Mitzi reached out to me at a time when I was weaning off of the wedding circuit. It is not where my passion lies in the sense that I want to do all different types of projects and the wedding biz demands your time and attention for very long periods of time that can easily fill up your entire year. Don't get me wrong. I live for the smaller, creative, intimate ones and if you are having one of those then by all means I am your girl, but I am no longer taking on larger scale weddings - at least not in 2018. I do want to say thank you to all of the brides that have reached out to me - it truly means so much, but I feel confident in the other talented floral designers I have referred you to!
Now, back to Mizi. I could tell from her very first e-mail that she was a free spirit that felt deeply. Mitzi and her fiance Dan were planning to elope to Santa Fe with my pal Stacy Able as their photographer. Stacy and Mitzi are long time buds through volunteer work here in Indy and I thought it was such a special (and smart!) idea to take along a familiar photographer. Santa Fe is the couple's happy place and they just fell hard for the culture, environment, and colors. "Santa Fe in the spring" was the actual inspiration Mitzi asked me to pull from, as well as, her very own Pantone strip that she sent me. #dreamclient
Sharing a few of their elopement photos below courtesy of the talented
Stacy Able Photography, of course!
Mitzi and I met a few times and exchanged emails about their celebrtion ceremony back home in Indianapolis. She was literally THE most laid back bride (and soul) I have ever met. She is so appreciative and kind and it was truly a pleasure to add to her day. She ended up hiring the lovely Jillian of Frameworthy Events to execute her day. My biggest advice for brides - no matter your personality, style, etc - HIRE A PLANNER. It is imperative. Jillian has a great team under her and is a serious player in the wedding and event industry in the Indianapolis area. If you are looking for a hiccup-free event then give her a shout! This wedding was on a March weekend when Indianapolis was showered with 8"of spring snow and I had the flu (you know on top of my full-time job). Again, I could NEVER of done this without my supportive husband that loaded and unloaded our car in the snow, filled up 50 tiny vases with water, etc, etc.
Mitzi asked for seasonal (colorful!) flowers and eco-friendly options for decor. I decided to use my own personal collection of glass bottles and stoneware on the tables as bud vases so that I could have room to add other elements that would bring in the textures of Santa Fe - think cacti, pebbles, terracotta, etc. I loved the result and I think I really brought some elements of their elopement into this Midwest space.
The snow really provided a beautiful backdrop to make these colors pop!
For the bouquets and personals (bouts, corsages) I wanted to use desert inspired textures with pops of color and succulents. I really wanted it to look like she just walked outside and gathered wildflowers. Those yellow pincushion protea are really showing off!
Their smiles sure were contagious.
The below arrangement was particularly special to me. Mitzi's father passed away and she wanted a special arrangement to serve as a memorial for him. I placed this on the mantle at the altar and made sure to use Mitzi's requested favorite, sunflowers, and some more masculine textures, as well. My Dad also passed away and having just experienced my own wedding day without him physically there, I knew how important it was to create a piece that she could connect with him through. How powerful is that? Flowers have healing powers, I'm telling ya. The terracotta vase felt like a really special way to tie in the fact that I truly believe he was there with her in Indianapolis and Santa Fe.
( 1st photo is my blurry iphone photo)
Mitzi is a yoga instructor and really wanted a floral mandala. This was my first time creating one, but it was so much fun to do something creative and different.
I love that her Dad's arrangement frames his family in this photo.
Gives me chills every single time I look at it.
I got really creative with the corsages on brass cuffs and the bouts which were inspired by cacti.
I love how different they are with a mix of soft and rough textures. I like for the Mother of the Groom's corsage to tie into her son's. I feel like the Mother of the Bride gets a good amount of attention throughout the process so it always feels nice to design something special for the groom's Mom.
Like I said, Mitzi LOVES sunflowers and I had these left over. They looked so pretty just sitting in the bucket with their natural movement and I knew Mitzi would want to keep them so I decided to leave them just like that by the entrance and it totally fit their event.
A really fun element was the live photo album they asked me to create. I made a wall installation to display their polaroids from the elopement. How cool is that?! I used a long tree branch and attached it to the wall. I added fresh greens, simple flowers, and eucalyptus for that muted desert color and fragrant scent. I bought the cutest mini clothespins in the same colors as the Pantone strip Mitzi sent as inspo in the very beginning and it turned out pretty cool if you ask me.
There was a really awkward L shaped ledge at the entrance to the reception so I created a pretty distraction by spacing bud vases, cacti, and candles along the ledge.
Since Mitzi and Dan wanted some eco-friendly options and so often many of the flowers get thrown out, I suggested using some of my potted manzanita branches on half of the tables. The height gave some dimension to the room and the candles added warmth. I added a large succulent, moss, and pebbles to the base of each one and they really brought a special touch.
I used a mixed of wood rounds, pottery, and glass for the floral centerpieces. The two pieces below are both from Joanna Gaines Hearth + Hand line for Target. Let's be honest, you can't think of New Mexico without thinking of terracotta and turquoise, but I wanted to be sure to use it in a tasteful way. I love this combo!
I also used a bunch of aloe plants and the color contrast was so pretty!
Congrats to this creative couple!
Images courtesy Stable Able Photography