Friday, March 25, 2011

Theme Weddings


Little Red Ridding Hood






Cinderella




Sleeping Beauty





The Swan Princess




Snow White




I don't get asked to do a lot of theme weddings. Not because I don't like them. I think it can be hard for a bride and groom to envision what is possible within a theme. Wouldn't it be nice to incorporate your hobby or what you enjoy into one of the biggest days you have together?

Easier said than done, right? Right.

You have a point. How do you bring your husband's love of fishing into the wedding. Eat fish?

Maybe not.

Idea: why not have a boutonniere created from a fishing lure? Have your floral designer loop a simple piece of lily grass on it and done. You have just made your wedding different.

It doesn't take a whole lot to let your guests know that this wedding is "So you and (insert name here)"

It's the little things, just one or two, that can make all the difference to create a memorable moment.

These days I am seeing a lot of themes around the wedding blog world and the trends seem to follow the movies. Lately it's carnival or circus = Water For Elephants.
I have also seen Alice in Wonderland and soon to come many more fairytale characters, I'm sure.

Some theme weddings on the blogs may look over the top and not exactly attainable for those of us with a set budget, a job and lives to lead as well as planning a wedding. But as I said, it doesn't take much to make a great memory.

In 2009 I collaborated with a group of vendors who were inspired by the idea of fairytale brides. Here are some examples of how a fairytale theme can be translated into a real life wedding day.

Little Red Ridding Hood
Fall wedding. Use baskets to carry the maids and flower girl floral designs, bride wears long, color of choice cape for outside photos. Serve picnic style lunch or dinner.

Cinderella
Wear sparkly flats and eat pumpkin pie cheesecake for dessert. Use modern, simple clocks or old antique clocks in your decor.

Sleeping Beauty
Ambien party favors. Just kidding! Instead, have a signature drink created and have a sign at the bar, some sort of "100 Year Sleep Tonic", you get the idea.

Swan Princess
If feathers aren't your style, use lotus blooms (aquatic flower) on tables, one single bloom in a large, low dish of water will do the trick.

Snow White
An apple at each place setting. Brings color to the table, easy and clean and pretty. This will work for many different venues and styles of weddings. Apples grow in red, yellow or green colors.

Credits
Dolce Studios Photography | Grace Bridal Boutique | Loring Pasta Bar | The Varsity Theater

Envy Salon Spa | Hair and Makeup

Richard Anderson | Stylist

Ashley Fox Designs | Flowers

Thursday, March 10, 2011

MN Bride Magazine Best of Floral 2011 Nominee




The votes are in and Ashley Fox Designs is nominated for a MN Bride Magazine Best of Floral 2011 award!

The awards ceremony is in July. I'll keep you posted when the time comes.
See all of the nominees here.

The photos show me at age 4 and 6 years. I always loved being in the garden and putting things together.

I found this photo recently of my parents from 1976 at my uncle's wedding. (I was 13 months old at the time.) They taught me to appreciate the arts and plants. Both are very creative and talented people with pencil or paint. My Dad had me out in the garden at a young age and Mom would buy me annuals and perennials to plant even though we didn't have much $$. I am the person I am today because of what I learned from them. Aren't they pretty?!

I miss my twenty-something year old skin...

Friday, March 4, 2011

Carry This, Grow That


photo by Sarah K. Chen

I was inspired by this idea that I saw on www.ruffledblog.com recently and I wanted to share it with you. Carry the succulents in your bouquet then have your floral designer plant them into a pot the next day/week. The photo on the right shows the plants 2 months after being planted from the bouquet. I keep my succulents happy in the winter by placing them in a sunny, southwest facing window and in the summer they are happy out on the patio. Be careful to slowly introduce your succulents to the summer sun by putting them outside on the deck under a patio umbrella or other shaded area for a month or so, otherwise they risk sunburn, really!

ps-I did not create these beautiful designs seen above. I would love to do my own versions sometime!

Thursday, March 3, 2011

Aline and Kyle


This very sweet couple was married on November 20, 2010. While on a trip to Spain, Aline found the dress. She wanted to keep the European, old world theme throughout her floral and trusted me to create something sculptural and timeless. We ordered many large, single stem, red roses for the reception at the Nicollet Island Pavilion where Aline's friends and family placed single roses in empty wine bottles on each of the 30+ dinner tables. They added candles and voila'! Easy and beautiful DIY centers.



I used a few varieties of red roses, photinia leaves, black calla lilies and black pearl ornamental peppers in the bride's bouquet and the same red roses and leaves for the maids.



I love the way she accessorized with gloves and an antique pin (pin/used as a hair clip, lent to her from my collection).




photos by Kristie Anderson of KEA Photography