Ribbons and Carnations

Photography and styling by Honeysuckle Life.

When my sister rang to ask if I would be willing to help out with an engagement party for her son, my answer was an immediate yes. After a few emails back and forth we decided on a modern Southern theme using gray, pale yellow, and mint green. I knew those colors would pair well with what we had on hand.

Instead of purchasing new items, we gathered objects from three homes: mine, my mother’s, and my sister’s; if it was silver, glass, or white, we gathered it to see if it would work. I did end up purchasing a case of votive candles and holders, knowing that Kara would be able to reuse them at the wedding if necessary. They were placed en masse on a platform underneath a garden tent.

The day before the party, I purchased three bunches of mums and carnations from a grocery store. I was hoping for something a little fancier, but it worked out. For greenery I snipped fern fronds and stems of oregano from my sister’s garden. Together, these made one large arrangement, one medium, one small, and  one or two dozen floating buds.

After a few weeks of pondering various options for DIY projects, I realized we didn’t need cupcake flags, food signage, welcoming sign, or any of the other various items you see on party inspiration posts. Instead, I chose two bigger projects: a pinwheel wall and a ribbon wall. For the pinwheel wall, my niece and I went to a local craft store and picked up a pack of paper in soft grays and whites, and a few extra sheets of mint and sage green. Oddly, they didn’t have any options for a pale yellow. I used this tutorial and added paper doilies to cover up the center of the pinwheel. Each wheel was pinned to the wall with a white or clear thumbtack.

A general rule when entertaining is this, “A cup is not always a cup, sometimes it’s a vase.” Okay, that was cheesy, and yes, I just made that up. In other words, look at what you have in new ways; for example, we used cut glass cups as bloom vases.

One of the easiest ways to make a low floral budget spread is to fill cups and snip a bloom at the very base, leaving about a quarter inch of stem.

It turned out really well, and everyone was happy with the results. Visit later for details on how I used fabric and ribbon to create a giant ribbon wall.