Modern Vintage

No matter how many magazines and websites I thumbed through, I couldn’t envision traditional floral centerpieces at our wedding. Even with the myriad of modern, unique floral arrangements I saw on blogs and pages of MSW, it wasn’t coming together in my head. I found, and noted, a gorgeous idea from a non-bridal magazine advertisement:

I still have this on file, for what I’m not quite sure… Reception decorations? The head table? Probably neither but we’ll see. Once I had the realization that I could buck the round table trend and do long rectangulars instead, I was decidedly disenchanted with large floral arrangements.

Before we decided on our space, I thought we might hang round paper lanterns or tissue paper decorations from the ceiling, in which case I considered skipping reception flowers altogether and using tons of candles instead. But then we booked the ballroom at Zenith, and the vaulted ceilings and enormous chandeliers precluded anything like that.

Then this beauty appeared on the Bride’s Cafe:

Perfect! Single-flower arrangements in glass containers. Why didn’t I think of that? A while later, another wedding with brilliantly chic florals also surfaced:

That sealed the deal. Since I’m using some flowers with vintage undertones — peonies, lily of the valley, garden roses — it seemed only right to accompany them with vintage glassware. I’ve always had a weakness for vintage containers anyway, so maybe it was just an opportunity to comb the antique stores for their best pieces. In July, mom, Granny and I went antiquing in Brookings and got off to a great start. I think we picked up 17 bottles in total, plus a gorgeous glass cake stand for the cupcake table.

Then in August, our pastor’s wife recommended a little antique shop that’s nestled in the north end of Crescent City. We never, ever would’ve found that place if not for her, and even with her directions, we almost missed it. The shop is in the downstairs of the owner’s house, and she’s usually closed on Sundays, but she happened to be out front and let us come in and poke around. It was definitely providence, because she had tons of glass bottles, and at amazing prices at that — and on top of it, she gave me a discount for buying so many pieces. I don’t remember how many we picked up, but I’d say it was close to 20. It seems that the managers in the antique shops can’t see my modern vintage vision, but I can definitely see the crisp ivory linens and the blue dupioni silk table runners and the glass bottles of many sizes.

I didn’t buy any colored glass the first time, but those big brown bottles were too cool to pass up. They’ll end up on the seating card table or something. And the tiny blue bottle — adorable! Later that day, we revisited the Brookings shops and found a few more, plus the most perfect light blue creamer that will be lovely with a single peony overflowing out of the top.

Unfortunately, my excitement about the glassware is partially overshadowed by the vision of all those beautiful containers sitting empty at the wedding. I’ve now had contact with six florists. Of the six, only a couple have responded to more than my very first email or phone call; two in particular seemed so excited at first, asking me to send photos and details, but then never replied. I can’t quite figure out if I’m coming across as overly enthusiastic or detail-oriented, or if I’ve had a run of bad luck. I’ve been so fortunate with most of my other vendors that the florist woes are baffling. I keep trying to keep this in perspective, keep trying to remember that plenty of people plan their entire wedding in less than seven months, but I’m a planner at heart.

I have fantasies of doing the flowers myself, but being artistic does not equal being a floral decorator. Maybe I’ll more seriously consider doing the reception flowers myself and have the highly-recommended little Salem florist do the bouquets. But in the mean time, I’m in full florist pursuit. Recommendations welcome!