Anemones, especially white anemones with the black centers, have been all the rage in the last couple of months. They are now out of season. But if you are looking to add these to your wedding flowers there is a great substitution for them. Mini gerbers are a great substitution for anemones. Just as the anemones come in purple, red, white and pink….the gerbers come in a multitude of colors.

White Anemone

White Mini Gerber

It is as close as you can get, and better yet they are cost effective

Last October we had the pleasure of working with Ali Phillips from Engaging Events by Ali and her clients, Laurel and David. They were planning an October wedding at the beautiful Hotel Palomar in downtown Chicago. Laurel was looking to complement her red invitation with a palette of reds, burgundies and champagne colors for her fall wedding.

For the ceremony we used red James Storei orchids for their ceremony altar arrangements and red carnations which we used as pomander balls down the aisle, we later re purposed these in several tables within the reception.  The centerpieces consisted of a textureal arrangement of red dahlias, red dianthus, hypericum berries, red montecarlo lilies and along with red alstomerias.

Laurel carried a beautiful bouquet of  tulips, cymbidium orchids, dahlias and calla lilies. Her bridesmaids carried smaller versions of her bouquet.

Thanks to Laurel and David for letting us be part of your wedding. To learn more about this beautiful wedding planned by Ali Phillips or view all the other details that made this wedding special, please visit her blog here.

Photo Credit to the uber talented (and lots of fun!): Sarah Alair

It is peonies season. Pink peonies, white peonies, tree peonies, red peonies, coral peonies and the highly sought after (and somewhat expensive!) yellow peonies. Why do brides like them so much and tend to be so popular at weddings? …. They are slightly fragrant, billowy, soft and best of all the flower head can be about 5″ in diameter or even larger. So you get a lot of bang for your buck with these beautiful flowers.

Hot Pink Peonie

White Peonie

Yellow Peonie

Japanese Tree Peonie

Coral Peonies

I call the coral peonies the peonie that keeps on giving. Why? Not only they have a lot of texture but also the color changes from coral to a light peach after a few days. Don’t believe me? See it below.

Before

Three days afterwards

If you love peonies but they don’t happen to be in season then garden roses are a great substitution. One of my favorites is the Yves Piagent Rose which could really pass for a pink peonie.

Yves Piaget Rose