Secret Garden

Courtesy of Photography by Tessie

As you remember, I chose flowers as one of my DIY projects.  You can read about that here.  So I've gone back through my photos from the wedding to give you a bit more insight into my flowers.  I used silver colored chalices for the larger pieces and julep cups in the same color for the smaller ones.  I got both of these here. I also chose a 24" clear glass pilsner vase for the head table.  I stuffed the base of this with a few sheets of crumpled up iridescent foil, which I picked up at Michaels.  Included in this order as well was a case of Aquafoam blocks.  I cut them in half for the chalices and they fit rather snugly.

Courtesy of Photography by Tessie

The large pieces then, consisted of red, pink and purple roses, eggplant calla lilies, Purple Hydrangea, Purple Carnations and Red Garden Roses.  I think I did a pretty decent job choosing the color palate, if I do say so myself.  My bouquet consisted of all of the above sans the Purple Hydrangea and Purple Carnation.

The silver pillars on the table came from ZGallerie (I love them!), as do the silver spheres.  The silver trays that they are sitting on my mom picked up at a party store I think.  I ordered a case of off-white UNSCENTED pillar candles, assuming that vanilla bean times twelve would be rather nauseating while you try to enjoy your dinner.

Courtesy of Photography by Tessie

I used bouquet jewelry from Cristalier.  I also used extras on the girls' corsages.  There is platinum ribbon wrapped around the handle of my bouquet and secured with boutonniere pins.

Courtesy of Photography by Tessie

Overall, the flowers turned out great and I got lots of positive comments on the tablescapes, including an offer to assist with a future floral business...ha, ha.  Looking back, doing my own flowers created a very special memory for me.  I wouldn't have it any other way.

A Capitol Idea - Our Venue

Aside from figuring out if it was "capitol" or "capital" (I came to the conclusion you could use both) - planning a wedding at the Pennsylvania State Capitol is rather simple.  The biggest issue you have is logistics - getting your "stuff" ie, flowers, tables, chairs into the space is the most difficult aspect.  The jaw-dropping venue is very popular in our area - you can hold a non-religious ceremony, but still have a reverent feel. 

The biggest drawback for most brides is getting the venue in the first place.  This was my big "want" for my wedding, so I was willing to allow the venue to set my date.  We wanted something in the spring and it just so happened that a couple had cancelled, so we took their date.  This does not happen for everyone (or anyone - we were pretty lucky), so if you want this venue, you have to plan ahead - about 2 years ahead.  I worked with DGS (Department of General Services) to set up our date and to coordinate drop offs and pick ups, deliveries and that sort of thing.  They were very helpful and made this one of the easiest parts of planning my wedding.