This is my beautiful bride Allison.  My yellow bride. I loved her wedding and I am so happy to share these images, fresh in from Genevieve Leiper Photography.  We absolutely nailed this wedding or hit a home run.  A special thanks to Vicky Choy from Event Accomplished for making everything run so smoothly and to Whitehall Estate in Bluemont for always being amazing. Mrs. P, and Allison had a very definite look that they were going for they gave me so much inspiration that this was just plain fun,fun, fun.  Here are some of the clues they gave me, use bold yellow,  some cream is okay, we love lemons and waxy green leaves and then they said “Holly we trust you have fun”.

My grooms boutonniere or Allison’s grooms boutonniere was created of a yellow calla lily and yellow Freesia. All of the bouts had rosemary which my bride said was a family tradition. The bride had a cluster of cream Hydrangea, yellow Calla lily, yellow Freesia, yellow Craspedia balls, pale yellow Stock and yellow Roses.

We designed four different centerpieces, two styles of elevated and two styles of low.

This design had the cream Hydrangea and a more traditional shape.

This design was our bold yellow, with a slightly more contemporary style. We used yellow oncidium Orchids flying out the top of the arrangement.

This arrangement was our bold all yellow low centerpiece as you can see we wrapped the vase in white satin ribbon. This was a really striking look.

This was our fourth design here we used the cream hydrangea and we introduced the lemons.
In fact we went through 2 boxes of lemons for a total of 200 lemons and here they are.

My friend Rocio Diaz created the wedding cake and of course she used lemons. Rocio owns A Piece of Cake.

Here is one other wonderful idea from this wedding. The bride and groom created a cookbook of family recipes for their party favors.  The bride and her mom told me they were “foodies” and they enjoyed cooking and dinning out so they wanted to share with their guests.

This recipe is one that is sure to please. Mrs. P, shared this with me when we first met and I have served this several times.

Bacon- Wrapped Dates
Before you say “ew” to the thought of a bacon-wrapped date, give this recipe a shot. Not only is it easy and relatively inexpensive, the tongue tingling combination of salty bacon and sweet dates will be a great surprise.!!
1lb. lean bacon ( for this recipe, don’t use turkey bacon)
Approximately 36 dates
Cooking Spray/Pam
Toothpicks

Using a sharp knife, cut each piece of bacon into thirds.( Tip: just pick up the entire pound of bacon and lay it on a cutting board. You should be able to cut the entire pound into thirds at the same time.)
Spray the baking sheet with cooking spray. Take each third of a piece of bacon and wrap it around one date: push a toothpick through each bundle to secure and place it on the baking sheet. Repeat until all of the bacon and dates are wrapped.

Place the baking sheet into a preheated oven set to broil and cook for 10 to 15 minutes or until bacon is crisp and cooked through, turning over halfway through cooking time.

I am so happy I got to work on this wedding. I loved this family and loved the bright happy combination of yellow.  My sunshine wedding.
Holly

  • Allison Says: (04.29.2009 | 01:26)

    Thank you for featuring our wedding, Holly! Your flowers were beautiful and our guests just couldn’t stop talking about them.
    When the buffet was rolled out and Kevin’s grandmother saw the centerpiece, she told my mom, “I’m sorry, I’m paying attention to what you’re saying but I just can’t stop looking at those gorgeous flowers!”
    Thanks for your beautiful work–you’re the best!

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One of my absolute favorite weddings of last season was just published in Washingtonian Bride and Groom Magazine. I thought I would explode waiting to share these pictures. Everything about this wedding makes me happy!! I love the bright vibrant colors, the preppy clean but nautical style, and I loved heading over to St. Michaels to design this event. The wedding was planned by Lauryn Prattes of Table 6 and photographed by Abby Jiu. Many thanks to my husband Evan who made the journey to St. Michaels with me. It was one of the hottest days of the year and I am so proud of how perfectly my flowers tolerated the heat.

Evan learned how to tie a love knot for the start of the aisle. Yes, my husband is awesome and very handy. If I was the person in charge of that knot, me and that rope would still be in St. Micahaels .

This bouquet will always be so special to me, I boldly pierced the center of a cafe au lait dahlia with a big fat pink cabbage rose. Please don’t tell Don the Dahlia man that I altered his precious dahlias or that I made a cabbage rose dahlia. Good lord that bouquet was HOT!!!!

Stationery: The Inked Leaf, Catering: St. Michaels Harbour Inn, Venue: Maritime Museum

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Today we managed to help five different girls with their wedding flowers.  We did everything from providing flowers for my DIY (do it yourself bride), to complete planning this weekend. Every wedding was beautiful and I am so proud of the work we did. Here are some of the photos from  the day. Happy wedding, happy life.

A purple and green bridal bouquet for Brid

Yellow was the color of the day for Allison

Stargazer lily in cascade style for Erin

Kelly had purple hydrangea and white mini calla lily, but her bouquet got out the door before we could take a photograph.  Leanne was designing her own bouquet with just Esperance roses, which are white with a light pink edge. The roses were beautiful so I am sure she had fun working with them.
This was quite a successful day it took 3 teams of designers in 3 different locations. One family designing their own flowers and one family doing a pick up here at 9am and then they were also going to try their hand at designing. I gave them the urns, oasis, and flowers for their tables and they were going to DIY.

  • Vicky @ Event Accomplished Says: (04.27.2009 | 09:38)

    Hi Holly! It was great working with you at Allison’s wedding. You did a fantastic job w/ the floral design. All the arrangements were unique and beautiful! The boutonnieres were my favorite! Hope to work w/ you again soon. All the Best, Vicky

  • Sam Says: (03.14.2010 | 02:48)

    do you know what flowers were in the wedding bouquet for Brid?

  • Addy Says: (07.03.2011 | 01:34)

    A million thanks for ptoinsg this information.

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Because I have an awesome clan of designer friends called the Chapel Designers I thought it would be really fabulous if I did a “best of 2013 bridal bouquet blog post.” I wanted to showcase the incredible designs my friends are producing all over this country and abroad. Much to my surprise over sixty designers contributed to this post. As I entered each post I became more and more impressed with my friends and more and more impressed with what we are building together. Chapel Designers is now well over 120 designers strong and we are gaining new friends everyday. We are making a difference in the wedding industry. We are helping to set trend, we are providing an amazing product, but mostly we are designing with passion and an honest love of flowers. Get ready this is the longest post I have ever seen and because it took me over 12 hours to create I hope you will share this link and I hope you will please leave some comments!!

Designer Holly Chapple of Holly Heider Chapple Flowers – Leesburg Virignia

Image taken by Anne Robert

Designer Francoise Weeks – Portland, Oregon

Image by photographer Jamie Bosworrth

Designer Kristi Landphere of The Posh Posey – Folsom, CA

Image by Allison Lal Photography.

Designer Laura Cogan of Passion Flowers Design.

Image by Marianne Wilson Photography.

Designer Lisa Sommer of Petals and Promises – Silver Spring, Maryland

Image by Photography Du Jour

Designer Amy Santee from Amy’s Wedding and Event Flowers   – Aurora, Colorado

Designer Blair Roberts of Sweet Blossoms – Germantown, Maryland

Image by Liz Hough.

Designer Madeleine Elmer of Fleur de Vie – Houston, Texas

Image by Alyse French

Designer Susan McLeary owner of Passionflower – Ann Arbor, Michigan

Image by First Comes Love Photography

Designer Sylvia Clavier, Dream Weavers Flowers – Covington, Louisiana

Designer Julia Miller of Julia’s Floral – Edgewood, Washington

Image by Family Affair Photography

Designer Donna Sue Roberts, First Dance Floral – Southern Md.

Image by photographer Anne Robert

Designer Lauren Walloch of Garden Gate Florals – Central Florida

Image by KT Crabb

Designer Shelley Bagdasian of B Floral Event Design – Chevy Chase, Maryland

Image by Audra Wrisely

Designer Maria Limon of Maria Limon Atelier – Mexico City, Mexico

Designer Alicia Jayne Florals – Southern Maryland

Image by Birds of a Feather Photography

Designer Faye Zierer Krause of Flora Organica Designs – California

Image by Muir Adams

Designer Carmel Vandale of Mt. Lebanon Floral – Pittsburg, Pennsylvania

Image by Veronica Varos

Designer Mary Coombs and Dawn Clark from A Garden Party – Elmer, New Jersey

Image by Amy Rae Photography

Designer Jennifer Ederer of Modern Day Floral – Grand Rapids, MI

Designer Christy Hulsey of Colonial House of Flowers – Statesboro, Georgia

Image by Haley Sheffield Photography

Designer Ellen Snyder of Ellen Snyder Design – Vermont

Image by Paige Hiller Photography

Designer Angie Strange of Posh Floral – Dallas, TX

Image by Nine Photography

Designers Peggy and Hunter Sherwood of Sherwood Events – Lexington, Kentucky

Image by Willie Wilson Photography

Designer Dawn Kelly of Soiree Floral – Nantucket, Massachusettes

Image by Zofia & Co

Designer Janet Martineau of Floral Verde – Cincinnati, Ohio

Designer Jeanette Kleitz of True Florette – Orangeburg, New York

Image by Todd France Photography

Designer Amy Dunlap of Amy Lynn Originals – Winston-Salem NC

Image by Anna Routh Photography

Designer Corinne Sebesta Sisti of Sebesta Design LLC – Narbeth, Pennsylvania

Image by Tyler Boye Photography

Designer Isha Foss of Isha Foss Events – Virginia Beach, Virginia

Image by Sarah Street Photography

Designer Holly Rutt of Sweet Pea Floral – Michigan

Designer Stacy Ercan from Stacy K Florals – Rochester, NY

Image taken by Tom Mike Photography

Designer Heather Potter of Cottage Flowers – Malvern, Pennsylvania

Image by Sweet Water Portraits

Designer Janna Avery of Callista Designs – Linville, NC

Image by Kickstand Studio

Designer Anna Stouffer of Urban Petals – Greenville, South Carolina

Image taken by Catskill Mountain Photography

Designer Katie Pollard of Color My World Flowers – Nashville, Tennessee

Image taken by Alex Bee Photo

Designer Amanda Frankewicz of Alluring Blooms – Wisconsin

Designer Sherry Donnelly from Gertie Mae’s Floral Studio – Atlanta, Georgia

Image by Haley Sheffield

Designer Susan Kelly of Three Sisters Custom Flowers and Events – California

Image by Ginny Silver of Retrospect Images

Designer Karen Lipkin from Blossoms and Branches – Chicago, Illinois

Designer Sue Prutting of White Magnolia Designs – Maryland

Image by the Jo(e)s Photos

Designer Nicole Boshard of The Petal Pusher – California

Image by Sara at OneLove Photography

Stylist Mary Bartolucci of Island Style Weddings– St. John United States Virgin Islands

Image by Sage Hammond Photography

Designer Laura Williams of Loda Floral Design – Virginia

Designer Daevid Reed of Daevids Flowers and Decor – Norfolk, Virginia

Image taken by Hayne Photographers

Designer Lesley Frascogna of Tulip Curated Florals – Jackson, Mississippi

Image by Rylee Hitchner

Designer Jessica Jones of Blooms’n Blossoms – Georgetown, KY

Image by Natasha Moses Photography

Designer Lisa Ruf of Goodness Gracious Florals – Maryland

Image taken by Amy Flashenberg

Designer Eatherley Schultz 0f Floressence Flowers – Brevard, North Carolina

Image taken by Nick Breedlove Photography

Designer Trish Van De Merkt – Chicago, Illinois

Designer Cynthia Manchester of Oleander Florals and Events – New Jersey

Image by Shari DeAngelo Photography

Designer Courtenay Lambert of Courtenay Lambert Florals – Cincinnati, Ohio

Image by Braun Photography

Designer Laurie Garza of Fleurie – Reedley, California

Image taken by Robert Kurtz

 

Designers Carol and Peggy of Celebration Florals – Corvallis, Oregon

Image taken by Chris Becerra Photography

Eric Fredricks of Bee’s Wedding and Event Floral Design – New Orleans, Louisiana

Image taken by Greer G. Photography

Designer Lisa Almeida of Blossoms of Hawaii – Wailuku, Maui, Hawaii

Image taken by Aubrey Hord Photography

Designer Ellen Seagraves – Bethesda, Maryland

Image taken by Lucy Merkley

Designer Katie McConnell of Wild Bunch Studio – Chatham, Massachusetts

Image taken by Click Imagery

Designer Melissa Stewart of Primrose Floral and Event Design – Lexington, Massachusetts

Image by Molly Anne Photography

Designer Kim Kalmbach of Bloomers Floral Design – Sacramento, California

Image taken by Lyndsay Undseth Photography

Designer Meredith Young of Au Courant – Jackson, Mississippi

Designer Alexandra Jusino of Exquisite Designs – Chicago, Illinois

Image by Greenhouse Loft.

Designer Olga Beletskaya of the Flower Bazar – Moscow, Russia

Image taken by Yaroslav & Jenny Fine Art Photography

Designer Sharon Duke of Isn’t She Lovely Florals – Florida

Image taken by Hunter Ryan Photography

Designer Andrea Fitzpatrick of Corona Del Mar Florist – Dana Point, California

Designer Susanne Hatwood of The Blue Carrot – Portscatho, Cornwall, United Kingdom

Image taken by Hayley Savage Photography

Designer Victoria Clausen of Victoria Clausen Floral Events – Reisterstown, Maryland

Image taken by Renee Michele Photography

Designer Robyn Rissman of  Bare Root Flora – Colorado

Image taken by Sarah Box Photography

 

I hope you enjoyed this post, it was most certainly a very impressive line up of bridal bouquets. I am certain 2014 holds many exciting adventures for the Chapel Designers. I look forward to the many things we will accomplish together, our inspiration and growth will have no limits!!!

  • Lisa A Says: (12.31.2013 | 02:46)

    Holy Holly!!! You are incredible. This post blows me away! Absolutely amazed. So thankful to you for taking the time and effort to do this. What an amazing energy it must have taken! Honestly I can’t believe I get to be amongst you and the talent you have attracted in all the Chapel Designers! Someone pinch me, I am soooo giddy!!!!

  • Nicole Says: (12.31.2013 | 04:34)

    Wow! Thank you so much for writing this post, everyday I am so thankful to be a part of this group and I can’t wait to see what lies ahead for all of us in 2014! xo!

  • Francoise Weeks Says: (12.31.2013 | 07:27)

    Such a splendid post! Thank you for taking the time and energy to showcase the work of so many talented Chapel Designers! You are the best!

  • Sylvia Clavier Says: (12.31.2013 | 07:34)

    Thank you, Holly! These bouquets are gorgeous! I am humbled and honored to be included among such a talented group of designers. This post is a beautiful way to close 2013 and usher in the New Year, which I believe, is going to be amazing! Thanks again for all that you do!

  • Ellen Seagraves Says: (12.31.2013 | 07:59)

    Thank you Holly, quite a send off for 2014.

  • Susan McLeary Says: (12.31.2013 | 08:33)

    Breathtaking!! Thank you for putting so much care into this, you are incredible!

  • Mary Coombs Says: (12.31.2013 | 08:49)

    Such an impressive collection, I can’t pick a favorite!!

  • Sherry Donnelly Says: (12.31.2013 | 09:04)

    LOVE my flower family!!!Thank you for bringing us all together…this showcase took a lot of your time and energy and I greatly appreciate all you do for us Holly!! Can’t wait to see everyone in NYC!! xoxo

  • Melissa Stewart Says: (12.31.2013 | 09:14)

    Absolutely beautiful! Its acts like this that keep us striving to be better, learning more and growing everyday. Thank you, Holly!

  • Kristi Landphere Says: (12.31.2013 | 10:18)

    Thank you so much for including me in this gorgeous post! I am so incredibly excited to meet you in SB and become a part of this amazing group. All of these are just stunning! Thank you for the hard work to do this!

  • Alicia Broehl Says: (12.31.2013 | 10:19)

    STUNNING! I am so honored to be affiliated with such talented designers. Thank you so much for this post Holly!

  • Becky McCulloch Says: (12.31.2013 | 10:19)

    These are incredible, such talent, such art! Very excited to become a part of this wonderful group! Congrats all on a fabulous 2013!

  • Eatherley Schultz Says: (12.31.2013 | 10:47)

    what beauty captured in one blog post! This is amazing and I am proud to be amongst these designers! Happy 2014!!

  • Lisa Ann Ruf Says: (12.31.2013 | 10:53)

    Breathtaking, in so many ways! You can both see and feel the love & talent from within each of these bouquets. Simply breathtaking!

  • Lauren Walloch Says: (12.31.2013 | 11:33)

    There are some truly beautiful and stunning designs in this showcase! Isn’t nature amazing? And, although you’d think that by using most of the same flowers over and over again that one would create the same “look,” it NEVER happens. Thank you, Holly. What a gift to us all.

  • Carol Young and Peggy Meyer Says: (12.31.2013 | 11:42)

    What an amazing collection of bouquets! A huge thank you to Holly for creating this 2013 bouquet blog. We are excited for what 2014 with hold for Chapel Designers…..we love our flower friends from around the world.

  • Betsy Bigler Says: (12.31.2013 | 11:45)

    WOWZA!! Incredibly beautiful bouquets, every single one! Thank you so much for the post and the awesome inspiration!

  • Laurie Garza (Fleurie) Says: (12.31.2013 | 11:59)

    I am honored to be in such fine company. I am ready to take the challenge of being the best I can be! Thank you for this gathering of lovely examples of what can be accomplished with love, passion and hard work.

  • Shannon Cosgrove-Rivas Says: (12.31.2013 | 11:59)

    All of the bouquets are amazing! When I saw the bouquet from Stacy with the bronze fern…sigh… my heart skipped a beat. Just lovely!

  • Jessica Jones Says: (12.31.2013 | 12:00)

    This brings tears to my eyes! I am so excited to learn from this incredible talent pool….Thank you Holly! Your energy is abundant, and your students love you!

  • Carolyn Fredricks Says: (12.31.2013 | 12:36)

    Wow !!!! Holly from the countless hours it took you to put this together it is a work of art from so many wonderful designers from around the world. You are a blessing to this group for having a vision and making it real. May you have many more in the new year. Great work by all the designers from a wife of a designer that loves seeing all the talent from this group.

  • Blair Says: (12.31.2013 | 12:50)

    I’m so thrilled to be a part of such an amazing group of artists! Thank you Holly!

  • Best Wedding Bouquets of 2013 by The Chapel Designers | True Florette Says: (12.31.2013 | 01:04)

    […] blog to see one of True Florette’s bouquets and feast your eyes on all the stunning  trend-setting bouquets of 2013. Beautiful beyond words! Bouquet by my friend and mentor Holly […]

  • maría limón Says: (12.31.2013 | 05:18)

    Beautiful work Chappel Designers!!! Congrats to all and Thanks Holly for joining such talented floral designers!

  • Courtenay Lambert Says: (12.31.2013 | 06:42)

    Wow….I’m blown away by the talent pool! So many gorgeous bouquets….one right after the other. Holly, thank you for pulling this post together…I know it was a lot of work, and it’s so much fun for all of us to read. 🙂

  • Ellen Snyder Says: (12.31.2013 | 07:20)

    Incredible Holly! Thank you. Thank you! This is the PERFECT send off into the New Year. You are The Best!

  • Stacy k Says: (12.31.2013 | 07:53)

    Thank you so much for taking the time to do all the things you do for chapel designers and our industry. With your heart and contagious inspiration things will surely continue to change!!!! : -) love you happy new year.

  • Margaret Lloyd Says: (12.31.2013 | 10:10)

    So very inspiring! No cookie cutter designs here.

  • victoria clausen Says: (01.01.2014 | 12:53)

    SOOOOOOO MUCH gorgeousness, inspiration and talent! Thank you for putting this together, Holly!

  • Riz Reyes Says: (01.01.2014 | 01:05)

    That’s it…… INSPIRED!

    GORGEOUS WORK! Kudos to all these amazing designers!

  • Erin Says: (01.01.2014 | 01:17)

    These are truly beautiful choices! Happy new year to these talented designers!

  • Yuriy Says: (01.01.2014 | 01:45)

    Proud to be included in this post!!!!

  • Sherry Fletcher Says: (01.01.2014 | 05:30)

    Love the one from Callistah designs!!! I have seen her work at the Lodge in Linville.

  • Heather Says: (01.01.2014 | 10:33)

    Thank you Holly, for putting together this amazing post! So thrilled to be included. What an amazing group of talented designers! I loved looking at each and every bouquet.

  • Whimsical Floral Says: (01.05.2014 | 09:05)

    Love all the eye candy!

  • SuzannaWhitingt Says: (01.10.2014 | 03:18)

    Saved as a favorite, I love your blog!

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Mary and John married this past summer in Washington DC, there beautiful wedding has been featured in the current issue of Southern Living Weddings. This issue also features a Holly Heider Chapple Bouquet on the cover of the magazine. Mary and John’s wedding was truly unique and inspired thanks to the work of event planner and designer Allison Jackson from Pineapple Productions. Allison worked with the family to create a warm and inviting theme and a color pallet that made my heart sing. The couple had a church wedding in the city, with a reception to follow at the famous Hay Adams Hotel.  The photography was captured by my friend Kate Headley. Kate is a nationally recognized photographer and her ability to record the day always makes me giddy!!!

Mary’s bridal bouquet was created with antiqued blue hydrangea from my garden, free spirit roses, peach juliet roses, peach cabbage roses, viburnum berry not yet mature, blue thistle, peach dahlias, queen annes lace, and nigella. The color combination was insanely beautiful.

Maids carried similar bouquets but the white blooms were reserved for Mary.

Amazing paper products and vintage DC memorabilia were used to decorate areas throughout the wedding. The beautiful cake was created by Kendalls Cakes. Centerpieces were designed in silver vases, bowls, creamers, and cups provided by the family.  Working with this family and this select group of wedding professionals was one of the highlights of our summer. The couple also had a fabulous rehearsal dinner party that was featured on Style Me Pretty and that can be seen here.

Happy married life Mary and John, working with you and your family was such an honor!!

  • Jennifer Reitmeyer Says: (01.05.2012 | 02:45)

    Congratulations, Holly! What a beautiful feature!

  • Christie Says: (01.05.2012 | 04:58)

    This is so stunning! LOVE!

  • Angie Says: (01.05.2012 | 08:13)

    Bouquets are to die for!!! Flowers are amazing!

  • janet Says: (01.06.2012 | 12:38)

    This blue and peach color combination is perfectly excecuted! So gorgeous!

  • Jessica Says: (01.11.2012 | 09:25)

    your website, blog, and flowers (of course). are simply fabulous!!

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You can bet I nearly fainted when my friend photographer Kate Headley sent me this image yesterday!!! It’s true, a Holly Heider Chapple Flowers bouquet will be on the Cover of Southern Living Weddings Magazine. There are in fact two covers, but we are one of them!!! This time of year is so exciting and we have more good news coming your way very soon. Many thanks to Kate for doing such an incredible job capturing our work.  Lots of love also to our bride Allison. The magazine hits the newsstands on Jan. 6th.

  • Sarah Says: (12.15.2011 | 01:49)

    Congrats to all – it’s a beautiful bouquet!

  • Jenna @ Heartcarry Press Says: (12.15.2011 | 02:14)

    Congratulations! That is fantastic, the picture and the bouquet are absolutely gorgeous.

  • Christie Says: (12.15.2011 | 03:29)

    THIS IS SO BEAUTIFUL!

  • shannon Says: (12.15.2011 | 07:27)

    Yay Holly!!! You rock!

  • maria @ ritzy bee Says: (12.15.2011 | 09:47)

    Glad we sent Allison your way! 😉

  • Kelley Cannon Says: (12.16.2011 | 01:15)

    Amazing Holly! Such an honor!

  • Mike Smith Says: (12.16.2011 | 01:36)

    Congrats Holly & Team !

  • botanical brouhaha Says: (12.16.2011 | 03:31)

    AWESOME!! So so so happy for you and proud of you! You deserve a cover, Holly, after all your hard work and mind-blowing designs…high five your team of designers for me, too. Love you all!

  • megan soh Says: (12.16.2011 | 03:58)

    Congratulations!! You totally deserve this (:

  • Allison Says: (12.16.2011 | 05:46)

    Woohoo!!! It was the most perfect bouquet!

  • Jeannine @ Small Chic Says: (12.17.2011 | 04:21)

    HOORAY! What a gorgeous cover! Congratulations!!! I can’t wait to get a copy!

  • John Robert Says: (12.21.2011 | 09:45)

    Congratulations!

  • kate Says: (12.28.2011 | 12:58)

    thank *you* Holly

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One of my favorite events of this year happened to be a rehearsal dinner, and I was so in love with these rehearsal dinner flowers. This remarkable event was also just featured on the inspiring Style Me Pretty blogHolly Heider Chapple Flowers is a little black book member of Style Me Pretty, which is a huge honor for our studio!! The rehearsal dinner was planned and styled to be outside, and it was to have a very Southern garden party feel. In spite of our excellant plans, record breaking heat caused our garden party to move inside. Our new dinning space was now a very contemporary art studio.  This caused event planner and Designer Allison Jackson from Pineapple Productions and I to have to seriously rethink our well thought out plans.  The lanterns that were slated to line the walkways were instead suspended from the air to soften the space. I also happened to have buckets of baby’s breath in the studio from a past event. I asked if I could hang these from the ceiling and rafters. I wanted the hanging flowers to appear as if they were hanging in the barn to dry. Allison redesigned the space with several long seating tables and several rounds. She even brought her market umbrellas into the studio. The look was amazing!!!

Free spirit roses, were paired with blue hydrangea, blue thistle, spray roses, herbs, dahlias, and nigella.

Potted rosemary and lavender were also used to enhance the tables.

Vintage boxes, tubs, lanterns, and props were brought in from our studio.

This flowering mint was cut straight from my garden.

This party was so truly beautiful. I left this event very proud of our studio and the last minute ideas we came up with. It’s important that we at Holly Chapple Flowers are always willing and ready to help if there is a change in plans. Being a good team member is a huge part of who we are!!!

Many thanks to Allison from Pineapple, for allowing us to be a part of this remarkable event and a big shout out to photographer Kate Headley who captured this event so stunningly. Kate’s pictures always are a true treat!!

  • Christie Says: (12.07.2011 | 02:32)

    The arrangement in the 5th picture down is just perfection!

  • Denise Says: (12.08.2011 | 01:52)

    It looks beautiful ! How much notice did you have before the change of venue ?

    • Holly Chapple Says: (12.08.2011 | 12:40)

      I believe the call to move inside was made the day before the party. It was truly the hottest weekend I can remember. The event was to be held in the gardens of this manor home in Georgetown. The gardens and the house are very traditional and formal but the basement is a very contemporary art studio.

  • Elaine Rakoczy Says: (12.09.2011 | 03:58)

    This is gorgeous! Really love the use of lanterns w/ high ceiling and florals rock~so pretty with linens.

  • reubenvision Says: (01.11.2012 | 06:31)

    positively beautiful

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In January of 2010 I received the below letter from a young lady named Janice Wong. Her letter warmed my heart and made me totally grateful that I was active in social media. Due to my blogging Janice found out about me and my business. I am sharing with you the letter she sent to me over a year and a half ago. Because of that letter we stayed in touch and finally met in March of 2011 in NYC at a gathering we called the Chapel Designers.  The picture above is of me and Janice at Times Square. Since that time Janice has sent me yet another letter which explains how she initially found me. It was a blog post about my bride Allison, that brought Janice to me.  I will also tell you that I LOVED Allison’s wedding, loved the bride, loved the mom, and I loved designing the flowers. It is several years past Allison wedding, in fact Allison just delivered her first baby a few weeks ago. This story is truly amazing to me because not only did Allison’s wedding fulfill me as a designer, it brought my bride & my MOB’s vision to life, and it brought me Janice. Janice now owns and operates a floral design studio called precious pear and I simply call her precious.

Dear Holly,

I was in awe when I first looked at your work and I still am!  I think it is rare in life to find someone that truly inspires you.   And you are a true inspiration to me and this motivated me to try and connect with you.   I absolutely adore your style and your approach to your floral art and your business.   I was thinking “wow, this is exactly how I want to be, if I were to become a successful floral designer”.

Please allow me to introduce myself.  My name is Janice Wong.  I came to Vancouver Canada to study all by myself from Hong Kong 14 years ago.  I graduated from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver with an Engineering degree in 2003, and have been working as a design engineer since then.  I’ve always thought I had a good career, the job is interesting and respectable, but I’ve always felt that something was missing and in the back of my mind wondered if that was my true passion.

Last September my landlord passed away from cancer.   He was an incredible man, kind and gentle and brave, even during his last days.  My land lady is absolutely amazing and treats me like her own daughter.  We talk about just anything and everything, and it was heartbreaking for me to see her so sad.  A few days after my landlord passed, instead of ordering funeral flowers, I went to a flower shop and hand-picked the flowers and a basket that I wanted, and I explained to the florist how I wanted the arrangement to look like.  I stood there for an hour and a half, paying a lot of attention to how the florist put together the arrangement while we chatted.  I left the basket on my landlady’s coffee table along with a card.  That evening, my landlady called me and told me that it was the first time that she smiled in a long long time.  There was a lump in my throat and I could not believe how much the little floral arrangement touched her heart and soothed her sadness.  At that moment, I knew I had found my passion.

Since then, I attended a floral design school in Vancouver and finished all levels of floral design there including wedding floral designs.  I found myself especially intrigued by wedding flowers, and I just can’t describe the satisfaction I get when I create a great piece of floral work.  I just can’t stop thinking about how I could improve, and how wonderful it would be if I get to work with flowers every day.

I recently got married in August, and I did all the floral arrangements myself.  Even though I got very very little sleep before my wedding, I’m so glad that I did it.  It was very memorable and I’m sure I’ll look back on it and be proud.

My husband has been extremely supportive, and is pushing me to pursue my passion.    He even helped me to purchase a floral fridge, register my business and find multiple suppliers (including flower auction).  He’s an engineer with some small business experience and he is into photography, so he helped me take pictures of all my work and created a simple website for me to display my portfolio.   Since my wedding, I’ve done a couple other weddings and have signed a few more for next year.  My floral business name is Precious Pear Floral Designs and my website is www.preciouspear.com.  Right now I am doing this part time, but I hope to change to full time by next year.

I really want to take a chance and change my career.  After all, who doesn’t want to wake up every day and be able to do what they love to do, and be successful in doing it?  You are exactly who I want to strive to become; a super talented and innovative floral designer, who never stops coming up with new ideas, loves her family and also has time to care for other people and the community.  I know you must have come a long way to get where you are at and I know it would be a very long road for me too.  But I’m up to the challenge!

It would really mean the world to me to find a mentor who I truly look up to and be inspired by.  Could you be so kind to be my mentor and give me a few pointers and share your experience with me once in a while?  It would mean so much to know that there is someone that I look up to, that would be there for me to share my stories with, and can provide me with some guidance and tips to help me fulfill my dream.  I would be forever grateful if you were willing to become my friend and mentor.

Sincerely,

– Janice

Seriously when I read that email I simply cried, in fact I am crying right now. I work each day, all day. I know I make my brides happy but to know I am impacting other designers is huge!!!!!!!! It also makes all of that blogging worth the effort.

Here is a fun picture of Janice at the Martha Stewart show, yep when we met in March all of the designers got to go to the MarthaStewartShow. Below is my most recent letter from Precious (Janice) and this one really surprised me as well, I had no idea until I received this letter  that it was Allison’s wedding that brought her to me. I am so glad the hard work I did on Allison’s wedding is still paying off. I am gaining new friends because of that wedding and heck Allison just got a baby out of it. Also in Vancouver a new designer was born and another bride got bright happy yellow flowers inspired by me and Allison, via Precious. How cool is that?

Dear Holly,

How have you been lately?  I follow your blog whenever I have time and I miss you!  I hardly have any free time these days with a full time job and a wedding almost every week or two.  I feel overwhelmed occasionally but at the same I am so happy because I am learning so much with all the weddings and I enjoying designing for them so much!

I just wanted to share something with you Holly.  Last Saturday I did a wedding at the Royal Vancouver Yacht Club.  The bride was actually the first one to sign me to a full wedding….and the whole reason I reached out to you!!!  This bride, Aileen chose blue and yellow as her theme color because of your beautiful work, and sent me this link.  That was the first time I visited your blog and fell in love with your work and I’ve been hooked ever since!  =)

This bride had a lot of faith in me even though she knew I was new to floral design and I didn’t have a shop.  I expected a lot of myself and I wanted to make her wedding beautiful because she brought me to you and because she trusted me so much.  I took a day off on Friday, and in one day, I made 4 ceremony arrangements, 15 table centerpieces (8 tall, 6 low), guest sign-in table arrangement, signing table arrange, 5 cocktail table arrangements, bridal bouquet and 3 maides bouquet, plus 9 bouts and 3 corsages all by myself.  I worked until 2:30am and boy was I exhausted!!!

The bride sent me a thank you email the next day thanking me for everything I did for her, and also made a special post on her facebook wall to thank me!  It was such an incredible feeling and it made all the hard work worthwhile!

I know it’s still amateurish, but I just wanted to share with you the work from this wedding because you were both me and my bride’s inspiration!

I also launched my new website recently.  My awesome husband designed the website and took all the photos  http://www.preciouspear.com/

Thanks again for everything HollyYou continue to be my inspiration.  =)

Love,

Janice

Holy HollyI can barely believe how cool all of this is. I am so proud of Janice , simply honored by this. Here are the amazing designs Janice created  that were inspired by my wedding from several years ago. Janice you absolutely knocked this out of the ballpark.I am beyond amazed by you.

I am going into this day and this weekend with faith and courage, and knowing that what I do matters in a bigger way than I imagined. I would appreciate a little prayer though, we have huge and very important events this weekend, it will be over 105 degrees, and I will admit I am still afraid every single weekend.  Thank you my precious Janice and thank you Allison for allowing me to do your wedding flowers and for bringing me Janice. When you do what you love, with love, it pays off big time.

Many thanks also to Janice’s husband Aguilar Lam, who shared this incredibly kind note with me shortly after our trip to NYC. He was also kind enough to send over a wedding picture of him and Janice. I can’t believe the first wedding Janice designed for was her own.

On Sun, Mar 13, 2011 at 4:41 PM, Aguilar Lam wrote:

Hi Holly!

 

This is Aguilar, your precious’s (Janice) husband.  =)   I really wanted to personally thank you so much for everything that you have done for Janice.

 

You have no idea what your friendship and the Chapel Designers NYC trip has meant for Janice.   She now feels she has an amazing support group and a group of wonderful life-long friends.   She also sees how successful you are and she can strive to achieve that same success, both in family life and in business.

Each night of her NYC trip she would call me up and tell me of all the amazing and unforgettable experiences that happened each day and how she couldn’t believe she was a part of all of it.   You made her feel so welcomed and loved, it was like a wonderful dream.          And hearing all the stories about you and the rest of the amazing ladies, I feel like I already know all of you so well!

It warms my heart to see her so happy and see her with this new-found drive to succeed in her floral business.   She now has that jump in her step and that gleam in her eye with a renewed confidence and determination.   Every time we see new pictures on your blog from the Chapel Designers NYC trip, or tell our friends about her amazing trip, she can’t help but smile widely and feel so lucky and blessed.

I think this was a life-changing experience for her and it’s all thanks to you Holly.  I owe you great gratitude and I hope one day to meet you in person and give you a huge hug myself!   We both feel truly blessed to have found you Holly.

Truly Yours,

– Aguilar

Here is that fabulous wedding picture!!

That is a very pretty bride and a very pretty bouquet!!!

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We are so excited to be named Editors Choice for Brides Magazine DC. I must admit that I love gathering my awards and this one is oh so sweet. The newest issue of Brides Magazine Washington DC features a very small and select group of best of DC wedding vendors, and we are on the very short list. Hurray for us!!! I know it’s a deadly sin to be prideful but oh….. I just freaking love this!!

This fabulous Holly Heider Chapple centerpiece design can also be seen in the latest issue of Brides DC Magazine. Many thanks to photographer Anne Robert who took the image, and also to Allison Jackson of Pineapple productions. Allison was the event planner and stylist on this event and she had these linens custom made. We love having our work featured!! It’s a happy day here today!!

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Some of our most favorite weddings from last year have been hidden under lock and key. Tricia and Jason’s wedding was one of those events. Yesterday the wedding was featured on Style Me Pretty and can be seen here. From the moment event planner & designer Allison Jackson of Pineapple Productions told me about this event, I knew it would be special. Every element and detail was handled flawlessly by Allison and with photographer Anne Robert to capture the day we were rewarded ten fold for all of our hard work and planning.

Guests and wedding party wove through the vines to make it to the aisle on time.

The bride and groom exhanged vows on the top of a hill at Sharp Rock Vineyard in Sperryville. The mountain veiws were amazing.

I love this image of Tricia with her dad. Tricia carried a bouquet of green button mums, orange callas, orange dahlias, and several shades of roses.

Tricia and Jason in the vineyard.

Tricia and Jason with a goat, yes a goat. When Anne sent me the first images, my first question was ” where did the goat come from?’ Being a very clever photographer she found and borrowed the goat. Such a fun shot.

I loved creating this piece with dahlias from the amazing Don. This design welcomed guests on the lemonade table and was later used during the cocktail hour.

This fabulous Ikat fabric was the featured pattern of the day. It was used to create boards to display the place cards, pillows for lounging areas, and custom table runners.

Perfect right? My vintage milk glass vases were used for the centerpieces with popping bright orange flowers.

Every element about this wedding was so much fun and comfortable.

Perhaps my favorite image of the day, our beautiful bride.

Please make sure you visit our post on Style Me Pretty, you will be able to see more images from the day. Anne’s work is amazing and you won’t want to miss a single photograph. Many thanks to Allison for designing such an incredible event. This wedding is one we can all be proud of. It was an honor to provide the flowers for this special day.

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