Flower Farm & Floral Studio based in Western Massachusetts
Jules and Rachel are adorable. Their instagram feeds (because yes, I’m a follower!) read like mini love letters to each other. So of course their wedding was equally as adorable and personal! I quite literally squealed when I saw the photo album West on Jade sent over – every single picture of them is ridiculously cute, just like they are.
Location: Boylston Rooms, Easthampton, MA. June.
All photographs by Juliet Cannici of West on Jade Photography.
Apparently the only way to get from where I live, Northampton, to Sheffield, is “the back way.” The roads were curvy, bendy, and forked, but the day was gorgeous! New England spring was on full display: the perfect backdrop for Jessica and Chris’s family and friend-filled wedding on the grounds of Race Brook Lodge.
A side note for all of the couples reading my blog posts and considering me for flowering your wedding: every single event I’ve done this year that’s been outside has had PERFECT weather. Including one where there was a hail warning – the hail skipped right over us. I’m good luck, obviously.
Anyway, back to Jessica and Chris! The couple wanted seasonal blooms in pinks and purples, so that’s what I did! Mid June this year was at the tail end of my peony season, which was good news for them because not only was I able to use my peonies, I basically used up ALL the peonies that were in bloom right then because I knew they wouldn’t last much longer.
Location: Race Brook Lodge, Sheffield, MA (The Berkshires), late spring.
All photos by Eric Limon Photography.
Continue reading “Spring Blooms in the Berkshires: a glorious wedding at Race Brook Lodge”
I started in this business as a home gardener. For years before I owned Passalongs Farm or made a single wedding bouquet, I tended large perennial gardens, tried to grow veggies, and worked at a farmers’ market, where I fell in love with farmers and farm culture. Personally, I’ve always recycled, cooked from scratch as much as possible, and tried to reduce waste. I’m thrifty, environmentally conscious – oh, and happen to be partnered up with a husband whose business is energy efficiency in all forms. We are not as green as some, but greener than most.
When I started creating floral designs beyond simple bouquets I was astonished at the amount of waste there is in this business. An example: if I buy 24 roses at our local wholesaler, not only have those roses traveled from who knows where (Central America or Colombia, likely) and have been refrigerated for who knows how long (3 weeks?) but they come wrapped in lots and lots of packaging. 24 roses from the wholesaler are wrapped in layers of paper, cardboard, and finally plastic, then my wholesaler wraps all the flowers up in more paper or puts them back in their waxed shipping boxes.
Contrast that with flowers I buy from local farms: unwrapped, maybe with a rubber band holding them in bunches, transferred from their buckets to my buckets.
Contrast that with flowers I grow myself in my permaculture beds: I simply walk out my door and cut them. Yes, there were costs and fossil fuels and shipping involved, depending what it is I’m cutting, but there’s no packaging to throw away or recycle.
Continue reading “No floral foam for me! An environmental and sustainable guarantee.”
When Jill, the event coordinator for Gardeners on the Green in Longmeadow contacted me to see if I’d do a workshop for her group, I was really excited! March in Massachusetts is fairly dreary: still cold, despite the calendar saying it’s spring, and we have plenty of snow and ice. Usually there’s not a flower to be seen!
Luckily there were plenty of flowers at the wholesaler and I chose a Rosie Posie vase for the gardeners to work with, since this shape vase is really great for a low, wide arrangement but can also be used for a rounder, taller arrangement as well.
First I told them a little bit about myself, and then we got to it. I’d foraged birch branches from my yard to add something of the woods to these bouquets (I’m going to make #woodsyboho a thing!) and brought in lots of spring blooms: daffodils and larkspur with some spray roses, wax flower, and eucalyptus. I also found acacia, which lends a wonderful textural contrast to the other flowers. After a brief demonstration I gave them free rein, and they got to work!
The Ranch Golf Club in Southwick has a sweet wedding venue, The Pavilion, which is a beautifully restored and modernized barn. There’s a separate house where the bridal party can get ready, a private ceremony area with a rustic arch, and the barn itself, which is roomy and bright and went very well with my flowers, which I grew and sourced locally, except for the eucalyptus.
When I got there, the bride, Cailin, getting her hair done, her bridemaids and mom buzzing around, and she seemed so relaxed! I can’t help but think that bodes well for a wedding and marriage!
Location: The Pavilion, The Ranch Golf Club, Southwick, MA. Late October
Photography: Jennifer Cardinal Photography
Continue reading “Fall themed wedding at The Ranch Golf Club in Southwick”
Meghan wanted all blushes, whites and creams…but she’s also an art designer, has one or two tattoos, and her hair makes me think of a unicorn (not to mention their wedding hashtag was #megbreaksben – courtesy of her fun and personal instagram feed!), so I knew that while a traditional color scheme was in order to go with her beyond-gorgeous lace dress, I could add a creative touch here and there to add a little extra style to these romantic flowers, starting with the bride’s bouquet.
Location: Gloriosa & Co. at The Curtis House, Ashfield, October.
Photography: most by Tim Mackay Design (unless otherwise noted.) Continue reading “Traditional meets Artsy Chic = Gorgeous pastels at the Curtis House in Ashfield”
“I want it to be a surprise. My dress is going to be mustard.”
Glorious words to a florist! I love a white or cream or ivory wedding gown, of course – they’re classic, gorgeous, traditional – but mustard! Mustard is different. It’s a hue a color-loving flower farmer can get inspired by!
Location: Quonquont Farm, Whately, Massachusetts, Late July.
Photography: Kim Lindler, Time Bandit Photography.
Jesse and Dave had me do the personal flowers for their wedding, including bouquets, boutonnieres, corsages, a hairpiece and a floral necklace, as well as a garland for their chuppah, and friends and family created most of the reception centerpieces using buckets of flowers from my farm. The collaboration was fun and the results spectacular!
Continue reading “Inspiration: a mustard wedding dress! Summer wedding flowers at Quonquont Farm”
The Boylston Rooms in Easthampton is the epitome of industrial chic, and Erin and Donny’s wedding reception’s classy, classic but fun vibe fit perfectly in the space. Erin’s colors were white, gold, and pink, and her instructions to me in regards to the florals were to make them lush and a little bit messy. I was very happy to oblige! I can try for controlled, but messy is really my thing!
Location: The Boylston Rooms, Easthampton, Massachusetts. Late May.
Photography: Lauren Dobish Photography.
Continue reading “Classy, fun wedding at the Boylston Rooms!”
The theme of the wedding was sunset and the night skies. The day of the wedding was the day of a solar eclipse. The flowers followed suit: sunset colors of oranges, pinks, and pops of purples went into their personal flowers. So fun! So romantic!
Location: The Warfield House Inn, Charlemont, Massachusetts. August.
Photography: Lauren P. Wadsworth Photography Continue reading “Summer Sunset Wedding at the Warfield House Inn in Charlemont”