Preserving Bridal Flowers

While we are all working on getting back to, or simply finding a new normal, I think it is a good time to do some wedding planning for the future! 

 Flowers are a big part of wedding day especially the Brides Bouquet.  I have been asked in the past how to preserve a bridal bouquet after the wedding   The photos many capture the sweetness but really a bouquet is an investment piece. 

Today I am sharing someone who can preserve  sentimental flowers for years to come. A piece of jewelry, or a piece of hanging art ..each preserved art piece  is different.

 I am sharing a local friend who has the shop www.organizedchaoscollection.com  

 Erin Pierce is a delight and offers many ways 

to enjoy your bridal bouquet for years to come.

Sentimental?  I sure am! 

  How sweet these would be to give as a Christmas gift

or a thank you gift 

to your mother or new Mother in Law.

A floral hoop of pressed flowers preserved ...

I love these earrings!

Seems like there are so many options

 to preserving your wedding flowers...

Here is the link again...  The Organized Chaos Colletcion 

Aren't these wonderful?

Some bouquets are large and some are small...

but each one is perfect. 

Sentimental ...that's me. This bouquet was made from 

family members vintage broaches...

how sweet to have each family member share in your bouquet. 

A framed and preserved bouquet

Some just take my breath away!

I am sharing a real find, 

for while many things at your wedding 

will be long gone after the big day,

 your flowers don't have to be! 

Thank you for visiting and following ...

comment and let me know

 if you preserved your wedding flowers. 

(This was not a sponsored post, I just thought you would like to know )

Happy Wedding Planning and love to all of   you!

Pssst: Did you know Alda's Magnolia Hill  is on Instagram? You’ll find me on Instagram here:  Alda's Magnolia Hill 

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Front Porch Wedding

Front porch weddings might be trending as the coronavirus seems to take hold and cause a lot of couples to rethink their wedding as originally planned. 

 Recently we hosted a "Plan B" wedding for a very special Magnolia Hill bride who is a hero in her own right as a member of the National Guard.

“The National Guard is fully involved at the local, state, and federal level in the planning and execution of the nation’s response to COVID-19,” 
a National Guard Bureau spokesperson said in the release.  

“At the national level, Guard members are training personnel on COVID-19 response, identifying and preparing National Guard facilities for use as isolation housing, and compiling state medical supply inventories,” the release continued. “National Guard personnel will provide assistance to the states that include logistical support, disinfection/cleaning, activate/conduct transportation of medical personnel, call center support, and meal delivery."  

Our hero National Guard bride Maria and her fiance´ Santiago, chose to go ahead and postpone the wedding with all friends and family to instead,  have a simple sweet Front Porch Wedding.

 We rallied around our "hero" and gave her an intimate wedding with only parents and immediate family to watch safely from a distance. 

On the table a Bible 

and hand sanitizer...what a sign of the times!

The Arkansas National Guard has soldiers and airmen on state active duty performing a variety of missions in support of the Arkansas Department of Health, the Arkansas Division of Emergency Management, and the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences.

The groom nervously twirls the ring and awaits for his bride...

Beautiful Maria arrives with a handful of white roses and the marriage license in hand. 

Vows and rings are exchanged on the front porch under Buddy's direction.

Photographer Lori Sparkman graciously 

agreed to catch it all even if from a distance 

with her camera and artful eye. 

Mr. and Mrs..."You may now kiss your bride!"

To bless the new marriage ceremony, a basket of white doves were released ...

Family stood nearby with their cameras 
ready to snap and capture the dove release. 
 All Less than 10 people!

Buddy signed the marriage license on the front porch and made it all official.

Since our 102 year old home is on the 

National Historic Register, 

I wonder if this is the first wedding

 on this southern style front porch. 

 It surely is under these conditions! 

 Arkansas Guardsmen are supporting 12 active missions as part of the state’s COVID-19 response efforts. 

Glancing down at new rings...

Hugs from dad

Our hearts were full as this couple bursting with love 

got married on our front porch.  

Monday morning back to work protecting us all...

 Watching this wedding from afar and 

knowing that this member of the National Guard 

can pull off a stunning wedding 

in a Sunday afternoon...all on the front porch. 

Congratulations ! 

“‘I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord,

 ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, to give you hope and a future.’

Jeremiah 29:11

Celebrate Summer

Hi Everyone, I hope you are enjoying your summer !  

Even though I think it is too hot for 

outdoor weddings in July and August, 

we are quite busy around here.

We have two family birthdays in July
so I have still been  running and trying to get flowers and order cakes.

I have to admit,  I am not much of a summer girl 

at all, when it is this hot in the south. But it is a great time 

to get caught up on planning for the fall weddings. 

 Making appointments for   

meetings and portrait photo shoots ...

it is a good time to get a bit of wedding work done.

Buddy can be pretty tough when it comes to this heat, 

and he is out with our helpers cleaning up from a tree we lost to lighting.  

(Don't worry, the tree is still going to be put to good use, 

for he took it to the sawmill, and I will have a new 

wooden farm table after the wood seasons for a bit.)

I enjoyed sitting on the Arkansas River bank 

with a friend taking picts of a fireworks show that

Buddy (Mr. Pyrotech) was doing over the river and bridges

 of downtown Little Rock. 

Water, water,  water, even with a sprinkler system,

 there is much watering to do. 

Blue has to get new shoes quite often

 and especially in the summer time.

Somehow he manages to loose them quite often. 

  Blue is getting his hoofs trimmed....he  and Delilah both get a pedicure !

I did slip off for a few days with a bit of antiquing in mind. 

 The Vintage theme has never been bigger and this certainly serves up inspiration .

The floral bicycle display as you see from the moment you walk

 into Magnolia Market in Waco just made me drool. 

Buddy and I took a trip to Nashville ...the shop of the TV show,  

American Pickers with Mike Wolfe.  

A visit to his shop was a learning experience

 as it was in an old car factory.  

The shelves were filled with stuff & the oddities that catch our eye. 

Although filled with t-shirts and coffee cups,

 we walked away empty handed. 

It was nice to see he had a love for our Packard automobile too !

And I loved the vintage microphones.

You know how it feels when you have been gone for a few days, 

and it is just feels good to get back home....

I think this is a sign we have the hottest day of the year today...

There are always a few critters around here...Two large Loggerhead Turtles 

 enjoying the cool mud this morning

This time of summer, we are rather in a season

 where there is not much blooming my the garden, 

but there is at Whole Foods flower market !

Toward the end of summer, we are beginning 

to schedule a few photoshoots

 late in the summer evenings for our fall weddings. 

 The air seems to cool after the sun goes down behind the lake.

This week a load of gravel was delivered to smooth

 and top off our carriage road.  

Buddy and the John Deere tractor

 had their work cut out for them. 

I have heard a big frog 

this summer around the lake.

 The little fellow here is

 not scared one bit to hold him.

These yellow sunflowers are from Whole Foods,

 and I only can wish these beauties were from my garden.  

I added some leaves from a Gold Dust 

plant to fill in and a few of my hydrangeas.  

On the porch, A windowpane glass

 Mason Jar holds a few flowers freshly picked. 

 The jar was one of my mothers canning jars.

 Sentimental, her handkerchief is tied around the neck 

and her pearl clip earring  holds it in place. 

Summer for me brings a sense of renewal and excitement 

for the coming fall wedding season. 

Inspiration and energy is smiling 

as I plan and ready for exciting days ahead.

Keep flowers in your vases, 

and a glass of iced tea in your hand...Hope you are having a great summer !