I have just gotten back from vacation, so there is much to do.  Time with the family was wonderful and they so needed just a little of my time.  I honestly am ashamed to admit that I work more than I mother.  My business is bigger than my very large family and that is hard to believe.

 We are back in full swing here, we designed all day yesterday.  Which in truth is very unusual for a Monday.  The pictures above show flowers in the process of opening for this weekend.  Carnations, Mums, Alstra and Lily take days to make wake up.  The bottom picture shows some of the designs for this evening.  We have a event tonight at RSVP catering. Our designs will be on display and we are so excited about sharing them with potential clients.  I look forward to showing you better pictures soon.  For now here are a few more photos from our very wonderful week at the beach.

 

  Here is a shot of me and my husband Evan at the Sound.  The brown bag around my neck is my baby girl Grace. She hung from my neck pretty much the whole vacation. We have several pictures of her where she is still in the bag but I was able to sneak it off.

A perfect example. Here she is still in the bag.

  This is also from our night at the Sound. If you look way out into the water there is a tiny little dot. That is Evan fishing.  We love taking the children to the Sound, we do this once every beach trip.  The water is only a few feet high, this allows the children to feel very secure. Daddy can walk out forever and fish.  The water temperature is amazing.  It is a great place to escape to if the ocean is rough.

  We created a new look for Alex. He is an awesome big brother and is willing to do just about anything to keep us all entertained.

  I honestly will struggle getting back to work.  I have fallen very far behind on email and call backs. When you own your own business taking a week off is utter anguish.  I have a full week of weddings and events this week so playing catch up will be very difficult.  I forgot to leave a day in the week to play catch up.  We will design everyday this week. We have 6 different events we are working on.  I am going to have to change from vacation mode to full swing ASAP.

Holly

  Time with the family has been wonderful. I have to admit though, when you own your own business it is extremely hard to claim. In spite of the fact that I promised the family I would not work this week. There have been things I have had to tend to, like crashing websites and email. It is impossible to shut down and leave your customers wondering where you might be. It is one of the many complications of being a working mom. I try so hard to be everything to everyone and there are times when that simply is not possible. When I am working and that is everyday, I am not focusing on my family.  Evan always seems to make up for everything and even on this vacation he has thought of it all, and packed it all. I would be at a complete loss without him.
Abby if you happen to get near a computer we miss you terribly. Happy Birthday beautiful girl.  We love you !!!  For the first time ever we are not all together on family vacation. Abby was chosen by the State of VA. to attend Governors's School. She is studying in Richmond for 3 weeks, missing her birthday and our family trip.

Hannah is my brown eyed girl and number 3 in the line up, Elijah is number 5 in the clan and the first baby in our second round of baby making.

Our very crazy Sam !!!  Number 6

Baby Grace relaxing at the beach. This is just wearing her out. She is baby number 7 and our grand finale. I promise.

My oldest baby Alex. Pretty hot, if I must say so myself.

This is Riley our fourth child and the baby of what we call the "original four"
Riley volunteered for the burial, so I am not sure why he looks so unhappy. I think it is my constant need to take a picture that has him looking annoyed.

We buried Elijah also, I think for him the getting out was the best part.

I told you Evan thought of everything. He was convinced that we could make our very own slip and slide. He brought sheet plastic and built the slide which dropped the kids off in the Ocean. Pretty clever. That is an awesome dad.

Spider Man ice cream for Elijah. He can't get over the fact that ice cream trucks actually deliver it right to your door. Very impressive.
I hope to focus on this clan for the next few days. Good luck to my flower shop girls who are holding down the fort. We actually have two weddings this week. The clients consulted with my flower girls and wanted to work with us even though they knew I would be away. Yes, I have awesome flower girls always helping me behind the scenes.
Holly

  Last week, Kate Headley requested a bouquet for a photo shoot. I was happy to oblige, for the opportunity to have her photograph my bouquets. Kate is the latest superstar in the world of photography. You must check out her website and blog.

  I did have one huge dilemma, I was leaving on vacation and the cooler was almost empty. I decided to turn the request into a challenge and see what I could come up with by using the bounty of my property. This time of year proved to be a bit difficult, as we are just past the glory of Spring and it is a tad bit early for my annuals. This caused me to get very creative. Every flower in this bouquet was from my garden except for the Pink Nerine Lily. I had those chilling in a vase in the cooler.
  First I hit the apple tree and pulled tiny little baby apples down right on the branch. I used my purple Hydrangea, tiny undeveloped blossoms from some plants my husband started by seed, the pods from my Tulip Poplar tree, pink Yarrow and the remains of my Clematis.
The results were honestly stunning, I truly had a ball making this piece. So much fun; that I decided to make just one more bouquet for the fun of it all.

 
  I had probably 30 green Carnations leftover from the weekend before, they last forever. I also had some white Freesia that simple was not ripe last week. I usually take my leftovers and donate them to Churches or friends but this week I got to use them for this shoot. I massed the carnations together in a tight ball. I pulled the hydrangea though the cluster and then hit the garden again. I pulled through the bouquet white Queen Anne's lace, and my blue Lace Cap Hydrangea.  I was so happy to create these bouquets; just for the sake of creation. I had a great time in the garden that morning and it was a little kiss goodbye before I headed off to the beach.
Thank you so much Kate for sharing these photographs with me, now I will have my glorious bouquets forever.

Holly

  Recently I attended a blogging boot camp hosted by Liene Stevens from the Blue Orchid Blog and Think Splendid Communications.  The boot camp was a opportunity for vendors to learn about blogging, as well as other forms of social media. In addition to all of the incredible blogging tips, we had a chance to connect with other vendors in the wedding industry. I was very interested in the success of Julianne Smith known in the wedding world as Garter Girl. 

Julianne describes her business like this: my garters are simple and stylish
and unlike anything else out on the market.  I started the company b/c a friend
needed a garter for her wedding and couldn't find one to match her
personality.  So I decided to make one for her and from that my business got its start.  If they flaunt it, toss it, or
keep it as their little secret, I'm all about getting brides to embrace the
garter tradition with a little style!

Please take the time to pop over to Julianne's website and blog. I think her garter's are a awesome way to bring new life, to a very old tradition.  For me, weddings are all about tradition.
Here is a bouquet from one of my past weddings in case you are having a little flower withdraw. This bouquet is a yummy summer combination or Orchids, Tropicals, Lily, and roses.
Holly

Holly

The whole Chapple clan hit the beach this Saturday. My first job this morning was to see if I could create a bouquet from my little beach neighborhood. I came back with this lovely, sweet, bouquet.  I tied it up with my husbands fishing line. My kids were all saying "where did you get that, its not real." I guess I am pretty good at this.

  I have lots of goodies to share with you this week. I will feature some other vendors and their products. I also have some new professional photographs of my latest work. So even though I will be away, I will be working on keeping you updated.

  For now, here are some photos from our first day at the beach. Note, the Holly Chapple Flower van made the trip as well. Our family carried so much stuff to the beach that we completely filled the cargo van. Once again my husband Evan made everything happen. It took him days to get eveything organized and then packed. He truly is the one that makes this family a family.

The goal of the day: Exhaust them !!!!!!

Holly

When it comes to red, white and blue themed weddings I think the best thing to do is, go with the Offspring song " You Gotta Keep 'Em Separated."    Red, white and blue together in one design tends to look a little to cliche.  To keep everything elegant and sophisticated keep your designs monochromatic. This way you will still have your very patriotic theme without loosing the elegance.

Have a happy 4th of July,
Holly

One of the caterers I work with called me this week requesting a red, white and blue buffet piece.  I am almost on vacation so the cooler is really bare.  I really had to put on my thinking cap to come up with this design. I had blue hydrangea in the garden, white blossoms in the cooler but I did not have any red. Here is what I did.

I took my Willow Spirea blossoms that are light pink and painted them bright red. I loved the end result and I was quite proud of myself, this was a beauty.

I love when I am forced to use the flowers on my property because it causes me to be so much more creative.

Here is another fun buffet piece I made this week for yet another luncheon. I was in love with this color combination. This piece was created with all leftover blossoms and again elements from my garden. Notice this time the Spirea is painted orange.

It will actually be elevated on a glass cylinder vase. Lifting buffet pieces gets the flowers off of the table, leaving lots of  room for all of the food.

I have one more piece to create this week. Kate Headley photography is coming out for a bridal bouquet. She is really pushing my creativity, every blossom will come from the property. What will I dream up today.

Holly

 

This is my new friend Izzy. Izzy is a event designer and planner for RSVP catering.  Izzy contacted me about working on a event she is planning. We hope to show potential clients all of the many different options available for their table decor.  I love this image, because it really shows the careful consideration and work that goes into planning a event. Here we are talking about flowers but it is also a sea of swatches, vessels and flying ideas. I actually love this part of design, this is the infancy stage of a really great event. I loved working with Izzy, her eyes actually glazed over when I came up with a idea that appealed to her. It was like watching a shop aholic when they hit the shoe rack.

In addition to the floral centerpieces we will be using some fun props and decor. I also have a small booth in a little antique shop in Lucketts called On A Whim.  Using vintage props and containers opens up a whole new world of ideas. This photo makes me smile, because for some reason the new Washingtonian Magazine Bride and Groom was out on the table. That is my lovely bouquet on the right page. I love seeing our work represented in such a incredible magazine.

We laid out the potential vases, or containers on the linens to get a feel for the overall look. I am very excited about showing you the end result in the next few weeks.

Holly

Emily married this past Sunday at the Thomas Birkby House.  The Thomas Birkby is located in beautiful historic downtown Leesburg. This wedding venue is one of the finest in Loudoun. The property is so perfectly manicured, it is complete eye candy. The owners Ron and Judy, with there side kick and event planner Mary Louise will make certain that your day is perfect.  They are absolute joys to work with and a great part of the Birkby package.

Emily carried a bouquet of peach Stock, pink Lizzy, pink Candy Bianca Roses, cream Cabbage Roses, Queen Anne’s Lace and pink Calcynia Heather. The bouquet was a beautiful mix of garden flowers and we loved the end result.

The maids bouquet was created of peach Vandella Roses, white Stock, pink Wax flower, Queen Anne’s lace, Heather and Illsa Spray Roses.

The corsages were sweet clusters of the Candy Bianca Rose and Illsa Spray roses with a little touch of the Heather.

I happened to come back to the Birkby House just as my bride was about to go down the aisle. I just had to stay and watch. I so rarely get to see the actual wedding. Ron the owner of the Birkby House mentioned to me that he still gets goose bumps after all of this time, and all of his brides. Now that is very awesome.

The brides sister wrote a song in honor of the wedding.  The family printed the words for all of the guests so that they could serenade the bride and groom. This was truly a lovely touch.

This huge arrangement did double duty. First it was used at the altar and then it become the buffet piece. This piece was so beautiful.

We created beautiful centerpieces in stone urns. We used several different elements from my garden, pink Lizzy, pink Cabbage Roses, cream Cabbage Roses, peach Stock, Heather, peach Carnations and fillers.

We used the same flowers and created designs that we elevated on white iron bird baths.  The result was so perfect.

To finish everything off we put fresh flowers on top of the cake.

The cake was created by Carolyn Taylor of Taylor Made Cakes.  The family also used Jean Hartman to coordinate the wedding. Everything was just perfect.

I think I may have to sneak back to more of my weddings. It is so wonderful to see the fun part. Read the last four posts to see the other weddings of the weekend.
Holly

This bouquet was absolutely to die for. We  created this bouquet for my bride Amanda we used crimson colored Peonies ( probably my last of the season, so sad) pink Dahlias that were so amazing, deep pink Roses, Gloriosa Lily, pink Orchids, and a chartreuse green filler called alchemilla.

We had fun wrapping the stems. We used pink satin ribbon to bind the bouquet, and then we used a funky wire that is chartreuse green with green pearl beads.

The maids were a full out mix of purple Phlox, green Hydrangea, green Button Mums, yellow Tulips, hot pink Stock, pink Gloriosa lily, pink Spray Roses and purple Stock. The bouquets were bound with chartreuse green ribbon. We created 9 of these very extraordinary bouquets.

This is my bride Amanda.  I love this photo because you can tell my bride is delighted with her Holly Chapple designs. We created two of the little green ring bearer pillows and they were just adorable. We made a matching mini bouquet for the flower girl with the same green Button Mums. We inserted tiny pearls into the center of the mums.

The wedding took place at the fabulous Lansdowne Resort.  We created centerpieces with the same green Button Mums.

Much to my surprise the photographer was someone I just met at Blogging Boot Camp.  I look forward to seeing the images from the Observatory Photography Studios.

I have two more lovely weddings to post. We had 3 weddings on Saturday and two on Sunday. I will give you the Sunday weddings very soon.

Holly