Gabbie & Ben

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many couples to rethink how they can safely celebrate their love with friends and family and Gabbie and Ben were no different. Originally these two were supposed to be married in a large indoor wedding with 300 guests, but when the restrictions for indoor weddings began they shifted to a safer solution and luckily for them the Groom’s family owns a property with plenty of space for all their guests to comfortably space out and celebrate the couple.

Emily from This Love Weds at the last minute adjusted the plan to a large outdoor tent celebration. With a picturesque backdrop for their ceremony and a homemade arch from the Groom’s Uncle the couple said I do in front of 150 guests. Following their ceremony socially distant tables were set up for each family to dine in the gorgeous white tent. After dinner a separate cocktail tent was the perfect place for the guests to dance the night away.

With the change in venues we worked closely with Erin to elevate the tent reception to ensure the couple’s personality and vision was reflected. We did a combination of romantic taper candle centerpieces surrounded by loose greenery and blooms and low, lush arrangements filled with gorgeous garden roses.

The cocktail tent was the perfect place to add delicate greenery vines that glowed along the string lights during the dancing.

Don’t want to forget to mention that this awesome couple was committed to support small, women, and minority owned businesses which made a fantastic vendor team! Check out the list below.

Photos by: Whims and Joy

Planning + Design + Management: This Love Weds

Floral Design: The Petal Floral Design

Tent/Rentals: Apres Event and Tent

Linens/Rentals: Linen Effects

Stationary: Minted Weddings

Cake/Dessert: Farina Baking Company

Video: Of The Seas Films

Hair/MUA: Warpaint Beauty Agency

Catering: Tea House

Wedding Dress: A and Be Bridal Shop

Decor/Rentals: Whitey James Events

DJ: Midwest Sound DJ

Venue: Private Residence

Spring fever

My sister had a lovely engagement party with friends Sunday night and of course I couldn't show up without bringing flowers.  This arrangement had all the colors my sister has been dreaming of for her wedding day...let's just call it a preview.  I'm so incredibly happy for them, they are an amazing couple.  Let the wedding planning begin! 

Side note - don't mind that one wilted scabiosa in the middle.  The arrangement was on the table next to several hot trays and that little guy just had enough.

Mauve spring wedding

So excited to share some photos from a gorgeous spring wedding for a beautiful couple.

Photos: Sami Studio

Fairytale Wedding

I've been dreaming of doing something like this for a wedding.  How amazing would it be to walk through an aisle of romantic flowers!  It would be like a fairytale.

 Bloom Box Designs

Bows and Arrows Flowers

So romantic

This arrangement is so classic and romantic and would be perfect for a wedding, bridal shower or even a baby shower really.  

April florals

I'm so sorry I'm behind on my blog.  Here is an arrangement and bouquet I did in April in mauve, white, and burgundy.  I love the color combination, it's so rich and elegant.  And, I really can't get enough of astrantia.  It's seriously one of my favorite flowers right now.  

The installation

Putting together the installation for the Macy's Flower Show took a lot of time and planning, but it was totally worth it!  With the help of my amazing assistant, Julia, we finished the install in 3 hours.  Of course that was after a few hours of putting together the base flowers and the tree trunk, but who's counting.  Here are a few photos I took during the install so you can see how it was all constructed.  

Please excuse all the background clutter

My amazing assistant, Julia, hard at work

All done!

America the Beautiful - Macy's Flower Show Chicago

If you haven't already made it out for the Macy's Flower Show at the Macy's on State Street, you should!  It's amazing!  They have completely transformed the event space on the 9th floor into a breathtaking look at the varying landscapes and flowers of the country.  And, while you are there you should stop by the cosmetics department (on the main floor) to see the installation I did.  It'll be up until Saturday, so hurry!!  Here's a few photos of the installation.  My next blog post will have more photos of the actual install and more details.  I had SO much fun putting this together, hope you love it!

I should add that all of the flowers and greenery used in the installation are native to North America.  The cherry blossoms are a tribute to my late grandparents who recently passed away and to many of my family members who have served our country in the military.  Let it take you on a visual journey of a field of wildflowers in the spring time.  

Macy's Flower Show

Mark your calendars, the Macy's Flower Show it coming up and The Petal will be there with a demonstration on creating your own spring centerpiece on March 24th (12 pm).  I seriously have to pinch myself every time I think about it, I am truly honored and ecstatic that Macy's asked me to be a part of the event this year!  Hope to see you there!

I'll also be doing a floral installation on the main floor next to cosmetics that'll be up for 3 days (March 24-26th).  The theme this year is America the Beautiful and the idea of the installation is to transport you to a field of wildflowers.  No more spoilers, you'll have to stop by to check it out!

Hello March!

Happy New Year

Hurray for 2016!  I'm seriously so excited for all the beautiful weddings coming up this year that are on my calendar.  I thought I'd share a sneak peek at the inspiration behind some of them.

Baby shower

I can not control my excitement for becoming an Auntie for the first time.  Is it the end of January yet??  It'll finally be my turn to spoil a little cutie!   And my kids can't wait either, which is even more fun to see.  They are finally going to have a first cousin.  

As I wait and wait and wait for the little sweetie to arrive I needed to throw a girlie baby shower for my sister-in-law.  It was so much fun putting everything together.  I definitely had to control myself not to go overboard, so I thought a little bit is ok :)  

Instead of doing traditional games for the shower I decided to teach everyone how to make flower crowns.  It was SO much fun!  

Finally got to use my new screen as a backdrop.  LOVE IT!

My sister makes the best cakes!

The happy mom-to-be

Flowers all prepped for flower crowns

My daughter modeling the crown we made at the baby shower.  

Making flower crowns

Happy Thanksgiving!

This year I decided to do something a bit different for Thanksgiving.  Instead of the traditional orange tons I went for burgundy and berry tones.  It created such warmth at the table, I just loved it!

Beautiful summer wedding

I was SO lucky to work with an amazing bride this summer at the beautiful Hotel Allegro Downtown Chicago.  They just renovated the hotel and it is STUNNING!  Perfect balance of modern and vintage.  So, when the bride requested modern, garden wedding flowers that compliment the hotel I was all over it.  Here are a few photos of the day...