March Wedding Flowers

Six percent of your wedding budget is supposed to be devoted to flowers according to Mindy Weiss' 'The Wedding Book'. For some people, it can be much more than that. Buying flowers that are in season locally or regionally can be a big money saver. Although almost any flower can be bought out of season these days, importing them from Ecuador or Holland will cost you. Sticking to the "A March Wedding" theme, here are flowers that are in season throughout the spring.
Cosmos
Flowering branches such as apple, cherry, and dogwood
Daffodil
Forsythia
Freesia (available year round)
Hyacinth
Hydangea
Lilac
Lily-of-the-valley
Mimosa (acacia)
Muscari (grape hyacinth)
Peony
Poppy
Ranunculus
Rose
Sweet pea (into early summer)
Tulip
Viburnum
Violet

Groom's Cake Tradition

I love this picture of a "favor cake", and I just had to point out the charming tradition behind it. Very different from way that we currently think of a groom's cake today, the groom's cake is an old wedding tradition that began to fall out of favor in the late 1950's. The groom's cake was a favor for guests to take home with them and was "wrapped in foil and boxed in tiny, white, satin-tied boxes" according to Amy Vanderbilt in 1952. It did not need to be an elaborate cake - it was traditionally a heavy fruitcake soaked in liqueur. This is the cake, according to tradition, that unmarried female guests would take home and put under their pillows in order to dream of their one true love.

photo via Martha Stewart Weddings

For brides that are looking for something vintage and unique, who would like to have a groom's cake, and are planning on having favors - this accomplishes all of that! Slip a note in the boxes explaining the tradition to your guests, and to save on the cake cutting fee that many venues have, simply cut the cake prior to the wedding and put into the boxes. From Martha Stewart Weddings: "Assembled in the shape of a three-tier layer cake, store-bought boxes hold individual slices of the groom's cake, ready for the guests to take home; tucked between the white boxes are ranunculuses, sweet peas, hyancinths, and lilies of the valley."

Read more at Marthastewartweddings.com: White Favors: Boxed Groom's Cake

Here's some good resources for cake slice boxes: Assorted colors/finishes - Bayley's Boxes (wholesale and bulk pricing), and white quilted - WeddingFavors.com.

And some great resources for vintage wedding traditions: Your Vintage Wedding by Nancy Eaton and Vintage Weddings by Daniela Turudich

Lily of the Valley wedding

Today's post is inspired by the lily of the valley. Since it only is in season in the spring months, it is a perfect fit for this week's March inspired boards. It has a fresh, slightly vintage feel to it. I love the veil over the chair, the bouquet of lily of the valley and gardenias, the bridesmaids dress in a soft green with that dark green bow, the lily of the valley cake with the dove topper... all so lovely!
Clockwise from top left: Lily of the valley boutonniere on Perfect Memories, tent on Martha Stewart Weddings, glasses via Snippet&Ink, chair with veil photo on Sweet Paul, lily of the valley invitation from Wedding Paper Divas, tables from Snippet&Ink, lily of the valley cake and topper on Martha Stewart Weddings, green candy buffet by Amy Atlas via Apartment Therapy, lily of the valley urn tablescape via Toast and Tables, green bridesmaids dress by Vera Wang on Brides, favor cake on Martha Stewart Weddings, vintage lily of the valley print, gardenia and lily of the valley bouquet from Martha Stewart Weddings.

First Day of Spring wedding

Continuing the March inspired boards, this was inspired by the pastel colors of spring. What better day to have this wedding than March 21st, the first day of spring! The birds and nests, the candy favors, the robin's egg cake, the feather boutoneers, it's all so spring...

Top row: Purse and pearls from Martha Stewart Weddings, pastel bridesmaids on TheKnot, pink marshmallow flavors on Martha Stewart Weddings
2nd row: Blue and pink pastel bouquet on Ritzy Bee, "Fern" dress by Melissa Sweet, feather boutoneers by Michelle Rago.
3rd row: Birds nest placesetting, pink candy favors on Martha Stewart Weddings, robin's egg cake on Martha Stewart Weddings.
4th row: Pink macarons by Paulette Macarons, "brids nest" reception tent on TheKnot, heart getaway car on Martha Stewart Weddings

Orange Blossom Wedding, Part 2

Growing up in Arizona, March always meant sunny, mild weather and the return of the orange blossoms. We had several orange trees in our yard, and the many citrus trees all over town meant you could smell the heavenly scent of the blossoms in the air. Perfect inspiration for this week's series on March weddings!

Orange Blossom Wedding, Part 1

I am working on my version of an orange blossom wedding today, but wanted to first share this inspiration board by Kathryn from Snippet&Ink.