Refreshing

On a warm summer day, there is nothing as cooling as the color blue. Blue calms and soothes, it is the color of oceans and lakes, shadows, and night skies. Blue refreshes the eye - think of how the retailers introduce all blue clothing after the Christmas holidays - we are instantly awoken and fresh after the incessant red and green.

As I have said before, it is one of the rarer colors in nature in terms of flowers, so finding hardy blue flowers to withstand summer heat can be a bit tricky. Delphinium is not traditionally a strong flower, but I got lucky for this summer wedding and I had bunches of the most brilliant (and hardy) delphinium.

My bride wanted all blue and whites and silvers - blue is both a favorite color and a salute to her groom who serves in the US Navy. The colors looked great against the grey stone and flagstone of the terrace and structure of Greystone Hall. On a clear summer day, the vista from the terrace to the ceremony site was simply lovely.

Flowers pictured include: blue and white hydrangea, blue delphinium, vivian spray roses, tibet white roses, casablanca lilies, white snapdragon, peonies, white alstroemeria, freesia, Israeli ruscus, salal, seeded eucalyptus, pittosporum, and silver branches.

Wedding arch with Mother of the Bride's veil 

Centerpiece for wall was placed just before ceremony to avoid sun

Centerpiece for wall, waiting to be placed

Bridesmaid's bouquet

Bridal bouquet

Tropical Heat

The inspiration for this party was Jamaica - a favorite place of the guest of honor, the birthday girl. The host wanted bright, bright, bright colors with a hint of the exotic and I selected flowers primarily in the pinks and oranges family with pops of other complementary colors for interest - yellows, purples, greens. I also focused on texture - fuzzy, fluffy, spiky - to create additional visual variety.

The result was a riot of color and the arrangements worked wonderfully against the bright orange cloths.

Continuing along this line of bright exotics, I've included a few shots of a set of bouquets I did around the same time - chartreuse green cymbidium orchids with hot pink roses.

Using brights may seem daunting, but I encourage you to explore the outer edges of the usual pinks, oranges, and greens and try a few neons, electrics, and acids. These super bright colors are all the rage now in fashion and design, and it's fun to experiment a bit with flowers.

Materials pictured include: pink hydrangea, trick dianthus, hot lady roses, mombo spray roses, donna roses, seedum, billy ball, bullit purple allium, thistle, hypericum, concador lilies, aspidestra leaves, eremurus cleopatra orange, cymbidum orchids, and sweet unique roses.