Weddingbee PRO

My nephew-in-law just married the gal of his dreams in a shady meadow under a perfectly clear Oregon sky. This was definitely a homemade affair on a super tight “college kid” budget. Joe stepped in as the photographer (thank you to my friends Jasmine Star and Trista Lerit for their last minute pep talks!), I pulled together some simple florals, and a friend cooked enough chicken pesto pasta to fill all our tummies. I do love me a fancy fete, but sometimes two lovebirds surrounded by family and friends under a big tree is all you really need.

On the plane ride up, I was a little nervous about doing florals in a strange city with no real workspace, recipes, tools, assistants… but upon entering the laid back city of Eugene, I couldn't help but chill out. Eugene is sometimes called a “little Berkeley”, where college students, coffee shops (I'm talking REAL coffee), trees, native gardens and bikes rule. I was whisked back to my Berkeley days and felt right at home there. In fact, if the weather was ALWAYS as sunny and fresh, I might be tempted to leave California behind. Alas, I don't like sporting the drowned rat look 80% of the year. 

The big adventure of our trip: We decided to pick flowers from a U-Pick flower field at the base of Mount Pisgah instead of going to a wholesale mart. Imagine a magical place where you can come with your clippers and fill your bucket with whatever wildflowers catch your eye! It was pure bliss. Not to mention the whole scene was beautiful beyond words. Thank you to the folks at Sparhawk Farms for being so kind! We paid 4.00 per handful, and 6 buckets FULL of wildflowers was only 50.00. I personally think the farm was very generous with what they consider a “handful”.

Helloooo gorgeous! *EDIT: I'm referring to the scenery below, not myself above!!!*

Our lovely bride, Sara, picking the flowers she would soon hold on her wedding day.

Fresh lavender, queen anne's lace, and funky blue wildflowers whose name I cannot recall (can anyone identify? they are NOT cornflower/bachelor buttons…)

A closeup of the funky blue flowers…

I was overjoyed to find rows and rows of floral delicacies: blossoming hypericum berries, chinese lantern flowers, and delicate lysimachia which can be pretty pricey at the flower mart. All mine for 4.00 a handfull!

Starting to assemble some no-fuss bouquets… no color scheme- we just went buck wild!

I'll be posting pics of Josh and Sara's barefoot wedding soon!