Wednesday, November 27, 2013

Holiday Centerpiece How-To

Here is a quick "how-to" when designing the perfect centerpiece for your holiday get together. This particular arrangement is not traditional, but we love the unexpected; especially when it comes to flowers :)



Our recipe for this arrangement includes lisianthus, stock, magnolia leaf, kale, a few clementines, and acacia foliage. 





Our tools include clippers, tape, a tray and one block of Oasis foam. 



Cut the foam to use about 2/3 of the total block. 


Place in tray and secure with tape. 


Begin a base of greens, starting with the ends of the foam to create the  "long and low" shape. This shape is ideal for dinner centerpieces in that they fit nicely on long, dining room tables. 

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Next, gently begin folding open the leaves of the kale. This will make them larger, fuller and definitely a focal piece of the arrangement. 


Begin adding white stock and lisianthus, working in triangle formations.


Let's pop in a few clementines. Using a wooden pick as a stem, the clementines can be arranged among the flowers. 





Now that we have our focal pieces in, we can finish the look off with greenery. We did not choose traditional winter greens, but a soft mint-colored green; acacia foliage. This color looks fantastic next to the orange of the clementines and magnolia leaves. 



Make sure all of the foam is covered and none of your hardware is showing. 


ta da :)


Happy Holidays!!!









Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Episode Four: Mary Paulson - Designer


1. When was your wedding? My wedding was on October 17, 1975
2. Where was your wedding? The ceremony took place at Our Lady of the Lakes in Waterford, Michigan. The reception was at the Fox & Hounds in Bloomfield Hills, Michigan.
3. What was your theme? colors? style? etc.? We didn’t have a specific style, just what my mom and I thought was pretty.
4. What was in your bouquet? I had pink roses, white roses and pink carnations.
5. Where did you go on your honeymoon? We drove my husband John’s parent’s car to the Pocono Mountains in Pennsylvania.
6. Who were your bridesmaids? My bridesmaids were my two best friends, Susie and Sally.
7. Did you have a signature drink? No signature drink – John’s buddies drank anything!
8. How many guests? There were about 125 guests.
9. What is your favorite moment from that day? My favorite moment was being so excited to look at each other at the altar.
10. Any crazy happen that day? (that you can share now that it's over? :p) Nothing too crazy – everyone got along.
11. If you were getting married this weekend? What would you want your flowers/style to look like? I would want big open garden roses. I like all creamy white bouquets.
12. Any words of advice for new brides? My advice is to celebrate every minute of the day – it goes so fast!
13. Most difficult part of planning your wedding? The most difficult part is waiting for it to happen!




Thursday, November 14, 2013

Emily + Dane

Last month, the Parsonage Events team found themselves making quite the trip all the way up to Roscommon, Michigan to be a part of Emily and Dane's special day. The cold and rainy three hour trip was definitely worth the beauty that resulted. With a romantic, serene ceremony on the Au Sable River and reception to follow at the rustic and grand Forest Dunes Golf Course; this day was the epitome of a "up north" wedding. The soft, feminine tones of the bridesmaids dresses and florals paired with the masculine architecture of the venue; this wedding was a refreshing combination of styles.

"Every time I met with Emily, it felt like we were best friends. We would be chatting an hour after our appointment about life and sweaters...fun girl stuff! She had such a clear vision of what she wanted and we worked so well together creating the design. The moment she started crying when I delivered her bouquet, I started crying too! It felt like my sister was getting married"







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Photo Credit: Lux Light Photography, Traverse City, Michigan

Wednesday, November 6, 2013

Thank You All!

No man or woman is an island.  We are all familiar with that phrase.  Here at Parsonage Events it is so true.  Now that our wedding season activities are winding down, Liz and I want to express our appreciation for all the hard work our team has done to make it such a success.  

Usually, the behind the scenes people are (I don’t want to say ignored, we appreciate them always) not given the accolades from our clients, vendors, etc. that the consultants do.  Of course we wouldn’t be in business without our wonderful, creative consultants but….we also wouldn’t be in business without our wonderful, hardworking staff. 

Debbie, Sara, Taylor, Emily, Cricket, Mary, Sharon, Pam, Ian, Bill, Marti, as well as the great group of college students that helped us throughout the summer, thank you for everything you did for us.









We are eternally grateful.

Liz and Susan




Note:  We always enjoy a good feast after a crazy weekend and it is the only time we can get a photo of almost everyone together!



Monday, November 4, 2013

Tips for Pinning Brides

As event designers AND brides, Pinterest has completely changed the way weddings are planned. As a bride, it is a dream come true. Endless ideas, color palettes and DIY projects to save us money as the bottom line. However, it is easy to get lost in a sea of pins and lose sight of the reality of designing a wedding; particularly flowers in our case.

As designers, and frequent Pinners, we can face many of these challenges when the expectations of flowers can be greatly skewed. Here are a few tips and advice that all wedding Pinners need to know:

1. Don't fall in love with something before you get the price. Many times a bride will get her heart set on something and is disappointed once she sees the price. Many of the AMAZING things you see on Pinterest require an incredible amount of time and labor.

2. The flowers in the picture might not be in season. Pay attention to where and when the wedding took place in the photos. The time of year your wedding is taking place definitely determines what flowers are available and their price.

3. Photo filters can really alter the true colors of flowers creating unrealistic expectations.  Filters can make colors appear richer and more vibrant than they actually bloom in reality.

4. D.I.Y. - not as easy as it may seem. D.I.Y. is a great way to save money, just please be prepared to DO THE WORK. As centerpiece gurus, we put so much thought and time to each of our designs...it doesn't just happen by accident.

5. Not all flowers on Pinterest are real! YES - they are too good to be true. (p.s. - there is no such thing as a blue peony!!!) Some brides do use artificial flowers for a number of reason, the main one being allergies. But here at Parsonage Events, we specialize and love to work with fresh flowers.

6. Organize your pins in a way that is helpful. Let's be honest - a lot of us were pinning before we even met Mr. Right. Pinning anything and  everything wedding can be overwhelming. Once it is finally time to seriously pin things you would actually use at your wedding  - create a new board and start fresh. As a bride planning her own wedding; I took this advice from my own consultant and boy am I glad I did...considering I had over 800 pins on my "Weddings and Events" board!!!


We love, love, LOVE Pinterest and use it on a daily basis. It is our goal as designers to make all your pins and inspiration come to life (without photo shop and filters).  We love being able to see a bride's style shine through her Pinterest board! Designing for a bride is much easier when the bride has an open mind and realistic expectations.