Here are a few photos to peek at while the rest are uploading!  Congratulations Leah and Jay, and thank you for having us at your wedding!

Sam and John’s Wedding took place in 2007, and though it’s a few years back, I really wanted to share the experience and the images. They are such an amazing couple! Capturing their day began at the Newton Marriott, then to Regis College, and then off to the reception at the Boston World Trade Center. Everyone had such a blast! We couldn’y ask for a better day! Indoors or outdoors, I never lacked enough light…the formals at Regis College were a natural, with the gorgeous patio backdrop. Then we finished off at the World Trade Center, during sunset, capturing Boston’s skyline, and the fantastic rows of flags. The diningroom was esquisite! the colors and lighting were warm, rich and elegant. www.cherylevine.com

The Liberty Hotel, in downtown Boston MA, is the best of both worlds…views of the city and of the Charles River! The day began in the ”Presidential Suite” photographing Amy & Adam with that spectacular backdrop! It was on this balcony, where they saw each other for the first time, on their wedding day. The suite was filled with family and friends sharing this special moment. The day unfolded from the balcony, to the ceremony, and then to the beautiful ballroom. The Liberty Hotel is not only a historical Boston landmark, but also a chic, contemporary venue. www.cherylevine.com

We just received photos from one of our lovely fall brides who worked with one of our favorite photographers, Channing Johnson for an elegant evening wedding at the Algonquin Club in Back Bay.

About the color palette:
Gorgeous bright autumnal orange, warm ivories, deep chocolate browns, and burgundies all to evoke a feel of autumnal elegance for evening wedding in the city.

Bouquets en masse at the Lenox Hotel - Photo by Channing Johnson

Flowers and Materials:
With the dahlia season struggling to hang on (October had a few shockingly cold nights), we were lucky to get the last of the local orange and burgundy dahlias plus chocolate cosmos, snowberry, and ilex berries to add a twiggy, slightly wild look to the bouquets. To add more lushness to the bride’s and Maid of Honor’s bouquet we added ivory amaryllis, a late fall/winter fave of ours.

Bouquets in hand, ready to go - Photo by Channing Johnson

Maid of Honor walking down the aisle - Photo by Channing Johnson

Orange Dahlia and Ilex Pew End - Photo by Channing Johnson

They did it! High five! - Photo by Channing Johnson

At the Algonquin Club:
The designs at the Algonquin carried out the same color palette and materials as seen in the bridal party’s bouquets.  The overall mood of the Algonquin is rather dramatic and dark so a fall color palette worked beautifully in the space.

For the cocktail hour, we splayed out long branches of crabapple and ilex along long beautiful walnut tables in the library with small antique bud vases filled with cranberries and orange ‘Mokara’ orchids:

Bud vase of orange 'Mokara' orchids with branches of crabapple - Photo by Channing Johnson

Outside the library, the bridal bouquets were used to dress up the guest book table – a fun way to re-purpose bouquets after the ceremony when BMs and MOHs are tired of holding them!:

Vignette with bouquets and guest book - Photo by Channing Johnson

Table arrangements in the dinning room carried two themes: low bronze pedestal vases held cut flowers of orange ‘Mokara’ orchids, dahlias, smokebush, and ilex brances while other tables had carved pumpkins lit from inside.

Elegant and Autumnal Table Arrangement - Photo by Channing Johnson

Table design with carved pumpkin and bud vases - Photo by Petalena

Detail of floral table arrangements - Photo by Channing Johnson

Thank you again to Channing Johnson for sharing his wonderful work with us!

All floral design by Petalena.

]]> http://petalena.wordpress.com/2008/11/17/simple-and-striking-bouquet/ Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:15:39 +0000 petalena http://petalena.wordpress.com/2008/11/17/simple-and-striking-bouquet/

Another bouquet style we explored for “An Evening of Elegance” bridal soiree at the Taj, Boston was the unusual but beautiful color combination of pale yellow and silver. I am so in love with these two colors together. Both of these particular shades of yellow and silver are light in terms of their value (the amount of lightness/darkness in the color for you color theory folks out there!), when paired together each hue heightens the beauty of the other.

“Simple and Striking” Bouquet

Simple and Striking Bouquet

The design for this bouquet really just has a few elements – just pale yellow ranunculus, yellow cymbidium orchids, and dusty miller leaves. Each element is essential, the ranunculas give the romantic ruffled feel; the cymbidiums form the architecture and structure; and the dusty miller makes the yellow pop in a way it might otherwise not.

Bouquet and handle

Above is a closer detail of how we wrapped the handle. Simply, with crinkle silk in a pewter color, paired with chartreuse pins and thin grey velvet ribbon.

I’d love to do a wedding with this color palette carried throughout – lots of silver lanterns, candles – glowy and gorgeous. What’s also interesting about this palette is that is almost season-less.

It could be perfect for a winter or spring wedding especially, but even for summer it would be lovely and surprising.

Photos and Floral Design by Petalena

Pink is one of the most romantic colors to be found. That pale blush color has such an innocence and newness to it that makes it utterly infatuating even if you’re not a ‘pink person.’

“Pretty in Pink”

Pretty in Pink Bouquet

For this bouquet, rather than just doing all pink flowers, we paired blush ranunculus, cymbidum orchids, and astilbe with brown/maroon ‘monkey tails’ and pear tree leaves that really heighten the pale beauty of the pink in a way we wouldn’t see without these additions. The ribbons of hand-dyed silk also lend a tonal elegance to the bouquet, nothing is ‘matchy-matchy’ but it is harmonious.

Detail of Bouquet with Ribbons

At the “Evening of Elegance” bridal show, models wore wedding gowns and walked amongst the guests. I gave this model the “Pretty in Pink” bouquet and she ended up holding it all night! It really did look great with the romantic design of the dress:

Pretty in Pink Bride

And one final detail, of the bouquet:

Detail of Pretty in Pink Bouquet

All Photos and Floral Design by Petalena

For our bridal show last week, “An Evening of Elegance” at the Taj Boston, we also designed a bouquet that was a little more dramatic and theatrical with cool whimsical elements.

“Daring and Dramatic”

Daring & Dramatic Bouquet with Tulips and Feathers

For this bouquet we used red “Rococo” parrot tulips, one of our favorites, with plum ranunculus, and begonia leaves (our new obsession!). Between the multi-colored ‘flames’ on the parrot tulip in yellow, purple, and green and the wild shape of the begonia leaves, the bouquet is so unusual and unexpected. The plum of the ranunculus anchors the design and the wispy feathers deepen the palette and add texture.

Detail of Begonia Leaf, Tulips, and Feathers

Feathers are certainly having a renaissance right now and we couldn’t be happier. They’re such a fun and whimsical addition to bouquets and with their range of colors and textures, it’s hard to chose sometimes!

Dramatic & Daring Bouquet

I like this photo in particular because it shows how the bouquet isn’t entirely symmetrical. A little bit of imbalance and surprise is good in design, if everything was perfectly mirrored from one angle to another, it wouldn’t be nearly as fun to look at!

And one last image of one of the model “brides” at An Evening of Elegance modeling the “Daring and Dramatic” bouquet:

All Photos and Floral Design by Petalena

Last Thursday we participated in the fun and swanky bridal show-meets-cocktail party “An Evening of Elegance” at the Taj in Boston. For our display, we had different bouquets for brides to try on, a sort of What kind of bride are you? idea. Our next few posts will feature some of the bouquets we designed around different styles for “An Evening of Elegance.”

The “Classic Romantic”

Classic Romantic Bouquet

This bouquet was a luxurious combination of fragrant and ruffle-y garden roses, geranium leaves, chocolate cosmos, and raspberries. Perfect for the bride who loves lush, gorgeous things with a slight ‘from the garden’ feel.

Closer detail

And another detail, just because I love this bouquet so much!

Detail of raspberries, cosmos, and roses

Also note how you can tie in the colors featured in the bouquet with beautiful ribbons. Ribbons get such a bad wrap these days, makes us so sad! Ribbons, read – NOT BOWS! – are a fabulous way to incorporate more textures and a layered feel to bouquets without being over the top.

Photos and Floral Design by Petalena

“Whoa. Did the stylists at Saks Fifth Avenue, across the street at the Pru, sneak in and give the Colonnade an extreme make-over? The hotel has gone from so-over 80’s brass-and-mahogany to a clean, modern look with tones of espresso, khaki, chocolate, and chrome. All this would be mere window dressing if it weren’t for new, guest friendly touches like flat-panel TVs, DVD players, and alarm clock/MP3 players, plus extendable reading lights and fab high-tech coffee makers. Even the minibar goodies got an upgrade, with fresh shortbread cookies and the like. The look is slightly masculine but quite comfy, with pillow-top mattresses, high-thread-count sheets, and a round worktable (replacing the typical desk) so guests can eat or work comfortably. Floor-to-ceiling windows (these actually open) have been triple glazed to keep out the traffic noise of Huntington Avenue. Alas, the downside of all this is, rates have gone up a bit. In the summer, the roof deck pool is a huge draw. Open to hotel guests only, the pool area has great views of the neighborhood, and live music. For your gustatory needs, Brasserie Jo is an authentic French brasserie. Pros: Roof deck pool; T stop a few steps away; across the street from the Prudential Center for shopping and restaurants. Con: Prices have gone up since the hotel was renovated.” FODORS BOSTON 2008

Casey Function Center in Portsmouth New Hampshire is a brand new conference center, rental hall, banquet room and wedding venue perfectly suited for your next event. They offer an affordable and attractive facility on the Seacoast north of Boston for business meetings, conference, wedding reception, birthday party, anniversary or social functions. They are in a convenient and easy to find location near Route 95 with plenty of on-site parking.

They’re perfect for any event from weddings receptions, birthday parties, school functions and other social events in their rental halls. They have an ideal venue for large business meetings, seminars and political gatherings.

Their main room seats up to 200 people and features a large dance floor. Their smaller meeting room is ideal for private parties, business meetings, corporate events, baby showers, wedding showers!

They also offer a full kitchen and wet bar for the caterer of your choice.

Visit http://www.caseycenter.com for more information.