Forget-me-not

(Not trying to be a Debbie Downer with this post - bear with me, it gets better.)

Early in our engagement, Mr. P's grandmother passed away followed a year later by his grandfather. Finding a way to honor loved ones who are no longer with us became a priority. I suggested a photo display of portraits and weddings to Mr. P and he thought it was a lovely idea.

Mrs. Jellyfish's elegant photo table, one of my favorite examples
A few weeks ago, I had an ah-ha moment. Our photo table will have an extra layer of detail and sentimentality. (We're determined to make our guests cry...) For each grandmother that has passed, a single bloom of her favorite flower will be interspersed among the photos with a tent card explaining the significance.


My great-grandmother, Granny Greene, loved pink peonies ("panhk" with her southern accent), which grew in abundance around her Arkansas home.

Pickin' a Posey Provider

If we had to cut back on something, it'd be flowers.


Not that we don't care about flowers. We're getting married in a garden. In the summer. It's already gorgeous. Plus, don't flowers wilt and die?! They're pretty but not permanent. Spending 10-20% of our budget on a non-essential when that money could be earmarked for photography or music? Nuts. Nuts to that, I say. The problem was, I was smitten with blooms styled by some of the area's more expensive florists.

Determined to find a saner option, I polled friends, clients and a few friendly-looking strangers. One of the recommendations really stuck with me. This florist went above and beyond: hand-wiring dogwood blooms to branches when they weren't in season. The bride was so pleased with the service, quality and value... here she was two years later raving about them.

In the nights leading up to our meeting with the florist, I hunkered down with the laptop to pare down the hundreds of inspiration images. First by mood: whimsical, bold, lush, natural and wild. Then, by my favorites. Sorting this way made it easier to spot themes in flowers or colors. Mr. P leaned over several times to check on my progress. His only comment was to limit the number of photos so the florist wouldn't be scared away. (When setting up the appointment, the assistant did instruct me not to bring too many images. )

Here's a sampling of favorites.

Whimsical:

(source: 1, 2, 3, 4, & 5)

Garden of Lust

Does this ever happen to you? You see a store that you're dying to check out, but never get around to it? Well, I finally did it. While we were pre-registering, I begged to peek into the trendy nursery around the corner: Terrain @ Styer's. Styer's was/is a legendary local gardener's resource for years and was recently purchased by Urban Outfitters so the grounds, shop and cafe have a very liberal sprinkling of Anthropologie style. Which just happens to be the look we're going for on our June day.

(allium, fiddlehead fern and mikado)
Lots of design inspiration! Giant blooms of allium, moss and fern terrariums, orchids galore and mounds of succulents. Can I live here, please? Serious garden lust.