Holly Chapple and many of the Chapel Designers look to Vasesource for beautiful vases and candelabras when designing for their clients. Holly created the raised centerpiece above using the Crystal Square Candelabra from Vasesource. (Genevieve Leiper Photography)

Excitement is building as the Chapel Designers prepare to converge in NYC for the 4th Annual NYC Chapel Designers Conference. Designers are anticipating their time spent browsing Vasesource for inspiration and new products to incorporate in their businesses located in the US, Russia, The US Virgin Islands, Canada and the UK.

Ellen Snyder of Ellen Snyder Floral Design chose the 40″ Nickel Candelabra to showcase white tapers and a romantic mix of roses and peonies.

The Oblong Event Piece was Ria’s (Nature’s Grace Design) choice for supporting the branch and blooms in this tall centerpiece. (Asharae Marie Photography)

Designs of hydrangea, astilbe and lisianthus by Janna Avery of Callista Designs line up beautifully in gold ceramic vases from Vasesource.

Holly chose white ceramic vases from Vasesource for Christmas arrangements of roses, hydrangeas and berries. (Genevieve Leiper Photography)

Spring is in the air at Vasesource and the Chapel Designers are headed your way!

We are just days away from our big trip to NYC. A total of 73 designers will be “meeting me in NYC.’ The growth the Chapel Designers has achieved since our first trip to NYC just four years ago is phenomenal.  This year we will be visiting with the amazing David Beahm, Jess Gordon, Amy Mcgee, Sean Low, Francoise Weeks, Anne Chertof, Naomi De Manana, Sarah Ryhanen, Nicollete Camille, Debra Prinzing, and Jeremy from Squarespace. We will have a very busy three days. We will be learning, learning, learning, but most importantly we will strengthen old friendships and nourish new ones. We have designers coming from all over the United States as well as, Scotland, Russia, Canada, Hawaii, and the US Virgin Islands. The advancement and increasing strength of each of the Chapel Designers is undeniable, and I am thrilled that the HCF studio had a hand in helping each of these designers grow. We are on fire!!!

Our first night together begins this Sunday at Vase Source and we can’t wait to see our friend Danny!!!

This is one of my favorite pictures of my dear friend David Beahm. Spending time with him is a true treasure. After  lots of time conferencing, and designing. We will also head to the offices of Martha Stewart for a tour of the corporate offices. We are so grateful for the many opportunities we have in NYC.

I can’t wait to be with my friend!!!

Many thanks to Genevieve Leiper for her amazing photos of last years conference!!

 

Chapel Designers are quick to acknowledge an addiction to beautiful ribbon and often indulge in using a variety of  ribbons to create  lavish handle wraps.

Chapel Designer Susan Kelly (Three Sisters Custom Flowers & Events) chose Midori ribbon in shades of pink and peach to wrap the bouquet  pictured above for one of her recent photo shoots. She used organdy in ‘Pink’ and ‘Pink Grapefruit’, double-faced satin in ‘Cherry Blossom’ and ‘Tea Rose’, and dupioni silk in ‘Rosebud’ and ‘Nectarine’. Retropect Images captured the range of feminine hues.

When it comes to Midori ribbon, Chapel Designers say sharing the ribbon doesn’t come naturally. Run your hands through the strands of Midori ribbon on a sample card and you’ll understand.  Parting with even a portion of  a spool is difficult and designers often feel a responsibility to declare an occasion Midori-worthy…or not. Look what some of the Chapel Designers said this week when Midori ribbon was mentioned:

“Is it sad that I love my Midori ribbon so much that I don’t want to let it go?”

“I have the hardest time actually cutting ribbon off the spool. I’d rather just look at it and adore my Midori ribbon up on a shelf.”

“I never want to share my Midori!!”

Chapel Designer Amy McManus (Crimson & Clover Floral Design) chose to wear a Midori double-faced satin ribbon sash in ‘Fawn’ on her wedding day. Because Amy seems smitten with Midori ribbon, we thought it would be fun to ask which is her favorite. She confidently chose dupioni silk, but couldn’t decide between ‘Dandelion’ and ‘Nectarine’.

Chapel Designer Isha Foss (Isha Foss Events) chose Midori dupioni silk in ‘French Vanilla’ to compliment her palette of pink, raspberry and wine for this bridal bouquet beautifully photographed by Will King Photography.

Several weeks ago I had the pleasure of speaking with Debra Prinzing. Debra is an accomplished author and she is the founder of the Slow Flower movement. Our introductory conversation led to an interview. Debra has a series of podcasts with floral designers and growers. My interview with Debra can be heard here:

Slow Flowers Podcast with Holly Heider Chapple

That conversation led to the exciting news that Debra will be speaking in NYC2014 at the Chapel Designers annual conference. Debra is also working closely with the California Cut Flower Commision, it will be exciting to hear about the California product as well!!

Meet me in NYC!!!

Yesterday we launched our newest conference. This conference is geared towards wedding planners and it will be held on March 9th.  The line up is spectacular, so we hope you will “meet me in NYC.”  You can find out more about the conference here and tickets can be purchased here.

Our celebrity list of speakers includes Marcy Blum, Xochitl Gonazalez, Sean Low, Anne Chertoff, and Jason Murakawa.

Over the last few weeks I have been nowhere near my garden. I have been at my desk/computer doing everything in my power to make things happen. I like to grow in spite of the season. So many exciting and wonderful things have been happening and now is a great time to share them with you.  Because Chapel Designers has endless possibilities and potential, I am investing a lot of time right now to help us grow.  I have endless goals and dreams for us. To reach my goals I knew I was going to need help. Thankfully Amy Mcgee from Botanical Brouhaha has come on board the HCF team to help me with social media and Chapel Designer growth. Amy has an extensive background in the floral industry and her blog is one of the most loved floral design blogs in the country. We have been friends for years via the internet and the phone. After one of our magical 2 hour long conversations, Amy somehow ended up in charge of Social Media for the CD’s. Making the CD’s and me mighty lucky!!! See our new Facebook page here. While Amy has been handling the Facebook page I have been steadily gathering discounts for the CD’s. We have added some really amazing sponsors to our list, meaning CD’s will be getting discounts from ribbon to advertising, vases to magazines. This is really exciting, not only does this add to the benefits of being a CD, it means that some very big businesses or media sources are recognizing the Chapel Designers.

Tomorrow I leave for Santa Barbara for our first annual conference, which happens to be SOLD OUT. I look forward to greeting our amazing teachers and guests. Many thanks, to Nancy Liu Chin, Francoise Weeks, Alicia Schwede, and Joseph Massie. Joost of Florabundance is my co host and he will be supplying the gorgeous flowers. We can’t wait to get to Santa Barbara to design. Just this morning Jen Campbell of Green Wedding Shoes confirmed that she will be popping by to meet and greet the CD designers. Jenn is going to speak with us about submitting and her fabulous blog. Things always magically fall into place for the Cd Clan. Photographers James and Diana Marie Prunean will be photographing the event and talking to us about branding and photography. In addition the amazing Kevin Chin will be recording the event. He will be working on two very special films for us. LUCKY!!!!

Many thanks to these amazing sponsors who are absolutely making Santa Barbara a success.

Florabundance

Sunstone Winery

Fess Parker Hotel

Fed Ex

Design Master

Flower Magazine

Fitz Design

Midori Ribbon

Syndicate Sales

Classic Party Rentals

Small Masterpiece

Three Little Words Paper

Sarah Bezdrob

Claire Pettibone

Catering Connection

As you can see this is a pretty big production. Bringing 53 designers together and turning a vineyard into a flower shop has been no small undertaking. Please follow us on instagram, twitter, and facebook. Santa Barbara is going to be amazing.

With Santa Barbara organized and ready to launch, I decided to get busy on NYC so here is our agenda which is still developing.  Read carefully, I have some super big names in here.

On Monday March 10^th, the conference will begin at the Helen Mills Studio. We held our first day of the 2013 conference there last year. It is a wonderful venue to host our full day of guest speakers, and open discussion. The Helen Mills Studio is directly across the street from the hotel on 26^th street- very convenient!

Scheduled speakers are Anne Chertoff of Anne Chertoff Media, and Jes Gordon of Jes Gordon Events, Amy Mcgee from Botanical Brouhaha. More speakers coming soon.

Tuesday March 11^th will be our designated design day and we are happy to announce that we will be returning to the production offices of David Beahm Design. Expect presentations from David Beahm, Holly Chapple, Francoise Weeks, and Naomi de Mañana style editor from Martha Stewart. This day will be loaded in design time and lunch will be provided. One more designer to be announced.

Wednesday March 12^th, you better get up early on this day or you will miss out on the fun. We are going to fit in an early morning tour of the flower market and I mean early!!  Get to the flower market as early as you can because first time Chapel Designers will be given the opportunity to visit the offices of Martha Stewart. This is only for new Chapel Designers. Hurry back to the rooftop lounge of our hotel the Hilton Fashion 26 because we will be having a session with Sean Low from The Business of Being Creative. The day will include lunch on the rooftop and then the afternoon will end with a presentation from Sarah Ryhanen and Nicolette Camille of the Little Flower School.  This will be a full day and we do not suggest leaving early.

This agenda is not finished yet but I’m gonna say it’s a pretty amazing line up.

Did you hear Chapel Designers are going to Australia that’s right, we are headed to Australia, and I am so pleased about this. In fact I am blown away. Francoise Weeks and I are partnering on this adventure and students will benefit from two very unique design styles. Our event will be taking place at the studio of Michelle Van Eimeren from Affair With George. Michelle is one of our favorite Chapel Designer members and I can’t wait to put my arms around Michelle. This trip is sure to be amazing.

As you can imagine I am really happy about all of this. Not only are the CD’s growing so is my incredible list of really amazing friends.

I will see you in Santa Barbara.

 

 

 

This spring I had one of my most favorite adventures. I returned to Selma Plantation. Selma is where I did my very first wedding. The estate has been abandoned for 11 years. On many occasions I have partnered with photographer Anne Robert and Dawn owner of Something Vintage Rentals. Dawn and Anne told me they were dreaming of an abandoned mansion shoot. I assured them I had just the right place. Selma is 3 miles from my house and she is sitting there just like a ghost. Dawn and Anne nearly died when I showed them Selma. I received permission to enter the mansion in hopes that a feature on Selma would hopefully inspire someone to bring her back to life. I hope someone sees this and rescues one of the most beautiful homes in Loudoun.

Much to my surprise the house in spite of its abandoned status is still remarkably beautiful, crown molding is still in tact, even the piano is still waiting for its family to return. My heart nearly collapsed when I saw the swing still hanging in the tree. My sister was the last Selma bride and I can clearly remember her sitting in that swing, in fact every Selma bride sat in that swing for her bridal portrait. I was 25 years old when I did my first wedding at Selma, this venue was the grandest wedding site in the area. It was very moving to sweep out the dust and bring the pretty back into the house. I seriously had flashbacks in the mansion. I could clearly remember hanging garlands on the grand staircase 20 years ago. This shoot was also very special because several Chapel Designers came to design with me on this big project. Many thanks to Daevid of Daevids of Norfolk, Trish Van De Merkt, and Donna Sue of  First Dance Floral.  The flowers purchased for this shoot were from my garden or purchased from local growers. I have never seen flowers so pretty.

Bouquet by Holly Heider Chappple Flowers

Crushing on the vintage rentals from Dawn.

This picture says so very much!!!

Bouquet and hairpiece by Holly Heider Chapple Flowers.

Yellow peonies and clematis from my garden bouquet by Holly Heider Chapple Flowers.

My flower cape that I was obsessed with creating. Holly Heider Chapple Flowers

This bouquet was created by Donna of First Dance.

This bouquet was designed by Daevid.

Piano design by Trish Van De Merkt

The grand stairway.

A very exotic and garden influenced bouquet by Holly Heider Chapple Flowers.

Hair by Julie Jackson Stylists, Make up by Suzanne Della Pella for Amie Decker Beauty, Models from the Artists Agency.

Dresses by Reem Acra and Jenny Packham from Gabriella New York.

Paper: Va. Paper Suite

Event design Anne, Dawn, and Holly.

 

 

I am super excited to announce a new wedding venue in Loudoun, The Maples.  This beautiful historic property in Middleburg Virginia will be open for the 2014 wedding season.  The scenic views are glorious, and the stone barn has my heart.

A team of fabulous vendors came together to create this preview of the Maples. Photography by Jodi and Kurt Miller, catering and property management Matilda of The Red Fox Inn, vintage rentals Rosanna of Bella Villa Antiques and flowers by Holly Heider Chapple Flowers.

The Maples is waiting for you!!!

On Christmas Eve day, my issue of Flower Magazine arrived. Christmas Eve is my birthday, hence the name Holly!! In this issue was a feature on our studio. This article was such an honor and it made my birthday super special. Thankfully our work has been featured in many publications. An honor I will never take lightly, but this story was on me and the story of all that we have achieved. It’s been 21 years worth of really hard work and when you see it spelled out in your favorite industry magazine it gets to you. I am so proud of what this studio has accomplished. Seeing where we have been, what we have done , and where we hope to go spilled out in ink was surreal!! Having a feature like this in Flower has been on my bucket list. I love having dreams and goals, its the only way to fly!!!

Thank you Flower Magazine and thank you Chapel Designers, your a big part of my story!!

Several weeks ago Photographer Kristen Lynne hosted a photography workshop/photo shoot. I was asked to provide the flowers of the day. Getting to play with flowers in the winter is always a treasure. I feel so lucky that Kristen chose me to be her florist. Because of Kristen, I now have a collection of beautiful images that feature our red winter designs. I provided a flower crown of gold glittered leaves, red spray roses, evergreens and red ranunculus.

An arrangement of red roses, red pepper berry, rice flowers, and a collection of evergreens.

Designs with fruit, evergreens, pine cones, and winterberry.

This design was created with red amaranthus, pink astilbe, white rice flower, white burlap ribbon, and a mix of evergreens and green seeded euc.

Hope this warms you up, on this very cold day!!!