Wednesday, June 22, 2011

If Only These Were Blooming in My Garden!



A dear friend invited us to attend the wedding of his daughter, Gina, last weekend. Without a doubt this was the BEST wedding from start to finish. We stayed in superb accommodations at PennState University in State College, Pennsylvania, where the wedding and reception took place. The bride was beautiful, the groom handsome, and of course there wasn't a dry eye in the church. We had great fun at the reception, where we ate far to much of the delicious food. And how I wish the exotic-looking flowers that decorated the tables grew in my garden.  When my friend asked me if I would like to take some of the flowers home, you know my answer. I had a difficult time taking photographs at the wedding -- the lighting was all wrong for me and my camera.  So on my return home, I carried the vase outside to my shade garden to better capture the beauty of the fabulous blooms.

I have trouble capturing reds and blues in bright sunlight, so I placed the flowers in the shade of the catalpa tree.


Here is a closer look at some of the blooms ...
Velvety, Red Rose

Lily



Sweet William

Stock (Gillyflower)
Miniature Rose

Almost a week later, the flowers still look gorgeous on my dining-room table.


I feel blessed and appreciative to have shared in Gina and Drew's special day. I will remember the beautiful celebration of love long after the flowers fade.


Summer has arrived at last! Enjoy your June garden, dear friends.

Pamela x


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21 comments:

  1. Pamela, they look like they're blooming in your garden to me. You have the photographic evidence! They're definitely very stunning flowers. They look like they smell good, too. :)) Glad it was such a great wedding!

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  2. Hi Pam,
    This is one of the prettiest wedding/floral arrangements I've seen! Beautiful photos.

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  3. That's a beautiful bouquet! I am glad you have a memory of the great time you had at the wedding.

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  4. That is just a stunning bouquet. I love when fancy things like big roses are paired with simple things like sweet williams.

    I will always remember a lovely bouquet sent to my Grandmother's funeral, by her brother. It was long stemmed red roses and Queen Anne's lace (the stuff you see growing on the side of the roadways.) It was stunning.

    I always find the flowers easier to photograph in the shade too!

    Cheers.

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  5. Wonderful arrangement. I would always love it when clients would want some brighter colours, instead of all whites (not that I don't like them), you can be a bit more creative. You can certainly grow all those flowers in your garden, and duplicate this look. Although the delphiniums are stock, and there is also lisanthus in the vase.

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  6. Pam, the arrangement is pretty, but your garden needs no additional pop of color. The birds you have visiting are every bit as beautiful with their bright plumage. The bride must really like color and variety of blooms because this is a wonderful assortment.

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  7. Dear Pam, that table arrangement is stunning and so are your photo's especially the close ups.
    If that was just the table bouquet I can imagine what the brides and the church flowers would have been like.
    I hope you are well.
    M xx

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  8. How lovely! I had so much fun reading this post because my fiance's parents are coming this weekend to help us plan our wedding. :)

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  9. Thanks everyone for your kind comments. I should have mentioned that there were very large, similar arrangements, on some of the tables, in tall fluted vases -- very dramatic.

    Deborah, thanks for the info. I don't know how I misidentified stock -- it was my grandmother's favorite flower and she called it gillyflower. I didn't take a macro picture of the lisianthus, so I didn't mention it. P.x

    Maureen, the bride carried just red roses, and the church decorations were very simple. The bridesmaids carried small, exotic flowers like these.

    Eliza, How exciting for you! Wishing you well. P. x

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  10. Beautiful! Love the mix of colors. I'm so glad to see vibrant colors back in vogue! How nice that the bouquet lasted so long for you.

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  11. Those are beautiful flowers! ...such rich hues. And you took great photos letting us get a closer look.

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  12. Great photos Pam! and the flowers are lovely too. :)

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  13. That is a very vibrant bouquet. I love it. Hope you are enjoying your summer.

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  14. It is a very beautiful arrange! I am sure they would grow great on your garden

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  15. Pam those are stunning...I have been drawn recently to reds, blues and apricot colors in combination and have these with some pinks even growing in my front yard...it is beautiful but I thought maybe a tad bold...now I see it is lovely and dramatic in the garden or in the vase...

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  16. What a gorgeous arrangement, and I bet it smells divine. Glad you had such a wonderful day.

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  17. What charming vivid color-- I have great hope for the marriage, based upon the choice of flowers. (Do you think one could read wedding bouquets like tea leaves??) Thanks for the sweet summer post. And thanks for putting me on your blogroll too, I am honored!

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  18. What a stunning bouquet of flowers. Such longevity! the color combination is amazing

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  19. What beautiful flowers! I love the pic with them displayed in your lovely shade garden. They really *pop*

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