Here comes the bride...

Sorry you haven't heard from me for a while. Busy with my final shows of the season...I just have to paint or make one more thing and take it with me kinda thing. I've also been working like crazy to make sure that my brides for the months of November and December get their vintage brooch bouquets in time for their wedding day. Still have one more to make for a New Years eve wedding and will post pictures in 2013 but here is the set of bouquets that I made for a late November wedding.

Kara first introduced herself to me at one of the farmer's markets I did this summer. I had some sample bouquets on display and she was excited to find out that I made these beautiful keepsake treasures. She asked if I would make hers and of course I said YES! Most of the time my brides pick their brooches from a healthy stock that I have collected in my travels to flea markets, estate sales and second hand stores. But sometimes I will get a bride that has her own collection that she wants me to use. It's a nice option and the price is reduced somewhat because I am not using my own pins.

And what a collection she had! Oddles and oddles of sparkly bling in a box. Three boxes for that matter. One for her, one for her matron of honor and one for the junior bridesmaid. It was like being a kid in a candy story - her pins were amazing. We couldn't use all of them so I had her choose her favorites. Now some brides think that everything has to be color coordinated...a matchy, matchy kind of a thing. But, they don't. In the big scheme of things they all just seem to work together and make one beautiful bouquet. Kara's were all different colors and I'm sure you will agree when you see the photos that it worked wonderfully.

So sweet.

Kara also had some pins that represented some special things in her life. A brooch from her mom and aunt, a knife and fork pin (she's a chef!) and a medal from her fiance's service pins that was put on her bouquet handle and helped her hold on to and keep him in her heart all day.

We met and talked and I took notes, making sure that I got all of her requests just right. Each bouquet was prettier then the next starting with the junior bridesmaids. In fact although they were all gorgeous, her bouquet was my favorite. The collar and handle were platinum and it was made a bit smaller then the others because of her age - she was only 12. The maid of honors was done in navy and the brides in one of my favorite colors - blush or ballerina pink as the fabric lady called it when I went to match ribbon to it. Kara's dress was also this color. She looked simply stunning in it. A bit of the fabric was left over and the seamstress sent some so I could wrap the handle in it.

So, here they are. Each bouquet comes to the bride in a vintage hatbox nestled in shredded book paper and wrapped in netting. The very talented photographer, Annette Barr stayed up way past midnight the day of the wedding to get this to me. Can't wait to see more of the bouquets in her other photos of the wedding day.

Her expression is just priceless!

Thanks Kara for letting me be a part of your special day. I hope the memories last a lifetime and that you live happily every after.

Let me know if you would like one for your wedding. Visit my ETSY shop or find them on my "mess of things" facebook page. You can purchase the ones that are listed or contact me for a custom made bouquet. I'm adding a shell bouquet for beach weddings and have just found some wonderful preserved roses and other flowers to incorporate into your bouquet. Let me know how I can help make your day special...