TLB Real Wedding

If you are from Rhode Island, then you know just how big the 4th of July celebration is in Bristol, Rhode Island. In fact, it is the oldest celebration in all of the United States, so you can imagine the “pop and circumstance” that occurs every 4th of July in this small and quaint little town. Welcoming over 50,000 visitors on average each year, the whole town joins in on their love for this country with a huge parade, festive decor, and endless parties!

If you are from Bristol, Rhode Island and tying the knot, you get extra points when you choose the 4th of July weekend to say your I-do’s! That is exactly what our fun, energetic, and easy-going couple decided to do this past July at the beautiful Mount Hope Farm. Inviting all of their closest loved ones for a colorful weekend in Bristol, Grace and Tristan kept the party rolling with a Saturday wedding at Cove Cabin. Under a beautiful tent by the water, this couple embraced the holiday’s color palette and chose to display their patriotic love too!

Using lush white, bright red, and soft blue blooms, we designed beautiful floral decor that spoke to their personality and their theme. Instead of combining all of the colors into every arrangement, we decided to divide the color palette. On half of the tables, we designed floral wreaths of all red and white flowers that surrounded a clean white lantern. On the other half of the tables, we designed a low compote arrangement that was filled with soft blue and white flowers. Finally on the head table, we reused the bridesmaid bouquets in matching containers along with clean white pillar candles down the length of the wooden farm tables. When the entire tent was finished, the color palette looked cohesive and elegant, rather than kitschy.

This whole wedding was all about fun and celebration and Grace and Tristan totally nailed it with their bubbly personalities and big smiles! We love couples that embrace color and aren’t afraid to think outside the box when it comes to their wedding color palette. We also love when couples want to have their decor speak to their personalities and their values.

Thank you to Grace and Tristan for trusting us and including us at your big party!

Venue: Mount Hope Farm

Photographer: Brave Hearts Photography

Perfect Peonies 2019

On June 7th 2019, we held our fourth annual “Perfect Peonies” class with Electric Moon Peony Farm. On a beautiful late Spring evening in the quiet town of Adamsville, R.I. we were excited to teach a sold out class to eager Peony lovers (like us), some who had traveled a far distance to experience the beauty of this farm. Thanks to a feature in the national magazine, The Cottage Journal, word had spread about our beautiful floral series and the energy was surging for the local growers here in Rhode Island.

Guests were given a full farm tour of Electric Moon Peony Farm courtesy of owners David and Anne. While on the tour, guests were shown the differences between tree, herbaceous, and Itoh peonies and learned which ones are the best investment for each grower. Topics like petal formation, foliage coloring, and bloom time were all covered while walking the rows and rows of beautiful peonies. David and Ann also demonstrated to our guests how to incorporate peony plants into their own perennial gardens by showing them the proper way to plant a peony and how to treat for diseases. Throughout the tour, guests were invited to take pictures, record notes, and ask any of their burning questions. Using all of the senses, everyone got an in-depth look into what it takes to grow and care for the perfect peony plant- making us all experts and inspiring us to buy even more plants!

When the farm tour was complete, guests were invited to join me in designing a summery centerpiece using fresh cut peonies from David and Anne’s garden. Our guests had the opportunity to choose from an array of colors and textures, not only from Electric Moon Peony Farm, but also flowers from Weatherlow Farm including mint, Queen Anne’s lace and campanula as well as spray roses from Paja Rosa in California. Foam free mechanics were taught and I also shared the importance of the Slow Flowers movement happening in our own community and across the nation. By sharing my personal story and The Local Bouquet’s mission of sustainability and the future of flower farming, guests were inspired (hopefully) to join in and become an active member in our flower community.

This year after the guests had finished creating their designs, they were invited to stay for dinner and drinks amongst the peonies! This was the perfect time to stop and enjoy the beautiful views, mingle with new and old friends, and even get some extra time with the teachers to ask any more questions! This part in the class was a special gift because it renewed my love for this flower community we have been building through the “Farmer Florist Series” for the past four years. I am so excited to see what 2020 brings and cannot wait to celebrate the series’ 5th birthday with you all! Stay tuned for ticket sales to launch at the beginning of December and for some big plans!

Thank you to the talented Jennifer Johnson for photographing our entire series this year. Take a look at all the magic she captured amongst the peonies…

Farm: Electric Moon Peony Farm

Photographer: Jennifer Johnson

The Cottage Journal Features Us!

This past Summer, the national home and garden magazine, The Cottage Journal, featured The Farmer Florist Series in a four page spread that not only gave us national recognition but informed their readers about the important and beautiful work we are doing to spread the love for locally grown flowers here in our New England community!

In the article “Perfect Peonies”, our Farmer Florist class with Electric Moon Peony Farm was highlighted, showcasing the beautiful imagery from Maaike Bernstrom. Readers were taken through the entire curriculum of this class, informed about the Slow Flowers movement happening across our nation and in our own community and inspired to create beautiful designs both in their garden and in their home using flowers!

The article was such a joy to see in print and this past June I was so excited to welcome several guests to our Perfect Peonies class who had read that article and booked a ticket to Rhode Island to join us. This was a honor and a joy for me to know that our message was spreading and was being well received by other flower-enthusiast!

And Maaike’s beautiful photograph of David and Anne’s farm made the whole back cover!

Didn’t see the Summer 2019 issue of The Cottage Journal? Check out the full story below…

Photographer: Maaike Bernstrom

Farm: Electric Moon Peony Farm