Miss Margarita, Boston/Los Angeles
Age and Occupation: 26, Healthcare Consultant
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Doctor
Engagement Date: March 21, 2007
Wedding Date: August, 2008
Blogging Since: June 18, 2008
Venue: Saddlerock Ranch
About Me: I grew up in Southern California, moved to Boston for college, New York for grad school, back to Boston and now I travel the northeast every week for work. When I'm not on the go, I love to read, draw, shop, sleep and spend quality time with my fiancé, family and friends. We're long-distance planning for our "big fat brown wedding" in California and are excited to unite our Sri Lankan and Indian cultures and Buddhist and Hindu religions in a unique and modern way.
That title has nothing to do with anything, but that song is stuck in my head. Now I bet I’ve successfully gotten in stuck in your head too (muhahaha <— that’s my satisfied evil laugh).
Although this post has nothing to do with candy, it does involve sweet flowers. I was pretty floored when I first started looking at flowers. I had no idea you could do such innovative and beautiful things. I ogled at Preston Bailey and Daniel Ost, but then quickly came back to reality.
Daniel Ost is a genius
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Miss Cherry Pie, Seattle/Polebridge, Montana
Age and Occupation: 25, Marketing Communications Specialist
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 28, Nurse Practitioner
Engagement Date: August 26, 2006
Wedding Date: September 2008
Blogging Since: April 1, 2008
Venue: A tiny town just outside of Glacier National Park
About Me: I think of life as a journey and I love the places it's taking me! I went to school to study Magazine Journalism, ended up with a second major in Japanese language, and now work at a company that makes software for libraries. I love writing, computers, photography, and the great outdoors. I spend most of my time playing Guitar Hero and Rock Band or geeking out online with Mr. Cherry Pie. I'm happiest when I'm on the road, especially traveling abroad, or just nesting quietly at home with my sweetie, who is a fabulous cook and bakes a delicious rendition of a certain cherry-filled dessert!
I spent some time this weekend with my shepherd’s hooks and cache of jars working out how to attach one to the other.
First, I picked out 20 jars of a similar smallish size, and set them aside. Then, I went a-crafting. I took a trip down to Michael’s to pick up some wraphia (aka raffia), a natural-looking, grassy ribbon that’s strong enough to use as a hanger.
But my mock-ups wouldn’t be complete without some stand-in dahlias…so I got five of these lovelies at a local florist:

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Miss Margarita, Boston/Los Angeles
Age and Occupation: 26, Healthcare Consultant
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Doctor
Engagement Date: March 21, 2007
Wedding Date: August, 2008
Blogging Since: June 18, 2008
Venue: Saddlerock Ranch
About Me: I grew up in Southern California, moved to Boston for college, New York for grad school, back to Boston and now I travel the northeast every week for work. When I'm not on the go, I love to read, draw, shop, sleep and spend quality time with my fiancé, family and friends. We're long-distance planning for our "big fat brown wedding" in California and are excited to unite our Sri Lankan and Indian cultures and Buddhist and Hindu religions in a unique and modern way.
I stumbled across Olivia Oberlin from my daily perusal of various wedding blogs and I fell in love. I think her fans are absolutely gorgeous and I am sure incredibly expensive (no prices on the website). Her fans got me thinking that it could be unique and beautiful for my bridesmaids to carry a fan adorned with fresh flowers instead of a bouquet. I’m thinking a few random flowers sewn onto the fan itself and a long strand of orchids trailing down from the base.
Olivia Oberlin Fans:
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Mrs. Tiramisu, Annapolis, MD/Maine
Age and Occupation: 26, Eye Doctor
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 26, Project Manager/Real Estate Management grad student
Engagement Date: May 15, 2007
Wedding Date: July, 2008
Blogging Since: March 4, 2008
Venue: Oceanfront lawn and tent
About Me: I was born and raised in Maine, now living in Annapolis, Maryland and planning a hometown wedding from afar. I’m nothing short of obsessed with wedding planning, and am loving the do-it-yourself madness that has now taken over my life! As for me, I’m a craft-loving, martini-drinking, girly-girl who loves traveling, photography, my schnauzer, and above all, spending time with Mr. Tiramisu.
I stopped by my florist today to go over some last minute details and LOOK what I found:
Dark blue hydrangea, mini calla lilies, delphinium and freesia for my bouquet, light blue for the bridesmaids. The dark blue ones came from the Netherlands! Who knew! You wouldn’t know by the price.
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Miss Pomegranate, Sacramento
Age and Occupation: 27, Technical Specialist
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Software Engineer
Engagement Date: August 23, 2007
Wedding Date: October, 2008
Blogging Since: June 5, 2008
Venue: R.H. Phillips Winery
About Me: Hi, I'm Miss Pomegranate and I'm a shopaholic. I have a weak spot for the chic cheap - especially anything I can re-create on the DIY. Shoes are my vice, music is my passion in life and technology is the medium by which I live and work. When I'm not scoping out a sale, I'm spending my quality time training for a marathon, playing Wii with my fiance and snuggling with my Silver Labrador and Teacup Panther - and oh yeah, planning my wedding!
…no, not more cowbell - more succulents!
Image via Brides
I’m addicted to these fat little plants. They are gorgeous, modern, and rustic - which is exactly the look and feel I want for our winery wedding. The best part is, this hot little trend is popping up everywhere - even Martha Stewart has the Fever! She has posted numerous gorgeous examples of how to incorporate these plants into your parties, including centerpieces and even favors.
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Miss Cookie, Denver
Age and Occupation: 25, Nonprofit Fundraiser/Theatre Designer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 27, Financial Analyst
Engagement Date: September 2007
Wedding Date: September 2008
Blogging Since: May 8, 2008
Venue: Ten Mile Station
About Me: With a degree in Theatre I never realized that planning a wedding was a lot like Theatre Management, until I started planning my own. I am a coffee addict, especially Starbucks' Grande Mochas, yummy! I love to cook (especially chocolate chip cookies for my honey), travel to exotic places, and be creative. As a couple, Mr. Cookie and I are extremely practical, down to earth, and children at heart. We live in a cozy abode with our adorable Pomeranian, and love to play board games and watch movies into the evening.

From left to right: Row 1: Style Me Pretty, The Knot, Knottie Bio Vintageglam Row 2: Cymbidium Orchid? Row 3: Style Me Pretty, Couple?, Style Me Pretty, Row 4: The Knot, Martha Stewart Weddings, Heather Warska, The Knot, Martha Stewart Weddings
Since I am a very visual cookie, I did a floral inspiration board for my florist, to better understand the floral palette that I have envisioned for our wedding. (Sorry, my sources are a little incomplete because I didn’t write them down when I made this back in March). How did I decided on what flowers I wanted?
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Mrs. Green Tea, Sacramento
Age and Occupation: 30, Tea Analyst
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Coffee Critic
Engagement Date: November 17, 2006
Wedding Date: August 23, 2008
Blogging Since: June 10, 2008
Venue: Vineyard on the Delta
About Me: I'm just your average obsessive compulsive, arts & crafts loving, funky-on-the-inside/boring-on-the-outside girl, who dares to say 'Hey! I can make that!' Nerdy professional by day, goofy won-ton by night. The won-ton sometimes comes out during the day when I'm fed the dollar breakfast at Ikea. Since our engagement, wedding planning has put me on high alert for bargains and I've been pushing my nimble fingers through callous building experiments!
Topiaries are very classic pieces, and they are not as intimidating to DIY as they look! Here are pics (courtesy of my brilliant brother) of one that I made using leftover scrap flowers from a wedding:

(Click on image to enlarge)
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Mrs. Green Tea, Sacramento
Age and Occupation: 30, Tea Analyst
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 31, Coffee Critic
Engagement Date: November 17, 2006
Wedding Date: August 23, 2008
Blogging Since: June 10, 2008
Venue: Vineyard on the Delta
About Me: I'm just your average obsessive compulsive, arts & crafts loving, funky-on-the-inside/boring-on-the-outside girl, who dares to say 'Hey! I can make that!' Nerdy professional by day, goofy won-ton by night. The won-ton sometimes comes out during the day when I'm fed the dollar breakfast at Ikea. Since our engagement, wedding planning has put me on high alert for bargains and I've been pushing my nimble fingers through callous building experiments!
For those of you considering DIY wedding florals, you’ll find that there’s often savings in buying less variety of blooms in bulk. Single stem arrangements done right can give off a very classy vibe. This weekend I bought some roses and made several arrangements using red roses as the only fresh stems.
Here is the centerpiece I wish I could make for our wedding (the Sac town heat outdoors would not be nice to these red pretties for our wedding, not to mention the glass pot would fog up big time for sure):

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Mrs. Flamingo, Montreal, Canada
Age and Occupation: 25, Graphic Designer
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 30, Nursing Student
Engagement Date: December 2004
Wedding Date: June 21, 2008
Venue: Imperia Hotel (modern chic hotel)
About Me: I am a passionate designer who loves anything pretty. I heart all paper products (eco-friendly of course). My passion revolves around anything considered glamour; vintage and modern. In my free time, I love reading Martha mags, designing jewelry and making a pit-stop at Starbucks for a chai latte. I'm also a chocoholic at heart and my family drools over my homemade truffles.
I thank everyone for your suggestions regarding my bridal bouquet. I will indeed remove the bear grass loops - I agree. it takes away from the beauty of the bouquet. Even though the greenery adds fullness, I’d rather not have any. Hopefully my flowers will be in full bloom and greenery won’t be necessary to fill out the bouquet.

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Mrs. Tulip, DC
Age and Occupation: 36, Retired
Fiance's Age and Occupation: 33, Counsel/DOO for Small Gov't Contractor
Engagement Date: August 8, 2007
Wedding Date: March, 2008
Venue: Still Looking!
About Me: In all my dreams of the man I'd someday marry, I never pictured anyone as perfect for me as Mr. Tulip. So now we just have to make it through the craziness of the wedding and the moving in together! I love crafts, sewing, jewelry making, and photography, so am looking forward to this chance for DIY fun. When not wedding planning, I'm playing with our dog and 4 cats, Ebay shopping, or watching too much TV (often simultaneously!).
From the start, I planned to save funds by DIYing our wedding flowers. Martha Stewart’s DVDs, which I checked out from our local library, made it look amazingly easy. But I had nightmares about trying to wire together bouquets on the busy day before the wedding.
So, we went with silk flowers for our bouquets and bouts, purchased months in advance from Save-on-Crafts. And I was quite impressed — they were high quality at excellent prices.

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