Happy St. Patricks Day

not much is blooming in my garden yet except for my helleborus, but i'll take just them and still be happy. these are a few clippings from my gardens, indoor and out.

ballet

During this shoot we had a conversation about editing, and I remember stating that I had a hard time editing, that sometimes I love too many things too much to let them go. That is precisely the case with this post. So here you have enough pictures to make you drool for three days. The quality of every single one of Yan's photos is not something I can't skip sharing. Darcie said it well, they have a depth and clarity that is unmatched.

This inspirational wedding was the brain child of Diana Palmer and Darcie Sanders, they invited the rest of us to help them create this ballet inspired wedding shoot. The progression of the ballerina as she warms up, prepares, and has her grand reveal is the theme that I really love here. The contrast between the back stage ballerina, and the one performing on stage is so similar to a bride on her wedding day. The soft femininity, but also the strength of a ballerina feel so appropriate to compare to a bride in preparation for her wedding. This color palette is huge right now, and I understand why. Its stunning. Every time.

I loved collaborating on this project. I am constantly amazed and how many talented, friendly people there are in the wedding business. I could sit with all of them and talk their ears off for days while working together. Another reason to love my job even more. Each person involved contributed creatively and I love how all of our ideas came together. Darcie came up with the story board for the shoot that we used as a jumping off point, she also made the chandelier above the table. Hilary at Alta Moda Bridal gave us the idea to have the bride transform through her outfits, from the leotard to the gown. Watching Flavia work made doing hair and makeup look effortless. I was able to design tables, it was a good excuse as always to use my collections of dishes etc. I love the way it all turned out, and I want to do it again! and again! and again!

Photography: Yan Photo

Cake: Pink Peach Cakes

Dress: Alta Moda Bridal

Hair and Makeup: Versa Artistry

Invitations: Rowley Press

Flowers: Me

This shoot was recently featured on Snippet and Ink.

dahlias

I think that dinnerplate dahlias make everyones heart beat a little bit fastert. They are tricky to order though, often they don't arrive in good condition. (Does anyone have a reliable source out west? I would love to hear about it...) I had enough with that last year, and this year I will be growing some of my own of the cafe au lait color. My first year will be mostly experimental, but I can't wait to have rows of them nodding at me. I spotted these giants near Darjeeling, India recently, and loved the sherbet tones in them. The curvy layers of petals are so Georgia O'Keefe-esque, right?

saturation

I was able to set up some tablescapes for a fancy new years dinner that Maryam at Peacock Pavilions in Marrakech had (her blog is up for the weblog award this year!). She had some belts wrapped around cans that I used for vases on the brightly colored kids table. I filled them with bougainvillea and some citrus from around the property. I fell in love with the contrast of really saturated colors next to the silver embellishments on the container. I love the choreographed chaos of several different bright colors together.

Its pretty fun to be traveling while brainstorming for my summer weddings, I get to go on treasure hunts to find supplies for them.

Fancy Indian ribbon in saturated colors? check.

gorgeous vintage teapots in silver and brass that look like a genie might pop out of them in a puff of colored smoke? check.

recent features

Tara and Christian's wedding photographed by Jessica Peterson was featured on Snippet and Ink, click here to see it.

Aly & David's wedding photographed by Kate Osborne was the favorite wedding of the year by Tessa of Utah Bride and Groom! See the features here and here.

Also, flowers from Stacey and Eric's wedding shot by Jill Thomas were featured on Utah Bride Blog as one of their most popular flower posts from 2010. thanks! see the feature here.