Tag Archives: roses

Alaska Weddings: Lena + Ivan

October 1, 2016 alaskaknitnat 1 Comment

Last winter I did flowers for a couple in Alyeska. When I delivered them to the bride’s suite she introduced me to her maid of honor and said she would be getting married next summer.

Fast forward to today when I delivered flowers to bride Lena’s suite and I was greeted by last winter’s bride. The tabled turned and she was now the maid of honor. I love how small this town is.

Lena and Ivan’s colors were navy, coral, cream and orange. A perfect palette for the amazing autumn weather we’re having.

This bouquet made me giddy! The most perfect little orange spray roses looked like miniature garden roses. Combined with peach carnations, cream roses, solidago, scabiosa pods, salmon hypericum berries, billy balls and seeded eucalyptus — this bouquet was just what the bride ordered.

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alaska, Flowers, weddings

Alaska Weddings: Roxanne + Michael

August 23, 2016 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

I’ve been waiting all summer to use Alaska-grown dahlias. When bride Roxanne contacted me and requested “designer’s choice” bouquets, I knew it was finally my chance.

Roxanne’s dress was unusual – traditional red Chinese brocade with a peacock embroidered in gold. It only made sense to include gold sprayed eucalyptus and peacock feathers.

This bouquet was over the top thanks to the enormous dinner plate dahlia from All Dahlia’d Up Flower Farm.

The bridesmaids’ bouquets were equally as luscious with smaller pink and purple dahlias, waxflower, myrtle, seeded eucalyptus and white spray roses.

I couldn’t resist putting a peacock feather in Michael the groom’s boutonniere.

One of my favorite bouts to boot!

The groomsmen’s bouts were all similar but slightly different. I love that!

The bride and groom were wed in misty, beautiful Girdwood this afternoon. Many congratulations to the happy couple!

alaska, Flowers, weddings

Alaska Weddings: Peter + Jessica

August 6, 2016 alaskaknitnat 1 Comment

Brides are all different. Some know what they want, others need a little more guidance, but some have a creative vision. Jessica was one of those brides. She and her mother came to me with the boldest theme I’ve encountered yet – burgundy, gold and deep purple. When they told me those colors, my eyes got big and I just said, “Oooooooh!”

A bridal bouquet of true majesty. Burgundy peonies, gold sprayed eucalyptus, antique pink carnations, red roses, white spray roses, burgundy and white stock, rosemary, purple mini carnations, Italian ruscus and leucadendron is a perfect wild, regal, ravishing flower arrangement fit for a queen! Designed by Natasha Price of alaskaknitnat.com

I seriously contemplated putting on my wedding dress just to hold the bridal bouquet (the above photo is the toss bouquet).

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alaska, Flowers, weddings

Alaska Weddings: Carrie + Christopher

July 23, 2016 alaskaknitnat 1 Comment

It’s been a busy summer of weddings and I’ve still got more to go. This week’s was one of my favorites. Bride Carrie asked for cheerful blooms mixed with Alaska foliage — just my style!

A bright and cheerful Alaska wedding | Bridal bouquet made with ivory roses, queen anne's lace, spray rose, Japanese aster, wild grass, astilbe, wild fern, wild raspberry and Italian ruscus. Designed by Natasha Price of Alaska Knit Nat

Pink, pink and pink. I love it. Spray roses, Japanese aster and salmon hypericum berry were the central blooms.

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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.

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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!

DIY, Flowers

8 Simple Steps to Long-lasting Grocery Store Flowers

March 13, 2015 alaskaknitnat Leave a comment

Yesterday was my birthday and I’m fortunate to have friends and family who know me well enough to buy me flowers on my special day. Fresh flowers add so much cheer to my home, but this simple luxury isn’t something I can always afford. That’s why I like to make my fresh flowers last as long as possible before having to toss them.

Here are some simple ways you can make your grocery store flowers liven up your home for several days.

1. Buy fresh flowers

This may seem like a no-brainer, but the less time the flowers have been in the grocery store, the longer you can enjoy them in your home before they wilt. Look for blooms that haven’t yet fully opened. If you’re buying lilies or daffodils, select a bouquet where only a couple have opened and several are still closed up. This will ensure you will have blooms for days to come. If purchasing roses, avoid the romantically opened blooms. Those will only go bad quickly. Here’s a rose tip: gently squeeze the base of the bloom. It should feel sort of firm like a golf ball. If it’s squishy, then that rose is on its way out.

Continue reading 8 Simple Steps to Long-lasting Grocery Store Flowers →

alaska, Flowers

Flower Magic in the Midnight Sun

June 14, 2014 alaskaknitnat 3 Comments

My best friend Kelly and I have a long past of frolicking through the Anchorage woods together. We frolic and collect. Sometimes it’s moss. Sometimes it’s branches, but most of the time it’s flowers.

One great thing about Alaska summers is the endless sunlight. Tonight we decided to go pick daisies on the side of the road. We set out at 9 p.m. By the time we completed a flower crown it was 10 p.m. and still plenty of light for a photo shoot.

Flower crowns are surprisingly easy. All you need is some floral wire, floral tape and small clusters of wildflowers. We used lilac, daisies, beautiful Jacob’s ladder and wild roses.

No tutorial today, but I just wanted to show off my beautiful friend.