Oh, what a joy this October wedding was.
Dahlias, native asters, and warm fall golden light...what more could I ask for?
Tanya was a delight to work with. She was so open to ideas and happy to be using local and seasonal flowers. Turns out she used to work in ecosystem restoration. No wonder we got along so well!
You fellow creatives already know that when a client says "I trust you completely," you kind of start to glow inside. Sometimes you can start to doubt your work and question if you should sacrifice parts of a creative vision in order to help satisfy someone else's dream. But to be trusted completely is exhilarating, especially when it's dahlia season!
Since we're a local seasonal flower farm, part of my communication process is informing brides what flowers will be blooming around their event date. I knew Tanya would have dahlias for her wedding, but I never dreamed they would be this stunning.
I wanted to showcase the dahlias first and foremost in Tanya's bridal bouquet. Balancing heavy blooms takes a bit of patience but I'm extremely happy with the end result. It's my favorite bridal bouquet to date, but I think I say that every time!
You might notice something blue on the bridal bouquet. As I was tying ribbon on each of the bouquets, Tanya asked me if we could add her dog's tag to her bouquet somehow. I tied it onto the mustard velvet ribbon and it became the most perfect personal addition to her wedding day. Tanya's dog Graysea passed away shortly before her wedding day and she wanted her to walk down the aisle with her. As a fellow animal lover, this touched my heart.
Another special addition to Tanya and Dane's wedding day was the wooden ceremony arch. Tanya's parents made the hexagonal arch from wood collected from North woods cabin in Wisconsin and transported it all the way to Tennessee. Her dad assembled it day-of and then gave me a "tag, you're it," as I prepared to work on her vow backdrop installation on his beautiful, handmade arch. He told me I did a great job.
One of my favorite things about this day were the bridesmaid dresses. They were each so gorgeous and ended up being the perfect background for the colorful bridesmaid bouquets! In our very first email, Tanya told me she wanted to keep her florals as in-season and sustainable as possible and wasn't afraid of color at all. I think they ended up matching perfectly!
The fall colors and feeling at the venue was beyond perfect. I could not have asked prettier backdrop to complement the beauty of the dahlias. The warmth of golden hour lit up the fall foliage and made the florals absolutely glow. The arch and installation flowers looked like they belonged there and fit seamlessly into the woodland background. This is just one perks of using local and seasonal flowers for your wedding day!
A couple weeks after the wedding, I received a package in the mail containing the chicken wire and water picks I used in the arch construction. Tanya sent them to me so I could reuse them instead of sending them to the landfill! If that wasn't enough, the package also contained a handwritten thank you note. I grew up writing thank you notes so this also made me feel warm and fuzzy. Tanya, I loved working with you!
What a beautiful bride and groom. We wish the two of you the best Tanya & Dane!
Venue: Oaklawn Farms
Photographer: Tess Ender Photography
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