Edwardian Inspired Bridal Shoot

Over the summer, Heather of HMN Photography contacted me about collaborating with her and Leah of The Fair and Fine on an Edwardian inspired bridal shoot.  We met over Labor Day weekend with model Justine Ciaravino, who models for the University of Michigan's student fashion publication, SHEI Magazine and local student photographers such as Dan Chern.  Grosse Pointe War Memorial was our backdrop where we worked together to create these beautiful images.  

Leah, who styled the shoot, asked me to design a bouquet based on the language of flowers and also asked for the bouquet to be in shades of green.  The majority of the flowers came from Michigan Flower Farm and you know how passionate I am about locally grown blooms.  I'm always keeping in mind and you should too when selecting flowers for everyday or a special event like a wedding that the closer that the flowers are grown, the fresher they are and the happier our planet will be because of your choice.  I went out with the Renee of Michigan Flower Farm to cut lisianthus, hydrangea, hanging amaranthus and sweet annie.  The dahlias came from my sister-in-law's garden - she loves growing them and I love cutting them.  I also put together bowls of fruit in shades of green to compliment the bridal bouquet. 

I'm so happy with the results of the shoot.  Everything came together perfectly. 

Farm Grown Dahlias

I was strolling through Eastern Market in Detroit and came across these beautiful locally grown dahlias.  My husband saw my eyes light up and he said to me, "Do you want them?" and before I could answer, he was pulling out his wallet - that guy knows me so well.   

Hydrangeas + Sweet Peas

I have a few amazing hydrangea bushes that produce these beautiful cone shaped white hydrangeas that I can cut from over and over again.  I need some help identifying them, so if you know the variety, please leave me a comment.  The hydrangeas bloom white and slowly change to a light and dark pink and I love them at every stage.  I mixed in all stages of the flowers for this arrangement.  I absouletly love the way it turned out.

Sorry for all the pics, I was having fun chasing the light with this one. 

Sunflowers

I was at one of my favorite antique shops a few weeks ago and they also happened to be selling several varieties of sunflowers that day.  The sunflowers were grown at a home right next door to the shop, so I picked up a bunch for a mere $5.  I came home and cut a few ingredients from my own yard including vines from some sweet peas, hydrangea, sedum, ammi majus and cosmos.  I combined the sunflowers with my homegrown blooms to create this happy little arrangement that included my favorite sunflower of the bunch - the fuzzy looking teddy bear sunflower.