Creative Vintage Wedding Centerpieces

A fun way to incorporate vintage style into a wedding design: I am scavenging these vintage medicine and tincture bottles for one of my Maine brides this summer...I can't wait to see them at the wedding on the guest tables with flowers, mixed with tons of votive candles and canning jars of larger floral arrangements....

I am going to keep the color pallete for this wedding under wraps for a bit, it is going to be so gorgeous! 

I love the thrill of the hunt...  When I see a dusty box full of these little sweeties tucked in the back of an antiques shop, I get frantic, like I found the golden ticket...maybe I am a bit obsessed, maybe I am just really into treasure hunting... Either way, I feel so fortunate to have clients who love these special treasures too. 

I like to think of it as recycling with style: Using ordinary things in extraordinary ways....a good idea, and one that allows me to justify my scavenging habits!

With spring upon us (soon, I hope!) I get the fever to make my first trips to the "shops", the junk shops, the antiques barns and flea markets in the area, to hold me over until it gets warm enough for the yard sales to start...oh yeah and for the epic treasure hunting trip of my lifetime: Brimfield Antiques Show in May!!  Oh dear, it is too much for me to even type the word "Brimfield"!! 

Happy hunting!

Maine Flower Show

We went to the Portland, Maine Flower Show yesterday, despite gale force winds and rain.  We all needed a bit of spring!

One of the first exhibits was of a greenhouse with a cabbage garden, so pretty, I love them just for ornamentation!

This booth also featured a lettuce fence, which is brilliant, I think we will have to try this this year- a great way to dress up a fence and avoid bunnies and other creatures from gorging on your salad greens!  Self watering system of installation, with just gutters is also smart!  Hung on a slight angle so that water runs from the top down to the lower row...you can see the water coming down on the lower right of this picture...

And I have to mention the Hobbit house, a sweet little structure that also made us want to build this in our backyard.  Ava wanted to go "lie down and have a snack inside that little hut", still too little to know about Hobbits!  It was a pretty perfect installation, with little birch logs lining the roof...

Oh the color, what a treat on such a qunitessential Maine gray spring day! 

Lilacs and Maiden Hair ferns and the biggest Columbine flowers I have ever seen...

A stone stool for a little fairy...

And the real reason we went- our friend and stone mason, Matt Carter, of Green Island Stonework did a stone arch installation that we just had to se.  All  hand built with no mortar! 

Of course they won an award, the design and craftmanship was gorgeous. 

Ahh, who wouldn't want one of these perfectly antique looking stone structrues on their property?  There were even inquiries to temporarily install this for a wedding-wouldn't that be perfect!?!

There were waterfalls, tons of spring blooming bulbs,  and the smell of mulch in the air....makes me have the fever to get out there and dig! 

Maine Seasons Events in Wellwed Magazines!

I have been so excited to share this, but as it was an exclusive feature, we all had to keep it under wraps until the magazines came out. Sara of Griffin-vites Watercolor Stationery, photographer Brea McDonald and I collaborated on a fun summer wedding design photo shoot way back in June of 2009, and it can finally be shared! Shot at a private residence, the green summery backdrop was just right for this design.

Amazing that it takes that long to see a photo shoot published in a magazine at times...

(Brea Mcdonald Photography)

The "Berry Inspired" feature came out in Wellwed in New York, Wellwed Cape Cod, Martha's Vineyard and Nantucket, and Vermont Vows this month. These magazines are so pretty, so well designed, with so many little details and fun graphics, I am honored to be in them. You can read the magazine feature here.

(Brea Mcdonald Photography)

Of course I scavenged in my stash to find some great props and personal details that I wanted to include to create a personal, colorful, fun and seasonally simple wedding design. White milk glass, fresh strawberries, white daisies, vintage tea cups, pieces of a vintage yo-yo quilt, a vintage kitchen scale, several antique quilts, a rustic tin box, and a little antique film camera, some garden chairs, vintage cooler, hand sewn ring pillow and assorted porcelain dessert pedestals were pulled together for this design.

(Brea Mcdonald Photography)

Sara took the strawberry and daisy concept and created an incredibly stylish wedding paper suite to include menus, invitations, reception, photo booth and beverage cards as well as favor tags and table numbers. Without even meeting in advance, Sara completely understood the design and aesthetic I was going for and totally exceeded my expectations with her creations. The fact that she is beautifully smart, humble, super talented, funny, sweet and genuine doesn't hurt either!

I even made a little gingham dress for you know who to sit at the "kid's table" amongst the over sized pinwheels... (Brea Mcdonald Photography)

Brea Mcdonald worked her photographic magic, climbing up on ladders, leaning into trees and crouching down low to capture all of the angles in the design elements. When we got to see a preview of her work, I was floored. Brea's photos make everything just that much prettier...the light, the crispness, the color, along with Brea's easy going, positive personality and sense of humor very much impressed me. How had I not worked with these two gems yet?

I have said this before, but I am humbled and incredibly fortunate to be surrounded by creative, real, supportive and talented women in this industry. Every day I am grateful for their friendship, humor, ears, opinions, encouragement and capabilities.

(Brea McDonald Photography, L-R: Brea, Sara and Meagan) Griffin-vites custom stationery is so pretty, so textural, with a splash of whimsy, it feels nostalgic and fresh to me all at the same time-I love the green ric-rac! (Brea Mcdonald Photography)

I whipped up a bouquet to reflect the colors and the feel of summer...loved the red polka dot ribbon! (Brea McDonald Photography) The luscious desserts were provided by 111 Maine Catering and fit the call for hand made, local and familiar summer desserts in lieu of a wedding cake. Strawberry shortcake, lemon squares, lintzer cookies and strawberry pie prettied up the dessert table, clothed with an antique quilt. Jennifer at 111 Maine is a caring, passionate, talented chef, who loves cooking and preparing food and offers her clients local, fresh and delicious food with an ease and professionalism that is so critical in the catering field. Jennifer is flexible, easy to work with and enjoys creating a custom menu for each client-another local gem!

(Brea Mcdonald Photography) Another antique quilt from my grandmother and a vintage Brownie camera created a great "photo booth" opportunity... (Brea McDonald Photography)

(Brea McDonald Photography)

It was such a great experience to work with these talented creators, and being published with them is even better!