Flowers were a big part of my vision for our wedding. Because we were having it on Kentucky Derby day (in the spring!), I envisioned lots of fluffy arrangements in trophies. I understood going into it how much flowers cost, so my vision also included lots of greenery. Since Harrison is an agriculture teacher, he has tons of great connections—including one to a local high school that has a phenomenal floriculture program and has done wedding flowers in the past. So yes, all of my flowers were put together by high schoolers! 

I started with a vision board of what I wanted. It involved lots of soft pinks, white, greenery, roses, peonies, and equestrian-inspired vases. From there, with the help of the agriculture teacher that helped put everything together, I got beautiful (and affordable) arrangements!


My bouquet // I chose white for my bouquet because I felt it best complimented the simple and timeless look I was going for. It included mostly peonies and cabbage roses with some greenery. It was wrapped with the handkerchief one of my grandmothers used on her wedding day (my something borrowed!). 


Harrison's boutonniere // For the same reasons, we went with white for Harrison's boutonniere. Our dads and our pastor also wore white bouts, but they looked different. It was made from small roses and greenery. 


Parents' flowers // Our parents (and my grandmothers) wore white bouts and corsages with greenery. They were modeled after our bouquet and boutonniere.


Bridesmaid bouquets & groomsmen boutonnieres // I really wanted peonies for all the bouquets, but they are so expensive! Our florist recommended going with peonies for my bouquet and cabbage roses for my bridesmaids. They are big and fluffy and have a very similar look. I was grateful for this advice because looking back, it wouldn't have made much of a difference to me if they had peonies or not. I chose pink for theirs to set them apart and bring in that part of my color scheme. 

For the groomsmen, we chose pink flowers to mirror the bridesmaids. 


Ceremony // One of my favorite things from our wedding was the cross that we got married in front of. I wanted a floral swag to hang on it and it did not disappoint! It tied in so nicely to my bouquet. 

We also had a memory chair on the front row in honor of our family members who are no longer with us. I had a bouquet made and placed on this chair that I also used for my toss bouquet during the reception. 


Reception // I wanted simple but beautiful centerpieces. Since it was Kentucky Derby day, I incorporated roses, but in white! They also had hydrangeas and greenery. I used gold mint julep vases to pull in the equestrian theme. 

We got a bunch of extra flowers sent to us (by request) from the florist, too. My grandma used some of them to decorate the cake she made for us. I could look at pictures of that cake for ages. It was exactly what I wanted! My amazing coordinators used some of them to tuck into the garland that draped over our sweetheart table. That's another detail that I could truly stare at forever. 

I ordered the garland from Sam's Club! It was 25 feet long, so we cut it to drape over the mantle and our table. It arrived two days before the wedding and we kept it in the crawl space under my parent's house—damp and dark! We misted it to keep it fresh and it worked amazingly for a fraction of the price I would have paid a florist. My mom kept it after the wedding. When we got to their house after our honeymoon, it was still on their mantle looking great!


Overall, I absolutely adored the flowers at our wedding. We decided to go for a budget-friendly option, which some would shy at but it worked so well for us! I just wished they lasted forever. I have thought about having my bouquet or a centerpiece recreated in fake flowers as a forever reminder of my favorite day!

9.02.2020

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