I love peonies and I'm definitely not alone!  These big, fluffy, gorgeous flowers are probably my most requested blossoms from brides and friends alike.  

Unfortunately peonies are difficult to come by most of the year but for those lucky brides getting married mid-May through mid-June (think of it as rose festival season) peonies are available locally from our amazing farmers and growers.  Buying peonies locally mean the quality is SUPERB and the prices are incredible. Peonies are also available in the fall but the prices tend to be higher as we ship them in from New Zealand.

If you're looking for more inspiration, a source for planting peonies in your garden or even just a fun day trip I recommend checking out Adelman Peony Garden's website.  www.peonyparadise.com

One of my favorite organic flower growers, Dancing Moon Farm, also has a great site for checking out their selection of peonies.  www.dancingmoonfarms.

Below are pics from some of our favorite peony weddings.  Enjoy!

Have you checked out Portland Style Unveiled recently?!

In a recent post Kami Young, one of our Memorial Day weekend brides, was interviewed about her upcoming wedding. Check it out!

Portland Style Unveiled-
www.portlandstyleunveiled.com

Image by Jessica Hill Photography-
www.jessicahillphotography.com

In March I took part in a mock wedding photo shoot at the Hotel Monaco in downtown Portland.  Events like this are fantastic as they provide us the opportunity to experiment with new looks, products and create new images for the portfolio that may be different from the norm.

For the Hotel Monaco shoot I worked with Mandi at Champagne NW to create a look with rich, fun colors and interesting details.  I love jewel tones but I sometimes think they have the tendency to get a  little dark (and dated!) so we used fuchsia linens to give the look a lift.  Lots of candles, modern vases and Spring flowers also lightened the look and kept it contemporary.

A table centerpiece of three black glass vases each filled with a unique type of flower.  When using multiple containers on a vase I love to keep the flowers themselves fairly simple.  Plus, I LOVE PURPLE SWEET PEAS, so getting to use two bunches in one vase just made me really, really happy. :-)

We thought it would be fun to play with napkin folds and little touches at the shoot.  Here we did a classic pocket fold and added a single tulip for some interest and additional color to the place settings.