Love on a hilltop - Subtle, chic, and oh so eloquent

Photos by Michael Charles

       Jennifer and Marcus vowed eternal love at the elegant Harrington Inn on a hilltop in Princeton this autumn. Theirs was a discretely elegant country wedding, and their choice of flowers - limited in variety but lush in abundance, proves the point that masses of a few well-chosen blooms with subtle variation in color and texture carries a bold message.

     For the bouquets, Jennifer chose the Sahara, a sandy colored rose with hints of coffee and cream (The Sahara is one of those rare roses that ages beautifully.). And for the centerpieces, Peegee hydrangea, which comes into its own in autumn in New England, along with off white and green hydrangea, peach hypericum berries, and the vanilla Vendella rose.
     To the raised centerpieces we added green hanging amaranth - with its vintage style drape...



   


     I have to say this was a chic wedding - in a setting that's impossible to rival.  But had these two chosen to marry in downtown Boston, their choice of flowers and designs, subtle and timeless, would have been equally vocal in expressing their enviable sense of style and profound happiness. 

Last-Minute Bouquet

  
         Kristin was far from the first bride to change her mind about her flower choices, only the timing made the switch a bit more dramatic. We had worked together over many months and across more miles - she was living and working in Houston while I'm generally found at home in Groton. We met only once, on a rainy April morning at the Taj Hotel in Boston, where she and her fiance would be married the following August. Through the course of innumerable emails and telephone conversations, Kristin remained certain she wanted an all white and ivory bouquet of mini callas and cymbidium orchids for herself, while her bridesmaids, wearing rich burgundy silk dresses, would carry more colorful posies. Less than two weeks before her wedding -  her blooms already on order at the Boston Flower Exchange - Kristin decided she wanted a rich compote of color to match the rest of her wedding flowers. We came up with a bouquet of callas - eggplant, pink, and Picasso (a sensual mix of cream and purple),  green cymbidium orchids, and lavender lisianthus. For her bridesmaids' bouquets, we added deep pink dendrobium orchids to purple lisianthus and Picasso callas. Nervous about the last-minute nature of things, I changed the flower order (Sometime I want to write about the hidden heroes of these occasions - the flower vendors at the market, so accommodating and informative)  and the day before her wedding put everything together. It worked, to everyone's delight. To me, Kristin's bouquet proves flowers reign supreme as the expression of an occasion whose meaning defies logic, definition, and easy choices.