Kelli-Ann & Joel, June 21, 2015, The Hellenic Center, Ipswich
On the day of Kelli and Joel’s wedding, it rained. It’s always so hard to see clients, who have planned their wedding day for so long, and have a perfect vision, go through the stress and disappointment that comes with a rainy wedding day.
Kelli handled it so well, and thankfully, we had a really great plan in place just in case this happened!
We had originally planned to drape an old oak tree on the property of their venue, The Hellenic Center in Ipswich, and hang a crystal chandelier, which would be the backdrop of their ceremony. It was a really beautiful vision!
At the last minute, I suggested that I bring and decorate my beautiful birch arch, so that there would be flexibility if there was bad weather. We could set it up inside or outside depending how the day went.
Luckily the Hellenic Center was really flexible and allowed Kelli and Joel to wait until the last minute to make the decision on the ceremony - inside or out - because it really rained right up until the time of their ceremony!
I covered the arch in roses, spray roses and hydrangeas with lots of greens which gave it a beautiful, romantic feeling, and gave the guests a little taste of what was to come on their dining tables.
Luckily they were able to have it outside. I positioned the floral covered birch arch right in front of the pretty chandelier so it would be in all their ceremony photos and it would give the same vibe as Kelli’s original vision for the ceremony. I think it was beautiful!
When guests went inside for dinner, they sat at tables full of mercury glass vases, more roses, hydrangea, spray roses, and lots of candles. I created three different centerpiece styles. I love when brides allow me to do this because it really creates a lot of visual interest in the diningroom, and makes the room feel more like a beautifully designed dinner party, rather than a banquet hall full of identical tables.
Working with Kelli (and Joel!) on their wedding was a true joy. She wrote me the nicest note after their wedding, which I have included below. First, enjoy the beautiful photos taken by Esther Mathieu!
"I honestly don't even know where to begin or how to thank the amazing Meredith McCarthy. I guess I can start from the beginning of my wedding process. When looking for a florist I began to feel frustrated and overwhelmed. I was surprised to find that certain local florists were somewhat rude and not willing to listen to my ideas, in fact once they heard that I would like to incorporate more vases and candles for centerpieces they told me that "they refused to lower their standards for my wedding and they didn't think my idea would be pretty." The best thing that I ever did during the wedding process was contact Meredith who right away was so eager and excited to help my vision come alive. Every bride has her 'ahh ha' moment most of the time it is when they are trying on their wedding dress, mine was when I met with Meredith for the first time. She made me feel that I was important even though I was on a budget. She made me feel that she really wanted to make my vision come to life and she really understood my taste. She was happy to show me options and help with ideas and she was patient with me when I couldn't make up my mind! Every time I met with Meredith she had a great personality and always put me at ease with my wedding worries. I love visiting her office it's so cute and comfortable you can tell just by walking in that she has great taste. The day of my wedding it poured all morning which Meredith was flexible and prepared for plan A or plan B. She was so supportive and patient when we were deciding what to do because of the weather. We had to go with plan B but she made it so special and gorgeous it still blew me and the guest away... I wasn't even disappointed that we couldn't go with our first plan. My bouquets were stunning and exactly what I wanted... The colors were perfect...the pictures don't do them justice. While Meredith was decorating the center pieces she wanted to surprise me which made me smile because I had total trust in the fact that she would make everything beautiful. When I walked down the stairs I was surprised, blown away, and in awe of what she did. She went above and beyond what I thought she was going to do. The centerpieces where stunning and every table was slightly different which made it fun. When visiting tables I got to look at them and I was so proud of what my centerpieces looked like. They looked like all the centerpieces I would dream of when going through pintrest. Her floral design honestly was my favorite thing of the whole wedding. Without her my wedding wouldn't have been so magical. The guest still talk about the centerpieces after the wedding. I remember waking up the next morning and had to call Meredith because I was just so happy about what she did. Nothing is perfect in weddings but I will say everything she did was perfect and I will always be grateful that I had her during the whole process. I want to get married all over again just so I have an excuse to work with Meredith again. She is amazing, talented, reliable and she has the best personality which makes me want her as my friend! I can't thank her enough!
Kelli Camacho"