Peonies Are So Pase'

My wedding colors are various shades of white with accents of gold and a bit of silver. I know I can get very carried away in the creativity apartment, o I knew that sticking with such a simple scheme would keep me tame. I also love many different types of flowers so I only allowed myself to have four types: Roses, Hydrangea, Tulips and Orchids. I would have loved to used peonies, but they are very hard to get in October and very expensive no matter what time of year it is. However I found some gorgeous peony alternatives that are only a fraction of the price. All of them are roses!

Carla Romantica

Jeanne Moreau Peony Rose

Antique Romantica

Creamy Classic Woman

images via Whole Blossoms

Claire Austin


Glamis Castle


Winchester Cathedral


Rose-Marie

above images via David Austin Roses

There are many more colors shapes and sizes, but I love the various whites, peaches, creams and blushes. A few of these beauties will be featured at our wedding in different arrangements.

Wedding Lounge

A hot trend in the wedding scene is to do a lounge; either in the cocktail hour or for the dancing portion of the evening. It adds to ambiance of the room and also gives guest extra comfy seating during the night.

image via Bridal Inquirer


image via It's Lovely Blog


image via Isn'tshelovely.org

I think bright colors work best for the space. It seperates it from the bridal feel and gives it more of a party look.

Image via Altmodabridal.com

image via Southern Brides Magazine

Here is an entire wedding that was created to look like a lounge/ club in Paris...looks fun!

image via Southern Brides Magazine

While the lounge idea is a great I personally feel that it is overkill unless you just want to spend money. I think I will stick to my good old gold chivaris.

Centerpieces: The Simpler the Better and Cheaper

I went for my final dress fitting with my Maid of Honor today. We will be picking it up a 6pm tonight! Woo-hoo! On the way back we stopped at one of my favorite stores for florals in NYC. They honestly have the best artificial flowers I have ever seen. They are even better than real ones and I am not a fake flower person, but this place is beyond! While there I showed her the centerpiece I want to use at the wedding. It is simple, but stunning at the same time. when she saw it she loved it! She even said that with my venue anything else would look junkie and busy. The ceiling at our venue are carved, gold plated and have huge chandeliers. So what she said made sense to me.

In this process I have gained a love for the more natural or un-arranged flower arrangements...if you know what I mean. I like flowers in a vase with water. I know that is not what most florist or wedding industry people would recommend, but our. wedding is not an "industry" event. Its my wedding. I actually have rebelled from all the usual wedding protocols and it has been a quite freeing experience.

*image via InStyle Weddings
A great way to make it simple and savvy is to display a few flowers in a dramatic way. Just a simple vase and water will do here.

*image via The Hatchett Book Group

Preston Bailey got it right when he designed this place card centerpiece. Just peonies in a trumpet vase. While peonies are extremely costly and fickle to certain seasons any bushy flower would work for this. Try a few hydrangea or roses. Large head carnations could even pull this off!

An orchid spray also looks good, but can cost up to $30 a stem. A cheaper yet elegant alternative is below.

*image via Sharon Gassard Designs

This is a favorite of mine: White blossoming stems in a glass vase. You would be surprised at the drama this look can bring to a room when used in abundance.