There were so many details of our wedding that made my heart skip a beat, but when I look back at photos from the day, two planning details continue to take my breath away: my dress and the flowers. I already filled you in on the details of my dress in our first Wedding Wednesday segment. This post is all about the flowers and event design.
Within a few months of our engagement, Rob and I had our church lined up and were moving forward with our tent and furniture rentals. We knew we wanted a vintage theme and were making headway. Left to our own devices, the details of the day would not have been as exquisite. Luckily, I scheduled a consultation with Deborah from Fireweed Designs. I already had an existing connection with Deborah. She’s a parent from my school and she politely approached me offering to provide some assistance with my floral design if I was in need. I was happy to have some guidance, so my wedding planner and I met with Deborah in her very lovely home.
Our meeting began like so many others with wedding vendors. Deborah asked several questions to help her visualize the day and she took notes while we spoke.
Deborah: Wedding date?
Me: June 12, 2015.
Deborah: Ceremony location?
Me: St. Peter Church
Deborah: Reception location?
Me: Outdoors at my parents house. We are renting a tent.
Deborah: Do you have a theme picked out?
Me: Yes, we want to have a vintage wedding.
Deborah: Have you found a dress?
Me: YES! Want to see a photo?
(We then spent a few minutes oooh-ing and ahhh-ing over the photo I had saved on my phone)
Deborah: What are your bridesmaids wearing?
Me: Long chiffon dresses in different shades of blue and gray.
Deborah: Are you having a cake?
At this point, I smiled, looked at Deborah and told her one of my biggest wedding secrets. Definitely not a cake, but we are considering hiring a vintage ice cream truck to serve dessert. I asked Deborah if she was familiar with Hello Ice Cream. She said no, so I grabbed my phone again and pulled up the website along with that adorable photo of Ingrid (the ice cream truck). Deborah looked right at me and said, “You have to get that for your wedding!” I nodded and said I know, but we had to wait and see if there was room in the budget.
From there, the conversation continued with the usual array of questions. When she asked about dinner, I eagerly pulled out a sample bamboo plate that Rob and I had experimented with. Again, Deborah sighed and told us how much she loved it.
We went through a few more questions. After Deborah had a sense of what I was envisioning for my wedding day, we started talking about flowers. I told her that I was in love with the idea of peonies, roses, dusty miller and anemones (those gorgeous white poppie-like flowers with the black centers.) Deborah said she would do some calculations and be in touch with a proposal soon. I took in one more envious look at her modest but completely unique house, hugged her goodbye and left.
My wedding planner and I met with Deborah on a Friday night in December. The first night of my Christmas break from school, as a matter of fact. Two nights later I received an email from Deborah with a very passionate and detailed “vision” of everything she thought our wedding could be. At the time, I was considering adding several burlap accents to the reception and Deborah gently steered me in a different direction, explaining that fabric and simple linens would be much more classic and elegant. Her email outlined many other details that she pictured for our reception (including an introduction to Rusted Rose Rentals for vintage china, which evolved into so much more than just that.)
I was already convinced that Deborah would be a perfect fit as our floral designer but seven words in her email had me ready to trust her with every single detail:
Anthropologie meets Ralph Lauren. Timeless and current.
(What could possibly be more perfect than that?)
After months of planning and preparation, our wedding day finally arrived.
While I was busy getting ready with my bridesmaids, my wedding planner Kate was overseeing all of the details to help the day run smoothly and Deborah worked with her small band of floral assistants to create an experience in the tent that was completely magical.
The tabletop setting were exquisite and so much of it was because of the inspired email she sent one late Sunday evening. Every detail from the mercury glass candles to the rose goblets and vintage china to the beautiful floral fabric that I scoured the greater Detroit area trying was all a result of her beautiful vision. She even tracked down the most uniquely beautiful glass bottles to adorn our reception tabletops. These beautiful bottles each contained a few stems and doubled as a wedding favor so our guests could bring a little magic from our wedding home with them.
We may not have served cake at the wedding, but Rob and I had a small cake made for us to cut at the reception. Deborah adorned the cake with a few blush peonies in full bloom.
Deborah was right. The floral fabric was so much more elegant than the burlap I was originally envisioning for our wedding day.
Reception details were just the tip of Deborah’s creative iceberg.
The bouquets at my wedding were some of the most elegant I have ever laid eyes on.
My own bouquet was unbelievably lush and full. It was breathtaking.
The bridesmaids all carried smaller versions of my bridal bouquet. They were equally gorgeous.
And then there were the flower girl bouquets.
As the wedding day approached, I just needed the girls to carry something. I had no idea how unbelievably sweet these mini-bouquets would be. The ribbons! The arrangements were just as precious as the three little girls carrying them down the aisle.
As if all of that was not enough, Deborah successfully convinced me to splurge a little on the vintage ice cream truck. I am so glad she did!
On top of everything else, I am honored to now call Deborah my friend. She helped me execute the wedding of my dreams and was genuinely excited for me to enter into the next phase of my life. It’s worth noting that Deborah did not sponsor this post in any way. She’s just wonderful and I had to share her creative genius with the world. I should have just titled this post, “A Love Letter to My Floral Designer”.
Deborah, thank you so much for everything! The wedding was unbelievably gorgeous and I am so thankful for the email you sent my way at 10:52pm so many Sundays ago.
Floral Design: Fireweed Designs
Photography: BTW Photography
See More Details from Our Vintage Wedding
Our vintage-theme wedding included so many personal and unique details. Stop by our wedding blog post to see more photos from our wedding day. Each week, we share an in-depth look at a special project or unique vendor that we used. Check out the complete list of Wedding Wednesday blog posts.
More Moments from Our Wedding
Want to see how we made our dream wedding a reality? Be sure to check out the posts below. They are filled with our happiest memories from our big day.
Have you read anything from A Practical Wedding? I got married a year and a half ago and I still read their articles. This one made me think of you. http://apracticalwedding.com/2013/07/timeless-weddings/
That was SUCH a great blog post! I had never heard of A Practical Wedding, but now I think I’m hooked even though I’m not a bride anymore!