Bumble Bee Baby Shower

Welcome Ba-bee!

While the focus of this blog is primarily floral design, A. & P. spend a considerable amount of time party planning as well, and this “Ba-bee” shower is a perfect example!

Held at the recently renovated Palos Country Club in Orland Park, Illinois, the bumble bee theme was established using fun paper goods and diaper cake pieces from All Diaper Cakes, paper garland honeycombs P. created, games cards designed by A., delightful bumble bee cookie from Truly Scrumptious Cookies and Burts Bee’s Wax lip balm as party favors (with favor tags designed by the “Mom-to-Bee”), gold charger plates, and of course the floral design- a”deconstructed bumble bee” centerpiece. There were so many little touches of fun, it would be too much to list here- we’ll let the pictures speak for themselves

Two fern curls finish this “deconstructed bumble bee” using scabiosa pods (representing the bee hive) and billy balls (lil’ bees).

pearl wrist corsage of yellow spray roses, billy balls, gold seeded eucalyptus and black and white striped ribbon

Scabiosa Pod, fern curl and billy ball boutonniere

Chalk board arrow ushering guests to the event space that will be re-used in baby’s room created by P.

Guests signed “Are You My Mother” instead of a guest book. Honeycomb garland by P. Diaper Cake by All Diaper Cakes

banner and diaper cake from All Diaper Cakes, vintage cake platter from P.

Wishes for Ba-bee, Wisdom for Mom card at each setting. They were collected before the presents were opened and read aloud before the present corresponding to the card was opened. A different way to keep the attention of your guests!

cake from Orland Bakery

Colorful and Fanciful Corsage and Bouts

Sep3

Orchids, billy balls, silver brunia and hypericum berries make up these fun wrist corsage for a 40th birthday gal and 3 petite boutonnieres for her lovely daughters! 581 582

Happy Easter!

Mar27

A. found this cute wooden box and bird’s nest while doing a little R&D at the wholesaler today, just perfect as a hostess gift for Easter dinner at P.’s and a cheerful pinned corsage for A.’s mother-in-law. Hope you have a Blessed Easter! FullSizeRender

New Year’s Eve Rustic Country Wedding

Jan2

An old high school classmate of A’s asked her to help turn her New Year’s Eve wedding at the Public Landing in Lockport, IL into a rustic, simple, and homegrown affair. The bride adored the look of burlap and had her chiavari chairs tied in it. She also adored the simplicity of baby’s breath and asked that A and P incorporate as much as they could. We made baby’s breath pomanders to tie to the aisle chairs to act as a floral runner and 2 enormous baby’s breath orbs sat on top of 2 vintage wine barrels alongside clusters of hydrangea.

: baby’s breath pomander

The bride carried on the homegrown look by providing mason jars for a trio of centerpieces to give a “just picked from the garden look,” incorporating dusty rose, green and white kale, and cream colors. A. and P. added burlap and lace accents to the jars and of course- baby’s breath! They sat on vintage doilies.

The bride fell in love with a succulent rich bouquet that we recreated for her using soft cream roses, kale, poppy pods, silver brunia and silver sage. For the bridesmaids, we made smaller bouquets using flowers that were a dusty rose color in addition to the succulents and gold seeded eucalyptus Beautiful!

Bridesmaid Bouquet

bride and groom bouquet

“Kate Spade” Inspired Wedding Shower

Feb3

P and A were asked to come up with a design for a black and white winter wedding shower at 94 West in Orland Park, IL. The room had lots of wine racks and an industrial modern feel with flaming red chairs. Playing off of the chairs, invitations and color scheme, they came up with a “Kate Spade” inspired theme with black and white table runners, silver mercury glass votives, and vintage accents throughout including a vintage suitcase (a nod to the honeymoon spending money gift suggestion- the bride and groom were set on traditional shower gifts). The bride (a fellow “Kate” herself) was delighted!

: Simple silver brooches added some bling

: simple yet classic centerpiece

: Wrist corsage and bout with the black and white stripe accent, some bling for the bride and and architectural wire bow for the groom

: fringe mums, tulips, silver brunia, silver sage, anemone, roses and a diamond brooch for sparkle!

: black and white table runner

: vintage suitcase lined with black and white stripe

Breakfast at Tiffany’s Engagement Party

Oct28

P. threw her soon-to-be daughter-in-law a delightful “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” engagement brunch for a few gals in her life with incredible attention to detail- right down to Holly Golightly long cigarettes and pearls! Flowers were simple, classic and elegant white roses. Each guest received a pair of Audrey Hepbrun/Holly Golightly sunglasses and signature Breakfast at Tiffany’s tiara. P. set up a cute photo booth with accessories from the film, and a delicious mimosa bar!

Wreath side table accents group shot

Photo Booth complete with signature accessories from the movie

P.’s replica sleep mask

P. Bride-to-Be J. & A.

Glamorous Wedding at the Historic Palmer House

Aug9

A’s favorite historic hotel in Chicago, The Palmer House, was the backdrop to this elegant wedding last year. The bride wanted to use ivory roses exclusively throughout the wedding, with gold accents to compliment the gilding throughout the Empire Room. A. and P. sprayed fiddle head ferns gold to add a bit of flair, wrapped gold wire around cylinder vases for sparkle, and used gold curly willow for accents on the tall pieces.

Grooms bout with gold fiddle head fern. Photo courtesy of Vrai Photography

Additionally, the bride wanted to incorporate brooches into her bouquet a first for Pockets Filled With Posies but certainly not last!

Photo Courtesy of Vrai Photography

For the 2 very special flower girls, we created “wands” just like fairy princesses using roses, hydrangea and hypericum berries.

Flower Girl wand

Father of the Bride’s bout

Groomsmen bout

Cluster of ivory floating candles wrapped in wispy gold wire for sparkle

Tall vases filled with gold curly willow, topped with roses, hydrangea, hypericum berries and eucalyptus leaves with small curly willow branches. Photo courtesy of Vrai Photography

Tall centerpiece with gold curly willow base

tall centerpiece close up

Sneak Peak view of the wedding celebration and main table. Photo courtesy of Vrai Photography

Special thanks to Vrai Photography for some of the photo’s!

Modern, Sleek Loft Wedding

Aug5

A. has known bride L. since they were sorority sisters over 10 years ago (don’t do the math, it is depressing!), and after they ran into each other at an event and A. met L.’s bride-to-be N., A. offered to help create a modern, sleek look for their wedding at the beautiful and artsy Kitchen Chicago, a space that doubles as event space and rental kitchen space for the new wave of Food Trucks to recently hit Chicagoland. Kitchen Chicago is an awesome blend of industrial, modern, soft and bright with tall, lofted ceilings and beautiful exposed brick walls.

The brides colors were brown, cream, and green. They particularly loved the texture of burlap (which mimicked their invitations) and wanted an organic and relaxed yet sophisticated and modern look for wedding. Additionally, since L.’s Mom grew up in Japan, L. wanted to incorporate as many white cranes as possible into the cocktail and heavy appetizer affair. The budget was small (they had originally planned on DIY), but that didn’t stop A. & P. from coming up with BIG plans!

Kitchen Chicago had gorgeous long reclaimed wood tables with bench seating that were too gorgeous to cover up, so A. made simple burlap runners for each table. Two trio’s of modern arrangements with orchids, grass, curly willow branches and stone were placed at each table separated by glowing candles. To flank the ceremony site, the brides hung cranes and A. & P. added tall vases filled with curly willow branches, hanging votives, and orchids. 099 long tables 087 080 088 106 hemphill3

Masquerade Ball Bouts and Corsages

Apr22

A. had the pleasure of assisting Ronald McDonald House Charities of Chicagoland and Northwest Indiana at their annual Big Mac Under Glass Gala held at the Sheraton Chicago Hotel & Towers with boutonnieres and wrist corsages for the Board of Directors. The theme for the evening was Masquerade Ball. A. & P. incorporated red hearts roses and lemon leaf into the design since they were also used throughout the event space. They added black feather accents to play up the “Masquerade” theme and thin red wire for a bit of sparkle. Here is Ryan Baker, CBS 2 Chicago sports anchor and his beautiful wife Jessa.

SONY DSC

Inauguration Dinner at Governor’s Mansion

Mar20

Last summer, Pockets Filled With Posies created small cocktail table centerpieces for the then 19th Illinois State Senate candidate Mike Hastings. This January, we were thrilled to help him after his Inauguration ceremony by creating centerpieces for his celebratory dinner at the Illinois Governor’s Mansion as well as sitting on the Inauguration Committee formed to plan this historic (Mike is the youngest elected Illinois State Sentator in history) occasion.

The Governor’s Mansion (added to the National Register of Historic Places back in 1976) was built in 1855 and is filled with parlors, sitting rooms, and libraries. It is decorated much like it would look in the 19th century, complete with gold gilded accents, beautiful china, grand winding staircases, and sparkling crystal chandeliers.

Mike was on a strict budget and A. also had to worry about transporting centerpieces day-off down to Springfield in the cold January weather. A. decided to get “the most bang for her buck” by using the same flower “en masse” to create a full, seamless look. She borrowed muted metal urns from her incredibly creative friend and colleague Kristen Janes of Kio Kreations and created domed centerpieces to keep with the historic feel of the Mansion yet give it a modern and new edge (that the youngest IL State Senator brings to the state capitol). A. added gold wire accents (candles weren’t allowed in the historic venue) to compliment the gold in the room and add sparkle and interest.

Congratulations Senator Hastings, make us proud!

This is what 750 stems of white carnations look like all packed up and ready for the trip to Springfield!

Carnation domed centerpiece in small black urn with gold wire accent (to compliment the gold throughout the Mansion).

large black urn

Abraham Lincoln’s pondering how amazing the centerpieces look on such a small budget!

It was A.’s idea to give Mike’s guest oversized chocolate penny’s with Illinois’ most famous politician emblazoned on the front as parting gifts

Another successful event!