It is time for another inspirational post from the talented Karen Tran of {Karen Tran Florals}. This week she provides us with great advice for kicking up your aisle style with fresh floral petals. You can find even more of Karen’s inspiring posts here: I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, and XIII.

To most brides, walking down the aisle, is the most nerve racking moment for them. The idea of scattering petals down the aisle comes from primitive cultures that believed demons lurked underground and they would scatter petals along the bridal path, using beauty as a weapon to ward off the evil spirits protecting the newlyweds. A thick and voluptuous petal path has to be one of my personal favorite additions to ceremony decor. Today we use fresh rose petals to set a path that leads to the ceremony altar. Without a doubt, this has to be one of the common question from my brides. How many roses does it take to make a petal path? The answer is depending on how thick of a path you desire. Most loose petals are from large rose heads and each rose will lightly cover 1 square feet. For a thick petal path, 3 roses are needed to cover a square ft. For an average 50 ft aisle, over 1000 fresh roses are needed to fully line the aisle. If a specific color is important to you particularly white and ivory tones, be prepared to pay a premium price. Your wedding florist are ordering these roses as they would for the rest of your wedding flowers then separating the petals from its stem by hand. The result is priceless and the walk so much more memorable.

credits: First Row {Darin Fong Photography}, Second Row {Darin Fong Photography}, Third Row {Boyd Harris}, Fourth Row {Tim Otto}, Fifth Row {Rebecca Seal}

If you need a bright pop of color today, then you are in for a treat with Emily + Jack’s GORGEOUS wedding!  Hydreangeas, pink roses, red roses, orchids, dahilas, ostrich feathers and sea glass, oh my! Designed and created by the unbelievable team at {Amorology & Twiggs Botonicals}.  Heather of {Amorology} also planned this terrific event.  The bride wore a dress from {Paloma Blanca} and bridesmaids wore {Watters}. The wedding included dinner by {Jamroc101} and wedding cake by {European Cake Gallery}.  Emily + Jack also hired {Ek Media Video} to create a movie filled with all the highlights from the special day.  Photography by the amazing {Natalie Norton}. (what an awesome team on this wedding!)  Check out more images from this wedding on Natalie’s {Blog} and on the Amorology blog {Post I} & {Post II}.  Happy Thursday, y’all!

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. We meet in High School, but I initially blew him off! Then we met again playing water polo in college. He gave me his seat when we where getting our physicals and we just started talking. We have been together ever since.
Describe the proposal: We had gone out to Florida for a friend’s birthday and before we met up with our friends we spent the day before at Disney World, one of our favorite places! It was freezing. He had bought me a sweatshirt and then we started walking around until we got to this big moat, it was beautiful! Then he said in the chilly wind, “Em, I have a question for you?”, and I said “ya?” , thinking he was going to ask me something about the park, being that he had never been there before. But instead he asked “Will you marry me?” Being that we had been together for 5 years I asked him if he was joking. These were words I had been waiting so long to hear. He told me he wasn’t joking and pulled out a box with the ring in it. I answered, “Oh my gosh yes!” And to top the whole story off, he gave me his grandma’s ring! I was in tears!
What attracted me to my husband was: The water polo speedo! Ha! No, I love him. He’s my best friend, we like the same things and I can tell him anything.
Why do you love your husband? He has a way of calming me when things get hard.
What attracted me to my wife was: Initially, her hot body! And I love her hair.
A date we went on that we’ll always remember: On our first date, we were both so nervous that Jack missed the exit for the movie. We ended up missing the movie and didn’t eat but we stayed up past midnight talking. That was great and who can forget the first kiss? You never forget that.
The weather on our wedding day was: Sunny and beautiful.
What was the design inspiration for your wedding? We knew we wanted something personal and that we wanted to have our wedding catered by a Jamaican restaurant that Jack’s Aunt owned. So, we based our concept off of the food and my favorite colors and our love for Disneyworld, where Jack proposed…and what we came up with was a hint to the Pirates of the Caribbean. But I have to give all the credit to Heather of Amorology. I talked with her and she got to know us and conceptualized and designed it all. She is amazing!
Favorite design element of your big day: The bright colors and flowers and how they worked so well together.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: What I have to say to any bride keep looking to find that dress don’t settle. It is out there. You might not know what is, but at some point you will. Let me tell you there are no words when you find it. When I put mine on I was like OK! As soon as I saw it in the big mirror I just knew. Look for a sign, mine was the name of the dress, it was Emily.
Describe your wedding flowers: All I said was no carnations… Twigg Botanicals and Amorology knew me and had a clear idea of the concept. They used tropical, hydrangea, pink and red roses, ostrich feathers, orchids, dahlias and sea glass and well, look at them they were beautiful!
Describe your wedding cake: We are chocolate lovers, and one of main things that Jack and I really cared about was our food. We wanted to make sure our cake was delicious. Mission accomplished, 9 out of 10 people were asking for seconds!
Our favorite detail of the wedding was: The customized Photo Booth. It added a great element to the décor and it was so fun to see everyone’s faces in the pictures later.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? Work and we added a lot of personal touches to the wedding with the menus and other things, so getting that done on time was a challenge.
Were there any special family traditions you included in the wedding? My father wore his father’s kilt; this meant a lot to me.
What was your most memorable moment about your wedding day? When we cut the cake! Jack smeared it all over my face, but it will always be a memorable moment together!
Scariest moment? There was about 30 seconds to 1 minute before my father came to get me to walk down the aisle that I was really nervous. I felt tears coming on, but the second he got there and took my hand I felt calmed.
Funniest moment? Greg, Jacks brother and best man pretended he forgot the rings. He had 3 boxes with him to give to the priest, and well I don’t need to tell you how that went other than, one box, oh, no ring, box two, no ring… Every one thought it was funny except the priest.
What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding? Enjoy it! It can seem overwhelming but the next thing you know it’s done and the memories you have are great. So put your all into it to make it count!
Best advice or most memorable comment someone made to you during the wedding celebration. Remember to have a date night, never go to bed angry, and always kiss each other good night.
Who was your most honored guest at the wedding? James Kenny, my cousin. He is in the Army and is a helicopter crew chief. He flew in 2-3 days before and was able to make it!
What’s next for you as a couple? Adopting a dog.
Any DIY items? Yes, my mom and I put together bags of our favorite homemade brownie recipe to give to guests as favors and personalized them with monogrammed labels. We also worked with and Jack’s brother, who is a designer and Amorology to create custom menus that had our picture in the background.

Congratulations to Emily + Jack.  We wish you the best and know you’ll be great doggie parents!

Welcome back to another spectacular Wanwisa Wednesday! Be sure to check out her previous posts I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII, VIII, IX, X, XI, XII, XIII, XIV, XV, XVI, XVII, XVII, XIX, XX, XXI, XXII, XXIII, XXIV, XXV, XXVI, XXVII, XXVIII, XXIX, XXX, XXXI and XXXII for more fabulous wedding inspiration!

This week, I bring design inspiration that will make your celebration truly take flight! Doves and love birds make lovely motifs for any wedding whether it’s a Winter or Spring celebration, a black tie event or casual garden occasion. Take a peak at some beautiful details from a sweet message tree to a couture gown and let these inspirations help your creative wedding ideas soar!

First Row: Doves signify the beginning of love and happiness and look gorgeous as cake toppers {via Martha Stewart Weddings}. Chic bird motifs add a whimsical touch to ring pillows, a sunny letterpress-bird-pattern menu brightens up a place setting, and a delicious dove tree gives guests a lovely way to leave well wishes {all via Martha Stewart Weddings}. Second Row: a sweet coconut cupcake gets dressed up with tiny chicks {via Martha Stewart Weddings}. Pastel escort cards with pretty bird imagery and a unique gift box from “the lovebirds” lend lovely details to your celebration {via Martha Stewart Weddings}. Ostrich feathers add a little glam to an all-ivory bouquet {via Brides.com}. Third Row: A jaw-dropping gown of iridescent feathers on tulle by Claire Pettibone. Outdoor wedding? Take shade under a fabulous feathered parasol by Pamela’s Parasol. Bottom Row: A decadent Victorian-chic invitation suite from Paper + Cup Design and sweet gift tags provide elegance to any take-home favors {via Brides.com}.

Until next Wednesday! Xoxo, Wanwisa

More from the classic Texas plantation wedding of Danielle + Sam.  This event was planned and catered by {A Fare Extraordinaire}.  The wedding was planned in a two month period and well… we are impressed.  Thanks to {Brooke Schwab} for sharing this wedding with us today. Check out more on Brooke’s {Blog}. I love the shot of the cinnamon sticks with the rings… can’t you smell it?

What was the design inspiration for your wedding? Simple but elegant. We wanted to enhance the natural beauty of the farm and the farmhouse.
Describe your wedding cake: Very simple with monogram and green cymbidiums.
What was the biggest challenge you had to overcome while planning your wedding? We had less than two months to plan, we lived in North Carolina and the wedding was outside of Houston. My mom was amazing and made it all come together perfectly.
Funniest moment? Definitely the dancing.
What advice would you give to someone planning their wedding? Relax and hire the best professionals.
Who was your most honored guest at the wedding? My 94 year old grandmother, Ruth and Sam’s 100 year old grandmother, Metha. It was amazing to have so many of our friends and family members make it from across the country to a small town in Texas on such short notice.

Congratulations to Danielle + Sam. We wish you two the best!

Danielle + Sam met while completing their residence at {Duke Hospital}.  Danielle is a orthopedic surgeon and Sam, a radiologist ((what what!!  sorry- editor (Lara C) getting a little excited here… go UNC rads!… my hubs is a radiologist at Duke’s rival UNC)). Without bringing up the whole Grey’s Anatomy similarities, The Wall Street Journal recently reported that 18% of married/committed couples meet through work.  So ladies, if you don’t have a significant other think about looking around the office — or operating room if you are Danielle + Sam.  This wedding took place outside of Houston at a gorgeous plantation home.  They married under a towering oak tree– how romantic! Danielle wore a radiant dress from {Ulla-Maija} and the bridesmaid’s dresses were by {J.Crew}.  The beautiful flowers were designed by {Bergner and Johnson}. Photography by the amazing {Brooke Schwab Photography}.  More to come….

How did the two of you meet? Tell us your story. We met at Duke Hospital–we were both residents.
The weather on our wedding day was: Beautiful–a little cool but gorgeous.
Favorite design element of your big day: The flowers were gorgeous and we had orchids hanging from the huge live oak we were married under.
Tell us about finding your wedding dress: I wore my sister’s wedding dress.
Describe your wedding flowers: Orchids, green cymbidiums and orange mokara.

More to come from this beautiful Texas wedding…