Congratulations Lindsey Renfro and Steven Clark



Lindsey's bouquet with David Austin roses
and calla lillies

 Lindsey and Steven were married at First Presbyterian Church in Kingsport on October 26.  Lindsey was an absolutely beautiful bride, with her fair skin and the dress which looked like a fairy-tale princess.  The wedding was done in shades of pink, green and brown, with each bridesmaid choosing a color best suited to her.  The music was lovely.

I wish them well, and a lifetime of happiness.

Congratulations Jamie Howard and David Meade

Jamie Howard and David Meade were married on October 19 at The Virginian, a breath-takingly beautiful golf resort in Bristol, Virginia.  The weather was perfect for an outdoor wedding, and the scenery was amazing.

This wonderful couple came into my life in February, and I have enjoyed getting to know them and seeing their wedding come together.  Jamie has done all the planning for the wedding and has added great details.  Her programs, which she designed herself, were a work of art. She had numerous hand-painted signs, and the table cards were displayed on a magnetic board with a gorgeous picture frame.  There were references throughout the decorations of the couple's interests.  The groom's cake was a surprise for David.

The cake she envisioned was a rustic looking icing, with only a couple of large fresh flowers.

I had the opportunity to do all the flowers, and am especially proud of the dahlias I used in the bouquets, on the cake, and placed throughout the entry way.  I used some wild berries in the altar arrangements to give them an old world charm. 

Wishing Jamie and David a lifetime of wonderful.

Congratulations Jill Griggs and Josh Metcalf!

Succulent Love

Jill Griggs and Josh Metcalf were married October 12 at the Carnegie Hotel in Johnson City.  We wish them all the best, today and always.

Jill had chosen succulents for her wedding.  This was a very challenging task for me, as I hadn't used them before, but, of course, had seen them on Pinterest.  I checked with the floral supplier, and they were more than a little perplexed at the possibility of getting more than 100 succulents, so I ordered them from a grower in California, about a month ago.  I needed them that early because I couldn't wait until the week of the wedding, just hoping that they would arrive and that they would look good.  When they came, they were healthy and alive.  I set them in a west-facing window and fed them Miracle Grow every other day.  They increased in size.

On Thursday night, I took all of them out of the dirt and rinsed them and put them in water to hydrate as well as possible, even though I had researched and found that they can live out of water for days.  On Friday, I tried wiring them to a stem.  For those who don't know about wiring flowers, the wire then has to be hidden by floral tape.  I started the floral tape as high on the stem of the succulent as possible, then tried to twirl it like I would a flower, but the leaves started falling off.  The odd thing was that the largest, most beautiful, of the succulents were the most fragile.  Some of them would disintegrate just by touching them. 

In my mind, I started to think that if I could get eight for the boutonnieres, six for the bride's bouquet, and two for each bridesmaid, that would be enough, with the additional flowers I was using.  I managed to get 26 wired to stems out of the 60 that I had.  The others were ruined.

They did look great, but I'm not so sure that they were that special, considering the amount of effort.  I don't think I would undertake a succulent wedding, ever again.

I did see the father of the bride, Barry Griggs, after the wedding, and his boutonniere still looked healthy.  All of the guests got to take home a potted succulent as a favor.

I am the kind of person, who if I say I'm going to do something, I will do it.  There was no way I would go back to Jill on the day before the wedding and say, "I couldn't get it to work."

If you want something special for your wedding, let me know.  I will try as hard as I can to make it happen.

Congratulations John Bellamy and Tim Bradshaw

John Bellamy and Tim Bradshaw had a blessing ceremony at St. Paul's Episcopal Church on Friday, September 20, followed by a reception at Allandale.  As promised, there was a lot of rain during the day, but by the time everyone arrived at Allandale, everything was dry.

What a wonderful reception for John and Tim!  It was a very sophisticated event, with hors d' oeuvres being passed by the wait staff and bars on the porch.  The grand entrance included the couple's two young children.

The band, Spirit of Soul Dance Band, was unbelievable.  you had to get up and dance.  I hadn't had the opportunity to hear them before, and they were truly fabulous.

The crowd was having such a good time.  It was a wonderful tribute to the couple.

I wish them so much happiness, now and always.

Congratulations Kathleen Schweitzer and David Arwood

The place cards were hand written with a

sprig of lavender attached.

I thought I wasn't going to have a wedding booked for the first weekend in September.  That has always been such a popular weekend.  Very close to the wedding date, I was hired for day of assistance, and the prior day.  I was happy to be involved in any capacity.

Kathleen and David were married at St. Mary's Catholic Church in Johnson City, and the reception was at Rocky mount.  There was 0% chance of rain, which is always a really good thing with an outdoor venue.

The bride had a definite idea of what kind of reception she wanted to have.  She wanted wildflowers everywhere, and candles in mason jars in the trees.  She wanted everyone to have a good time.  She had pies instead of cake.  Everyone had good things to say about every aspect of the wedding and reception.

The toasts were especially interesting.  You could feel the love from everyone toward the couple.  I wish them all the love and happiness in their lives.

Congratulations to Christina and Mackie!

What a great couple.  I enjoyed working with this couple so much.  Christina Matheson and Mackie Chapman were married August 3 at First Baptist Church in Bristol.  The wedding was beautiful, and the reception was amazing.  Everyone had such a great time, in part due to the awesome skills of Robbie Britton, DJ.  It was so great working with Krisna and Jim Goodwin, photographers and Shawna at the Foudation Event Facility in Bristol, and 620, also.

Christina and I have been working together for a little more than a year.  When you plan that far ahead, you really avoid any last minute stress.  Everything went as planned, and it was just a wonderful experience.

You may view some of the photos at http://moblalbum.com/E7E7/gallery/107152

Bachelorette Party!

Do you want to do something really fun and relaxing for your bachelorette party?  There is a deal on Myrtle Beach trips, some with free massages each day.  Some include meals.  Check it out:
http://www.visitmyrtlebeach.com/hotels/deals/girlfriend-getaways/?cid=tl_dunhill_0313

Oh, summer...