Indie Wed Display–Quirky/Woodsy Theme
By Lynn | February 1, 2010
The Quirky/Woodsy vignette from my display at Indie Wed definitely got the most attention. About a week before Indie Wed, I thought about cutting out this vignette, because I really hadn’t figured out yet what I was going to do for it. I was thinking of the theme as Wintry/Rustic, and envisioned using birch bark as a focal feature, but the birch bark got the boot. Twig balls and acorns took center stage, and the theme became Quirky/Woodsy. I’m so glad I didn’t give up on this theme, because so many people reacted to it.
Here was the mini inspiration board for the theme, showing the inspiration piece: these somewhat strange-looking handmade owls I found a photo on Shelterrific’s blog. The color scheme was green, plum, grey-ish aqua, and brown.
The Quirky/Woodsy Theme
For the centerpiece, I started with a natural basket made of twigs and moss. I inserted a 5X5X5 inch glass cube vase to line it. Thankfully it fit perfectly! Instead of using floral foam–a much depended upon floral industry material–I designed the centerpiece in water. I avoid using floral foam as much as possible, because it is both non-biodegradable and a petroleum-based product. Oh, and it contains formeldehyde. A couple of days before Indie Wed, I placed in the arrangement the non-floral items: a moss ball that I made from moss and waxed thread to provide some structure (my floral foam substitute), the branches, twig balls, and the succulent. Here’s what that stage looked like:
The First Step of the Quirky/Woodsy Centerpiece
I later added the kale, stock, trachelium, and acorns.
The Final Quirky/Woodsy Centerpiece
For the bouquet, I used many of the same elements as were in the centerpiece. When I was thinking the theme would be Wintry/Rustic, I was planning on using a sweater-like material to cover the stems of the bouquet. Instead, I used a green grosgrain ribbon with brown wooden buttons on the handle.
Quirky/Woodsy Wedding Bouquet
I didn’t get a good isolated shot of the acorn boutonniere, but here you can see it in the final display. The boutonniere had matching ribbon and buttons to coordinate with the bridal bouquet.
Quirky/Woodsy Vignette
Another sustainable aspect of these designs is that many of the elements, such as the twig spheres, acorns, and branches, could be saved and used to create a keepsake. The succulents could also be removed and would last for months kept in a low glass container with river rock and a little water. It’s a reusable bouquet!
The vignette I almost axed was the one I enjoyed making and looking at the most. I’m so glad I kept it!
Topics: Indie Wed | 3 Comments »
Indie Wed Recap
By Lynn | January 31, 2010
I had such a fantastic time at Indie Wed! Initial estimates indicate that around 1,000 people attended the event, held on Saturday, January 30th at the Ravenswood Event Center. It was so wonderful to see past, present, and hopefully future clients. Seeing so many of my clients indicated that I was definitely in the right place! And, wow, such a fantastic group of vendors!
For Pollen’s display, I created three floral vignettes, each with a different theme: vintage, modern, and quirky/woodsy. I wanted to show the range of styles that Pollen can provide, and how flowers can truly enhance the theme of the wedding. The display also showed ideas for including eco-friendly options in wedding flowers.
Each vignette had a bridal bouquet, table centerpiece, and boutonniere, as well as a mini-inspiration board. My idea with the inspiration board was to mimic the initial part of the creative process of designing wedding flowers. Typically, a potential client comes to a consultation with a photo of the bride’s and bridesmaids’ dresses, a color scheme, and sometimes an inspiration piece. It’s my job from there to interpret this look through the floral design of the bouquets, corsages, boutonnieres, and centerpieces.
In future blog posts, I’ll tell you about each vignette. For now, I’ll share photos of Pollen’s Indie Wed display and our new business cards, hot off the presses and just in time for Indie Wed.
Pollen's Indie Wed display
Pollen Business Card--Front
Pollen Business Card--Back
Check out a few of the other incredible Indie Wed vendors:
Delicate Creature
Fine and Raw Chocolate
City Provisions
Spilled Ink Press
Edyta Szyszlo Photography
Foodie Registry
I Do Films
Jeremy Lawson Photography
Toast & Jam
Green Paper Company
Topics: Indie Wed | No Comments »
An Eco-Friendly Option: VeriFlora Certified Flowers
By Lynn | January 10, 2010
I’m often asked what makes Pollen an eco-friendly florist. One way we are a green florist is in where we get our flowers from, and, more specifically, how the flowers have been grown. Locally and organically grown flowers provide the most eco-friendly option, as explained in a previous post. But being in the Midwest, locally grown flowers are most widely available only about half of the year. What to do from November through April?
Another eco-friendly option is to buy cut flowers and potted plants that have been certified by a third party as being grown in an environmentally and socially responsible manner. One such certification program is VeriFlora, administered by Scientific Certification Systems. To qualify as VeriFlora certified product, the flowers must be sustainably grown, not only with regard to the environment, but also with regard to fair labor practices and a sensitivity to the community in which the product is grown.
What does VeriFlora certified product look like? No different from conventionally grown product. In fact, VeriFlora also has a quality component in its certification. I recently used VeriFlora certified Black Beauty roses for a winter wedding.
Here’s a look at the Veriflora label, on a package of Black Beauty roses: 
And the VeriFlora product, a Black Beauty rose:
When you can’t go with locally grown product, VeriFlora certified flowers offer another option for ensuring your wedding or event is working toward the goal of sustainability.
Topics: General, Green Wedding Tips | No Comments »
Indie Wed Ticket Giveaway
By Lynn | January 4, 2010
Planning a wedding that is more unconventional than traditional? Then Indie Wed is for you! Here’s your chance to win a pair of tickets to Indie Wed, Chicago’s very first independent wedding fair!
Indie Wed is a unique wedding show and sale that features independent, modern, edgy, and eco-friendly wedding vendors. Indie Wed will be take place on:
Saturday, January 30th, from 11AM to 5PM at the 
Ravenswood Event Center,
4025 N. Ravenswood Ave., Chicago, IL.
To enter to win two tickets to Indie Wed, post your favorite indie wedding website and why you like it in a comment below, before the end of the day on Saturday, January 9, 2010. The Knot doesn’t count! Not that there’s anything wrong with The Knot, but I’d like to get exposure for sites that are a bit more unknown.
A winner will be selected at random from the entries below. Good luck!
Topics: Buy Local, General, Indie Wed | 7 Comments »
Indie Wed Sneak Preview–Vintage Themed Vignette
By Lynn | January 3, 2010
I’m really excited to have a display at Indie Wed later this month (January 30th at the Ravenswood Event Center). After some deliberation, I’ve decided to have a few vignettes on my table with different wedding themes. Each vignette will have a bridal bouquet, boutonniere, centerpiece, and placecard holder. Along with these items, I’ll have a mini inspiration board, with the item that inspired the theme, the color palette, and a photo of the bride’s or a bridesmaid’s dress.
For one of the vignettes, I’m borrowing the theme for a wedding I’ll be doing this summer. A creative couple I met with a few months ago brought to their consultation their inspiration piece for their wedding: a sheet of gift wrap with a collage of vintage postcards from Paris.
I immediately fell in love with their vintage French theme, and my mind started putting together soft green hydrangea and beige roses in aqua antique medicine bottles.
Fast forward a bit to the release of the first issue of Eco-Beautiful Weddings, and I fell in love again–with the look on page 76. The dress is soft and romantic, with a light aqua detail. The birdcage veil and necklace give the look a vintage feel. I thought, that would go great with the vintage French theme! So I’m making it happen with the vintage-themed vignette that Pollen will have at Indie Wed.
A few sneak peaks of my vintage themed wedding vignette for Indie Wed…
Vintage Theme Inspiration Board
For the placecard holder, I’m planning on a dual purpose placecard holder/wedding favor: a mini herb pot with the placecard sitting in it. I created a vintage-looking placecard that resembles an admission ticket.
Vintage Themed Wedding Placecard
For the two other vignettes, I’m planning on doing a modern theme and a seasonal/rustic theme. I’m still working on these ideas! Stay tuned. In the meantime, get your tickets for Indie Wed!
Topics: General, Indie Wed | No Comments »
Wedding Profile: Yellow and Grey Wedding
By Lynn | November 29, 2009
Yesterday I delivered the most unusual wedding flowers I’ve done to date! The wedding had a yellow and grey color scheme, with a circle motif and look that was a mix of vintage and modern.
The bride was drawn to more unusual flowers, especially billy balls, which some call billy buttons. Billy balls (Craspedia globosa) are a yellow flowers that look, to me, like a gumball on a stick. The little yellow heads are a perfect sphere, and add an unusual touch to arrangements.
During the consultation with the bride, we sat down and looked over some photos of bouquets including billy balls, and decided to use a focal point of billy balls, surrounded by another round flower called silver brunia. I suggested a collar of swirls of lily grass to finish off the bouquet.
While preparing for the wedding, I described the bouquet to people a few times, and everyone had a pretty difficult time A) imagining what this would look like, and B) imagining it would look good! But I could envision it. And I knew it was going to look cool. And it turned out exactly as I had pictured it…
For the groom’s boutonniere, I used the same elements as were in the bride’s bouquet, including a loop of lily grass to mirror the collar of lily grass loops in the bride’s bouquet.
And for the groomsmen, I used billy balls and silver brunia, including a touch of the silver brunia foliage.
Definitely the most interesting wedding flowers I’ve done yet! I really loved the look of it.
Topics: Wedding Profile | 5 Comments »
Check Out Indie Wed!
By Lynn | November 4, 2009
“On January 30th 2010, Chicago will be the location for a unique wedding event. The event, called Indie Wed will be the first of its kind in the Midwest, bringing together local vendors with a twist. Indie Wed caters to unconventional couples who are taking a more modern, edgy, or eco-friendly approach to their special day as well as the more conservative couples who simply want to add some special touches. The event will highlight the work of local independent designers specializing in various wedding related fields including stationery, cakes & pastries, fashion, catering, floral design and photography.” (From IndieWed.com)
And Pollen will be there! I’m looking forward to meeting like-minded vendors and couples!
- When: Saturday, January 30, 2010 from 11AM – 5PM
- Where: Ravenswood Event Center, 4025 N. Ravenswood, Chicago, IL
- How: Purchase tickets for Indie Wed here! Buy them before December 19th and they’re a steal at just $10 per person or $15 per couple.
Topics: Buy Local, General, Indie Wed | 1 Comment »
Seasonal Flowers: October
By Lynn | October 15, 2009
I just love fall weddings. Mostly because of the fall wedding flowers available, of course! I’m a big fan of berries and branches, and fall is a perfect season to include fruits, berries, and branches in floral arrangements. This post, I’ll focus on non-flowers.
Ornamental Peppers (Capsicum annuum)
Ornamental peppers are more diverse than you might think! They’re available in black, purple, red, orange, and yellow, and they are sometimes long and thin like a serrano pepper, and sometimes short and fat. For a black and white wedding theme in fall, ornamental peppers are a great option. They’re shown here with coxcomb and sunflowers. Please don’t eat them! I hear they’re terribly hot. Haven’t tried them myself, though!
Ornamental Kale (Brassica oleracea)
“What is that… cabbage?” Yes! It is! And isn’t it cool??? Kale comes in plum/purple, blush, ivory, and green. If you ask me, it resembles like a giant rose. Sometimes the petals have ruffly edges, sometimes smooth. Ornamental kale is a popular fall bedding plant as well as being a great option for fall wedding flowers! They are very striking, and a bit unusual. Don’t dismiss cabbage for your wedding flowers. They’re quite the conversation starter!
Smokebush (Cotinus coggygria)
Another favorite of mine, smokebush is a shrub that turns reddish purple in fall. The leaves are roundish and about 2″ across. One of the prettiest cut branches available for fall color, if you ask me!
Topics: Buy Local, Flower Profiles | No Comments »
Seasonal Flowers: September
By Lynn | September 30, 2009
Well, just in the nick of time, I’m getting in a September flower availability post! I love fall, and I especially love the berries that become available in fall. Here are some of the locally grown flowers that I’ve been seeing and using this September:
- Zinnias
- Tuberose
- Eucalyptus
- Asters
- Snapdragons
- Gomphrena
- Asclepias
- Celosia
- Gladiolus
- Dahlias
- Dianthus
- Hydrangeas
- Amaranth
- Aronia
Some specifics about a few favorites:
Zinnia (Zinnia elegans)
Bright 
and fun, zinnias come in an array of colors, including red, pink, orange, yellow, and green. Their brightly colored petals surround a center disc. Zinnias are a bit casual and gardeny. Zinnias are fantastic in casual centerpieces. They can easily be grown in the yard, as well. So if you’re really a DIY type, you could grow your own for your wedding! They are a long-blooming annual and will stick around until frost. The butterflies will thank you!
PeeGee Hydrangeas (Hydrangea paniculata)
PeeGee hydrangeas are large tufts of blooms that emerge white (or sometimes green) and turn a rosey color as the blooms age. They hold up well in bouquets and centerpieces. Lovely, lovely. PeeGees can be either casual or elegant, depending on how they are presented.
Pumpkin Vine, or Pumpkin-on-a-Stick (Solanum integrifolium)
These cute fall favorites are not actually pumpkins, but they sure look like them! The mini pumpkin imposter is a type of eggplant. They make an interesting addition to centerpieces and vased arrangements. Very, very halloween-y!
Topics: Flower Profiles | No Comments »
Chicago Honey Co-op’s Beeswax Candles
By Lynn | September 29, 2009
The quest to offer greener options to my clients continues. Piece by piece, I’m trying to find eco-friendly wedding items as alternatives to the less eco-friendly ones!
Nothing beats the flicker of candles at a table for creating a warm and soothing environment. For this reason, votive candles are often used as a part of wedding table centerpieces.
The most commonly available candles are made of paraffin, a (non-renewable) petroleum product that creates indoor pollution. An eco-friendly alternative is to use beeswax candles. Beeswax is a renewable product, and beeswax candles burn much longer than paraffin candles.
Recently, I came across the Chicago Honey Co-op’s beeswax candles. The Chicago Honey Co-op not only raises bees sustainably, but also provides job training for people getting back on their feet. I am now offering these locally produced and chemical free candles to couples looking to green up their weddings!
More resources:
Chicago Honey Co-op buzzes on Chicago’s West Side
Where to Buy Chicago Honey Co-op Products
Are Candles Bad for the Environment?
Topics: Buy Local, Green Wedding Tips | No Comments »