I recently had the honor of being the florist for K&R at the Lyman Estate in Waltham, MA. This was my first estate wedding and I immediately fell in love. For starters, it is nestled in my hometown, Waltham, MA and second, the architecture and grounds speak for itself (if you don't believe me, Little Women was filmed here!). 

If architecture is important to you, it is a National Historic Landmark and one of the finest U.S. examples of a country estate following 18th century English naturalistic design. It was built in 1793 commissioned by Theodore Lyman to design and build a federal style house for his family.

​Even if you don't care that much about architecture, anyone can appreciate the detailing and style of the staircase and Palladian window (bottom right image) as well as the library (bottom left image). 

If you are getting married in the Summer, you can really benefit from the natural beauty at the Lyman Estate. The Peach Wall Garden is this 400ft wall that separates the formal garden from the woods outside the property and makes for an awesome backdrop! 

Something that makes the Lyman Estate so fun are the greenhouses! I loved the photos here and how it adds something different and special to your typical wedding venue.

K&R wanted flowers that were light, airy, white, cream white a pop of peach and toffee. Cannot describe how much I love K's bouquet. I used Juliet Garden Rose, Icelandic Poppy, Lisianthus, and Butterfly Ranunculus as the main features of her bouquet. 

K&R wanted a combination of different centerpieces using a traditional compote vase as well as bud vases. I've noticed this trend becoming more popular and it's a great way to be more cost effective and had variation while keeping things cohesive. 

Happy wedding day to the beautiful K&R! 

Vendors:

Flowers: Grace Flora Studio
Venue: Lyman Estate
Photographer: Nicole Joy Fandel Photography

I had the honor of designing flowers at The Groton Inn in Groton, MA. For me, it was a hidden gem with 3 top qualities a wedding venue should possess - historic, charming, and intimate. 

Once "America's oldest inn," the Groton Inn was destroyed by a fire in 2011 and only reopened in 2018. It's quite hard to believe that has happened, considering the way they still kept the historic charm, have maintained its world-class amenities and incredible customer service.

The outdoor fireplace in the courtyard was such a unique and captivating backdrop. I love how it was part of the exterior wall of the Inn and provided such a great contrast to the white wall. It fit Kayla and David's theme of "Summer meets Fall" quite perfectly with the color palette: mauve, gold, deep purple and peach tones. 

Let's talk about the bridal bouquet. The colors, textures and deep richness of the privett berry came so naturally and blended so easily -- and it wasn't all whites and creams. The pop of the golden ranunculus tied really well with the fireplace. Using mauve in such an elegant, romantic, soft arrangement was such a joy. I would make this bouquet over and over if I could!   

I love the charming detailing of this Inn to make it really feel like a home. The porch helped bring that intimate, romantic feeling to life and was a great spot for first looks!  

All I can say is cue Taylor Swift's Getaway Car.

The reception was clean, bright, elegant and made you feel at home. Perfect for any wedding day! 

Congratulations to the beautiful Kayla and David! 

Stephanie and Roderick had a vision for their wedding - Boho chic meets Crazy Rich Asians in the most perfect venue, Roger Williams Park Botanical Center in Providence, RI (if you've seen the movie, you will get why!). 

The inspiration for a neutral color palette without using all white, came down to combining fresh and dried flowers with zero greenery.
My recommendation on how to add pops of color to a neutral color palette: use muted pink or dusty rose, toffee or terracotta, and light sandy colors against your whites and creams.  

Without overkilling "boho," we used a healthy, moderate amount of dried pampas grass, dried sun palm, dried bunny tail with some of my favorites - quicksand roses, toffee roses, cremons, and white strawflower. 

If you can believe it, this arch was built by the bride's father and designed exactly to my requests so that the flowers could be secured and placed exactly where I want them. Couples ... this is how you use your close resources! 

Inside the greenhouse was where the reception took place. Let me tell you, the tropical flowers, ivy and beautiful greenery that surrounded the place made everything truly magical. 

We got to repurpose the ceremony arch as the backdrop for the sweetheart table and it was perfect! 

Congratulations to Stephanie and Roderick for bringing their vision, entrusting me, and ending up with an incredible and beautiful wedding I will never forget. 

Vendors:

Flowers: Grace Flora Studio
Venue: Roger Williams Park Botanical Center
Catering: Pranzi Catering
Photographer: Indigo & Ivory
Videographer: Earth + Sun Co
Entertainment: MadLove LLC

Danielle and Jason wanted an intimate, backyard wedding with the theme, "simple, but elevated." 

We focused on a bright, vibrant color palette with a sophisticated, clean look to take this wedding to the next level. 

​Here's how we did it. 

When I first stepped foot at Misselwood Events at Endicott College, I knew this was going to my favorite Boston venue and I wasn't even the one getting married! 

To me, it was the best of both worlds - the ocean and historical architecture. 

Allow me to take you through a little walk through of Melissa and Mark's dream wedding. ​

The Misselwood estate is the perfect backdrop for photos, including a balcony (Aladdin vibes anyone?), a gorgeous library with classic black and white checkered tiles (Beauty and the Beast!), and a sunroom filled with ceiling to floor windows. It's definitely got the Disney magical touch. 

Talk about plenty of photo ops just around this charming estate! 

It seems like one of the popular wedding and décor trends for 2021 and 2022 is boho chic. Typically, boho chic describes an earthy, ethereal, effortless vibe that incorporates dried flowers. It often involves a neutral color palette with accents of terracotta, burnt orange, blush, peach, or darker tones. 

While this is becoming super popular, it is also pricy because dried flowers typically cost more than fresh flowers.

How do you create a boho chic look without breaking the bank? 
The key to a budget-friendly, boho chic look, is curating the perfect balance of dried and fresh flowers that has variation in shape, texture, and dimension. You do not have to get loads of pampas grass (which is expensive) to make your arrangement look full. Using something like dried sun palms, which has a large width and is less expensive than the large pampas grass can help you cut costs. Nailing down your focal flower is also important. This is the flower your eye is first drawn to. I like my focal flower to either have an accent color and/or be largest and most unique flower. 

To create this arrangement, I focused on an earthy and elegant aesthetic, with a pop of terracotta as my accent color. 

Focal Flower
I was super excited to use toffee roses as the star of this arrangement. Especially with a neutral color palette, your eye is immediately drawn to the toffee rose. Quite literally, the color is a toffee, caramel, terracotta color which pairs really well with dried flowers. 

Secondary Flowers
For a soft, romantic touch, I used quicksand roses, white ranunculus, and white freesia. For texture, I used white astilbe, chocolate queen anne's lace, dried sun palm, and dried bunny tail. For height, I used white snapdragon.

​Foliage 
Dusty miller was a perfect compliment to this arrangement. Its velvet texture and silver blue/green color was a great way to tie in everything! 

To add to this compote vase arrangement, you can pair it with an assortment of bud vases filled with a dried and fresh flower. 

You're getting married in the Summer! Congrats! You should feel like this couple getting swooped up in the air for one of the biggest moments of your lives! 

If you're thinking this carefree feeling is very idealistic, trust me, I have been there. We planned an outdoor wedding in July and basically did everything ourselves including booking the venue, catering, renting a tent, tables, chairs, and decorating. My flowers didn't last past the ceremony either :( Much was learned.

​While it can be nerve racking to plan, some careful thought around your location and flowers can make a world of a difference for a stress-free, truly enjoyable experience! 

Spring in Boston (and Ontario when I used to live there) is probably my favorite time of year. It's actually the transition into Spring that excites me the most. Coming out of the long, cold months of hibernation and barren trees really makes you appreciate the first sign of tiny buds. Talk about slowing down and appreciating the moment, right?! 

If you're going for a bold, rich, outdoor aesthetic, think emerald green, ruby red, plum, burgundy and royal blue. Aka in food colors, figs, cherries, blueberries, raspberries, grapes, and plums. It's passionate, it's deep, and it works. 
After this styled shoot, I seriously recommend everyone consider a jewel tone palette especially with a woodland, outdoor venue. Let's me tell you why and remind you of the "why" for getting married!