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Kelsey and Nick - 07/01/17

Kelsey has been a good friend of mine for almost 10 years and Nick is the perfect person for her to spend her life with. 

She gave me a lot of freedom when it came to her flowers. She knew she wanted white and Tiffany blue and picked out a few flowers that she liked. I don't think there is anyone else I would sprayed hundreds of flowers light blue for. All her flowers were roses, lisianthus and freesia.

Nick wore a boutonniere of a white rose and blue freesia. 

As a florist, I often get recruited for other jobs aside from flowers. Nick had a groomsman break his tux pants, and thanks to my tool kit, I was able to fix them. The process of me on the ground trying to fix pants was heavily photographed by both the photographer, other groomsmen, and both the fathers. They all found it hilarious. I liked this photo because it looks like we were having a moment. 

Their pew ends were white hydrangea with blue bows. The flower girls wore little corsages with long streamers and tossed petals. Sofia (pictured in front) was such a little helper. Because we were using hydrangea out of water on a hot day, I needed to spray them with a hydration and protection spray. Sofia was watching me and wanting to help so she was in charge of spraying all of the pew ends for me. She did a great job!

The altar had 3 arrangements on the altar and a unity candle. 

Kelsey said she knew Nick was "the one" the first night she met him. They met at a wedding and they talked all night. Even though it was late, he said he had to get up early for church the next morning. And with that one sentence, she knew he was a keeper. 

Kelsey and Nick both grew up on a farm so it only made sense to take some pictures out on Nick's farm! Ironically Nick's family farm backs up to farm land that belongs to my mom's cousin. 

The baker added the florals to the cake based on the photo Kelsey loved. But isn't this stunning?!?! It was delicious too!

The outdoor tables all had vases with blue hydrangea in them. The inside tables had centerpieces of a cylinder vase and a mixture of all their flowers (I don't have a picture of those) 

Kelsey's bouquet was wrapped with lace from her mother's wedding gown. I love when brides add a personal touch to their flowers!

Happy Anniversary (plus 1 day due to technological issues)! Thank you for including me in your special day, both as a vendor and as a friend. I wish you a blessed marriage and life together!

 
Live Love Flowers - Michele Signature (1).png

Ali and Chase - 06/03/17

Ali and Chase were another of my long distance planning couples. I met them a few weeks before their wedding to go over final details and enjoy a bottle of wine. I am SO obsessed with the vision we came up with, and I think you definitely will be too!

Ali carried a bouquet of white peonies, white roses, white anemone, blush roses, blush lisianthus, and succulents. 

The bridesmaids carried bouquets of white peonies, white roses, white spray roses and blush roses. It was a scorcher out but this bridal party totally rocked it!

The real star of the bridal party was their dog, Boomer. When I saw they were bringing Boomer up for pictures, I knew I needed to make sure he fit in with his parents. I sent Ali a picture of a dog collar of greens and asked if I could make that for him. Turns out, he loved it! And isn't he the cutest?!

We chose great pew ends of white roses, blush roses, blush lisianthus, white spray roses, white waxflower, dusty miller and silver dollar eucalyptus. The pew ends were later used as centerpieces at the reception. 

The other tables had tall centerpieces of white hydrangea, white roses, blush roses, blush lisianthus, white spray roses, and silver dollar eucalyptus. Huge shoutout to my mom, who came over and helped me make the tall centerpieces!

Their cake was covered in a collection of roses. I got to eat some of it as I was tearing down the reception late at night and it was as delicious as it was beautiful!

Ali found some really amazing lanterns that we used around the reception. The place card/guest book table had a large lantern and 4 small vases in the center. Ali has a great eye for design and we came up with so many cool pieces for the reception. 

A few months before the wedding, Ali sent me this incredible photo from Pinterest for something she wanted to do for the head table.

Image from Pinterest

Image from Pinterest

I quickly became obsessed with coming up with something totally awesome for their 38ft head table. There were a lot of (terrible) sketches and flower math. I seriously LOVE what we came up with! The table was covered in a wild garland with a variety of candles down the entire length. In the center, there was a large statement piece. There were a total of 7 arrangements down the table, getting smaller as it got further from the center. We used 2 sets of lanterns at the base of the table as well. I feel so blessed that she let me create something this magnificent.

Are you as obsessed as I am? I love being able to keep up to date with Ali and Chase via snapchat. One of my favorite weekend activities is now watching snaps of Boomer beg for pancakes. I would be a sucker for that face too!

Thank you SO much to Ali and Chase for trusting me with their gorgeous wedding! They were so wonderful to work with. I wish them all the best for their future!

 

Lindsey and Nick - 11/26/16

Lindsey and Nick got married Thanksgiving weekend. Most of you know that I work retail as well but I decided to take on this wedding anyway. I'm so glad I did because it was gorgeous!

The wedding was at Olde St. Anne's Church and Lindsey was walked down the aisle by her children. Is there anything cuter?

The Wednesday before the wedding, I participated in a Friends trivia night with some friends. I went over to the table that was our biggest competition and one of the girls recognized me and asked if I was a florist. She exclaimed that I was doing her brother's wedding that weekend. It was fun to get a chance to meet a lot of the people from the wedding in a casual setting beforehand. (BTW my team totally won trivia but they gave us a good run for our money!)

Images by Fetography Portraits 

Images by Fetography Portraits 

Lindsey carried a bouquet of baby's breath, white roses and white mini calla lilies. The bridesmaids wore mismatched champagne dresses and carried bouquets of baby's breath. The bride's daughter carries a smaller version of the bridal bouquet. 

The groomsman on the left is a good friend of mine and I provided flowers for his wedding this June!

I wish Lindsey and Nick (and the kids) such a long and wonderful life together! They were an absolute delight to work with! Congratulations on your marriage and new family!

 

Elly and Nathan - 11/04/16

Elly is one of my brides that I didn't meet before her wedding due to them living out of town. I actually didn't meet her until the day after the wedding but we clicked from the very first phone call. Elly worked in the hotel industry so she's been around a ton of weddings and has a great eye for design!

Even though they got married in November, the weather was absolutely perfect! The wedding and reception were at Isle of Capri in Bettendorf but I'm glad they got a chance to go outside for pictures. 

The bouquets were white peonies, white roses, blush spray roses, baby's breath and silver dollar eucalyptus. Peonies are really rare in November and they did not want to open for me, but they turned out so lovely and perfectly on trend. 

The reception featured greenery, gold terrariums and tons of candlelight. It was a really romantic and trendy vibe. 

On half of the tables, there were triangle terrariums with ruscus and baby's breath around the base. On the other half, there were hexagon terarriums with roses, spray roses and eucalyptus around the base. 

The real showstopper was the ceremony backdrop that Elly and I spent months deciding what to do. It was truly stunning and one of my favorite pieces I've created. 

The design featured a variety of sizes of cylinder vases with flowers and candles. From the top down, the flowers were dendrobium orchids, white hydrangea, white carnations, blush spray roses and the small gold vased arrangements double purposed as the centerpieces for the parents' tables. 

Top images - Giraffe Photography , Bottom images - pinterest photos from bride

Top images - Giraffe Photography , Bottom images - pinterest photos from bride

After many discussions and email threads, Elly sent me the photos on the bottom and asked to do something similar. I'm obsessed with what we came up with. Our biggest issue is what we were going to sit all the vases on. We wanted the candles to really dance and sparkle so we didn't want to just use a table. We considered huge mirrors, but one this size would have run hundreds of dollars and that was out of the budget. We landed on using the glass top from my entertainment center! Never underestimate the use of random objects around the house. 

Since the wedding, Elly has started a business of her own. Lattz Travel Group focuses on romantic vacations such as honeymoons and anniversary trips. Elly is a delight so if you need help planning a honeymoon, you should check her out!

I loved working with Elly and Nathan for their special day and have been lucky enough to keep in touch via FB. I hope they continue to live a blessed and happy life together!

 

Bailey and Gavin - 07/09/16

I have known Bailey since 7th grade and although we kept in touch via Facebook after high school, it wasn't until the last 3 years that we reconnected. I have watched her love with Gavin grow from the beginning. He was there for her and her son in the time she needed it most. Truly her Prince Charming.             

Bailey chose a bouquet of cascading Phalaenopsis Orchids. It was extravagant, elegant and absolutely stunning. I mean, seriously, look at that thing :) She absolutely looked like the princess she deserved to feel like. 

The bridesmaids carried bouquets of white Casablanca lilies and the groomsmen wore boutonnieres of coral calla lilies. Both ceremony and reception were at the Elk's Lodge in Davenport. 

Bailey and Gavin had a huge bridal party full of family and friends. Bailey's son, Tanner, was the most adorable Best Man and both Bailey and Gavin had younger siblings as flower girl and ring bearers. 

Gavin is a Davenport Police Officer so of course they had to get a few pictures with his car.  Event though it was about a million degrees out, their wedding day was absolutely perfect. I love watching them be in love, but also be silly with each other. Marrying your best friend is truly a dream come true. 

I was lucky enough to not only do Bailey and Gavin's wedding flowers, but also to be able to attend their wedding as a guest! I'm excited to watch their love continue to grow for a long, long time. I wish them a lifetime of happiness together! 

 

Samantha and Jake - 05/28/16

Samantha and Jake were a referral from my mom! Samantha is my mom's massage therapist and my mom suggested she reach out to me during her wedding planning process. One of her bridesmaids also used to work for me at Claire's. Our paths were destined to cross. 

When we first got together, Samantha pulled out pictures from my Facebook page and showed me a bouquet from a previous wedding that was exactly what she wanted. Ironically, they were getting married in the same church as well! 

Images by Kelly Cook Photography

Images by Kelly Cook Photography

Jake was one of the few grooms to attend a floral appointment (they are always welcome!). To incorporate Jake's personality into their wedding, the groomsmen had their boutonnieres in shotgun shells. He found pink shotgun shells so they would match the wedding!

Images by Kelly Cook Photography

Images by Kelly Cook Photography

Samantha and her bridesmaids carried bouquets of baby's breath with white and light pink ranunculus. Ranunculus is definitely a hot flower right now and I'm so glad, because it is gorgeous!

Images by Kelly Cook Photography 

Images by Kelly Cook Photography 

Samantha and Jake are super cute together and are some of the nicest people. They took pictures with their dogs on their wedding which is clearly the greatest thing. After their wedding, Samantha and Jake sent me a thank you note that used a photo of her bouquet as the background. Ironically the couple that inspired their wedding flowers did the same thing! I don't get a lot of thank you notes so it was a huge coincidence!

Images by Kelly Cook Photography

Images by Kelly Cook Photography

Thank you so much for choosing to work with me for your wedding! I hope your marriage together is as perfect as your wedding day was!