Flowers for the Spencer / Stanley Wedding

2020 has got off to a busy start! 

We were honored to get to make flowers for Madison and John's recent wedding. 

The Spencer / Stanley Wedding was held at Dove Hollow Estates in White Oak. Madison's colors were white, black, silver, and burgundy. 

Whenever Madison sent me pictures of arch ideas, she always said "but more flowers on the arch." This arch was big and we made sure it was full of flowers! 

 The view from the second story...

The bridesmaids carried bouquets of burgundy roses and callas.

 The front entrance of the elegant barn.

 Hydrangeas and iced branches comprised the entryway arrangement, where guest would sign in.

 Sharlette helped me with the on location work at Dove Hollow.

 The bridal bouquet was a cascade style arrangement with white roses, callas, and orchids. (Can't wait to see a picture of the bride carrying the bouquet, since I didn't get a great pic of it.)

 Always have my scissors nearby! The arch was huge at about ten high, so we climbed up and down the ladder a lot.

A couple of years ago, I give a presentation at a 4-H meeting. At the meeting, I officially met Mrs. Fite (although I had known of her for many years.) We talked and she ask for a business card. Later on, we discussed sewing machines, since she wanted to get one for her granddaughter. A few months later, she called me about flowers for her son's funeral. She had specific ideas and flowers she wanted to use and I was able to make the flowers for them. 

Last week, I got a call that she had died and left instructions for her family to call me and I would take care of it. They didn't tell me any colors, just that they needed a casket spray and an easel with ribbons on it (that was the only details that they give me.) That level of trust and respect for my work is truly humbling. I later talked to her sister on the phone and she said Mrs. Fite always talked about my work. 

I knew she had picked out a pink or red dress to be buried in, so I decided to go with a mixture of red roses, stargazer lilies, along with pink and purple mixed flowers. 

 Last week, I also wrote a blog post about living in small town America. The word "Community" was on my mind a lot last week. It was a community service type event where I met Mrs. Fite. It was a lady in our community that recommended me to the Spencer family, when they were wedding planning. It took a community of friends for me to pull off everything in three days (we also had the Mineola Antique Fair happening at the same time.) The best selling shirt at the fair was the "Rural Route" - it's a t shirt design inspired by our life and work in the rural community and apparently it resonates with many of you as well. 

My business depends on your referrals and an online community of support and shares. I am extremely grateful for all of you that are a part of our community! 

Here's to a great start of 2020! Looking forward to helping all of you in the coming year! 

Sympathy Tributes - Casket Sprays

Casket sprays are a tribute to your loved one and many times include the deceased favorite flowers, colors, or interest. This first spray was for a cowboy and the flowers were made on his saddle. The Cowboy rode away in the fall of the year and the family ask me to create a tribute to their dad and pop that would honor him and his interest. 

This was another spray for a very sweet lady. The family ask for an elegant fall mixed spray with sunflowers.

A red and white mixed spray with roses, carnations, fuji mums, and larkspur. 

A red and white mixed casket spray.

100 red roses. 

For the woodsy, outdoor man, this spray had a set of antlers from a deer he had shot.

A fall mixed spray for a beloved baseball and softball coach and supporter. Balls were placed in the top of his spray.

My only guidelines for this spray was "colorful for the manly, man." Orange lilies, high and magic roses, blue hydrangeas, dasies, solidago, berries, liatris and curly willow branches were used for this piece. 

Another  mixed spray for a man featuring a mixture of colors and flowers. 

For this spray, I was told it was a pinky/mauve casket and please make something nice. Knowing that one of the family members loved red roses, I handpicked a mixture of pink flowers, stargazer lilies, and red roses for an elegant feminine spray. I delivered the spray and saw the lady was wearing a red dress and knew the pinks and red flowers were the right combination for her.

A garden style arrangement of pink and purple mixed flowers including roses, lilies, larkspur, callas, alstromerias, stock, delphinum, and snapdragons.

The following sprays were all designed for my family members. This was my dad's saddle and bridle on his casket. My daddy was a rancher, cowboy, and team roper.

 For my great uncle- rich burgundy, brown, bronze flowers.

 For my uncle - the coffee drinker, it was very appropriate that the roses were called "coffee break."

 For Meme- a sweet and pastel garden style spray with pink, lavender, blue, white, and green mixed flowers.

Masculine spring casket spray with yellow, orange, blue, and purple mixed flowers.

I was ask to create a feminine, with a touch of country casket spray in spring colors, but mostly pink and purple. Touches of rope and burlap ribbon where included in this spray to give it a touch of country. I hand picked an assortment of spring blossoms and my client text me after the service "that  EVERYONE loved the casket spray!!!!! It was beautiful and so fitting..."

This was a spring casket spray including her favorite flowers: gladiolas, daffodils, and carnations, along with other spring flowers. It took sourcing flowers from several different locations to find all of her favorites, but I'm glad that I could find them and deliver the request. 

A red, white, and blue casket spray. The customer told me that she had used other shops, but there just wasn't the same care, compassion, service, and heart behind the designs. She also said she got more than her money's worth and was very pleased. 

It is an honor to help create a final tribute for your loved ones and I truly strive to help take care of you in your time of loss.