

Melissa & Dave’s Wedding

This gallery contains 26 photos.

What a privilege it was to plan and style Melissa and Dave’s woodland themed wedding at the Rodale Institute farm. For months I was fully immersed in planning every detail along with designing the invitation, styling the entire event along … Continue reading →

Repurposed Pantry Jars As Party Favors

Hello crafters! A while back I posted a project titled, Repurposed Jars for the Holidays. It was a big hit on my blog so I decided to repurpose MORE jars but this time as tiny terrariums. I think they’d be awesome as wedding favors!

Here’s what you’ll need:

• Jars from your pantry
• Craft store acrylic paint
• Tiny succulents
• Potting soil
• Small pebbles
• 18 gauge aluminum wire
• Card stock paper
• Tiny spoon or twig
• Wire cutter
• Pencil

With the exception of the jars, succulents and potting soil, you can pick up all project ingredients from your craft store. The succulents and potting soil can be purchased at your local plant nursery.

Here’s how you do it:

1. Empty, clean and remove label from the jar.
2. Paint jar lid your favorite color.
3. Add about 1/2 inch of soil to the bottom of the jar.
4. Remove the succulent from the store container and remove any excess soil that is around the root system. Don’t worry about hurting these little guys, they’re super resilient.
5. Insert the succulent into jar and secure the roots of the succulent in the soil using a small spoon or twig.
6. Add a layer of pebbles.
7. Cut a section of wire to wrap and twist around the neck of the jar.
8. Using a pencil, curl the other end of the wire around the pencil to create a coil – this will hold the name tag.
9. Create a name tag with card stock paper, slip it in the coiled end of the wire and your done!

This project is super easy and inexpensive to make. And best of all, it makes a super and unique gift. Oh, and caring for these little lovelies is a breeze:

Check every couple of days to see if your terrarium needs water. If it is dry add a tiny bit of water.

If your terrarium is closed, take off the top every couple of days to air it out. If you see lots of condensation or have added too much water, leave the top off until it has had a chance to dry out.

Pull off any leaves that show signs of yellowing or damage and prune plants if they grow too large.

Don’t fertilize your terrarium because you don’t want to encourage growth.

Happy crafting!

 

 

Pretty Tea Cup Favors

Happy Sunday! If you’re looking for a unique favor for your next event, why not repurpose some orphaned tea cups. There are a gazillion uses for these lovelies but I think they make the perfect vessels for tiny plants and look so charming. They’re perfect for give-aways at weddings or events!

You’ll need:

• Tea cups – your cupboard, flea markets and antique stores are perfect sources for these lovelies
• Tiny plants like ferns, succulents, violets, and orchids – the selections are endless
• Moss – any craft store will carry this item
• Paper, twigs, and all-purpose glue for a place card pennant (optional of course) – again, craft stores have tons of paper options and your back yard can most likely offer up some twigs

Here’s how ya do it:

1. Simply repot the plant of choice directly into the cup. It’s important to have plenty of soil around the root system of the plant.
2. To conceal the dirt, add moss around the base of the plant.
3. You’re done! OR you can add hand-made place cards like I did. Cut paper to the desired size and shape, write your guest’s name on the card then glue it to a tiny twig. Poke it into the cup and you’re done!

Happy crafting!

 

Pink…Feminine, Soft, Sweet

Last August I had the honor and privilege to design and create the bridal party bouquets for the sweetest of brides. For Tina and Miguel’s wedding, Tina requested pink for her bridal party. For me the hardest part of her request was focusing on the perfect combination of flowers and since there are a gazillion to choose from, I needed to create the perfect recipe for a perfect pink bouquet. Anyone who knows me knows well that I’m a gigantic mess before any wedding or event. This wedding was no exception and ultimately, Tina loved the bouquets….phew!

Tied with pink fabric remnants from the bridesmaid dresses, Tina’s bouquet recipe included:

Pink Garden Roses
Dusty Miller
Calla Lily
Pink Dalia
Deep Pink Cockscomb

Tina and Miguel you are beautiful and thank you Candid Moments Photography for providing these stunning images of their special day.

Styling & Planning a Wedding

Creativity is a drug I cannot live without. — Cecile B. DeMille

Last fall, I shared a blog post about my dear friends wedding. As with any event, I was honored to have the opportunity to help plan and style Jessica and Ryan’s special day. Since there are so many moving parts to wedding celebrations, planning can sometimes seem challenging but with great resources, creativity, fantastic and dedicated helpers (who I love and adore), and many, many to-do lists, events like this all come together.

Jess & Ryan recently shared ALL of their wedding photos with me and I pulled a select few to share with you. The photographer, Farid Widjaya, brilliantly captured every magical moment. Enjoy!

Jessica’s bouquet, sunflowers, thistle, craspidia, spray roses, scabiosa pods, white hypericum, silver brunia, and ferns

Birch slabs painted with chalkboard paint.

Sweet little Cora.

We’re ready for our closeup Mr. DeMille.

Vintage cobalt blue bottles under a glass cloche. These were the table centerpieces.