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Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of attending a workshop run by Kate Holt of Flowerwild on location in Calistoga, California. I posted a few of my own pictures in an earlier post and have been waiting ever since with bated breath for the real pictures shot by the incomparable Jose Villa. Since today those images have been published on Style Me Pretty, I’m delighted to share them here! jose villa, flowerwild, calistoga, wine country wedding

I can’t say enough how wonderful this workshop was for me. Notwithstanding the chance to work with two wedding professionals at the peak of their careers, it was an amazing opportunity to meet/commiserate/support/bond/laugh with other designers from all over the country (and Ireland!) We have all since kept in touch, offering each other insider advice, referrals, sources and floral secrets. As someone who works primarily alone, having floral designer friends all over the country who are happy to be open and honest with opinions about pricing, techniques etc has been life-changing. I cannot stress enough how nice it is to feel part of a community of such kind and creative women.

jose villa, flowerwild, calistoga, wine country weddingThe shoot culminated in a styled inspiration shoot shot on location at Mayacamas Ranch by Jose Villa. We each got to have our work photographed by Jose and watch Kate work her magic as she styled each shot. It was also wonderful to work with some California wedding pros that I knew only by reputation and through social media. The fabulous team of professionals included Mar of Team Hair and Makeup, stationery/calligraphy by Feast Calligraphy, and prop rentals from Found Vintage Rentalsjose villa, flowerwild, calistoga, wine country wedding jose villa, flowerwild, calistoga, wine country wedding jose villa, flowerwild, calistoga, wine country wedding jose villa, flowerwild, calistoga, wine country wedding jose villa, flowerwild, calistoga, wine country wedding jose villa, flowerwild, calistoga, wine country wedding jose villa, flowerwild, calistoga, wine country wedding jose villa, flowerwild, calistoga, wine country wedding jose villa, flowerwild, calistoga, wine country wedding jose villa, flowerwild, calistoga, wine country wedding jose villa, flowerwild, calistoga, wine country wedding jose villa, flowerwild, calistoga, wine country wedding

Published: Once Wed Lavender Shoot

finch and thistle, bryce covey photography, seattle weddingAll the way back in July, Bryce Covey and I ventured out to Sequim on Washington’s Olympic Peninsular to create a styled shoot inspired by Sequim’s beautiful lavender fields. Today that shoot is featured on Once Wed and I am so honored to see some of my work alongside the illustrious stylist Joy Thigpen’s!

seattle wedding designer rachel bowesfinch and thistle, bryce covey photography, seattle weddingI wanted to keep the décor soft and simple to complement and not distract from the stunning setting of the lavender farm so I chose a color palette of sage green, white, lilac and a faded orange. To decorate the beautiful rustic cake table I created a floral runner with a garland of seeded eucalyptus and worked in purple scabiosa, garden roses, sweet peas and lavender to add some color. I added antique English vinegar bottles and vintage lavender glass from my personal collection for texture and height and draped the runner into a Provencale market basket.

finch and thistle, bryce covey photography, seattle weddingfinch and thistle, bryce covey photography, seattle wedding finch and thistle, bryce covey photography, seattle weddingfinch and thistle, bryce covey photography, seattle weddingfinch and thistle, bryce covey photography, seattle weddingI created several bridal bouquets for this shoot. Simple single arrangements of lavender and creeping oregano kept the look very simple and elegant and would be a perfect choice for bridesmaids or flower girls, whereas the bride’s bouquet was an organic mix of cream and faded orange garden roses, papery soft lilac scabiosa, sage, lavender and creeping oregano with purple nepeta (or catmint) and astilbe from my own garden. Some salmon berry leaves and seeded eucalyptus added texture.

finch and thistle, bryce covey photography, seattle weddingfinch and thistle, bryce covey photography, seattle weddingThe sweet lavender-lemon vegan cake by Kerissa Bakes was garnished simply with stems of fresh lavender on top of the rough white buttercream icing and displayed on a scalloped white cake platter from Rosanna.

finch and thistle, bryce covey photography, seattle weddingfinch and thistle, bryce covey photography, seattle weddingfinch and thistle, bryce covey photography, seattle weddingfinch and thistle, bryce covey photography, seattle weddingfinch and thistle, bryce covey photography, seattle weddingfinch and thistle, bryce covey photography, seattle weddingPhotography: Bryce Covey Photography | Floral and Event Design: Finch & Thistle Event Design | Location: Martha Lane Lavender Farm, Sequim, WA | Cake: Kerissa Bakes | Model: Erika at Seattle Models Guild | Hair and Makeup: Swink Style Bar

Yesterday I shared our super glam, sexy pink, gold and black holiday tabletop but perhaps you prefer the more natural, organic look? Featuring cork placemats and confetti, illustrated black and white plates, metallic linen napkins, mercury glass, metallic twine and spruce, this more rustic but still elegant look should appeal. The best part? All of the pieces are available to purchase right now online and in stores. Look for the source list after the images. Thanks again to La Happy for the stationery and adorable Christmas tree stamped cork confetti and Kate Price for the lovely images. Wishing you peace and joy for the New Year! See you in 2013.

holiday tabletop decor natural green and silverwhite and green centerpiece wedding flowerscork placemat and west elm metallic print napkinsmetallic napkin and menu cardwedding menu card finch and thistle event design seattlela happy calligraphy finch and thistle escort card design tasselsflower frog place card holder finch and thistle event design rachel bowesgreen and white floral arrangement design sponge wedding chicks finch and thistle{Floral and Styling: Finch & Thistle Event Design | Photography: Kate Price Photography | Paper Goods and Calligraphy: La Happy | Metallic Napkins and Cork Placemats: West Elm | Plates: Anthopologie | Faux Fur Throw: T.J. Maxx | Vintage Flower Flog used as Escort Card Holders: Etsy/Ebay }

With New Year’s Eve fast approaching, we decided to put together a little tabletop inspiration shoot for those of you planning to celebrate at home this year. I decided on two different looks – the first, a hollywood glam look in gold, black and pink; the second, a more natural look in cork, spruce and silver. My sweet friend Sally of La Happy created  the paper goods and stunning calligraphy and the lovely Kate Price took these images. Check back tomorrow for the natural tabletop look!

Look 1: Hollywood Glam in Magenta, Gold and Black

finch.thistle.pink.gold.glam.holiday.tabletop.wedding chicks design spongefinch.thistle.pink.gold.glam.holiday.tabletop.la happy calligraphy seattlefinch.thistle.pink.gold.glam.holiday.centerpiece.black vase.design spongepomegranate cocktail recipe finch and thistle event designgold calligraphy pink zebra paper gold favorsgold calligraphy wedding escort cards favorsgold and wood escort cards la happy seattle event designerholiday tabletop decor centerpiece gold invitation weddingbest seattle wedding flowers seattle event designseattle best wedding planner and florist finch and thistlepink peony centerpiece gold weddingJust to make sure your party really gets going with a bang, here’s the pomegranate cocktail recipe I used…

pomegranate cocktail recipe new years eve partynew years eve party images

Happy Holidays!

finch.thistle.pink.gold.glam.holiday.tabletop.designsponge{Photography by Kate Price | Calligraphy & Paper Goods by La Happy | Floral and Styling by Finch & Thistle}

P.S. You can see more details from this fun NYE inspiration shoot on The Wedding Chicks blog today!

June in November

I recently worked on a commercial shoot for The Dress Theory, a stunning new bridal shop in Greenlake with some of my favorite ladies. On a dreary November day in a Pioneer Square studio, Camille’s beautiful bohemian designer dresses (Sarah Seven! Claire Pettibone!) lit up the room and her sweet little pup June provided endless entertainment.  Julie Harmsen took these lovely pictures, Jenn Blake of Scout provided the vintage rentals and styling, Jenny Bowker styled the hair and makeup and I created a few floral pretties to accessorize the gowns (and hair, and dog). A romantic bouquet of cafe au lait dahlias, antique oak leaf hydrangea, astilbe, herbs, pepper berry and lipstick pink anemones popped against the gowns while a pepper berry crown accented Kaitlin’s beautiful hair. For tiny June, I made a sweet little collar of herbs that she also wore as a crown. The models were stunning but June was definitely the star of the show.

finch.thistle.dress.theory.julie.harmsen.wedding.flowersseattle wedding flowers event designerfinch-thistle-dress-theory-seattle-wedding-flowers-1floral crown, flower dog collarflower dog collar for weddingfloral crown, head wreath, flower crownclaire pettibone wedding dress sarah seven finch thistle

Our Georgetown styled engagement shoot is featured on Wedding Chicks today! Take a look at the full gallery for lots of details and more of Chantal Andrea’s beautiful portraits of our lovely couple.

Wedding Chicks wedding inspiration blogcoral and turquoise styled inspiration shoot engagement wedding seattle

The Melrose Market Studios shoot we designed and styled back in April is featured on Wedding Chicks today! Please take a look at all the pretty, soft vintage details here and leave us some love in the comments section!

rustic, soft, pastel, romantic wedding bouquet by finch and thistle

lately…

…I’ve been playing with flowers in the studio, dreaming of Africa, playing in Portland, Paris and Amsterdam, designing summer weddings and spring parties, and styling several gorgeous shoots…almost in that order. What about you?

*did you know you can follow us on Instagram? Check out @finchandthistle for real time updates on our work, the studio and life in general!african landscape elephantsafrican white rhino endangeredbikes amsterdam canal finch and thistleles puces parisspring centerpieces pink yellow peach redangela and evan finch and thistle*via Angela + Evan Photography*pink and green birch and silver tabletoppink, green and white draping teardrop bouquet*via Abbey Hepner Photography*

See why I’ve been so bad about blogging lately?

 

We are thrilled to have had both a styled shoot and a wedding featured on our favorite wedding blog Style Me Pretty in the last two weeks. In case you missed them, our Winter Farm shoot was featured last week and Chris and Kerissa’s Alexis Hotel wedding was on there yesterday. There are too many amazing images to share so I will post Chris and Kerissa’s wedding separately.
horses at wedding winter wedding finch and thistle wildflower wedding bouquetwildflower bouquet
farm bridal bouquet

I styled and designed the shoot based on Chantal’s original, rather tongue-in-cheek, root vegetable Pinterest board. The Root Vegetable title was supposed to throw people off the scent and instead became the primary inspiration for the farm shoot! I used striped kraft paper from Packaging Specialties instead of table linen and secured it to the table with fabulous gold flecked butcher’s twine. I had great fun in Spokane over Thanksgiving sourcing vintage bowls and pails and found a lot of the amazing props hiding in the old barn at the farm itself. The vegetables were actually from my own garden!

winter wedding kraft paper table runner radish boutonniere

I wanted to flowers to be very rich and vibrant because I knew the likelihood of gloomy winter weather so I used deep burgundy, reds and purples with paler greys and lilac to contrast. I loved the ornamental cabbages instead of peonies or garden roses. They just fit so well with the theme but were still soft and pretty and I used lots of grasses, berries, herbs and foliage for a country, wildflower style bouquet.

vegetables in bouquets burgundy and purple wildflower bouquet wildflower bridal bouquet seattle