I make it no secret that I believe a certain NY floral designer is phenomenal and my cup of tea. Her garden-minded ways and use of color put me in a state of awe and inspire me to no end.
State of the new studio: getting there.
State of mind: almost time for vacation.
with one ginormous and incredible wedding before I get on the plane.
Thank you to MN Bride Magazine and all of the voters for including me in your list of Best of Floral 2012 for the second year in a row! It is a great honor and I loved creating this sage colored bouquet for your fall/winter 2012 issue.
I was very excited to see our 10 year vow renewal on celebrity wedding stylist, Coloin Cowie Weddings website! We were married in 2001 and had our vow renewal on a beautiful October day in 2011. Gorgeous photos by Red Bird Hills. See the full article on Colin’s website here.
How cute is this? A proud father with his beautiful, loving and excited daughter on her wedding day? So sweet.
I have to say “Go Hawks!” This is the Chaska high school sports mascot.
Abbie and Ryan met at Chaska high school and hired a dress and floral designer from their home town. Talk about keeping it local.
We all converged on Mill City Museum for the wedding day and it was amazing. Thank you to Olive Juice Stuidos for the heartfelt and beautiful photos. I love how you captured her two, yes two, Tara LaTour, custom gowns in your images. Gold and purple, their high school colors were the inspiration for the day’s color scheme. I loved using the soft gold everywhere I could.
Dress | Tara LaTour
Photography | Olive Juice Studios
Venue | Mill City Museum
Flowers | Ashley Fox Designs
So when I decided to move my studio from inside our home into the rustic, salvaged, barn wood garage located 20 steps away from our front door, I should have waited until September or October–the relatively cooler months. I can’t wait to settle in and show you more of the digs. If I have been delinquent in answering emails this month and slow to get a quote to you, I apologize, June was quite a month for me, but I think this fresh start designing close to the gardens in a comfy little studio will help bust me out of the rut. I cannot wait for the August – October weddings to come.
Eating these raspberries from the garden has been a highlight of summer. They usually don’t make it as far as the deck, except to pose for this photo.
Mustard Moon and s.a.r.a are two, local antique shops (located under one roof) I love to frequent. Frequent is an understatement.
The women who own these shops, Jane and Sara, are so creative I was joking I could give them an old vacuum cleaner and they could somehow transform it into something I would like to buy and decorate my own home or studio. They are also inspiring business women who work hard for what they love–I can relate.
They are local, in Carver to be exact, and to me this is very important. My town, and the small towns around it, need local dollars to keep small businesses going. I am looking into buying from nearby flower farmers in MN and this is an exciting step. It seems like it should have happened long ago for me, but better late than never.
Why did I do this bouquet? Because the white phlox were in bloom and the yellow roses at the wholesaler on Monday were too good to resist, simple as that. The yellow roses and white carnations in the bouquet were purchased but everything else came from my garden. The very, very thirsty garden.
The people who plan, photograph, design and set up weddings know how to party. I suppose that should be just a given.
At the recent Minnesota Bride Magazine Best of 2012 Awards Ceremony there were lots of smiles, hugs, food and friendly faces all over at the Sweedish American Institute where the party was held. It was a great night. See the list of 2012 winners and nominees here (me included!). Being nominated for the second year in a row was more than an honor, it was a thrilling and humbling ride. I am so happy to being doing a job that I absolutely love. I am surrounded by incredible friends and vendors, alike.
A special thank you to all of my clients, vendors, family, and friends who voted for me. I am so moved by your sincere words about my work. Anyone who knows me, knows this is what I was meant to do. So many thank you’s to the staff at MN Bride Magazine for all you do/have done to support my business. From the beautiful flower photos in your magazine, to nominations and blog posts, you have supported me from day one and I am very, very grateful.
Here’s to another great year of wedding flowers!
Erin Bell Photography, you wow me.
I have known the bride for 18 years. She is a strong, funny, intelligent and creative soul. It was a pleasure designing for her and her equally handsome, funny and intelligent groom.
Dress | Nicole Miller at Bridal Accents Couture
That last photo makes my day. We are going to assume this is apple cider because Ashley and Joe are very nice people.
I was asked to do the wedding party bouquets, flower girl wreath, boutonnieres, etc. and the Mother of the Bride expertly put the table centers together using a collection of pretty sugar bowls, creamers and tea pots. I would say to future brides and families: do not attempt this unless you have worked with flowers before. The process takes longer than you think and keeping them fresh and transported properly can be tricky. However, you could practice a bit before the wedding and, walla, beautiful centers for less. You have been warned.
Flowers I used for the bouquets: amnesia and sahara roses, magolica spray roses, sweet pea, peony and the fragrant and beautiful dwarf korean lilac that was in bloom locally at the time of the wedding.
The bride was the epitome of elegance and grace in her dress. She really was a sight to behold.
Thank you, Ashley and Joe, for inviting me to be a part of your day! I loved designing for you!
The lovely photos | Graddy Photography
Venue | Carlson Towers Rotunda
©2013 Ashley Fox Designs
