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Exotic Style in Magentas and Oranges

Photos from one of our most lovely and exotic styled weddings with photography by Li Ward of Fat Orange Cat Studio. Our clients Jana and Brian were a dream to work with. They had a strong sense of the style and the ‘feel’ that they wanted for their event but happy to hand the design over to us to play and work with.

Bride's Bouquet. Photo by Li Ward of Fat Orange Cat Studio.

Orchids were the florals for the day. We savor, absolutely savor these kind of weddings where we get order boxes of special by-the-individual-bloom orchid all packed like a gorgeous surprise, each one different from the next and ready to be crafted into a bouquet like the one we did above for Jana.

Photo by Li Ward of Fat Orange Cat Studio.

Bride with her bouquet. Photo by Li Ward of Fat Orange Cat Studio.

Florals for the venue also incorporated orchids with tall branches strung with invisible wire and orchids knotted onto the length of thread. Don’t try this at home kids!

Reception Decor. Photo by Li Ward of Fat Orange Cat Studio.

Centerpiece Design. Photo by Li Ward of Fat Orange Cat Studio.

The balance of the table arrangements were small to medium scaled cubes filled with dahlias and orchids:

Low Centerpiece Design. Photo by Li Ward of Fat Orange Cat Studio.

Photo by Li Ward of Fat Orange Cat Studio.

Photo by Li Ward of Fat Orange Cat Studio.

xo – Petalena

Purple and White at the Taj

Photos of one of our most fun brides of 2011 and her beautiful wedding at the Taj Boston! Clark + Walker did a fantastic job artistically documenting the entire day with photography and film and our color palette of purple and white for the Taj’s formal and lovely spaces.

Bride's Bouquet. Photo by Clark + Walker.

Bride with her bouquet. Photo by Clark + Walker.

Allison was such a fun client. She knew definitely what she wanted and had the best sense of fun and humor about the crazy wonderful experience of getting married!

Bridesmaid Bouquet. Photo by Clark + Walker.

The bridesmaid bouquet was similar to the bride’s but with a few more tonal purple and darker touches in the mix brought in with Vanda orchids and lavender sweet peas.

The B &G! Photo by Clark + Walker.

Our centerpiece design for the rooftop space of the hotel was high elegance with long arching stems of white phalenopsis orchids  surrounded by footed mercury glass candleholder procured by the bride.

Centerpiece Design. Photo by Clark + Walker.

Table Detail. Photo by Clark + Walker.

We’re not sure if it gets more  cool and elegant than this for a rooftop city-style wedding? Thanks again to Allison, you were so much fun! And to Clark + Walker for sharing their lovely work with us.

xo- Petalena

Soft Ivories on the Cape

Some lovely photos by Li Ward of Fat Orange Cat Studio of a Cape wedding we worked on together this year. We just love Li’s eye for detail and beautiful use of natural light – it makes people and flowers look beautiful!

Bud Vase by Petalena. Photo by Li Ward of Fat Orange Cat Studio.

Bouquets were tonal range of warm ivories and blush with touches of brown. Just love these soft, subtle, not-to-much color kind of palettes.

Bride's Bouquet. Photo by Li Ward of Fat Orange Cat Studio.

Fall is such a great time of year for flowers, spring time blooms like anemones and ranunculus come back into season, but you have the amazing textural foliage available only during the autumn.

The Bridal Party. Photo by Li Ward of Fat Orange Cat Studio.

The Bride and Groom. Photo by Li Ward of Fat Orange Cat Studio.

And just a few more lovely shots, with gorgeous light of the reception:

Table Decor. Photo by Li Ward of Fat Orange Cat Studio.

Dahlia Bud Vase. Photo by Li Ward of Fat Orange Cat Studio.

The centerpiece designs for the tables were simple and organic in style using local in-season blooms like dahlias and zinnias.

Cake and Florals. Photo by Li Ward of Fat Orange Cat Studio.

Yum, a little bit of buttercream, topped with garden roses, scabiosa pods, and dahlias.

Thanks to Li for sharing her lovely work with us as always to the couple for inviting us to be part of their special day!

xo- Petalena

Peach, Yellow, and Ivories at Willowdale

This is a fave color palette of ours – soft peaches blended with yellows and ivories. Pops of green to keep everything looking crisp, fresh, and organic.

Thanks to our lovely bride Allison for sharing these images from Avenna Studios

Bride's Bouquet by Petalena. Photo by Avenna Studios, 2011.

Some of our favorite flowers are here: yellow tree peonies and double white clematis. Working with such quality blooms as these, the design work is really just a meditation on beauty. Lucky us!

Bud vase in the Grand Hall at Willowdale. Photo by Avenna Studios, 2011.

Weddings at the Willowdale Estate are pretty magical affairs with the lovely historic mansion that has been lovingly restored to the beautiful tent at the rear of the property. For this wedding fete, we hoisted bright yellow and blue banners in the tent, evoking the groom’s Southwest upbringing with New England flowers.

Tent Decor and Florals by Petalena. Photo by Avenna Studios, 2011.

Our bride collected gorgeous vintage containers from lots of sources, cut glass style goblets and votives – they were just perfect for the full lush summer blooms of Coral Charm peonies, Mock Orange, Juliet garden roses, and yellow tree peonies.

Thanks to Allie for being such a treasure to work with, to Willowdale for letting us work through the logistics of hanging the banners in their lovely tent, and to Avenna Studios for their beautiful documentation of the day!

xo- Petalena

Organic Fall Style at Smith Barn

Textural oranges, reds, yellows, and peaches made up the color palette for this fall wedding we did at Smith Barn in Peabody. Thanks to the lovely photographer Mara Brod for sharing them!

We loved working with the couple on this event – while our flowers did add a lovely touch (of course!), the couple really brought so many personal details to the day that made it truly special.

Bride's Bouquet (detail). Photo by Mara Brod, 2011.

Bride and Junior Bridesmaid. Photo by Mara Brod, 2011.

Lights, flowers, and flower girls at Smith Barn. Photo by Mara Brod, 2011.

And, last but not least, the lovely couple, A & G!:

Bride and Groom, photo by Mara Brod, 2011.

For flower-curious souls out there, we used some of the following lovelies:
Juliet garden roses, red ranunculus, peach dahlias, burgundy scabiosa, and as much textural autumnal foliage we could find!

xo – Petalena

Hello Autumn!

We’re a little sad to see summer pass, but looking forward to all the lovely fall weddings we will be working on this year. Lots and lots in September and October – some jewel toned, some orange and browns, some local-sourced, some exotic-inspired. But, let’s kick off the new season with a lovely photo from a fall wedding last year by Blue Water Photography.

Wedding Bouquet by Petalena, 2010. Photo by Blue Water Photography.

Thanks to our lovely bride Sylvia for sending it our way. It was really a dreamy bouquet with painted fern, garden roses, dahlias, and loads of textures. A soft and neutral color palette that hinted towards fall with the brown cymbidium orchids and purple-burgundy smokebush.

xo- Petalena

Local Flowers and Potted Herbs

August has been an amazing month for flowers and we’ve had a few great clients who requested locally sourced flowers right from the beginning of the design process. It’s wonderful to see this kind of change in how people want to eat (more local) transfer to the wedding area as well. As someone who has loved having a summer and fall vegetable CSA (shout out to Stillman’s Farm!) for several years now, this kind of request for local flowers really resonates. We worked with our bride to create unique summery bright centerpieces filled with local flowers and potted herb centerpieces that could live on long after the wedding.

Bride’s bouquet by Petalena and shoes. Photo by Geneve Rege Photography, 2011.

We got our hands on the most beautiful pale lavender-white clematis and a garden rose called “Chippendale” – the most beautiful peachy-pink color imaginable. I am in love with it.

Trio of images by Geneve Rege Photography, 2011. L: Herb Centerpieces, C: Bridesmaid Bouquet; R: Vintage Jar Centerpieces. By Petalena, 2011.

Love this trio of images from Geneve because it really shows off the color palette we developed with our bride:  purple-pink, magentas, and green with pops of yellow and peach.  The bridesmaid dresses were this lovely green-blue color that made the color of the flowers just pop! Such a great choice…

Herbed Centerpiece by Petalena, 2011. Photo by Geneve Rege Photography.

For our herb centerpieces we did a duo wire and rusticated terracotta container filled with thyme, oregano, lavender or rosemary. The balance of the containers were filled with local seasonal flowers portulaca, inpatients, and dianthus.

I hope these sweet little containers live on, I envision them perched on someone’s kitchen window, ready for an easy snip of thyme or rosemary to add to a dinner.

Vintage canning jars and bud vase arrangements by Petalena, 2011. Photos by Geneve Rege Photography.

I saved my favorite photos for last – each photo of the cut flower arrangements we did using local zinnias and dahlias. With touches of Queen Anne’s Lace and hydrangea too of course. I found this beautiful ribbon called “Pecan” and knew it would look just beautiful with the blue-green of canning jars, so we tied a length of it around each jar…a new favorite color combination!

All the beautiful imagery is courtesy of Geneve Rege Photography – a thousand thank yous!

Wonderful day of coordination by the fantastic Ms. Jennifer Cox of Esq. Events

Gorgeous location, who wouldn’t love it? Commander’s Mansion, overseen by Rae Grassia

A special thanks to the couple, especially our bride, Katharine – we had so much fun working with you on the vision for the day, you were such a treat to work with!

-xo Petalena

Garden Style at Gibbet Hill

Darlings, this wedding season is whizzing by and we’ve been remiss in not posting so many lovely weddings from the past two months. So, we’re playing a bit of catchup! We’re really pleased to share these gorgeous photos by Lexi Photography of a wedding we worked on together in June.

This was our first wedding at the Barn at Gibbet Hill and the day couldn’t have been more beautiful. Breezy, blue skies, dramatic rolling old farm pastures surrounding the barn,  and a lovely, lovely couple.

Photo by Lexi Photography.

We did the softest, most blush and lush bouquet for our client Casey in soft ivories, pale pink, and barely yellow, and lovely little garden accents like French lilac, mint, and scented geranium foliage.

Bouquet by Petalena. Photo by Lexi Photography.

Bouquet by Petalena. Photo by Lexi Photography.

Those beautiful inky-centered blush ranunculus and anemones are enough to get lost in, aren’t they?

For the bridesmaid bouquets, the overall color palette of the wedding – tonal purples with soft ivory and green touches really came into play and worked beautifully off the soft grape hued dresses.

Bridesmaid Bouquet by Petalena. Photo by Lexi Photography.

Bridesmaid’s Bouquet by Petalena. Photo by Lexi Photography.

We couldn’t forget about the guys…a little splash of purple for boutonnieres with scabiosa and lavender roses, played off their cooler hued purple-blue ties:

Best Man’s Boutonniere by Petalena. Photo by Lexi Photogrpahy.

Groomsman’s Boutonniere by Petalena. Photo by Lexi Photography.

For the reception florals and decor, we have to give major props to our clients who added a lot of lovely thoughtful elements that they created themselves like mason jar votives wrapped with twine and personalized favors that really added beautiful touch.

Table flowers featured two styles, one a brushed nickel lantern surrounded by sweet bud vases; and the other, pomanders of hydrangea or roses a lot small pedestals procured by the bride.

Lantern and Bud Vase Table Decor by Petalena. Photo by Lexi Photography.

Dutch Hydrangea Pomander Centerpiece by Petalena. Photo by Lexi Photography.

Cocktail arrangements were simple mason jars filled with local flowers and surrounded by candles:

Cocktail Arrangements by Petalena. Photo by Lexi Photography.

Wedding favors, photo by Lexi Photography.

And we had to include this great image of the table favors, and just say ‘Thank you!’ to Casey and Tony for letting us be part of your beautiful, beautiful day. And, for even more great photos of the event, take a stroll over to Lexi Photography’s blog post for the whole story. Thank you again Lexi!

Lovely, lovely at the Boston Public Library

We wanted to share some of the beautiful photographs of photographer Kelly Dillon of a wedding we did together in May at the Boston Public Library. My favorite color palette so far this season – what can I say? I am spring girl at heart!

Centerpieces for this lovely wedding were in a color palette of soft apricot and coral with greens and soft beiges to neutralize and soften the palette. The couple found lots of beautiful antique books and personalized each one with an inscription to each wedding guest.

Centerpiece with personalized books and brown mercury glass. Photo by Kelly Dillon.

Tulips and peonies in a bronze footed urn. Photo by Kelly Dillon.

‘Coral Charm’ peony with tulips. Photo by Kelly Dillon.

The ridiculously huge beautiful flower in this photo – a variety of peony called “Coral Charm” might be my all-time favorite flower. When it first opens, it is a lovely bright coral-pink color but as it opens over a few days it softens so apricot and then pale, pale yellow before dying.

Pretty vingette. Photo by Kelly Dillon.

Room view at the Boston Public Library. Photo by Kelly Dillon.

Bouquets were in a slightly softer color palette (none of the coral touches) with a bit more apricot from parrot tulips and soft pink with Sarah Bernheart pale pink peonies. Just loved making these bouquets with the colors and textures…

Bouquets all in a row. Photo by Kelly Dillon.

Bridal bouquet. Photo by Kelly Dillon.

Bouquet, detail. Photo by Kelly Dillon.

Photography by Kelly Dillon

Photos from Petalena Flower Class

We have some spring pretty to share…

Photo by Ashleigh Stanczak.

We had a pretty fabulous Flower Class focused on anemones and ranunculus on February 26th. And to top it all off, there are lovely photos to share too as we were joined by Ashleigh Stanczak, a wonderful documentary photographer!

Explaining the different kinds of flowers and how to use them. Photo by Ashleigh Stanczak.

Prepping containers and making a grid with floral tape to support the stems. Photo by Ashleigh Stanczak.

Clippers and Stems. Photo by Ashleigh Stanczak.

Photo by Ashleigh Stanczak.

Gathering hellebore and ranunculus. Gathering flowers. Photo by Ashleigh Stanczak.

Photo by Ashleigh Stanczak.

Snipping and placing. Gathering flowers. Photo by Ashleigh Stanczak.

Flower tips. Gathering flowers. Photo by Ashleigh Stanczak.

The results! Gathering flowers. Photo by Ashleigh Stanczak.

A wild and pretty arrangement by Jenn. Gathering flowers. Photo by Ashleigh Stanczak.

Christine’s Ode to Martha. Photo by Ashleigh Stanczak.

Liz’s Lush and Pretty. Photo by Ashleigh Stanczak.

Pretty great students! I feel so proud!

Thanks again to Ashleigh for her gorgeous photos and to the Lily Pad for providing a perfect space for Flower Class.

xo- Petalena