Wedding Wednesdays. 13 tools for floral design.

Hi friends! Today’s wedding Wedinesdays is super fun! I’m giving you a peak at what tools I bring with me on wedding days to create floral installations and other beautiful statement pieces.

Let’s get to it!

1. Chicken Wire

   A trusty stand by. It can be morphed into any shape and cut into any size. Most of our installations have a chicken wire base.

2. Brick clips

   Great for mantle installations in receptions!

3. Zip ties

   You can use zip ties for anything! Definitely one of the most important tools for event days.

4. Floral foam

   We like to stay away from foam as much as possible, but foam is still a great tool for a floral designer. We can use it in centerpieces, arbors, and anywhere we want really.

5. Green waterproof tape.

   Great for hanging delicate greenery on walls and other surfaces. It also is camoflauge.

6. Fishing line

   Fishing line is great for a lot of things including creating floating installations.

7. Bind wire

   Basically like never-ending twisty ties. One of my faves for attaching florals to chairs.

8. Floral wire

   Great to have on hand in case of a bouquet emergency.

9. Command Hooks and strips

   God bless the inventor of command strips. Super great for attaching garland and certain floral installations.

10. Hot glue gun

    For when the bride forgets to add a corsage for a family member, we can whip one up really quick!

11. Uglu Dashes

    Basically, super-duty tape that is waterproof and weatherproof. We use this to attach flower pieces to vessels.

12. Gaffer’s tape

    Similar to duct tape but doesn’t leave a residue behind.

Honorable mentions that we always have on hand

Water pitchers to refilling water

Garbage bags for clean up

Step ladder

Hope you enjoyed this post!

Mama Mondays. 7 Things that are helping me live a joy-filled year.

I’ ve talked a lot about this on Instagram, but instead of a “word-of-the-year” or New Year’s resolutions, I decided to just have 2 focuses. Curating a joy-filled home for Caleb and Caroline and focus on getting healthy. About 9 weeks ago I slipped and fell down our deck stairs and dislocated my knee cap which in turn stretched and damaged a bunch of tendons and ligaments around my knee. The good news? No surgery required, the bad news? It’s been a slow recovery and has definitely put a huge speed bump in my road to health-ugh. Regardless my positivity from 2020 till now is night and day different. We all know last year sucked and if we’re being honest, it seems the same this year, but this girl right here has a different outlook.

Here are 7 things I’m implementing that are helping me live a joy filled 2021.

1. I stopped watching the news.

1. All of it. Everyday. I have no clue when our governor’s holding press conferences, or what is happening with Covid. This also includes turning off all news notifications on my computer, phone, and Apple Watch. I still keep informed on current events, but now I have more control over it and with fewer opinions thrown in my face all hours of the day.

2. Unfollowed 95% of people and things on Facebook

   Facebook is an incredible tool and I don’t want to discredit the wonderful and positive things it can do, but it became too much for me last year. I took a 6-month break from FB in 2016 and it was truly the best thing. This year, I am not completely off of it as there are some mom groups and community pages I love and still want to keep up with, but everything else (yes even friends and family) I unfollowed. Now I feel like I have control over my newsfeed which only shows me group updates and the weather. Now it’s not so strange for me to go on FB once or twice a week.

3. I now only follow Instagram accounts and watch stories that bring me joy or inspire me.

   Similar to Facebook, I did a massive purge in January. I unfollowed about 600 accounts and muted almost everyone. Sounds harsh, but it has done wonders for my mental health. Again, social media is an amazing tool, but can easily spiral out of control. It wasn’t even comparison that was getting to me-that never bothered me- I’m well aware that IG is a highlight reel. I was just so over seeing things that didn’t spark joy or were political or about Covid or political things. It’s not that I don’t care about these things, but I’m very aware of how mentally and emotionally damaging it can be to surround yourself with things that can be mainly negative. Now my IG is filled with a few influencers I love, home design accounts, and others that bring me joy.

4. Keeping my circle of friends small.

   And cultivating those relationships. I’ve never been one to have dozens of friends and that is even more so now. I have a small group of friends I speak with daily.

5. Upgraded our house cleaning to twice a month

   We used to have our house cleaned once a month and that was life-changing, but in January I decided it would help my mental health so much to have our cleaning ladies come every other week. It’s so nice and beneficial in so many ways. It helps me keep more of a cleaning schedule and keeps the house uncluttered. One of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

6. I only watch Friends

   Hah. This is a strange one and as someone who used to watch so much TV, it actually shocks me. Outside of toddler shows and the occasional movie with Chris, I don’t watch tv. I am a huge Grey’s and Bachelor fan, but this year it just seemed to distract me and I realized that tv just doesn’t bring me joy. So Friends is the only thing I watch and only before I go to bed. My brain feels so much lighter.

7. Focusing on our home life.

   This one goes back to my outlook for 2021. With all the craziness outside our front door, it brings me peace to know that all I need to focus on is my children, my husband, and our home. I am so l blessed to feel completely fulfilled by our little life. We live in a great community, are so lucky to live near most of our family, I have a business that I love and inspires me, a thriving marriage, and 2 healthy children. Over the past year with the slowing down of life, I realized that I am most happy at home with the ones that I love most. Cultivating a love-filled home where God is spoken about often and we can concentrate on raising Caleb and Caroline. Included in this is an organized home and finding ways to do things that make our life run smoother. I’m loving the book “The Clean Mama’s Guide to a Peaceful Home”. This has been a game-changer is the way I organize my home and our routines. Highly reccommend.

I hope you are living a joy-filled 2021 as well.

Warmly,

Michelle

Wedding Wednesdays. Tips for finding your perfect wedding venue.

Hi friends! Welcome back! Today is the second post in a piece of advice for brides series. The first post covered tips on choosing a wedding photographer which you can read here.

Today I’m talking about choosing a venue. The location for your best day ever should be on your priority list as far as important things to book. This decision sets the stage for everything else in your day. This decision can be overwhelming so here’s a few pointers to help.

1. Hire a planner first

If you are looking to hire a planner, do so first. A wedding planner can offer you priceless advice and ultimately help you find the perfect backdrop for your day.

2. Know your estimated guest count prior to venue tours.

It’s no help viewing venues that hold 50 when your guest count is 120…

3. Know your venue and overall wedding budget before venue tours.

4. know the aesthetic you have in mind before searching.

5. Think of what you want your guest’s experience to be like.

Try to imagine yourself as a guest there, what are your thoughts?

6. compare what is included.

Compare multiple venues and see what each offers. Think, tables and chairs, dance floor, and wedding party spaces. If a venue doesn’t offer these things then will you have to hire more vendors?

7. Consider how your guests will get to and from the venue.

If choosing a venue in the middle of nowhere, you may have to provide transportation for your guests.

8. Does it offer a plan B?

Very important! Furthermore, does it offer a Plan B that you love?

9. What are the postponement policies?

Ahhh a Covid question- of course! Very important though! 2 must know…1. will your retainer payment transfer to a new date? 2. Will any reschedule fees incur?

10. Design freedom?

Obviously, w'’re not talking about drilling holes in the walls or changing flooring, but will they let you have the freedom to transform the space for your wedding? If there is a large painting that you despise in the bridal suite that may bother you in photos, can they move it? Things like that.

11. How long will you have the space? 

You need to know how long your rental is. If it’s only an 8-hour rental then you may run into time troubles with set up. You also need to know what time breakdown needs to be done.

Hope these were helpful!

Michelle