Category Archives: weddings

Alaska Weddings: a winter reception

December 21, 2015 alaskaknitnat 2 Comments

In Alaska, winter solstice is kind of a big deal. It’s the shortest day of the year. In Anchorage we had a little under five and a half hours. It becomes part of the daily winter grind. The sun doesn’t rise until well after you arrive at work and it’s already set when you drive home for the day.

After December 21 we will gradually gain more daylight. It’s a celebratory time for Alaskans.

Recently a friend of mine got married and decided to have her reception around solstice time. When I was hired to make some centerpieces for her I was thrilled to create more wintery pieces.

Purple and lavender carnations, white chrysanthemums, eucalyptus and spruce sprigs were all I needed to bring some winter cheer to her reception.

The couple loves Italy so it was fitting that many of the bud vases were little limoncello glasses.

Continue reading Alaska Weddings: a winter reception →

alaska, Flowers, weddings

Alaska Weddings: Amy + Joe

December 6, 2015 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

Last-minute weddings are sometimes the best. When my high school friend Amy called me last week to ask if I’d make her bridal bouquet for her wedding this week, I couldn’t say no.

Amy asked for plum and white colors. Alaska Wholesale Flower Market had the most precious Moody Blues roses and deep purple mini carnations. Amy was sold.

I love presenting the corsages and bouts in a pretty way. My first step is to use grocery store doughnut boxes. They have the clear window on the top so you can peek inside and they are big enough to hold several boutonnieres at once. I happened to have some purple tissue paper that was perfect for this occasion.

I had a few leftovers so I made myself a little flower crown. I was able to stop by the reception in the evening and ran into all my old friends. It was a fun reunion. And, of course, I had Ivan model my crown.

Alaska Winter Wedding | flower crown made with white spray roses, statice, mini myrtle, waxflower, Sitka spruce, eucalyptus and purple mini carnations. Designed by Natasha Price of Alaskaknitnat.com — Blue Steel

alaska, Flowers, weddings

Alaska Weddings: Alyeska promo photo shoot

December 4, 2015 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

Anchorage may be the biggest city in Alaska, but nearly every day I think of it as a small town. Kevin Bacon has nothing on Anchorage — we’re all about two degrees separated.

I recently reconnected with high school mate Peter Luchsinger of Pal Photography. When I told him I was a florist on the side he asked if I would contribute two bridal bouquets to a promotional photo shoot at Alyeska Resort in Girdwood.

Without a bride providing me style guidance I was giddy with the prospect of having complete creative control. This proved to be a challenge as I had so many ideas — I have to hand it to brides. I forgot how tough it is to make a design decision!

I ended up with a soft palette of cream, pink, white, peach, sage green and deep burgundy.

Winter weddings: a bridal bouquet with eucalyptus, alstroemeria, roses, spider mums, carnations and wax flower. Designed by Natasha Price of Alaskaknitnat.com — Photo by Pal Photography

Winter weddings: a bridal bouquet made with peach roses, burgundy chrysanthemums, carnations, alstroemeria, carnations and wax flower. Designed by Natasha Price of Alaskaknitnat.com — Photo by Pal Photography

View more photos from this shoot here.

alaska, Flowers, weddings

Alaska Weddings: Chelsea + Lee

November 28, 2015 alaskaknitnat 2 Comments

I love how small Alaska is even though it’s the largest state. When groom Lee told me he was from Unalakleet I was positive he would know our old family friends from there. Turns out Lee is their nephew. After making a couple of other personal revelations I felt an instant connection to this couple.

Chelsea and Lee wanted winter wedding themes without it looking like the Queen of Hearts. With burgundy, white and gold as their theme colors I knew I could provide them with festive florals on a budget.

Alaska Winter Wedding | White and red roses, white and burgundy carnations, eucalyptus, red snapdragon, red hypericum, plumosa and spray roses. The perfect holiday bouquet from alaskaknitnat.com — Photo by Joe Connolly of Chugach Peaks Photography

Carnations get a bad rap. I love their ruffles and color versatility. They are excellent filler without making an arrangement look cheap. Thankfully Chelsea likes carnations because there aren’t many burgundy blooms available in Alaska in November.

A touch of gold ribbon with these dainty boutonnières was an elegant choice. Made with white and red spray roses, white statice, mini myrtle, white wax flower, eucalyptus and some natural feathers.

Continue reading Alaska Weddings: Chelsea + Lee →

alaska, Flowers, weddings

Alaska Weddings: Audra + Chris

September 25, 2015 alaskaknitnat 1 Comment

Last month I got to create wedding flowers in Arctic Valley. Today I was at the top of Alyeska. What a fun experience! My assistant and I got to cram all the flowers into the tram and ride to the top of the mountain. Audra and Chris are tying the knot at Seven Glaciers Restaurant, a dining experience with unparalleled views of Alaska.

Alaska Weddings: Audra + Chris | Bliss at the top of Mount Alyeska — Riding up the tram was a unique floral experience.

The bride selected white hydrangeas, ivory garden roses, white tulips, football mums and blush vadella roses. What a perfect palette for a mountain top soirée — especially since it started snowing as we were setting up!

Continue reading Alaska Weddings: Audra + Chris →

alaska, Flowers, weddings

Alaska Weddings: Cara + Tyler’s Mountaintop Romance

August 29, 2015 alaskaknitnat 9 Comments

Most Anchorage residents would tell you that autumn is here. It arrived last Tuesday, to be precise. There was a nip in the air this morning as I made my way up the windy dirt road to Arctic Valley for my last gig of the wedding season.

Cara and Tyler chose a rustic theme for their wedding, which was fitting against the wilderness surrounding the Arctic Valley chalet. Burlap table runners dressed with vintage lace and slabs of raw birch logs surrounded by moss were just the right touch.

Cara chose pink, blush, white and sage green for the floral arrangements. The shabby-chic color palette complimented the rest of the decor perfectly.

I had the pleasure of working with feather-light garden roses, the color of rosy cheeks on a crisp autumn day.

The mother of the bride requested a garland over the birch tree wedding arch, which I was looking forward to creating. It was my first try at a garland and I constructed it sort of like a giant flower crown. I put the garden roses in water tubes and wired them in just before hanging to ensure the blooms lasted as long as possible.

What a truly wonderful close to my wedding season. This was a challenging, fun summer. I learned a lot through my experience of being a new florist on my own and I’m grateful to the brides who put their trust in me. I can’t wait for next summer!

alaska, Flowers, weddings

Alaska Weddings: Peter + Philly

July 4, 2015 alaskaknitnat 10 Comments

Oh, how I love Alaska weddings! There’s something about an Alaska bride. She loves to incorporate her home state into her most special day. Philly was no exception. Her vision was simplicity for the bridal party and big and wild for the bridal bouquet.

The photos can’t do this bouquet justice. There are peonies from every angle. The wholesaler’s peonies were small, but thanks to an old friend with a big peony garden, I was able to compensate with two HUGE blooms, which are what take up most of the photos. While snipping these two gorgeous flowers I sneaked a couple of poppy pods, which add some vintage green to the arrangement. I foraged many wildflowers including clover blossoms, yarrow, cow parsnip and grass berries. Wrapped in lace and twine and you’ve got a soft beauty with a twinge of wild. Utterly romantic.

Continue reading Alaska Weddings: Peter + Philly →

alaska, Flowers, weddings

Alaska Weddings: Emily & Dan

June 20, 2015 alaskaknitnat 4 Comments

When I was asked to pick up a last minute wedding gig this week, I was more than thrilled to accept. A chance to work with white peonies and garden roses? Yes, please!

Bride Emily wanted a forest look to her arrangements, so I did the sensible thing and I foraged from the forest. I gathered dwarf hemlock from Glenn Alps, which I incorporated into the woodland fairy-like crowns, the delicate boutonnières and corsages and the perfectly-sized bridal bouquet.

Wild geranium, wood ferns and forget-me-nots mixed perfectly with the centerpieces of queen Anne’s lace, veronica and lisianthus.

Emily’s biggest desire was to have a big bridal flower crown of peonies and garden roses. When a fully bloomed peony is the size of a large grapefruit, a large crown is LARGE. My first draft was a little too big, I could barely hold my head up. After I downsized, I made Emily a smaller crown in case the original was too gigantic.

Continue reading Alaska Weddings: Emily & Dan →

alaska, Flowers, weddings

Alaska Weddings: Charlee & Marc

June 7, 2015 alaskaknitnat 2 Comments

Last fall I attended a networking getaway in Homer hosted by The Boardroom called End of Summer Camp. It was a weekend full of meeting and making new friends. During that time I met Crystal and Carrie, owners of Toast of the Town event planning. I told them I was a flower lady and they said they would keep me in mind for future events.

Six months later they set me up with Charlee, a whimsical bride who wanted her flowers colorful, unkempt and carefree — just my style!

Alaska Weddings: Charlee + Marc | Photo by Rhae Anne Photography — Photo by Rhae Anne Photography

I had so much fun putting together the florals for Charlee and her fiancé Marc. I got to work with nearly a dozen different types of flowers from the most fragrant mauve garden roses to my favorite accent flower, craspedia.

I got to do something new, which I’m calling “hair flair.” Charlee had wanted hair combs with fresh flowers for the bridesmaids, but after a hair trial with another bride I discovered that the plastic combs I was using were not easy to work with. What I decided to do was make teeny flower bouquets with wire and floral tape to be pinned into the bridesmaids’ hair.

My niece and I made about 35 pieces of hair flair so the bridesmaids could pick and choose the flowers they liked best for their hairstyle. It was a lot of fun.

I delivered the flowers to Glory View Farm in Wasilla where Crystal and Carrie were setting up the most magical hootenanny.

Congratulations to Marc and Charlee and I wish them all the best!

Continue reading Alaska Weddings: Charlee & Marc →

alaska, Flowers, weddings

Lina + Bill: A Midsummer Kaleidoscope

June 29, 2014 alaskaknitnat 5 Comments

Last year my knitting friend Lina asked if I would design the flowers for her wedding. When she described the colors she wanted there was no way I could say no. She envisioned a wild, rainbow bouquet.

I created a slightly unkempt bouquet of peonies (from her own garden), Japanese asters, mini sunflowers, green trick dianthus, bupleurum, gerber daisies, spray roses, wild daisies, wild grass cattails and wild yarrow.

Lina had saved pussy willow branches from the spring, which I used on the boutonnières.

Billy balls are the perfect accompaniment to fuchsia spray roses and iridescent fuchsia ribbon gave everything a polished look with great pops of color.

Midsummer Kaleidoscope Wedding | Alaska Knit Nat

Because the bride selected so many types of flowers I was left with an excess of product. I decided to make flower crowns for her daughter and niece who were flower girls. My mother models it here.

Marigolds and pale pink rosebuds from my garden were a necessary addition to the garlands.

I had yet even more product, including a full peony (no way I was wasting that!) so I created a draping arrangement in an antique orange vase, which I left on the dining table in the wedding party’s bed and breakfast.