Bouquets
by Anna Coy
o much goes into planning every detail of a wedding. You want your wedding to be something that will be remembered! After the day is over we have photos, a gown and memories to remind of us of that day; the flowers get tossed, the decor dismantled and the cake eaten. What if your bouquet could be kept forever as a lasting keepsake from your wedding?
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I am the owner and designer of To Hold & To Have. I create bridal bouquets and bridal party pieces that do last forever! Bespoke keepsake bouquets can be created using satin, crystals, paper and personal items. Each bridal piece is custom and handmade, a time-consuming task but worth every moment when I get to make a bride's vision come to life. I love coming up with new and exciting creations, but some of the best ideas come straight from the brides. These are the stories of three brides with three different keepsake bridal bouquet ideas that I had the pleasure of bringing to life. I'd like to introduce Kristen, Nicole and Gina.
It was a cold winter afternoon when I met Kristin and her sister Amy for an initial consultation. Kristen had told me that she had a lot of personal items that she would like to incorporate into her bouquet: jewelry, a rosary, military pins and a locket containing her grandparents' portraits. Kristen also told me that Amy would be working with us because she would like to carry that same bouquet when she gets married. I was thrilled: that is exactly what I hope for! We selected the exact tones of satin that would be
used for the roses, and discussed all the fun ways we could utilize all of their family heirlooms in the making the bouquet The end result was a beautifully designed bouquet that will be used in two weddings and on display
afterwards!
A few months later I was contacted by a new bride named Nicole. During the course of our first phone chat, she told me that her grandmother had recently passed away. They were very close, and Nicole wanted to honor her grandmother at her wedding. She still had her grandmother's wedding dress. Nicole contacted me to see if I could transform the gown into the bouquets and personal flowers for her wedding. I was honored to be asked to create something so permanent and meaningful! I personally retrieved the gown. It
was sewn with gorgeous fabric with a long train and beautiful lace details, and buttons all the way down the back. I first created the roses from the fabric of the train. The roses were accented with the lace from the sleeves, and the stems were wrapped with the buttons from the back of the gown. I made boutonnières and single long stem keepsake roses for all of her
That Won't Be Tossed
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