I love last-minute gigs. There’s a certain thrill about making people happy when they haven’t had a lot of time to plan. This was the case with Kate and Joe. Their good friend, Alyse had met me earlier this summer at a downtown Anchorage street fair where I was making flower crowns and she decided as a gift to the bride and groom she would purchase flowers for their Eklutna Lake wedding.
It was going to be a true Alaska wedding. The party wore XTRATUFs, the groomsmen donned Pendleton plaid with Patagonia puffy vests and the bride wore a yellow dress. Bride Kate wanted a wildflower, colorful bouquet and some corsages and boutonnieres.
It was a lot of fun working on this small wedding. For focal flowers I used small sunflowers and protea (also called pincushion). Surrounding these were purple mini asters, button mums and peach mini carnations. It was delightful.
My son was thrilled when I had some leftover flowers. He made his own arrangement to give to my friend Laura.
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.
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!
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.
Alaska Knit Nat 