Oh, how I miss my wedding! How I wish it wasn’t over and just a beautiful memory in my mind… just kidding, I love being married! But all the same, I miss the whole process, all the minutia, the DIY, the excitement and the anticipation…
But let me recap one of my favorite aspects of our wedding, one which we dedicated a lot of thought, effort and uhmm, dough, to getting *just right.* The decor!
Flowers - Fleur Couture
Fleur was one of my favorite vendors, and I really, really enjoyed working with the owner, Kelly Marie. Her work is so amazingly fantabulous… and reasonably priced to boot (ok, she’s not “cheap” by any means, but relative to her competitors, she’s definitely reasonable). She was so patient with my numerous emails and did her best to answer my questions in a timely manner. We met 3 times over the course of 9 months, and I always knew I was in good hands. (FYI, I decided to be crazy and provided ALL my own glassware, candles, votives, lanterns, everything right down to the river rocks!!)
My gorgeous hand-tied bouquet of burgundy and fuchsia dahlias, black magic roses, rasberry callas, gloriosa lilies, and mokara orchids, wrapped with a bit of ivory ribbon and scraps of lace from my gown.
The bridesmaids bouquets of vendela roses, ivory spray roses, white freesia and green goddess callas, bound with flax leaves and pearl pins.
The only thing I couldn’t figure out was why the flower girl’s halo was made with purple dendrobium orchids. It was supposed to be pink spray roses to match the ring bearer’s boutonniere. But I was like, whatever, hehe. (Sorry, no close ups yet of the guy’s bouts).
Simple aisle decor, poofs of babys breath in petal cones (I made those with large 11 x 17 paper doilies and some leftover ribbon).
Easy peasy cocktail table arrangement. Single cymbidium orchid on top of river rocks in a 6-inch cylinder vase.
My escort card table arrangement, an “arch” of kiwi vines and cascading orchids (urns from TJMaxx).
Low centerpieces consisting of black magic roses, burgundy and fuchsia dahlias, gloriosa lilies and greenery, surrounded by the vellum wrapped votives that I slaved over back in March.
The tall centerpieces consisted of a bullet vase, calla lilies, mokara orchids, curly willow, and a ti leaf. Around each arrangement were four, 8-inch candles in a glass candle holder filled with fresh coffee beans at the base.
Another vendor that I really enjoyed working with was event designer, Deborah from the Art of Imagination (her website doesn’t always work, you can email her at artofimagination123@yahoo.com). I heard a recommendation for her on theKnot local message board and decided to give her a call. I was looking for someone to disguise the back wall of our venue:
Her draping and lighting turned my ballroom into a very intimate and romantic space. Draping such as this is generally charged by the foot (my wall was 65 feet long!), and her cost per foot was $5 lower than the other estimates I received. Deborah was on-site the day of my wedding, making sure that everything was done just right.
She also gave us the option of paying the balance up front when we signed with her, and for doing so, she threw in the ceremony arch at no extra charge! I really wanted a canopy, and renting these suckers usually costs a few hundred dollars, so I was absolutely thrilled! It was simple and elegant, and didn’t detract from the surrounding environment (also note in the pic below that 2 of our tall centerpieces were used as our altar arrangements, way to recycle!).
The chocolate brown satin overlays on my tables were from Royal Chaircovers. They were definitely the least expensive vendor I found, at only $13 per overlay, and a minimal delivery fee of at most around $20 for both drop off and pickup. Some companies I contacted wanted over $20 per piece! No way! These were lovely and did the trick, but I did notice that some of the overlays were smaller than the others, meaning that some looked kinda short! But whatever, I have no regrets about paying less, and I’m sure no one else noticed (I hope 
).
Lastly in the decor department, I ordered 12,000 rose petals from Fifty Flowers to line our aisle. Initially I planned to purchase bulk roses from Costco on the Wednesday before my wedding, force them to bloom, and then pull off the petals on Friday. Let me just say that I am SO GLAD I gave up that idea and just ordered the darn petals!! The total cost was $200 with NO tax and NO shipping. They arrived on Friday in a huge box, and they didn’t need to be refrigerated. There were plenty of petals to line my aisle, as well as decorate the cake table, escort card table, and a few other areas. Fabulous!
Isn’t pipe and drape wonderful? Looks like you found some great vendors. And that bouquet is gorgeous!
My question is also about the rose petal aisle. It’s beautiful! My mom says only the RB, FGs and the bride should walk on the runner… your rose petal aisle is another option.
Did all of your bridal party walk on the roses? And like Miss Penguin asked, how did it look after the processional?
Thanks for sharing your pics - especially the before & after that your wedding designer helped with. What a transformation. The canopy is nice, too! Makes me rethink our plan for our outdoor ceremony this Friday - but I promised my FI and mother **no more changes**!
BTW, I ordered 66 cups of freeze-dried rose petals for 40 rose petal cones, 2 FG baskets and lining both sides (not the lush, carpeted look Mrs. E had) of outdoor aisle from Flyboy Naturals. Within 2 business days we had our petals, beautifully wrapped. Very affordable!
Everyone in the bridal party walked over the petal aisle and it was fine. Even after the ceremony when the petals scattered a bit, it was a nice effect, especially cuz there were so many of them!
Miss Cherry Blosson - the river rocks were from the Dollar store (actually the store is called Deals, but its the same concept). I think it was about 4 lbs for $1!
Gorgeous flowers! Fleur is actually one of the florists we’re considering for our Chicago wedding next May, so it’s great to hear feedback from someone who’s worked with them.
And I love the rose petals aisle, too - might have to borrow that idea 
Mrs. E - Aw shucks - that is an awesome deal!!!!!!! I need to go scavenge hunt!
LOVE the lantern centerpieces - can I ask where you bought them?
Everything is so beautiful! I had a question about providing all your own containers, vases, etc. How did you round them up at the end of the night and get them back? We are thinking of doing the same thing, but are nervous about how best to collect things at the end without asking friends or family to help. I’d love to know how you got everything there and back?
Julia - hahaha, I won’t lie, it was a bit complicated to round everything up at the end of the night! The hotel was kind enough to collect the smaller items (small votives, candles/candle holders, etc). But really it came down to my family. We had 9 relatives staying over at our house, so at the end of the night when they were leaving, everyone just walked out holding a HUGE bullet vase! I asked many guests to take the low arrangements home since they were easier to transport.
Mrs. Emerald, Chicago
Age and Occupation: 26, Hospitality Administration
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Paralegal
Engagement Date: October 8, 2006
Wedding Date: September 2007
Blogging Since: November 29, 2006
Venue: Hyatt Lodge, Oak Brook IL
About Me: I have been dreaming about my wedding forever, and flipping through bridal magazines since high school, so I am in my element! I am calling our theme "Vintage Inspired French/Asian Fusion." Mr. Emerald is very involved in the planning process, but of course he generally defers to me cuz I have a strong opinion of how I want everything to be :-).
Everything turned out great! A quick question on the “flower petal aisle” you had…
was the thing a total mess after you came down the aisle with your long dress? How did it look in pics after you walked through it?