This past November, Melanie and Sean were married at the Unitarian Church in Groton and held their reception at the gorgeous Gibbet Hill Barn. The couple is actually from Rhode Island, and chose Gibbet Hill as a semi destination wedding for their guests. In search of a rustic setting, Melanie fell in love with the Barn, and who's to blame, the place is gorgeous and the service that the barn offers is outstanding. They raise their own cattle, grow their own veggies, and what they don't do onsite they source from the abundant local farms in the area.
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And the church? Incredible. It sits atop the hill in historic downtown Groton. It's an old meetinghouse style church, meaning the main floor is set up for community events, and the religious space is on the second floor. Huge windows with light pouring in and original box style seating. The space feels so warm and inviting.  

Meanwhile, the barn set-up. Rustic elegance with some glitz to boot.

​And one last behind the scenes shot...

Here at Love and Thistle, we love a little wacky, a little off, and a little non traditional. I don't always get to highlight the offbeat designs, so I wanted to dedicate a blog post to some unique designs and weddings that we've been so honored to be a part of.

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This past Halloween, Renee and Ryan were married in a Halloween Harvest Extravaganza. Does this look like one heck of a party or what? Renee requested that her bouquet and the boutonnieres reflect the Harvest side of their nuptials rather than the spookier side (even though I was dying to use skull pods I refrained!). Mini pumpkins, autumnal foliage & berries, curly willow, grasses, and orange lilies by request graced the bouquet with a seasonal boutonniere that managed to match the groom's custom Firefly replica garb impeccably. 

And can we all pause for a moment to admire the Bridal shoes? John Fluevog. Swoon. You must know that I certainly have a thing for shoes (see my wedding shoes here). When I delivered Renee's flowers, I stood around probably a little too long oohing and awing and gawking.  

During the peak of summer, Bethany and Bryan were married in another colorful affair.
Bethany asked for a colorful bouquet of local wildflowers, and when she showed me her mismatched bridesmaid dresses and mismatched glitter shoes that she and each of her maids wore, I asked if I could make equally mismatched bouquets. With the green light, I headed to a local PYO flower farm where I snipped each bloom (yes!!! what an incredible farm to live down the road from!) and finished each bouquet with glitter streamers to match. And the groomsmen?? Boutonnières to match their mismatched ties.

Can you spot the little tomatoes on the vine? These might be my favorite bouquets, ever. Ever. Every single bit (minus the eucalyptus) was grown locally. The orange dahlias in Bethany's bouquet and the white lisianthus were purchased from a local farm and all other blooms and veggies and herbs were picked by yours truly.

Can you tell I love boutonnieres? It's the littlest details. Dude flowers. A quick glimpse at a few of my favorites from the beginning of the year. Habanero peppers, air plants, grains, ribbons and twine. 

I met the beautiful bride, Sarah, at the Lovesick Expo early in the year. Our styles jived immediately and I was excited when she contacted me a few months later. Many emails full of details later, I met Sarah at her house while her sweet sister and adorable mum were visiting so that we could all meet in person and most importantly so that I could see all of said details; dresses, handmade centerpieces, handmade signs, collected drinkware and napkins, (and. and. and.). I have to admit that at first, when the only knowledge I really had of Sarah and her family was what I could gather through emails and pictures of different elements to be used at the reception, I was a little confused about them all. There's so much? Would they match? As soon as I stepped foot into her darling house, all those questions were immediately tossed into the wind. Handpainted murals adorned the walls and the face of the stairs. You could tell by the differences of style in each that they all had a history and story to tell.     

Each place setting had a unique napkin and wine glass, collected by Sarah and her family. Handpainted burlap baggies filled with handmade soap (her daughters are artists too!) awaited each guest. Centerpieces of moss covered books with little figurines, birds nests and eggs, and jars filled with a succulent and flower or two (que me). An old window pane with table assignments, a shadow box holding wood discs for the guest book.    

Oh, and I forgot to mention that Sarah has delved into her own wedding business now. And she's going to be a rockstar.  

This sweet little muffin of mine is already a month old.

Melanie contacted me at the very beginning of the year, she was out of state and being married outside of Boston in May. She felt very strongly about using all local flowers for her wedding, and after getting to know her via the internet and witnessing all of the details of her day, she really cared about keeping as many aspects as possible local, small, craft, and personal. During a 'normal' year, May would be really tough to source completely local, but this year!!!! A near impossible task. After endless amounts of phone calls, emails, and crossed fingers, I found two farms with hoop houses who *hoped* to have a small amount of early spring flowers and foliages available for me. 

Melanie was okay supplementing with additional flowers grown within the US, so I used peonies from Maryland and Delaware and a whole slew of Californian beauties. 

I think this picture beautifully sums up what Melanie and James' wedding was: intimate and cozy, a camp style wedding at the most spectacular lake and lodge. Guests were encouraged to bring their camping gear and spend the night with the couple amongst the property's rustic cabins. As we set up the tables, the dessert table slowly filled as guests arrived with their favorite homemade pies and cakes. The bbq goodness of Smoke and Pickles, a local and downright gourmet caterer using all locally sourced veggies and meat, started to fill the air, and the typical party favors were replaced with cute bags full of the necessary ingredients to make your own s'mores at the campfire later that evening.

Congratulations Melanie and James!!! It was an amazing experience to be a part of your day and to help bring your vision to life!!! 

I took the plunge and took part in my first wedding show! Craft My Wedding's first annual show took place at the Armory in Somerville, and over 200 brides-to-be with fiancees, family, and friends attended. A lot of work to plan and design the booth space, I think the overall design worked out quite well, although I've got much room for improvement! 

Twenty-some aspiring, inspiring, hard-working, flower farming, flower designing, totally amazing women descended upon Philly in mid-October for the 1st of three farm-design workshops hosted by Erin Benzakein of Floret and Jennie Love of Love 'n Fresh Flowers. The Seasonal Bouquet Project, a newly formed collaboration between the two, showcases each one's glorious seasonal blooms and designs, and as they explained, has fostered much needed support and a creative outlet between the two farmer-designers. The workshop that the two hosted probably impacted all of the eager farmer-designers who made the journey in the same manner, and I was so lucky to snag a spot for the Seasonal Bouquet Project Workshop - the demand was so high for the initial offering that Erin and Jennie added two extra workshops to accommodate the overwhelming response and interest. 

Day one was spent on Jennie's farm - a little over an acre in the city - although the surrounding landscape feels much more rural than suburban with rolling hills of autumnally changing trees; a little corner of the city that seems forgotten. Honestly, I was totally out of my league here, as I was the only non-farmer of the group. But not turned-off to the idea at all! Inspired to continue learning, and to begin with a cutting garden, and we'll see what happens from there.  In fact, I made it home with a peony tuber that should have been planted as soon as I got home, so if it survives in storage through the winter and next summer, will be the planted next autumn along with some dahlia tubers that Erin is shipping in the spring! 

After dinner out with the group and a restless nights sleep in anticipation for day two, we joined for breakfast again at the Woodlands - William Hamilton's estate and horticultural mecca of the late 18th century, turned city park-like cemetery - really a wonderful place to visit and perfect backdrop for the design segment of the workshop.    

We spent the morning talking business, talking fears, and really being honest and getting to know one another on a more personal level. Then the big awaited bouquet demo from Jennie and a chance to practice a new technique, compote making with Erin, a lovely lunch, and an incredible dinner back on Jennie's farm.  Lots and lots of invaluable discussion and friendships formed.  

I'm still working to wrap my head around everything that I learned over these two days, and I can't wait to put everything to use.

The first week of October brought a great treat - Sarah Ryhanen of Saipua and the Little Flower School conducted a mini-workshop at Snug Harbor in Maine. The whole crew from Bow Street made it up, and boy were we pumped! Sarah brought with her tons of flowers from her own farm, and tons more from many local farms. The course took place inside one of the many greenhouses, and Sarah shared funny stories while she demo'ed an arrangement of seasonal flowers and foliage, then chatted and gave a bit of constructive criticism to all in attendance. 
 

ago today, I got married.  A spectacular day in a small Colorado mountain town.  

But it was also the day that really captivated me with crazy floral endeavor that I started pursuing only 2 months later when Shelley took me under her wing; wild-eyed and bewildered, as an intern at Bow Street Flowers.  With absolutely no experience to boot, might I add.  When I first met my florist/day-of-planner/miracle worker Lauren over coffee, both my mom and I felt that there was an instant connection, and that she brought a sense of ease that presided over the entire planning aspect.  She understood my vision perfectly, even though my ideas were all over the place.  Her excitement and knowledge, her anecdotes and stress-relieving tips throughout the process were well received - especially in our hectic state of furiously printing, collecting, sewing, painting, you name it, all of the details.  Everything about Lauren was completely inspiring.  I loved that Lauren ran her own events studio - Quintessential Events - from her house, her aesthetic matched my aesthetic, she would be able to do the flowers, help with final set-up and coordinate day of!  Whoo Hoo!  Since this day 2 years ago, but actually since the day that I met Lauren a few months prior, I knew that that was what I wanted to do.
  
So thank you Lauren, for not only delivering such gorgeous and perfect flowers and running the show, but for all the inspiration you unknowlingly have been.  And Shelley, for taking a chance on me.   

And better late than never, for the first time ever, I'm going to check in to Small but Charming's Flower's in the House June edition.