Amanda Veronee's Floral Workshop Recap

Hi all! Welcome back! 

I am currently staring out my window at the prettiest snow scene. We only got about 2 inches here in Richmond, but it's still beautiful. There's just something about stepping outside right after freshly fallen snow. One of my favorite things. Well I could sit here all day and tell you all about how this original Florida girl who first saw snow at 24 will never tire of it, but we have a recap to get to! 

I had the honor of attending a floral workshop for the past two days offered by the lovely Amanda Veronee  I have been following her over on Instagram (more like stalking her) for quite some time now and got to meet her for the first time a few weeks ago at the Creative at Heart Conference. Her workshop was a must for me and I'm thrilled I got to attend! I left with my brian filled with floral tips and awesome techniques and made a few new friends too!

So Bright and early Sunday morning I jumped in the car, swung by Starbies for a skinny vanilla latte and up to Stafford, Virginia I went. 

Once I arrived I was greeted with buckets and buckets of beautiful blooms. A florist's dream! Then the work began!

Throughout the first day we learned different ways to put together everything from floral crowns to a bridal bouquet. SO fun! Here are a couple pretty pictures I took. Don't our floral crowns look fabulous! 

And a pretty little centerpiece made by yours truly! 

On the second day we really made the magic happen! We were at the stunning Stevenson's Ridge in Spotsylvania, Virginia and as a team we designed a floral pergola. A FLORAL PERGOLA. Absolutley amazing. It was filled with yellow garden roses, white hydrangea, spray roses, tulips, ranunculus, and a ton of green foliage. We were going for a wild and natural look and I think we nailed it. Here's a look at how it came out. 

We were saying all day how totally obnoxiously stunning it was. Be still my flower loving heart. 

The floral pergola we made was being used for a styled shoot by the sweet Kat of Dear Sweetheart Events and everything, like EVERYTHING was amazing. Melissa Arlena was there to photograph it.  I'm not going to give away any of the details, but here are a few sneaks! 

Um, yes this is what I got to play a little part in over the past few days. Hello gorgeousness. A huge thank you to Amanda Veronee for having us and teaching us her techniques. I learned a whole bunch and will be applying every ounce of knowledge to my upcoming weddings. I really do believe that you should never stop learning and discovering new ways of doings things. It makes you so much better and you get to meet some pretty inspiring people along the way. Happy Tuesday friends, make it a great one! Stay warm too! 

Styled Shoot- New Year's Eve

I'm so excited to share with you today the details of a very special New Year's Eve styled shoot I was honored to be a part of a couple weeks ago. So normally styled shoots are where vendors and creatives collaborate and put together tablescapes, decor, and other things to provide brides inspiration. This one was a little different however. This one was a real one. It was for a real-life new year's PROPOSAL. Ahhh. So obviously when my sweet friend Ally asked me to create a couple floral pieces for the big day, I immediately said YES! I was so excited to be working with Ally, Amanda from Sorby Sweets , Twila&Co , and the oh so amazing Hope Taylor ! Be still my heart, her photos are amazing.

I wanted the main centerpiece to be filled with fluffy winter whites and romantic textures. Inspired by snow- it is winter after all.  I started with bright white Peonies, added some Garden Roses, and Spray Roses, and I even threw a few Carnations in there for added fullness. I used to hate Carnations, in fact it is a long standing inside joke with my husband over how much I used to despise them, but I give you my apologies for hating, dear Carnations. 

Photo By: Hope Taylor Photography

And here's the happy couple! If you're wondering-she did say YES! Congratulations, Nicky and Myra! For the record, I think it is the absolute sweetest and most romantic thing that Nicky set this whole thing up for his future bride. And that is my favorite floral crown to date. It's simply baby's breath, but isn't it stunning on Myra?  

Happy Wednesday friends, make it a good one! And don't forget to follow along on Instagram! @onesweetdayinmay.

Love,

Michelle xoxo

Wedding Planning 101. Hiring a Wedding Planner.

Happy Tuesday, y'all! Today I am back in the One Sweet Studio and Brides, today's post is for you. Think of it as a little heart-to-heart talk.

  Hiring a wedding planner...Why you need one.

I know a whole bunch of you are thinking "I don't need one", "My mom is going to be helping with everything", "I have this under control, Michelle" And maybe you do, maybe your wedding day will be a different experience than mine. Don't get me wrong, my wedding day was hands down the best day of my life. I just had a few dozen (ok, maybe A LOT more) of our wedding photos printed for our home's first gallery walls (stay tuned for that post!) and I can't help but notice that everyone and I mean EVERYONE is smiling in them.  Like really smiling. I was told by our videographer that our wedding was one of the happiest he's ever been to. Happiest. What a wonderful compliment to receive. And when all is said and done, isn't that what matters? That everything got done and everyone was smiling?

NO. There I said it. I'll be honest with you, I was up until 4am the night before our wedding, with a wake up call at 7am. Ouch. My family did everything the day of our wedding which was amazing and I can never thank them enough. However, a huge part of me wishes they didn't have to. A huge part of me wishes my bridesmaids didn't spend 8 hours the day before setting up, I wish I had had the time to spend with them, and I wish I had time to shave my legs the morning of my wedding...totally did not. The little things like that went straight out the window. My maid of honor couldn't go to hair and makeup because she had to go to the venue bright and early, checklist in hand. I watched my perfectly scheduled day-of timeline just fall apart. And why? Because I thought a wedding planner was out of our budget and to me it seemed silly to hire someone for things I could easily do. Wedding planner? Waste of money. Or so I thought.

See, let's take wedding photography and videography as an example. When all is said and done, you can hold those photos in your hands, proudly display them on your walls, give them as gifts to loved ones, and watch that video all day long. You get something tangible in return for all that money you spent. You can see where it went with your own two eyes. It makes sense to you. We naturally want to spend money on things we can actually see and touch. A new sweater, that brand new iphone,  and while we're at it a grande non-fat vanilla latte please! And with weddings, we rack those numbers right up with custom cocktail napkins, the prettiest linens, letterpress invitations and why? Because it's the stuff. (and we want our wedding to be the prettiest-duh) Mail is always so much more exciting during wedding planning. We stalk the mailman, track those Fedex packages. We can't get enough of the stuff! We love stuff, especially us girls. (Any Target addicts?) 

And what do you get that's tangible from a wedding planner? Hmmm... You don't get to display anything from a planner. There's nothing for you to watch. But, here's what you DO get when you hire a wedding planner and I can't tell you enough how appreciable it is. You get time with your bridemaids that flew hundreds of miles to be with you instead of handing them huge to-do lists, you get that moment of seeing your reception space for the very first time you've been imagining since you were little. You get to sip on that mimosa and laugh with your best friends. You get to sit back and relax and soak it all in knowing that all those pesky details are being taking care of and all you have to worry about is walking down the aisle is that drop dead gorgeous gown of yours and marrying your one true love. That's what you get. Peace of mind on a wedding day is priceless and a wedding planner can give you just that. So yes, I know you are one organized and put together girl and I know your family is going to be there offering their help and it will get done and you'll end up married and smiling from ear to ear. I just think you should have a planner right next to you so you can be the Bride. Trust me on this one. 

Photos by: Kristin Moore Photo

Love, 

Michelle xoxo