The Flowers

"Fame is the scentless sunflower,

with gaudy crown of gold;

but friendship is the breathing rose,

with sweets in every fold."

-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

(Father of the illustrious judge and a known poet)

When it comes to weddings, little else make me giddy like flowers (save maybe dresses). Due to a rather organic name change as a little kid, I got to choose my middle name. While wandering Roger's Gardens, it dawned on me. Why not my favorite flower: the Rose.

Hence today we have, Heatherly Rose. Together my first and middle name mean "a field of heather and roses". I don't care if their soil and climate is incompatible, they're in a field and it's awesome. Taking on Chaz's name "DeNaranjo", of the oranges, makes the field a bit more crowded, but all the more fragrant. So what flower and fruit I'm going to favor in my decor will be no surprise. (Hint: it's not daisies).

I also have a love for peonies. Candy colored, full petaled, sweet and en vogue all at once. They remind me of a fluffy petticoat. With this and my scrumptious color palette in mind, I have been fixated on wedding flowers lately.

I have ideas for the bridal and bridesmaids bouquets, drawing from an old centerpiece I did where I put in feathers for filler. I made a little photo collage (surprise, surprise) of ones I liked. I'm sorely tempted to have corsages instead of bouquets, because you put the bouquet down anyway.

As for tables, my approach thus far is to treat each table uniquely. The room is my garden and each plot will be a little different. I want people to want to look around to move through the room a bit. Different arrangements might encourage ladies to do so.

So here we have centerpiece brainstorming: illustrated.

I love the goldfish here, but I can only thing of them dying mid ceremony. Floating lifelessly and milky-eyed instead of swimming about happily. I appreciate the lesson in life and death they offer, but my wedding isn't the place for it.

Worse yet, what if five beers in, swallowing a goldfish seems like the BEST DARE EVER or if the kids "want to pet it" ?

This illustrates one idea I had to copy the style of one of my favorite art styles: flemish vanitas. However, vanitas tend to have skulls and hourglasses with the flowers to show the brevity of life and its riches. Once again, I appreciate the lesson but may save that for a different party. Anyhoo, note the loose elegance of some of the arrangements. I love that. Like they were gathered by a genteel woman from her garden and thrown together.