Julia and Pedro’s Autumn Hudson Valley Wedding

Autumn wedding flowers are just as vibrant and lively as their spring counterparts. As many of you may know, fall is a kaleidoscope of color here in the Hudson Valley and the amber, hazel, and sienna colors were a perfect backdrop for what Julia and Pedro had asked of me. “We want to capture the magic of Autumn at our wedding” they shared. Luckily the leaves, with their fiery and vibrant colors, clung to the trees for their special day.

Julia and Pedro’s story

Julia and Pedro were married on a picture-perfect autumn day in the lower Hudson Valley, NY.  As with all brides and grooms, the wedding day was a gift from heaven. The reception was held at the stunning wedding venue FEAST at Round Hill located in Washingtonville, NY which is “an easy one hour drive time from Manhattan, Westchester, or Northern New Jersey.”  

Everything about the day was just perfect. The weather was exceptional – the colors, the in-season floral arrangements and the radiant couple.

I first met Julie and Pedro near their New York City apartment at a little café called Sweet Harlem Cafe. The couple shared with me their desire to create a magical seasonal wedding, and that their friends and family would be very much involved with various aspects of the wedding. A close friend of Pedro’s, also from Brazil, is a graphic designer and would be crafting their invitations. He explained that many of their friends would be traveling from Brazil for the wedding.

An Autumn Wedding in the Hudson Valley

As soon as I was hired I immediately started to think about what flowers were available that I could use while sticking to their budget. Using seasonal flowers without sacrificing unique design is my mission.

I listened closely and noticed that Pedro was new to many of our American wedding customs – little ones that we take for granted were a novelty for Pedro.  He asked me rather sheepishly what a boutonnière was and his father would later ask the same question. I explained that tradition of the boutonnière dates back to medieval times when a lady would give her knight in shining armor a token of her love, generally a flower or a scarf, as he went off to battle.

For Pedro’s boutonnières, we used all seasonal materials, most of which came from my garden.

 

Autumn wedding flowers

The recipe for this wedding required just a little of this and a little of that. We took advantage of the Dahlias, for this was their season and we decided to use as many as possible for Julia’s bouquet. But as Murphy’s Law would have it, it poured the day before we were to pick them. Luckily a fair amount of the flowers still hung in there and we picked the few remaining from my friend Joy’s farm called Bluefield Farm, in Blauvelt, NY.

I also adore the beautiful flowers from Battenfeld’s Farm. They are an amazing source for local flowers and they specialize in Anemones of all different colors. Look at how beautiful these white Anemones look in Julia’s bouquet. We also added zinnias, grasses, and the last of the garden roses.

I wanted to keep the centerpieces as seasonal as possible while remaining within their budget, so we used white gourds to decorate the tables and they looked regal sitting on their gold urns adorned with bittersweet and sweet gum leaves.

I am always delighted when a couple trusts my design vision and not only appreciates using locally grown seasonal flowers but reusing vintage containers whenever possible. It’s a much more relaxed way of working and creating.

I feel it is my responsibility to be as mindful in protecting our tender plants for future generations to come, and this is why I’ve taken the green designer pledge to use only 100% local flowers for all my weddings.

For more information on green designers in your area look in the Slow Flower directory. The overall carbon footprint is reduced, as there is a minimal distance for these flowers to travel and close to no waste in packaging. Additionally, local farmers tend to be more mindful about using fewer harmful chemicals to grow their flowers. And, by using flowers grown by local farmers me and my clients are stimulating our local economy, which is important to me.

I feel so very fortunate to work with couples like Julia and Pedro who appreciate and plan their weddings with the tides of the season. If you are planning your wedding, please reach out to me today. I’d love to schedule a time to chat.

A BIG thank you to Windau Photography for sharing these beautiful images of Julia and Pedro’s magical autumn wedding!

p.s.

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