As far as wedding planning, I was a little nervous about the flowers. They are a favorite part of any party, but especially a wedding, and with Pinterest and the Kardashians, expectations have really gotten out of control. I mean I love a massive floral arch and a floral ceiling as much as the next person, but also, I feel like this was an opportunity to practice restraint. Especially in Montana, for an outdoor wedding. This did not need to be a Kardashian baby shower situation.

When we were initially gathering inspiration photos, we included several examples of floral arches. It seemed like an obvious component in the beginning. In fact, at one point I was considering three floral arches signifying the triple oval engagement ring!

As it turned out, we wouldn’t be keeping up with the Kardashians.

A wedding at Green Valley Ranch comes with the most magnificent scenery of the West Glacier mountains as a backdrop. As planning progressed, and we confirmed floral representation elsewhere, I became less concerned with the big floral arch. After all, the ceremony would be all of 20 minutes. Plus, I loved the saturated greens everywhere, and the Ralph Lauren vibe was really speaking to me.

My inspo photo became an arch of spirea. I even had a photo saved of an arch made entirely of antlers! Considering the fact that pink was playing a larger role than originally planned in the reception tent, Hillary was especially loving the more natural and organic look, sans pink, for the ceremony.

In the end, we gave the planners our thoughts, and trusted them to do what they thought would have the best impact, make the most sense, and so forth. We didn’t see the final product until hours before the wedding.

Here you can get a better idea of the size of the arch and the antlers. The arch looks tiny in the vastness of green in photos taken farther away.

Anyway, we think it’s stunning. The photos are gorgeous and it really set the tone for the wedding. The view was breathtaking, and it was so fun watching the guests pose for photos with that backdrop. Lots of Facebook profile pic updates the week after the wedding!

Now, for the flowers we did have at the wedding!

Our first design meeting was geared towards tabletop design. Darci had pulled several ideas for us, and she also let us choose things we liked from the display wall.

When we walked in the room, this is the floral arrangement we saw, and we were speechless!

We played around with the linens and tableware, and I’ll share more about that in another post, but the flowers were a done deal. We just basically said yes.

This photo is from a beautiful wedding we attended in Nantucket a few years ago that has continued to inspire me throughout the planning process. I loved the simplicity of the centerpieces. Contained, yet lush at the same time - all flowers, no fillers. Similar to Green Valley Ranch, there were beds of blooming flowers scattered around the property, and that natural beauty was a wonderful balance with the florals.

The centerpieces translated well to the tables.

At the entrance of the tent, we did trees in baskets with ferns, ivy, and maidenhair ferns. Again, loved the greenery here minus the flowers.

When we started talking about florals, I asked Darci if she would be interested in using any of my personal containers and sent her some photos. I shipped these green containers to her about a month before the wedding. The green confit jar sits on my living room coffee table at home, and the tole grape basket with the deer is in my bedroom. I love having that personal touch.

The white Canterbury bells were a hit. I think I had ten friends ask me what those were. They were everywhere, and so charming! Loved the height they provided for the arrangements with the branches of green leaves.

The cake table got a floral upgrade a couple months before the wedding. I was emailing Darci questions and she finally sent me a new inspiration photo asking if that was what I was envisioning, and the answer was yes, yes it was. It was so spectacular and I really wanted the cake table, right at the entrance of the tent, to be a wow moment.

Steve Steinhardt’s professional version is so good!

Here are some of the florals for the bars and the seating areas. Look at the backdrops through the openings behind the sofas. It looks like a backdrop for a scene in Yellowstone!

I had several photos of mini individual cakes saved in my wedding folder, and we either wanted a flower on each individual cake, or at each place setting. I worried that flowers laying at the place settings would appear wilted or just look like dead flowers pulled from the centerpiece, so I was relieved when we went with the flower mini cakes!

This is one of the only photos I got of the mini cakes!

The plan was to have the band play How Sweet it Is by James Taylor, and the waiters would come out with multiple cakes on a tray, on cue, and it would be a special moment, captured and shared on Pinterest, until the end of time. But people were out of their seats, mingling, and there was some miscommunication with the photographers, who were waiting by the big cake, so I’m not sure if that photo will be a reality or not. I envisioned that being a highlight of the evening, but you have to be flexible - everything does not go how you think it will!

The good news is that the cakes were delicious. Many people commented on how much they enjoyed the mini cakes, so it was still a win!

My dear friend Kyle Robino was set to do Hillary’s bridal bouquet, which was so thoughtful, and quite an undertaking to bring flowers from Omaha, assemble in Whitefish, and get to the venue. But she did it. I have to say, it is the most beautiful bouquet I’ve ever seen. I have literally hundreds of inspiration photos of bridal bouquets in a folder, and I’m not even sure what it is I like about some of them. Mostly, I think I am drawn to color, so an all-white bridal bouquet was out. (Hillary did not have an opinion) Kyle asked me a million questions about size, color, shape, flower preferences, etc. She is a genius for translating my answers into the most beautiful and perfect bouquet!

She started sending me photos of an almost finished product on Friday afternoon, and I could not have been happier.

The next morning, I got this photo with a message saying she really wanted the orange honeysuckle from up in a tree at the house she was staying at, and our friend climbed up and got some to add.

You guys, I will never get over it.

She had so many flowers leftover, she made another little bouquet for me!

Hillary began her bridal journey thinking she would not have bridesmaids, so there were no plans for bouquets. But as time went on, her friends convinced her they were happy to be bridesmaids, and the bouquets Darci planned were adorable! All the wedding flowers coordinated perfectly!

Loved our photographer’s photo of the bouquet.

It looks like the cover of a bridal magazine to me!

The green carpet of grass was not planned! We were supposed to have hardwood floors in the tent, but the flooring company backed out just weeks before the wedding. We were so nervous about the grass, but I ended up loving the garden feel. It really felt like it was meant to be.

I felt so good about the balance between the natural scenery and the flower arrangements. The scenery did its job of being breathtaking, and the flowers were appreciated wherever they were, producing a peaceful and harmonious atmosphere.

Wedding Planners: Greenwood Events

Venue: Green Valley Ranch

Photographer: Steve Steinhardt

Cake: Miss Patticakes

Bridal bouquet: Kyle Robino