Let Your Roots Go Down Deep

Katie and Michael are a couple who love life. each other and their vast network of equally creative family and friends. Unconventional and tenderly in love, they were able to find ways to make their wedding reflect who they are and all they believe. It was my honor to help them fulfill their dream for a meaningful, yet outside-the -box wedding day.

Katie's colors were purple and black. Her dress (Nordstrom) was perfect: white and ivory organza wrapped across the bodice, falling into a shredded organza skirt, divided by a black satin ribbon tied at the waist. For her outdoor wedding photos she wore a fitted black velvet jacket with ruffles at the neck, lovingly made by her mom.

Her flowers were Picasso calla lilies, woven together with black twigs and feathers and tied with black satin. She wore a huge ivory organdy bloom in her hair, black lace-up boots on her feet and black lace tights.

Her bridesmaids were given the opportunity to select any black dress they liked and Katie personalized their looks with different lace stocking designs and hand-made purple jewelry and hair flowers. Each maid chose her own favorite purple shoes. I created variagated purple and white carnation pommander bouquets for them--very simple designs because there was so much detail in their outfits!

Mike wore a suit from H&M and his guys selected their own charcoal vest and pants with black shirts and plaid ties. The guys liked this less formal and less expensive option rather than renting tuxes or buying suits.

Ephesians 3 is a perfect biblical passage on love and not as commonly heard as 1 Corinthinans 13: "I pray that you, being rooted and grounded in love...may grasp how wide and long, high and deep is the love of Christ...and to know this love that surpasses knowledge." Mike and Katie chose this Bible passage as the theme for their wedding. Katie created a pen-and-ink logo of a bare tree, its roots intertwined with a heart. This design was printed behind the vellum on the invitations and on the cover of the wedding program....then Katie took it a step further and painted it on canvas.


Guests were encouraged to sign the painting rather than having a conventional guestbook to sign.

These wonderful images were captured by Spencer Combs, a friend of the bride and groom, but no less than "Top of the Tiara" photographer in Minnesota Bride magazine last year. More of his images to come as I show you how we brought together the theme of the wedding in the altar decorations and after-party.

Who says winter weddings aren't hot! This one broke the ice!

Love, Liane

Fire and Ice Winter Wedding

It is about time to update my blog, since I have not done an entry since last summer! Life is wonderful but busy. Susanna (my new baby granddaughter) occupies my Tuesdays and while she is napping, I plan to post to my blog. We will see if that lasts more than a month or two!

January 21st was the coldest day so far this winter. "Chilly" even for Minnesotans at 20 below windchill. My bride was one of the most organized planners I've encountered and she couldn't have asked for a more perfect day to celebrate a winter wedding! Jill and Scott were married at St. Elizabeth Seaton in Hastings and celebrated at Hasting Country Club.

Our theme was "fire and ice" and the colors Jill chose were elegant and classic: pewter grey and white with light blue and sparkling silvery accents.

Her gown was a fitted A-line white silk with a long train and rhinestone embroidered embellishments at the waist. I fashioned her bouquet to compliment the sparkle of her dress and bring in the color of her bridesmaids' gowns and the ties of the groomsmen:

Jill's flowers were light blue hydrangeas (for color), white double freesia (for fragrance), white roses and tulips, white miniature calla lilies--all accented with a liberal "dusting" of dusty miller, a velvety grey foliage. You can see a bit of sparkle from the rhinestone sprays and silvery skeleton leaves I added. Her bouquet was finished with braided double faced satin and a vintage bow-shaped rhinestone pin.

The bridesmaids loved their bouquets, which were much like Jill's, but with more blue and a wonderful springtime flower that reminds me of snow on a branch: genestra.


The groom's boutonierre traditionally is a flower from the bridal bouquet, and I like that tradition. Scott wore a miniature calla lily to match Jill and a miniature dendrobium orchid to match his guys. I curled wire to mimic fiddleheads so that he would have a masculine version of the "bling" in Jill's bouquet.

One of my favorite things about this wedding (besides the sweet couple I was working with) was the wonderful contemporary setting of St. Elizabeth Church. It inspired something new I had not done before--aisle markers made from bare white branches underlit with pin-lights. They were dramatic!

Bonus: they could be safely moved to the reception (no flowers to freeze!) and used again as centerpieces. Other centerpieces were equally fun: big bowls of ice with floating candles and flowers, "ice cube" vases and votives with white flowers and silver leaves, silver orbs and rented "ice trees" from Linen Effects (lineneffects.com) with hanging candles. With the black linens on the tables, the lighting effect of the decor was simply magical!

I will have to wait until I get pictures from my favorite photographer, Noelle at Fishtale Photography because she has the expertise (unlike me) to show off a the effect in a dark room.

Last, I engaged Trevor at Metro Ice Sculptures to create a grand entrance for the guests arriving at the club. He created 8 10x10 pillars of ice, underlit with blue and arranged on either side of the entryway. I sprinkled some fresh snow around the base of these simple shapes and voila! guests were so impressed, they came out into the sub-zero cold to take pictures.

Love, love, love my job!!

Liane

Hyacinth Events