Happy New Year from
Bella Botanicals!!

'Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed with the things you didn't do than with the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.' 
Mark Twain

the gapstow bridge on its first day of winter-courtesy google images

A little over a year ago, in September of 2009, I had the honor to design the flowers for the wedding of Marty Miller and Jessica Park. Jessica and I knew each other while growing up, and reconnected at my cousin's bridal shower. She told me their wedding was going to be outdoors, on a little peninsula where she and Marty had gone for many dates, and the colors she was envisioning were coral and bright green. It was decided upon to use green spider mums, coral roses, green hypernicum berries, green button mums, and Queen Anne's lace.

The photography was done by the very talented Christine Sweet, who was so kind as to share some photos with me for my website. Enjoy!

Photography: Christine Sweet

Flowers: Bella Botanicals

Succulent Designs

One of the things I like to do in my free time is browse through websites and blogs that have beautiful and creative ideas that inspire me as I seek to grow Bella Botanicals. One such blog is Kinser Event Company (http://kinsereventcompany.blogspot.com)/. A friend sent me the link and I was immediately enchanted! After looking through pictures from a featured photo shoot, I was excited to experiment with incorporating succulents into bouquets. They add such an interesting and unique twist, and make an arrangement stand out immediately. When I return from New Jersey, my next mission is to try my hand at succulents...we'll see how it turns out! Until I have my own to showcase, enjoy these lovely pictures!

Original source: Green Wedding Shoes (http://greenweddingshoes.com)

Concept and Design: Green Wedding Shoes and JL Designs

Styling: Green Wedding Shoes

Photography: Stephanie Williams

Flowers: JL Designs

Makeup and Hair by Nyrie using Jouer Cosmetics and Unite

Prop Rentals: Found Vintage Rentals

Wedding Dresses: Temperley London

Paper Details: MaeMae Paperie

Hair Pieces: Lo Boheme

Linens: Wildflower Linens

Bride Shoes: Shoebuy.com

Groom Shoes: 6pm.com

Models: Chris Marino and Amanda Rau

Fall leaves, fall!

Autumn is my favorite time of year. There is nothing that quite compares to the first crisp feeling in the air that signals for one to begin unpacking winter clothes. My husband Mike and I, along with Edward, are traveling to New Jersey later this week to see the beautiful fall foliage, and visit with Mike's family as well. Virginia Beach, for the most part, pretty much skips the fall season; one day the leaves are green, and the next the branches are completely bare. Needless to say, I am looking forward to viewing REAL fall colors for the first time! A few of the reasons I love autumn are as follows:

*the aforementioned crispness in the air

*pumpkin patches

*the need to wear a sweater when going outdoors

*hot cocoa

*shorter days and longer nights

*waking up while its still dark

*mellow fall sunlight in my living room

*gathering huge bouquets of autumnal flowers

*the promise of what follows autumn...Christmastime!!

*the first eggnog being sold in stores

*and sharing my first cup of eggnog with my sister Madeleine...a fun little tradition!

In my opinion, blog posts with no pictures are a little boring, so I looked online and found some gorgeous photos. You must excuse the amount of pictures; each new one I saw was more beautiful than the last, and I couldn't decide between them all!

Hopefully after our trip I'll have some of my own pictures to post...

I also love the number of poems that describe the grandeur of autumn...this one by William Bliss Carman captured me, and I always get little thrills when I read it.

A Vagabond Song

There is something in the autumn that is native to my blood-

Touch of manner, hint of mood;

And my heart is like a rhyme,

With the yellow and the purple and the crimson keeping time.

The scarlet of the maples can shake me like the cry

Of bugles going by.

And my lonely spirit thrills

To see the frosty asters like a smoke upon the hills.

There is something in October sets the gypsy blood astir;

We must rise and follow her,

When from every hill of flame

She calls and calls each vagabond by name.

New Beginnings...

It has been much too long since I attended to my little blog, but a great deal has gone on this year, including the birth of a very precious baby boy in September! Our little Edward brings so much joy to Mike and me. In spite of the sad lack of blog updates, I have been busy over the past months with several events. Among these was the wedding of Frank and Kimberly Vincent in June. Frank and Kim's wedding was beautifully situated on their own property, which backed up to the James River. Kim loved the nautical look, and wanted to use striped ribbon on the bouquets and boutonnières....I looked everywhere and finally found the perfect nautical ribbon at Hancock Fabrics. After discussing several different ideas, we decided to use green and white flowers, specifically green hypernicum berries, green spider mums, white Queen Anne's lace, and white hydrangeas. Kim's bridesmaids were her two daughters, and we gave one of them a green bouquet, and the other a white bouquet. Kim herself had a combination of the two; together with the navy and white ribbon, the end result was quite striking! The wedding was at sunset, and could not have been more lovely. The reception was under the stars, and guests enjoyed dancing long into the night. I am in the process of contacting Frank and Kim's wedding photographer so I can show some of the actual wedding pictures; unfortunately the only ones I can share are those that I snapped of the flowers before taking them to the wedding site. You can tell that I'm still pregnant in the pics :) Enjoy!

The Bride's Bouquet, with hydrangea, Queen Anne's lace, green spider mums, and hypernicum berries.

The "White Bouquet"...white hydrangeas and white Queen Anne's lace.

The "Green Bouquet"...green spider mums and hypernicum berries.

Lastly, one of my favorite aspects of the wedding; the flower girl's "ball". Kim's 8 year old daughter, when given the option of either a basket with petals or a "flower ball", chose the flower ball. She was quite precocious and claimed she wanted the "more unusual option"! I had so much fun designing this little accessory, and I think it turned out well! I used miniature white mums, and the same nautical ribbon as on the bouquets.

I thoroughly enjoyed working with Frank and Kim...their wedding was beautiful, and I am so happy for both of them!

Banquet in the Vineyard

These pictures are from my sister Laurel-Manette's 18th birthday party this past September. Her birthday was the first themed party I planned, and it was SO fun! We decided to hold it at Martin's Vineyard on Knotts Island, NC. Martin's Vineyard is a family owned vineyard and small winery that is simply saturated with charm. Over the years our family would visit the vineyard, bring a picnic, and spend the day picking grapes, peaches, and apples, when each respective fruit was in season. What a perfect place to celebrate her 18th birthday! I had the most fun planning her party out of all the events I've done so far...there wasn't the same pressure since it was for my sister and not a paying client. She was so gracious and easy-going, and we had a marvelous time going over everything from the decorations to the seating arrangements.

The theme of the party was "Summer Evening Attire with a Twist". I got the idea after seeing a similar party featured in a magazine earlier that year. The dress code was charming and eclectic - cocktail dresses with rain boots, evening gowns accessorized by aviator hats, and dress shirts paired with shorts and soccer cleats are just some of the creative outfits our guests came up with. The menu was comprised of fresh, end-of-summer salads, sandwiches, plus a medley of homemade pies for dessert. My mom volunteered to be the Birthday Cook, and she slaved in the kitchen for hours leading up to the party. Everything was absolutely delicious!!

The weather was beautiful as well. Rain was expected that weekend, and we anxiously watched the forecast for days, praying that the rain would hold off. The day of the party dawned crisp and slightly overcast, but rain-free. As we were packing up and leaving the vineyard after the party was over, raindrops began to fall while we made our way down the windy driveway. The timing could not have been more perfect!

We decided to hold the party in the vineyard itself, rather than on the grassy knoll where parties were usually held. The rustic charm was almost overpowering!!



Each table was covered with my mom's antique table clothes, and scattered down the length of the table were an assortment of candles and vases of all shapes and sizes. Filling the vases were Queen Anne's Lace, green spider mums, green hypernicum berries, coral roses, green button mums, and yellow daisies. We found branches with grapes still attached that had fallen from the vine, and these we liberally added to the decor.







Each place was set with a different antique plate, and an apple stuck with a brown paper leaf bearing their name. We used Ball Jars for glasses, and each person's name was tied to their jar with twine. Lastly, a small black bird was next to each plate, filled with peanuts for the guests to munch on.

Table # 1

Table # 2

Table # 3

A little blurry, but these two pictures show some of the creative outfits we had!

To finish up, here is a quote that we used on the invitations for her party. Even though her party wasn't held on a beach, we loved this quote and felt inspired by the carefree, old-fashioned happiness of it all.

"Eventually we decided that we would go on the picnic in spite of everything, since all the arrangements were made, so we staggered down to the boat, loaded down with food, wine, and costumes, and set off for the coast...eventually we reached the bay, spread out the rugs on the sand, arranged the food, placed the battalion of wine bottles in a row in the shallows to keep cool, and the great moment had arrived."

Gerald Durrell, "My Family and Other Animals"