Happy New Year! It seems like yesterday I wrote my last blog post, but when I look back at the date, it was March of last year. Now that is truly a sad thing - so much happens during 'wedding season' and I have failed to keep up with the action. Not this year! My resolution this year is to keep a better blog, posting often with things that inspire me, designs I've created, and hopefully some tips and tricks to make your wedding or event flowers perfectly suited to your personality.

2014 was one terrific year at Design In Bloom, with dozens of brides who inspired me. I very often get asked where my inspiration comes from, and I can unequivocally say it always comes from my brides. Whether it's a scrap of lace from her Mom's wedding dress, a favorite flower that she shared with her Grandmother, or the color of the sunset from the deck of a battleship on her last tour of duty (no kidding! We love our brides in uniform!), it's always a piece of the life of a bride that gets the creative juices flowing around here. And while a groom certainly can and very often does have a say in what happens in the design studio, very often it is a tweak on the colors or the finish on his boutonniere that is important to him. But what most everyone absolutely agrees upon is that fresh flowers create an atmosphere that says something magical is going to happen here. And isn't that what we strive to create when we plan a wedding? Something as magical as two people finding each other, falling in love and wanting to spend the rest of their lives together. Talk about inspiration!

Ann & Zan

Hobnail milk glass vases and coral peonies were Ann & Zan's inspiration in April at The Woodlands at Algonkian Park. The bright crisp colors were perfect for a spring day in Northern Virginia.

Tables were covered with blue linen and an overlay of white lace. Ann had collected enough milk glass over the years to have several pieces on every table, each filled with a flower in her color scheme.

David & Jackie

Blue was a hot hot color last spring, and Jacqueline and David used to pop white flowers for their May wedding. Not wanting to leave a sense of the sacred our of their ceremony, they built a cross to use at the focal point for their lovely ceremony overlooking the 18th hole at The Piedmont Club in Haymarket.

Cindy & Chris

Blush pink and ivory never seem to go out of favor, and for good reason! It's a classic combination that always looks fresh and bridal. My bride Cindy loved the juxtaposition of rustic with sparkle, so we created two centerpieces for her - one in a rustic birch box and another with lots of glass and crystal.

Those are just a few of the weddings we designed for last year, hopefully in the next couple of weeks I will add more of last years' work to perhaps inspire you, and keep me in step with my New Years' Resolution to post! Some of the most beautiful weddings are yet to come - brides who really stepped outside their comfort zones and took a chance, and it paid off with gorgeous wedding flowers.

So having meandered a bit back in the past, let's leap ahead to this year - the Pantone Color of the Year is Marsala, a deep rich warm shade of red, tempered with earthy brown and a bit of pomegranate. I know, I have a tendency to wax a bit poetic when talking about color, but did you get the image? Think beautiful cordovan Italian made boots, and you've got it.

How is this affecting weddings??? BERRY! Berry is bursting onto the scene - in combination with pale pinks and blushes, ivories and greens. We've always looked to eggplant/aubergine for some richness, but that tends to be a very fall color. Adding a bit of pink makes it more of an all around color, one that isn't out of place at any time of year.

GOLD, and all the opulence it denotes, is also making a comeback. We've been in silver mode for so long, I think it took the reintroduction of mercury glass to really get old, soft gold back into the spotlight. It is elegant but can be fresh, especially when paired with creamy ivory, or paired with lace.

BLUSH PINK and SILVERY GREENS are nothing new, but they're proving to have real staying power. Lush and romantic, blush hints at just a bit of naughtiness, it's not quite white, but it's not quite pink. Silvery greens, like dusty miller and lambs ear, blend colors together nicely, creating harmony in otherwise complicated designs. I always like to add a bit of this grey green to designs, it leaves your eye with a nice soft place to rest and appreciate the bouquet.

As for accoutrements, I'm hoping the mason jar has finally made its last appearance. While I love designing in and for them, I have never felt that they give proper respect to a wedding that is anywhere but in a field or a barn. They're just not special enough. Want a nice collected combination of vases on your table? Let me use something that is a little bit sexier than a jar we use to preserve tomatoes. How about these?

Same cost as a canning jar (yes, I can work miracles with a budget)…let's use the canning jars for your engagement party or rehearsal dinner. And we'll wrap them in burlap too.

Hope you're still with me, it's been rather a long blog. I resolutely resolve to keep on writing, stay tuned for more inspiration, but in the mean time, buy yourself a bunch of flowers!

Happy Holidays! It's true - another year has gone by and we're again facing the most wonderful time of the year. In honor of the timing of this post, the Tuesday before Thanksgiving, I thought a little autumn was in order before we completely turn things over to the red and green, silver and gold of the Christmas season.

Molly & Scott were a terrific couple to work with, and their late October wedding was a beautiful testament to the season. The backdrop was The Piedmont Club in Haymarket, which was particularly glorious on that fall day.

The bridal bouquet was a blend of sherbet-y orange and smokey peaches, Free Spirit and Freedom roses with a rich mango red mini calla, green hypericum, dark red dahlias and a little curly willow for accent. The dahlias and curly willow were both grown at local farms.

The boutonnieres and corsages were a mix of the best the season had to offer, including panicum grass seed plumes and locally grown wheat. Pearls and preserved oak leaves added a bit of class and whimsy.

The ceremony took place on the back patio overlooking the 18th hole. The sky was incredibly blue that day and the grass amazingly green.

This ceremony setup is a perfect example of not needing to spend a ton of cash to get a special look. The designs, mums and pumpkins were re-used during the reception as well.

The cake was a beautiful confection and done so well with fall detail. We supplied the pumpkins and topper - isn't it amazing how a little bit of attention to detail can tell a story?

Centerpiece containers were ceramic pumpkins with lids - a perfect find for this beautiful day.

My clever couple loves dogs, and their dogs were with them on their big day...as table numbers! What a lovely was to personalize the centerpieces.

Any time you can coordinate the colors of your event with the timing of natural season surrounding you, it's almost impossible not to hit a home run, it just feels like a celebration.

From our family to yours, hope you have a wonderful Thanksgiving. Don't forget the flowers!