Wedding: Elizabeth & Mark at Ivy Hall
This summer, I had the great pleasure of providing floral designs and drapery for Elizabeth and Mark’s wedding at Ivy Hall in Roswell.
Photo: Smallhouse Photography
Flowers are difficult to work with in the summer heat here in Georgia, so from the start, I was concerned about the flowers for Elizabeth’s July 22nd wedding. I took every precaution to make sure we used the best quality flowers I could find, and that they were immediately processed and kept cool until delivery. We delayed installation as long as we could for the outdoor flowers, to ensure that they would look their best for photographs. We were very fortunate that most of the outdoor ceremony had a canopy of trees to help shield from the sun.
Photo: Smallhouse Photography
Ivy Hall is a beautiful venue next to Roswell Mill. The mill overlooks Vickery Creek and dates back to 1839. The mill manufactured cotton and wool and even made Confederate uniforms for the military, but was burned during the war. The mill was rebuilt in 1882 and is currently used for offices. The property backs up to Old Mill Park in Roswell that connects to the Chattahoochee River National Park trail.
Photo: Smallhouse Photography
I worked primarily with the mother of the Bride, and we worked really well together. I have to thank my dear friend, Cyndie Thacker for recommending me to the family!
Photo: Smallhouse Photography
Photo: Smallhouse Photography
On the day of the wedding, in addition to the flowers, I was to install drapery on the arch for the ceremony area. This is a process that takes much longer than you would think, and requires that you have about 10 arms to hold and pin and wrap, etc. I decided early on to bring in my best assistant for the job – my husband, Corkey!
I love all the weddings that I do, but doing flowers only instead of flowers and coordinating is quite different, in a good way. When I am not coordinating, there is a large gap of time when we aren’t needed, and we can go put our feet up and get a bite to eat. For Elizabeth’s wedding, we left once the ceremony was over, after we transferred the flowers from the ceremony site inside for the reception. We found a great Mexican restaurant on Roswell Road, had a few tacos and margaritas, and with time to kill, we stopped at TJ Maxx (my favorite) to do a little shopping. The TJ Maxx on Roswell Road is so good! I have to stop in every time I am over that way.
Photo: Smallhouse Photography
We returned just before the reception ended, and started break down by removing the drapery used at the ceremony area. Everyone was inside dancing at this point, so we didn’t disturb anyone. Then we waited for the reception to end, swooped in right after the sendoff to gather up the centerpieces for the mother of the bride. We gathered up all our supplies, then helped the family load up as much as we could before saying good night.
Photo: Smallhouse Photography
I was pleased with our designs and the service that we offered, but in the back of my mind, I was worried about how the flowers held up. Then I received the sneak peek images from Smallhouse Photography and OMG! The ceremony arrangements really were stunning, and the bridal and bridesmaids bouquets, just lovely! The mothers and grandmothers carried the sweetest, vintage silver tussy mussies, an old southern tradition that you don’t see very often anymore.
Photo: Smallhouse Photography
Photo: Smallhouse Photography
For the reception, we placed lanterns provided by the venue on half of the tables, and floral centerpieces placed on gold pedestals on the other half. I love creating this particular centerpiece design and the flowers that we used in it. We accented the lanterns with a garland of eucalyptus to provide some greenery on those tables as well. All in all, I am so pleased with the outcome!
Photo: Smallhouse Photography
Photo: Smallhouse Photography
Photo: Smallhouse Photography/Cake: Publix/Flowers: Kinship & Vine
Photo: Smallhouse Photography