The other day I visited an absolutely beautiful wedding venue here in Washington that is just minutes from my studio – Woodinville Lavender. This venue is a working lavender farm that grows several varieties of lavender, each blooming at a different point in time during the summer, beginning in early June. With the glorious Washington summer weather and when the lavender fields are in their peak bloom, it easy to see why Woodinville Lavender makes one of the most stunning (and fragrant) settings. Woodinville Lavender is gorgeous all year round, but the lavender flowers add a layer of magic to the setting, as you can see below. What an incredible place to tie the knot!
After my visit to Woodinville Lavender I spent some time thinking about and drafting a proper ceremony backdrop for such a spectacular venue. When you have an environment that is already gorgeous, you never want your designs to compete with the space or to take away from the setting. Instead, a design should work in harmony with the already established ambiance. It’s an added layer of beauty that compliments the framework and that makes the space your own.
Wine Barrel Bubble Trellis
Given that Woodinville Lavender is located almost smack dab in the middle of Woodinville wine country, with wineries and cellars to the north and south, I decided it would be fitting to include wine barrel planters into my floral inspiration for a ceremony backdrop. Inside each of those planters would stand a trellis, where vines and flowers could wind their way up. These would not your typical garden trellises, but bubble trellises. Round metal circles that would mimic the spherical form of the lavender bushes. Aren’t bubble trellises fun?!
In this sketch I used bulbous flowers: green viburnum and purple allium. I also included smilax vine, variegated coleus, potato vine leaves, and orange & yellow begonias.
Garden Moon Gate
The owner, Tom, said he has always loved to garden. A transition in life took him from mechanical engineering and building rockets to growing the most well-kept and manicured lavender gardens that I have ever laid eyes on. And I thought such a beautiful space deserves a beautiful entrance. What more perfect than a garden moon gate!
This floral moon gate sketch was actually one that I drew after a past consultation, but I thought this particular design would go really well at Woodinville Lavender. I am smitten by the wild, flowing look of the botanical elements, which really compliments both the movement of the trees in the background, but also the thin fingers of each lavender stem. The blooming lavender adds a delicate, almost whimsical feeling to the setting, which is also expressed through the greenery and flowers on the moon gate arch.
The colorful botanical inspiration for this design includes curly willow, ruscus, eucalyptus, plumosa fern, giant allium, peach roses, pink spray roses, blue delphinium, purple larkspur, and purple ranunculus.
I also drafted a less colorful version of this moon gate arch, which uses curly willow, ruscus, eucalyptus, plumosa fern, dusty miller, crem de la crem roses, million star baby’s breath, and dendrobium orchids.
Lastly, I sketched out a much more simplistic moon gate design. I love the vibrant green of the potato vine leaves and the soft yellow of the crem de la crem roses and the champagne wedding carnations against the sea of purple.
Are you just as smitten with Woodinville Lavender as I am? Are you planning on getting married at Woodinville Lavender sometime in the near future? I would LOVE to create on of these ceremony designs for you or we can brainstorm something totally new and original. Either way your big day is bound to be nothing short of magical.
