The Full Bouquet

Photo Shoot With Bride & Groom Washingtonian Magazine

As I anxiously await the next issue of Bride & Groom by Washingtonian Magazine, I am reminded how much fun it was to work on the last issue. You may not know this but we were asked to supply the bouquets for their big photo shoot in Waterford VA.  The shoot was titled Chapel Belles and being a Chapple, I thought that was very fitting.

We invaded the dark and sleeping little village of Waterford at 6:00 am. This is known as "Call time." The props, dresses, makeup, and flowers were all set up in the basement of the Church. Let me also say that Editor in Chief Jill Hudson Neal and most of the Washingtonian staff were also on site at 6am, extremely impressive. Knowing how much work goes into one of these shoots gives me a whole new and huge appreciation for this fabulous magazine. As models, artists, editors and directors got acclimated, scaffolding was built next to the church so that lighting, smoke machines, and photographers could all get where they needed to be. Waterford is a a small historic community in Loudoun County, and the residents are known for being very particular. It was so fun to see the people of the village a buzz with all of the excitement. Villagers gathered on porches to drink coffee and watch the production as if it were a movie.

In the basement there were racks and racks of dresses, tables of makeup, jewelry, props and of couse my flowers.

I was requested to bring some white maids bouquets and I think some pink bouquets. This shoot was always to be about the dresses and the bouquets were merely props, but I wanted the crew to have as many options as they did dresses. So, being the over achiever that I am,  I raced home and grabbed buckets of flowers from the studio. I also whipped up some other fun bouquets. I used the leftovers from the weekend and flowers from my garden to create some more selections for the shoot. I love having lots of options.

I made taupe toned bouquets with scabiosa and seeded euc.

 

I loved these white bouquets and the stem treatment I used...

Burlap and pearls.

Dahlias from my man Don!!!!

Green cabbage roses, green dianthus, green amaranthus, green berry and white tulips were wrapped with bark wire.

I certainly made way more bouquets then the magazine needed but I take every opportunity I get to impress my industry and I also love the chance to create for creations sake. I had so much fun working on this and I was so happy to be able to help with something this incredible. Being on the Washingtonians Best of List as Editors pick has been one of my greatest accomplishments, and quite frankly anytime they need flowers I will happily bring them buckets full.

When I came back to clean up for the day they were finishing one of their last shoots and this image shows just how many people it takes to bring something like this together. One other fun little side note, editor Jill Hudson is so freaking beautiful that she was actually an extra model for this set. It was so fun to look up on the hill and see her modeling.

Design Army of Washington DC was the creative/art director for the shoot and this particular shoot actually won a gold award at the DC Addy's and also a silver award at the District Two Addy's. Here are the pages that were produced in the little village of Waterford. By the way Waterford is just a few minutes from my home and in fairness to all of the other wonderful florists in the DC area probably the reason why I got the gig.

Oddly enough some of my favorite images of the day were created with the additional flowers I ran home for, absolute proof that you should always put in that extra effort, it pays off ten fold. There are no excuses for not putting your heart into something and always doing more than you were asked to do. We provided the flowers for this shoot on a five wedding weekend, managed the kids, and were still able to design with passion for this. One last fun image from the day, my sweet baby Grace in the car at the shoot, but unfortunately she missed the activity.

Be looking for the next issue of Bride and Groom, follow Design Army on Twiiter and Facebook and follow me, I am Holly Heider Chapple, Editors Pick.

Photography for the shoot was by Cade Martin.

HC

 

I BURNT THE PEAS

This is it!!  This is the week that we start designing full throttle and we will be pushing petals non stop from now until Thanksgiving. We are happy to be back to work and in full swing because it means we will be surrounded by incredible blooms almost daily, but this is also the week when I try and get all of the balls I juggle back up in the air.

I juggle and I juggle a lot, but these first weeks back in charge of everything, is an awkward dance I do. It's as if I am learning to juggle for the first time. I have to get all of the balls back in the air and jump in under them and pray they don't hit me on the head. The Winter allows for a slightly calmer time in my life, as if a house with 7 kids and a home based business can ever be called calm. In the Winter months we do not have to produce or write recipes. We primarily do consultations and contracts which happened to also be a 7 day a week job. Now that we are "live" again, we will be spending days writing recipes for our "flower buys", and we will spend many days a week standing at the design tables. Add to that chores like mowing the grass, planting, harvesting, end of school year activities, and actually delivering the wedding flowers, and well, you simply have a full schedule.  It may seem from the outside looking in that we do all of this flawlessly and I will admit the designs are yes, pretty much flawless, but I am not.  Tonight I burnt the peas. I was talking with a designer who needed me, working on the computer, half way watching my baby Grace as she spun around the house, and I forgot to juggle the ball of peas, so they got burnt. In fact I was not even making dinner I was just apparently supposed to be protecting it, and I blew that job.

Wedding vendors everywhere are all getting ready for the start of yet another wonderful wedding season. There is much talk right now about the royal wedding, but no wedding is as important as your wedding, the weddings we will be crafting for you. Wedding vendors are all hands-on craftsmen and they will be physically creating something for you, so please excuse us if we are away from our desks, or at an event. We wedding vendors will be trying to get all of the balls we juggle back up in the air, and watch out because some of us are human. Luckily it's always dinner that suffers, and sometimes the vacuuming, but not your designs! I burnt the peas last night!!

HC

What Do You Want To Be When You Grow Up? & I Am Modern Magazine

It's 8:00 a.m. and I have just woken up in my daughter Abby's dorm room at JMU. I spent the night with her and my 3rd child Hannah, who will also be attending here next year. I feared I would not be able sleep in the dorm. As it turns out I had a mini vacation and I got to sleep in until 8:00 a.m.. Roommate Shelly is sound asleep in her bed and my girls are crashed on the floor. I woke up thinking "what do you want to be when you grow up?" The question is constant here "what dept. are you in, what do you want to do after school? "

When I was young all I wanted to be was a mother. I did not understand why I was expected to go to college. I remember asking my friend that very question, "why are they making me leave home and go to school, when all I want to do is get married and have babies?" Being a good girl, I did do as my parents hoped, and I left for college. I managed to finish 2 years of school before I went to work for a small airline called Presidential Airways. At the time, being a floral designer was far from my mind and not even a notion or an idea.

I married at 21 and had my first child very shortly after we married. Our goal was to try and figure out a way for me to stay at home with the children. During this time I was creating floral arrangements from my property and people began to ask me if I would do their wedding flowers.  In truth I had no idea about designing for a wedding, but I did have an inherited love and passion for flowers that my parents had passed on to me. My parents owned Heiders Nursery which was an amazing garden center. I had grown up in a family owned, home based business and I had always been surrounded by flowers. In fact Daddy still has a little garden center in Lucketts today called Heider Farm Market. It turns out that my destiny or my career found me and it's clearly in my blood. Today my husband and I are raising 7 children and I get to work at home and be with our kids. When I look back to my youth, I did not know where I was going, or how I was going to get there, but I was always certain with hard work and integrity I would find my way. Considering I could not answer the question "what are you going to be when you grow up?"  each little success is an added huge pleasure. In The last four months alone, we have been featured in Martha Stewart Weddings, Washingtonian Bride & Groom, Brides Magazine, The Knot, Southern Living Weddings, Get Married Magazine, Loudoun Magazine, and most recently in I Am Modern.  As my girls lay sleeping on the floor, I can't help but wonder what they will be when they grow up, but I have faith they will get where they need to get, and that some little seed is waiting inside of them to bloom.

 Here is my feature in I Am Modern.

 

 

HC

Holly Heider Chapple FLowers - Named Flower Sponsor for the 86th running of the VA. Gold Cup.

My worlds are truly colliding. Did you know I grew up on a horse farm/ nursery? As a child my mother ran a horse farm, and my father ran a nursery or garden center off of our farm. During my youth we all rode horses and helped in the garden center, and we always went to the steeplechases. Oddly enough out of the 5 sisters, 3 of us are" flower girls" and have flower shops or garden centers. The other 2 sisters followed my mothers heart, and they are serious horse women.  I love all things about horses and I love going to the steeplechase's but my world has become all about weddings and children so I have been missing the horsey events of my youth. As a child my parents often collaborated on huge landscaping designs for some of the areas biggest horsing events or shows. My parents designed the entire riding ring for the Washington International Horse Show  for many years, and that show was also my very first professional flower arranging job.  No starting small here... In addition to this my sister Kristin has been designing the Middleburg Classic Hunter/Jumper Show for many years. We are a seriously hard working family, and horses and flowers have always been a part of our life.

It was with great excitement and pleasure, that I agreed to provide the flowers for the 86th running of the VA. Gold Cup.

That's right we Holly Heider Chapple Flowers are the flower sponsor for the VA. Gold Cup and we couldn't be more thrilled.

This is a seriously exciting opportunity for us and a wonderful chance to work with some of the biggest corporations in DC, MD, and VA.  If you would like to secure a tent or tickets to the Va. Gold Cup. please contact them here.

If you need flowers for the VA. Gold Cup please fill out our on-line questionnaire on our website, or go straight to the flower order form here.   The last time I provided flowers to a tent at the VA. Gold Cup, it won the best dressed tent award. Now all of the tents can be equally, amazingly dressed. See you at the races!!!!!

HC

We Are Back "in the cooler" With Aunt Mary's Hat Pins

We are certainly starting the season off right with some really fun and unique concepts. I always find us doing things that normal florists would never find time to do. Today we designed with Aunt Mary's hat pins, her vintage brooches, and her old lace tableclothes. We also designed in an old overnight bag, and in our amazing decoupaged vases. Yep, our cooler is rocking tonight.

Above is the maid of honors bouquet for one of our weddings. Only the bride and maid of honor get one of aunt Mary's hat pins, and let me tell you aunt Mary must have been one stylish lady, because I have never seen hat pins like this. The pin itself was almost a foot long she must have been wearing one serious hat.

Here is the bridal bouquet, and I know my bride is taking a peek right this minute. BTW it's so much better in person, you are going to love your bouquet. Can you see the little peice of rosemary poking out of the bouquet? Rosemary is used in remembrance, it is one of my favorite little things to do.

We also used a combination of mine and aunt mary's crystal bowls.

Pretty, pretty, corsages...

and our place card display was made with vintage brooches. Yes we are more than happy with the look of this wedding.

We even used cherry blossoms to create the altar arrangements.

Our orange weddings is a bright and happy wedding and we will be taking this to DC.

This bouquet was created with orange ranunculus, cream de la cream roses, combo roses, orange spray roses, green hypericum berry, green viburnum, white cabbage roses, white ranunculus, and mini green hydangea. Amazing!!!

We love our decoupaged vases.

Daffodils from my garden.

We had a great and successful day and we even slipped in two new clients. We did awesome this week!!

HC