Featured on Magnolia Rouge

We loved creating the florals for this beautiful shoot, featured today on Magnolia Rouge. The shoot took place in late May, and we rounded up columbine, viburnum, red peonies, roses and spirea to make these wild, woodsy floral pieces. Full list of vendors at the bottom of the post. Enjoy!

Flowers: Us!
Photography: Jess Hunter Photography
Dress: Sarah Seven from  The Velvet Bride
Hair & Makeup: Pacific Brides Hair & Makeup

Welcome to Summer!

Here we are again, at that point in the year where spring officially becomes summer! We rang it in with two sweet weddings this weekend. Last week for peonies, but the garden roses are looking amazing. Poppies will probably be done in the blink of an eye, but for now we are loving them and using them as much as possible! Here are a few shots snapped of an arrangement for the sweetheart table for one of our weddings this weekend. Bright, clean, Dutch Masters style.

Jessica and Dean- Local Wedding Flowers in February

Remember the bride who wanted all local flowers for her February wedding? The bride whose story opened this New York Times article about local, seasonal wedding flowers? I had the pleasure of creating her wedding bouquet last month, and love how this bouquet expresses not only the beauty and uniqueness of Jessica, but is also testament to what local flowers can look like, even in the dead of winter when it seems like nothing is growing outside.

With a little creativity and some help from our friends at Peterkort Roses in Oregon (who grew the roses and orchids in this bouquet), a gorgeous, lush, winter bouquet was born! Jessica and Dean specifically requested some NW native plants, so the salal, ferns, and a touch of moss made it in too. Plus pussy willow, and fritillaries grown by Cascade Cuts, located just a few towns up from Jessica and Dean's home in the Skagit Valley.

We are so lucky in the Pacific Northwest to have relatively mild winters, and many flowers farmers who grow at least a portion of their crops in greenhouses- this allows them to force spring bulbs early in the year, and keep some crops, like roses, going year-round. Though the options are more limited in the winter than at other times of year, they are no less beautiful. And some flowers, like the checkered plum fritillaires and fresh pussy willow, are ONLY available in the "off-season" months of late winter/early spring. There is always something beautiful and unique blooming, some times of year it just takes a little more hunting than other times to uncover these gems.

These lovely images come care of Michele M. Waite, whose work is truly exceptional. You can check out her work here.

Congratulations Jessica and Dean! Thank you so much for requesting local flowers!

Our Wedding, Our Philosophy, and Happy New Year!

I have been debating posting photos from my own wedding this past July, but have decided that it is a great symbol of the place that this time of year holds- a place of promise and reflection, standing on the precipice of what has come before and what is about to come. It also gives me a chance to touch on Botanique's design philosophy, and our focus on local, seasonal flowers.

Our wedding was an all-local, flower-filled fete, with stems grown only by myself and the Northwest flower farmers who, over the past few years of creating this business, have become my friends. Scabiosa, dahlias and lavender from the Botanique Cutting Garden, artemisia, physocarpus, and baptesia foliage from Dennis and Diane from Jello Mold Farm, sweet peas from Vivian Larson, foxglove, clematis and wild roses from Janet Foss, Romantik Antike, Champagne and Helga Piaget roses from Peterkort, hydrangea from Glenwood Farms, and a healthy dose of aspen foliage and wild yarrow foraged from the woods at my husband's family's property in Okanogan, WA, where we were married. It was an incredible gift to know that every, single stem in my bouquet came from someone I know personally, and was grown with the utmost care and respect for ecological balance and natural beauty.

Our wedding was a very homegrown event, and came together with the help and love of many, many family members and friends: Eli's father officiated, my brother made our cake, our friends mowed paths, made outdoor showers and camping areas; my father found and cut down the aspen trees that became the poles of our chuppah, and our amazing friend Sarah acted as our "Day-Of" guru, making sure everything ran smoothly; Eli's mom cooked for the work party in the days preceding our wedding, and my mom, brother and brother's girlfriend cooked a brunch for the day after our wedding; my friend Chelsea Jepson of CRJ Jewels made my jewelery, and our friend Kim Williamson of Dottyspeck made Eli's ring; our friend Caleb wrote and played the music for our ceremony; my friend Talia did my hair and make-up; my amazing sister-in-law Olivia, and friends Nikki and Chelsea spent the days before our wedding with me making all the flower arrangements, and three of my cousins made all the boutonnieres and corsages; our friend Daven created signature cocktails for us, and Eli's brother Ben was the rock that held it all together. It was all done with a spirit of love and community, and my absolute favorite thing about our wedding was the way that it brought all of our loved ones together.

So, without further ado, the photos! All photos by Erinn J Hale.

To end this post, and to kick off the New Year,  I leave you with a copy of our Ketubah- the marriage "contract" that we created and read to each other in place of vows. Happy New Year everyone! May 2014 be a year of growth, joy and love.

Kelly and Eli's Ketubah:

This is a relationship of equals.

We hold this relationship above all others, and we will work together to protect, nurture, deepen and strengthen it always.

We recognize that we are both human and will make mistakes.

We will cultivate a space of openness and listening, where all of our truths can exist, be heard and voiced. We will remain open to the idea that we may not always share the same truth. We will respect our differences.

We will act with love and compassion towards ourselves and each other, even when we are scared. We will take responsibility for our own fears.

We will let the health and well-being of our family be the light that guides us in our actions every day. We will create a safe, loving home, where we can continue the traditions we have and create new traditions; where people are allowed and encouraged to be themselves; where family, friends and neighbors are welcome; where warmth, freedom, compassion, generosity, learning and exploration all exist.

We will maintain a playful and silly spirit together, helping each other to smile and laugh; going on adventures together, and sometimes doing stupid things, just for the fun of it.

We will make time for the love that exists between us to grow, breathe and evolve. We will remember this love during busy and challenging times, and let it soften and heal us.

We will be honest with ourselves and each other.

We will give intimacy a place of honor and importance in our relationship. We will nurture and encourage our physical union, and be open to each others' needs and desires.

We will comfort and protect each other, and will also push each other beyond our comfort zones.

We will support and nurture each other no matter what. We will help each other fulfill our dreams, discover and follow our own true path, and become our best selves.

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We choose these principals to live by willingly, in order to take care of ourselves, each other, our family and our community. May our hearts be united in love and our lives be intertwined in tenderness and devotion.

Featured in Seattle Bride Magazine!

We are so thrilled to have a bouquet and flower crown featured in the latest issue of Seattle Bride Magazine! This beauty was created for an article about local flowers, which is what we are all about :) It was an honor to be included in an article about something we have so much passion for!

Here is a photo of the page with our bouquet:

And the magazine cover:

Go get yourself a copy, check out the lovely article on local flowers, and our bouquet and flower crown on page 125!!! The actual magazine pages looks even prettier than these photos of the pages.

Many thanks to Seattle Bride Magazine for featuring Botanique, and for encouraging your readership to go local in their flower choices!

From a few weeks back....

I love it when a flower surprises me. I am not usually a huge fan of standard roses, or purple roses, but these lavender 'Ocean Song' roses from Peterkort really took me by surprise. They just went perfectly with this palette of creamy, mauvish purples, bright white, and teal.

These were the subscription arrangements from a few weeks ago, created with an abundance of gorgeous flowers from Washington and Oregon growers selling at the Seattle Wholesale Growers Market, and some from the Botanique Cutting Garden too!