Notice in this picture that it is dark outside!! Our weekend started bright and early on Saturday with a departure of 7:45 AM. Michelle married at Whitehall Manor at 10:00 AM. We had a power packed weekend, delivering three weddings to Whitehall Manor.  This wedding was all about orange and blue. Actually, you will see, we both started and ended the weekend with an orange and blue wedding at Whitehall.

Michelle chose a cascading style bouquet. We used dark blue delphinium, blue iris, orange dahlia's, orange spray roses, and orange orchids. 

 

The maids carried natural stem bouquets of blue delphinium, blue iris, orange roses, orange tulips and orange spray roses.

 

We hung arrangements of orange lily, orange snapdragons, blue delphinium, and blue iris with Italian ruscus on the arch.

 

We marked the family seating with blue bows and the same green Italian ruscus.

 

We created boutonnieres of orange spray roses and orange wax flower.

 

Half of the centerpieces were created in small bubble bowls with white hydrangea, orange spray roses and blue delphinium.  We used cylinders with submerged flowers for the other guest tables.

 

This is a sweet and affordable design.

I missed seeing Michelle in her gown, but she looked so lovely and calm as I handed over her beautiful bouquet.

Holly

 

Click hereto see our post with Brides.com.   We were asked to create a design with golden accents for Brides.com in New York. This bouquet was featured in their story "15 golden ideas for your wedding".  The Regeti's photographed the image, and I am so grateful to them. I love seeing our work published, and it is only with the help of my fabulous photographer friends that I can make that happen.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I also would like for you to see this post on the circus rose. It is one of my favorite roses. Check out my blog post all about the circus rose here.  Remember you can see more of my flower posts on the Wedding Aces Blog.

 

 

 

 

 

Below is a little peek at Jessica's wedding from last weekend. We have decided to only share a few pictures that were taken at my house until you can see them through the real photographer's eyes.  Maybe you will even see them published.  Jessica went to incredible lengths to make certain every detail of her wedding was perfect. I was blown away by the look and feel of her special day. The wedding took place at a private residence in Loudoun County.  The estate home greeted guests as they arrived and headed to a perfectly decorated tent and ceremony site that overlooked the water.  The bride and groom married on a dock overlooking the water. The site was picture perfect.  Am I teasing you? I hope so. This wedding was amazing, and I look forward to sharing the real images with you in the future.  Here are a few shots that will not give too much away. I just had to let you see these very unique bouquets.

 

 

 

 

 

The bridal bouquet.

 

 

The maids.

 

 

 

 

 

The boutonnieres.

 

 

We will have lots to share with you in the future about this wedding.  We also will have a very large "in the cooler" post for you today.

 

Holly

 

 

 

 

Julia married this past weekend, and we had so much fun working with this incredible young woman. Julia was such a sweet heart, and the groom was pretty awesome as well.

We made Julia's bouquet out of orange mango callas, circus roses, milva roses, antique green hydrangea, hypericum berry, orange mokara orchids and Don's famous Dahlias.  I keep chanting every week, "Please don't let it frost, please don't let it frost, please don't let it frost." I really need two more weeks of Don's Dahlias. I have some very important brides who really want his Dahlias. We are doing the no-frost dance around here every night.

 

We used natural vine and Italian ruscus painted brown to make these bouquets unique. I loved how everything turned out. Beautiful girls and beautiful flowers.

The wedding took place at St. Timothy's in Chantilly with a reception at the Westfields Marriott.

 

Guests were greeted by this very autumnal seating chart. The pictures repeated on the tables to coordinate seating.

 

We did elevated designs on my iron stands. I love these pieces, and it is the first time I got to use them this year. I bought them two years ago for my bride Lacey and every time I use them I think of her.

 

We created matching designs in my low iron bowls. All of the designs were perfect fall pieces.

Connie created an incredible wedding cake. I provided her with lots of blossoms, and she designed the cake while we watched. The cake was just perfect.

  
The super-star design of the night was the display for the candy apple table. We used three full bags of apples to create this piece. I could have packed a lot of lunches with all of those apples. Candy apples were set out as the favors for the guests. This was a super cute idea.

And to top it all off, a picture of the happy couple eating a candy apple of course.

 

We loved this couple and we are so glad we were a part of the big day. Thanks to Jennifer Arezzo and Ashley Gordon of a Simple Wish event planning.

Holly

This fabulous bouquet was created for our bride Ellen. We used orange roses, hot pink roses, pink nerine lily, orange dahlia's from Don and bright green hydrangea. This is such a refreshing color combination because of the the bright happy tones.

 

The boutonnieres and corsages were the same mix of flowers but with baby spray roses instead.

 

We label these pieces to reduce confusion on the big day.

 

We can thank my blog for the table runners. Ellen fell in love with these table runners when she saw them under Colleen's wedding post. They were custom made for Colleen, so I knew she could not find them through regular rental stores. We contacted Colleen to see if she could help. She supplied us with the seamstress' name who offered to either create new ones or rent these to Ellen. We were so happy to have solved the green runner issue.

 

We created two large arrangements for the altar.  They were used inside at the reception after the ceremony.

 

We filled these buckets with flowers to mark the family reserved seating. These buckets were also used at her sister's wedding, so it was great to use them again.

 

The cake was created by Dennis at Chantel's Cakes.  Dennis and I have worked together for years. He also offers cakes for those with food allergies. Once again, thanks to Whitehall for always being so beautiful and wonderful to work with.

We loved working on this wedding. Ellen was a super fabulous bride, and I am so happy we got to be her florist.

Holly

Our reversible bouquet!!!!

 

Our flower orders began last week with bouquets for a photo shoot. I wanted to get two looks out of one bouquet, so I made the front completely different from the back of the bouquet: thus, the reversible bouquet. I think this could really catch on. What bride wouldn't love having two bridal bouquets. Very cool, and super fun.

 

We created this bouquet for the same photo shoot; we loved the color of the dark purple vanda orchids. The shoot took place in a vineyard and the grapes were at perfect, purple, peak. It was a stunning combination with the flowers. We hope to see these designs published.

 

We were elated to create this piece for a former United States Vice President. This was our closest presidential experience. I do have mini dreams of having Holly Chapple Flower designs in the White House. To achieve this goal, I would probably have to abandon a few children while I chased my dream. Since I LOVE having my big family, that is not a goal I will pursue. Right now, I have it all: great family, great brides, and an occasional celebrity.

 

We created these autumnal designs for Suann of Simple Song Design.  Suann is going to help Holly Chapple flowers get a face lift. We are going to have Suann create new business cards, new marketing material, new labels and tags for our retail space at On A Whim Antiques. We are also getting gift cards with our logo, just in case we get another presidential order. Suann is a letterpress designer, and her work is amazing. You can also follow Suann's blog; it is truly inspiring.  Suann also gave us a nice mention in her latest post.

 

These designs were created for a luncheon in DC. We blended terra cotta colored roses, black magic roses, green hydrangea and deep browns together to make these pieces. They were sharp, elegant and sophisticated. LOVE that fiddle head fern.

 

We have three weddings to bring to you as well. I just didn't want you to miss all of the very beautiful non wedding pieces that happened last week.

Oh, one last thing, to further aggravate my son Alex who says I use the word love too much, I have decided to use bold type every time I use the word love.  If all of the other bloggers can say "I heart" this, then I can boldly say I love this. Love you Alex.

Holly

We have had quite the day today. It is just after midnight, and we are finally ready to call it a day. A huge thanks to Helen (on the left), and Designer Debbie for hanging with me until the bitter end.  In the last two days we have designed for a past vice president, done our weekly deliveries, designed dinner party flowers for Suann from Simple Song Design, delivered Ellen her wedding flowers, plus created designs for Jessica and Julie's weddings tomorrow, which is technically today considering the hour.  I am so tired I am just going to give you that quick sneak peek and then I am hitting the hay. I am absolutely worn out, but I laughed harder tonight than I have in years. In truth this was a killer day. We are once again blown away by the beauty of our designs, and we are very proud of our work.

 

Our friendship bouquet.

 

Designs we created for Simple Song a fabulous letterpress company.

 

Today's bride, Ellen, taking that first look at her bouquet. We will share her pictures with you next week.

Our bride Jessica just a few minutes after she had been to see Don and his Dahlias. Jessica and her friends are going to make some of the centerpieces themselves. We created 52 vases for her and all of the personal flowers.

 

Dahlia heaven.

 

Good Night!!!!

Holly



 

 

 

Several years ago, one of my MOB's told me about ARIA Dresses. I have been a huge fan ever since; in fact I recommend them all of the time. It is an absolute pleasure to be able to tell you about this remarkable company.  I swear I have sold hundreds of these dresses, and they have no idea what a huge fan I am.  My love affair started several years ago. I happened to find on two separate occasions in one month bridesmaids trying to sew and or tape their dresses back together. I realized at that time that a lot of the maids gowns are made very poorly. The maids dresses are a perfect opportunity for not so great garment companies to take the consumer for a ride. Let's face it, we spend countless hours on the brides gown, so we know it is perfect before we purchase. We never imagine that the maids dresses could actually fall apart before they get down the aisle. If a manufacturer wanted to cheat someone out of a quality product the maids are the easy mark.  Some designers believe since the maid will only be wearing the dress for one night that they can get away with a poorly maid gown. Not to mention that as a bridesmaid, you are just plain stuck with whatever dress is chosen for you.Aria gowns are created in the United States, and they are incredibly well made. They offer fabulous fabrics and textures in every color and cut imaginable. They have a very extensive line of brides maids dresses with endless color choices and styles.  From very trendy and fun to sleek and elegant, Aria has a dress for everyone. They also offer flower girl dresses and accessories. It even gets better; they offer coordinating pocket squares, ties and cummerbunds for the men. Brides can choose their colors from swatches that are sent by Aria free of charge. I can't tell you how many times a bride will tell me she was unable to get a swatch from her non-Aria dress maker, even after she bought the dresses. The customer service is amazing; I just can't say enough to tell you how much I really appreciate this company. It is so much fun to show a bride who is struggling with her colors the bag of Aria swatches. I keep the swatches with my portfolios just in case my bride does not have her maids dresses yet.  Aria allows the bride to also have sashes or piping done in the brides accent colors. Aria makes it totally possible for the bride to customize her wedding party and her color pallettes. In the scheme of things, this also makes my life so much easier. We are at a complete stand still until we pick our colors. 

 

 

Each swatch is marked with the name and color number.  Aria works with brides all of over the country shipping dresses to maids whereever they live. Aria does have 3 store fronts; lucky for us one of them is in Washington DC.

 

 

With all of these swatches you can really have fun picking out your colors. I love imagining the fabulous color combinations that are possible to create a unique event. Once the bride gets her wedding colors picked out we can have fun with the flowers.

 

Holly

 

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of attending the Sean Low luncheon with Engaged Magazine. Sean was the President of Preston Bailey Design Inc. for 6 years. Many thanks to Doreen Tisone, editor and publisher of Engaged Magazine, for planning such a wonderful event.  Wedding vendors from all over the DC area gathered at the Ritz Carlton to be a part of this fabulous event.

 

 I got to dine with some of my favorite blogger girls. This is a photo of me with Janie Medley. Janie is the editor of the The Brides Cafe Blog. I hope all of my brides are reading The Brides Cafe.  Here is a screen shot of the beautiful Brides Cafe Blog. Not only does Janie have one of the top wedding blogs, she is an extraordinary floral designer. She has been published countless times and has become an absolute whirlwind in the floral industry. 

Here is a great shot of Courtney from Merriment, and Nole from Oh So Beautiful Paper. Please check out their blogs. You will love following these girls.

This is Courtney's home page and blog.

 

Here is a screen shot of the Oh So Beautiful Paper Blog.

Yesterday was a great day. I learned so much, and I also had a lot of fun. Today we will need to put it into high gear. We need to create a bouquet for a photo shoot and receive our flower shipment. We are going to be busy little bees today. 

Holly

Julie married this past weekend at Oatlands Plantation.  She carried a bridal bouquet of Dons's Dahlia's, mini green hydrangea, antique green hydrangea from Holland, Milva roses, cymbidium orchids, dendrobium orchids and lady slipper orchids. This quite possibly was the most vibrant design of the season.  The lady slipper orchid is extremely expensive. Quite frankly I have never been sure it was worth the great expense. The few times I have had them I was not impressed. Not so this weekend.  I absolutely loved working with these orchids and feel they made this bouquet stunning. 

 

We used purple and green lady slipper orchids in the bouquet. The lady slipper orchid is the large orchid that almost looks like someones nose.

 

The maids bouquets also were loaded with drama. We really loved working with the black scabiosa this week and felt it pushed these bouquets over the top. 

 

We had 10 maids that we created bouquets for. I am so glad we loved what we were making because 10 Maids can take a while to create. Loving what you are doing makes the whole process less painful. And I mean that literally: you can get some seriously painful hand cramps when you hold, shape and form bouquets all day.

 

These bouquets were created to mark family reserved seating. We neglected to take pictures of the centerpieces, but we used the vanda orchid to create these pieces. Vandas are another really extravagant orchid, and we had fun playing with them.  We submerged the orchids in cylinders with orange roses and the green hydrangea.  Here is a picture of a vanda orchid just relaxing in the flower shop.

We loved the colors, textures and exotics on this wedding. We hope to get professional images to share with you very soon.

Happy married life Julie. We loved your wedding.

Holly

 

Becky's bridal bouquet was a combination of several of my past bouquets. We created her bridal bouquet based on her desire to blend pale pinks, antique greens, and deep burgundy's. This combination was a stunning blend of traditional soft pink wedding tones mixed with the darker tones of fall. We were very proud of the way we brought this very wonderful color combination together.

Once again, we found ourselves working with another fabulous family. I don't know why the universe keeps sending me the really great families, but keep it up. I love working with happy, wonderful people.

 

We used antique green hydrangea, green cymbidium orchids, pale pink mini gerber daisies, pale pink candy bianca roses, deep burgundy roses called black magic and little miniature roses in burgundy called black beauty.

 

The maids carried bouquets of green hydrangea, candy bianca roses, green hypercicum and burgundy coxcomb.

I love this next photo, everyone is helping to button the back of the gown.

 

Due to weather our ceremony moved indoors. Having this back up ceremony site is absolutely one of my favorite parts about a Whitehall wedding. You never have to worry about the weather; the indoor ceremony location is incredible. I really appreciate the no-fear aspect of having an event at Whitehall.

 
 

Clusters used to mark family reserved seating.

 

The large altar pieces were placed on either side of the altar. These designs were so beautiful, enormous and yet simaltaneously very dainty, airy and wispy.

 

We did a simple treatment of greens and loose blossoms on the mantel. After the ceremony, the family displayed the unity candle in the center of the mantel.

 

We tied large bouquets on the ends of the newell posts.  Whitehall has a lovely little mini balcony that goes up to where the cake is displayed.

 

We absolutely hit a home run with these centerpieces.

 

Thank you for allowing us to be a part of your wedding day. Happy married life. We wish you both all the very best.

Holly