First Styling Gig! Jay ♥ Czacza

So a while back, I posted on silkscreening doilies for a friend's wedding.  It was also for this same gig that I prepared this sample rustic bouquet of fabric roses.  Since the fabric bouquet seemed too minimalist for her, I tried my hand at arranging a fresh one.  And since the wedding happily took place last July, I can now post pictures of how everything turned out!  :-)

First off, the sample setup.  The bride specifically requested for hydrangeas, and thankfully Lex and I were able to source these.  I learned though that fresh flowers are really tricky.  Their availability depends on the weather, the farm's disposition, transportation, etc.  For the setup, I was able to get hydrangeas that had bluish/purplish flowers.

Hydrangeas are lovely, aren't they?  They're also very thirsty flowers.  I learned though that they can last for quite a long time even when cut, as long as they're in water.

Then I tried to think of how to add a touch of charm.  And the first thing I thought of were doilies!  So I got to work having a screen made, and made a few for the setup.  They ended up in varying shades of gray, so I had to note that when I went into producing all of the doilies needed for the reception, I'd need a big batch of a pre-mixed gray.

I also thought of using stickered bottles for the centerpieces.  The decals used had nice romantic words and graphics.  I hadn't quite seen these at a setup before (then again, I don't look around that much), but then I just liked the idea.  The bride agreed.  :-)

I used jute string to hang a sparse curtain of blue beads (for the blue element of her wedding motif), and put in these decorative ceramic balls.  The bride actually suggested these in her pegs.  I love the way candles can totally change how a simple setup looks, so I learned how to make floating candles, and got some ceramics and glassware.

The sample rustic bouquet, and the setup from top view.  The bride vetoed the dried tree-stuff on the table.

I also got some succulents, put them in odd, charming porcelain and added them to the table decor.

Setup details!

And voila!  I was pretty happy with how it turned out.  Little did I know what a challenge it would be, replicating this to a reception setting of more than 120 (the guest list grew--these things apparently happen in the process).

My next post will be how the actual wedding setup turned out.  :-)