The bridesmaids carried white hydrangea bouquets with white gerbers

The sweet first look <3

At the ceremony, we did two pink wreaths on the stone pillars leading down the aisle

With carnation pomanders all down the aisle in alternating vivid and lighter pink

One of our centerpiece sets utilized scrapbook-paper decoupaged vases filled with gerber daisies

Another set used clear vases with accents of ribbon and filled with hydrangea, tulips, and peonies

And another set was submerged cymbidiums and tulips:

Nashville Event Lighting helped to create a beautiful ambiance

The guestbook table had hydrangea and roses

The cake had the same kind of texture and details (from the Bake Shoppe) and was topped with sweet gerbers

We had so much fun at this wedding— it was infectious!

You may be wondering what it means to be an “independent” florist: When we first opened, I admit that I had no idea what I was doing– I mean, I knew how to make pretty flower arrangements, I knew how to welcome and care for customers, but I had no clue about the intricacies of being the little guy on the block. Within days of opening we were not flooded with customers, but instead, with people that were seeking our business in advertising and promotions. Like any young, inexperienced, and scared new business owner I felt the pressures of the new storefront and the growing insecurity that I’d not have enough customers to pay the bills. Enter the wire service. For those that don’t know, Wire Services were established pre internet, when consumers really needed a way to have a network of florists so they could send flowers out of town. Think FTD, Teleflora, 1800 Flowers. All three of these big wire services approached me about joining within the first few weeks I was open. They promised me the ability to send amazing quality flowers nationwide with their partner florists, and that I’d be getting heaps and tons of business from the florists needing to send downtown. I thought it sounded great.

What they didn’t share with me was the fact that wire services take a huge cut out of every order they send you, and they also undercut the florist by pricing the arrangements at a rate you, as a small business owner, can’t really compete with. It ended up being a terrible relationship.  If you want to know more about wire-services, please read this third party website article on the Florist Detective: How Wire Services Work. I am constantly educating my customers on the importance and value to them of ordering flowers from local florists instead of using a third-party wire service. Everyone benefits from local-based orders: You will get a better product for your money, you will actually speak with a floral designer that can tell you what they have and what will look best, and you’ll be able to rest assured knowing that your order is being cared for by a real, living person.

When I decided to leave the wire service, I was back in the the throes of being the little guy on the block. I can’t tell you how many customers base their decisions soley on price– not the quality of design, of service, or of product– and how many times I’ve had to watch people walk out the door because they could get a $5 bouquet of (not the best) roses at Kroger. I used to be upset about it. I’m not anymore, and I’ll tell you why: we give a different, better product than flowers you buy at Wal Mart or the grocery store. We’re not a discount shop and we don’t do discount work. We pride ourselves on selecting the best quality flowers and plants, staying on top of techniques that keep the flowers fresher and better longer, and we try not to worry about what the “Bigger guys” are doing.

Over the past few years, I’ve been sad to see several local retail flower shops close. I understand how it happens: they can’t compete. I don’t want to see our sweet little studio space go down that same road. We love our shop and love our customers. We love doing what we do. And I feel it’s part of my mission as a small, independent business owner to encourage and educate our customers and potential customers about the value of small, local, independent businesses.  In order to do spread the news and to tout the value of small business ownership, we are members of the 3/50 project and Independent We Stand. Why? Because if we don’t do something now to assert the value of small businesses and small business ownership, we’re going to end up living in a world where everything is a franchise, chain, or big box store. Why is that so bad, you ask? Try to find the individuality in that kind of environment. Try to find customer service that is based on caring instead of being just a number.  What’s more– for every dollar you spend at your local, independent business you put more money back into your local community. And that’s something worth getting behind, right?

We are an independent floral shop and proud members of Independent We Stand and the 3/50 project and we are offering a 10% discount on all pre-booked Valentine’s Day orders! To see some of last year’s valentine’s pretties, click here:

More info on this very special holiday to come! Feel free to email us at hello (at) brocadenashville (dot) com  for a copy of the Valentine’s Day Menu in your mailbox!

Table 2: Modern Vintage

We’ve seen lots of vintage-inspired tablescapes in 2011 and many more to come in 2012, where we mix a fun array of vintage bottles and props. I wanted to mix vintage with modern and inject a large dose of fun, and thus our colorful, whimsical modern vintage table was born! Bold color with a spring sentiment was the focus on my vision, mainly because one of my favorite blooms– the icelandic poppy– was available and I was bound and determined to use these gorgeous blossoms.

Design Details: The goal: loads of vivid color in an explosion all over the table.  Hanging lanterns in an array of colors created a visual focal point over the table, graciously provided by Nashville Audio Visual. A rich green pintuck linen as the base for our color show (from Graceful Tables) was the perfect complement to the vivid shade of cerise napkins I selected for each place setting. To contrast modern and vintage, I selected a squared china set from Classic Party Rentals with a modern, hammer finished silverware. Add in the array of fun bottles in different shapes and sizes, the custom paper goods we created in the same vivid tones, and the button accents and voila— whimsical vintage modern was born:

A taste of spring with icelandic poppies, tulips, daffodils, craspedia and muscari blue

We made the cute button table number and designed menu card holders made of wire and button

The light caught beautifully in our bottles. The cerise napkins from Graceful Tables added a delicious pop of pink, and I think they suited the menu cards we designed beautifully.

I made a coordinating bouquet with a button detail on the handle

Here’s my i-phone pic of the bouquet face:

The Elegant Table:

We love an elegant wedding, and this tablescape was inspired by a desire to create a look that was elegant and timeless with refined elements. Purple has been a hot color for 2011 and 2012, so I knew I wanted accents of purple with completely white florals. I envisioned a chandelier over this table, and Nashville Audio Visual kindly obliged– along with a purple LED backlight to add depth. Our table was situated by this gorgeous window, and thanks to a beautiful, sunny day we got the most amazing light.

Design Details: Pops of color in eggplant came in through the napkins, votives, and menu card. I started with a white linen– a white Charpei from Graceful tables, and then paired the sumptuous eggplant napkins that rested on white china rimmed in silver from Classic Party Rentals. Gray naturally pairs with this color combo well, and the metallic silver rim I thought added a nice pop. We added brooches from our collection to each menu card for impact, and I designed the menu card to reflect elegance and refinement.  Silver Chiavari chairs with white pads from Classic added to the impact, and then crystal and wire accents in the florals gave depth and dimension.

Our centerpiece was constructed of white hydrangea, white dove standard roses, white garden roses, white cymbidium orchids and white french tulips, with hanging crystals and staggered heights of candles.

The menu cards were simple and classic with a crest

I love the drama of this shot. We did some low dishes with blossoms of cymbidiums accented with wire all around the table, purple votives, and a table number card in a pewter frame with eggplant font on the table number.

And a few crazy i-phone pics I took of the bouquet coordinated with this tablescape: cymbidium orchids, garden roses, and brunia  formed the base of the bouquet

We had such an amazing time at the Inspired Bride show, it was a delight meeting so many wonderful brides and we hope that you all had a fantastic time!

Vendor Recap:

RENTALS: Classic Party Rentals 
LINENS: Graceful Tables
CALLIGRAPHY on the RUSTIC ELEGANT TABLE: menus and place cards by Elizabeth Hardin, HardInk Calligraphy
PAPER GOODS: on the whimsical vintage table and elegant table: Brocade Designs
LIGHTING: Nashville Audio Visual
FLORAL EVENT DESIGN: Brocade Design Arts
VENUE: Houston Station
PHOTOGRAPHY: Justin Wright   

Table I: Rustic Elegant Table

Rustic Elegance is one of our favorite things to do, and we’ve seen lots of brides in 2012 going for the same feeling.  When I was crafting designs for the show, I wanted to bring some fresh twists to styles that we already love doing and know that our brides love– so thus this table design was born!

Design Details: We wanted to take some really beautiful refined touches in the choice of plateware and custom menus– gold rimmed plates from Classic Party Rentals, and some beautiful hand-calligraphy menu and place cards from Elizabeth of Hardink Calligraphy-- paired with some of our vintage napkins and a beautiful burlap-covered cloth from Graceful Tables– with a rustic take on flowers with grapewood accented with pink and red arrangements of moss, roses, peonies, heather, privet berry and tulips. The table was finished with lighting we designed by Nashville Audio Visual: a gobo pattern backlighting the tablescapes with an amber gel, and our own hanging lanterns:

I love long tables, partially because I love a floral design that runs down the length of a table– I coordinated the natural fruitwood chairs to the linen and the tablescape design for contrast; the lighting I felt created a perfect backdrop for the table

Shades of pink and red paired perfectly with accents of moss and succulents for color contrast

Each place setting was accented with a vintage napkin and beautiful hand-calligraphied menu cards and place cards. I love this shot as well because it really shows off the texture of the linen: its burlap in color, but with a rich texture from the embroidered floral pattern running throughout the linen. These were a custom designed linen product from Graceful Tables. They’ll make any linen custom (on top of their already beautiful in-stock selection) so you never, ever have to feel limited in your choices (which makes a girl like me giddy).

I love Elizabeth’s calligraphy. Stay tuned for a feature on her phenomenal talent next week!

We made a bouquet to coordinate with the look of the table in the same shades, with roses, peonies, privet berry and heather:

More to come tomorrow!

This is my third year designing this end-of-season soiree, and every year the challenge is to come up with a fresh design that will wow the organizers and attendees. I wanted a design that reflected elegance while being a lot of fun. To evoke that feeling, we designed an event around holiday reds, shades of turquoise, and vivid white.

The cocktail tables evoked a fun, candy striped feeling with the linens, and were complemented by a small arrangement of red roses in a candy cane vase with a bit of turquoise sparkle:

Within the ballroom, the linens had a base of a snowy white, with chair covers in white with a turquoise bow and red napkins:

We tied the chair bows at a slight angle and placed the favor– a small tin of personalized m+m’s — at each place setting

We created a mix of three centerpieces for the room: low cylinders wrapped in candy-cane fabric and accented with a bow, filled with red roses and fun, vivid, turquoise wire swirls:

For our medium height centerpiece, a footed vase was filled with white hydrangea and red ilex berries, finished with ornament accents in turquoise:

And the tallest set was a duo of red rose balls, suspended on clear vases with wire accents wound within:

We worked with Nashville Event Lighting to create the perfect setting with lighting: alternating uplights and a gobo dance floor pattern of candy cane swirls that rotated throughout the evening:

But my favorite aspect of the decor was the candy buffet we designed for the event:

We used a mix of red and aqua candies as well as mini-red velvet cupcakes topped with turquoise icing , old fashioned sugar cookies, and classic holiday treats like peppermint:

The end result: delicious fun!

Vendors:  Event Design, Styling, and Florals: Brocade Designs; Photography: Donald Yeager Photography ; Venue: The Hutton Hotel; Linens: Graceful Tables; Lighting: Nashville Event Lighting; Entertainment: Cosmo Creations

And Jason…

Their colors were shades of purple, sangria, and soft pinks:

I love how their bouquets really popped against their pale lavender gowns

The bride’s bouquet combined eggplant callas, vendela roses, deep rich purple hydrangea, silver brunia, spray roses in pink, and sweet soft Suree dendrobium orchids

Scarritt Bennett: a beautiful space for sweet nuptials. We covered the altar table in candles and three ball type centerpieces

The bride and groom were a delight to work! Congratulations!