There is something magical about flowers. The way they dance in the breeze and catch the light, the way even a simple buttercup plucked from the side of the road delights us in a way that few other things can.

From our earliest days, we roamed the fields and the urban alleys collecting California Poppies and Black Eyed Susan’s. We created garlands for our hair and clutched crumpled bouquets tight to our chest as we walked down the aisle toward our “betrothed” practicing until the day when “the one” will be standing at the end of the aisle.

And while we have grown and our ideas and tastes may have changed, many of us still remember fondly our first wildflowers of love.

Wildflowers for the Ceremony

 For every bride that wants red roses and white Easter Lilies there is another bride who longs for potted succulents and ornamental cabbages. And for each of them, there is another bride who wants nothing more than the flowers from her backyard.

While wildflowers are less formal and expensive than long-stemmed roses and orchids, they can be just a colorful, graceful and dramatic. Wildflowers can be used in all of your bouquets, and sprinkled on the tables, or tied in satchels or pots to chairs.

Photo from www.mywedding.com

Some of the most beloved and revered flowers in the world are considered wild. From daisies and heather to hydrangeas and lavender tied with ribbon, the ideas are endless.

Photo from http://emmalinebride.com

And while you can get wildflowers from a florist, with some advanced planning you could pick and arrange your bouquets yourself. Wildflowers are not limited to those you find in a field or on the side of the mountain. They can be found in your friend’s garden, a local nursery or even in your own garden. Using wildflowers honors the seasonality of life and the abundance that nature provides to each of us if we are willing to look past the store. And what could be more delightful than walking in a field or a friend’s garden with your wedding party and collecting flowers the day before, or putting them in water and binding them together over a simple wedding breakfast the morning of the wedding?

Seasonal Bouquet Ideas

 Spring: apple or cherry tree blossoms, grape hyacinth, dogwood and daffodil

Summer: lobelia, bee balms, forsythia and sages

Fall:  fennel, yarrow, rose hips, fall leaves, mint, wheat, sunflowers and dried grasses

Winter: pine boughs, holly branches, ferns with hypericum berries or dried wild flowers

Photo from http://english-wedding.com

Tara Lynn’s Wildflowers Past, Present, Future

Flowers have been used and incorporated into weddings for centuries. In France, honeysuckle vine is the traditional symbol of sweet love and devoted affection. While pansies, also referred to as “heartease” and “love-in-idleness” by writers, have been a symbol of love for ages and were sacred to St. Valentine.

The flowers you choose for your wedding should hold a specific and unique meaning to you as a couple. Maybe they are favorites from childhood, the first flowers you gave one another, or were the flowers your father always brought home for your mother. You can incorporate these flowers past the typical table arrangement to include the embroidery or appliqués on your custom Tara Lynn Bridal gown, veil and bride’s maid dresses. These hand-made, custom and uniquely designed floral embellishments can last a lifetime and will blend your past, present and future!

Hillary's Custom Wedding Dress with hand made poppies by Tara Lynn Bridal

A Recipe for a Wildflower Wedding 

Baby’s breath for a heart given sincerely.
Wallflower for fidelity
and daisies for loyalty.
Add larkspur for passion and an open heart
and sweet peas so your love remains in constant thought.
Hold the promise of clover
tight to elder flower’s compassion
and forget me not true love
or wood poppy and the joys to come.

- Mary J. Lohnes

Need Tips for putting together a wildflower bouquet? Check out : http://www.mywedding.com/blog/other-inspirations/guest-bloggers/modern-wildflower-bouquet-from-chelsea-at-frolic/

Who knew there were so many decisions to make before your wedding?  - From dates and announcements to finding the perfect dress that makes you feel graceful and radiant.

While each decision is an extension of you and your groom’s personality, there are few decisions that are easier and tastier than choosing your wedding cake(s).

If the recent nuptials of Prince William and Kate Middleton show us anything, it is that your wedding cake doesn’t have to be a mountain of plain vanilla cake with white icing. For their wedding, Will and Kate choose a traditional spiced fruitcake with cream and white piped icing.   The 17 individual cakes were decorated with architectural garland and flowers with specific social and personal meaning to couple.

A second chocolate biscuit grooms’ cake was made according to Will’s request using a 40 lbs of chocolate and some 1,700 McVite’s “Rich Tea” brand biscuits. And while the groom’s cake tradition can be traced back to Victorian times, it is more often associated with the U.S. South where it can be served either along side the main wedding cake or at the rehearsal dinner.

Whether you choose to have one main cake, a groom’s cake or a series of individual cupcakes, the kind and flavor of cake you choose are more important than how it is decorated.

Here are a few radiant woman wedding cake selection ideas to help you and your groom pick out something that reflects your personal taste and style and may possibly surprise your guests.

Choosing a Cake

 Cakes come in as many varieties and forms as wedding dresses so the best advice is to go into the selection process knowing what type of cakes you typically like such as sponge, angel food, pound, etc. and working from there. Another thing to consider is mouth feel and the level of crumb moistness you are after. While there may be nothing worse than hearing your aunt say, “The reception was lovely but the cake was rather dry,” a cake that crumbles at the mere sight of a fork is probably not what you are after either.

Seasons and Themes

Your wedding cake is an ideal place to incorporate seasonal and theme elements into your wedding. Spring and summer weddings almost demand a light, fruity cake particularly, if the wedding is being held outdoors. For a beach, sunset wedding consider replacing your typical white cake with something more tropical such as a Tropical Cream Cake which layers of sponge cake brushed with coconut syrup with layers of coconut Bavarian cream, fresh pineapples, mangos and shaved coconut.

For a rustic fall wedding along a mountainside you could choose a Black Forrest or Italian apple cake that is more reminiscent of pie. Or consider the possibilities of a Halloween themed wedding featuring a pumpkin spice cake frosted with rich butter cream frosting and piped skeletons.

Winter and Christmas weddings continue to grow in popularity and with them coquembouche and kransekaka cakes. Coquembouche is a tree shaped cone of French  pièce montée  filled with chocolate and other cream fillings while kransekaka is a Norwegian and Danish almond cake formed of concentric rings of cake layered to form a steep cone shape. The center of the kransekaka often holds a bottle of desert wine for sharing with your guests.

Tradition, Tradition!

Sometimes, there is nothing more magical than choosing a cake with a story. Whether that story involves your family’s ethnic traditions such as a creamy Mexican Tres Leche or Italian Tiramisu cake, or whether a cake that has a special meaning to your family, a story cake is a chance for you to share your past and celebrate your future with your family and friends. Whether it is a red velvet armadillo cake or your beloved grandmother’s poppy seed cake, your cake is a chance for you to embrace the moments that you brought you here together, today. So let them eat cake!

Even though I did not recognize it at the time, I started to learn about sexual violence in the 2nd grade, at school. As children, we absorb the things we see and hear around us and try to fit those experiences into our understanding of how people interact. It wasn’t until my late 20′s that I  began to  understand domestic and sexual violence, why it happens and how to deal with it. As I grow older, I meet more men, women and children, people that are close to me, old friends, clients, neighbors and family members that have experienced domestic and sexual violence. Even women that I have known for years and never would have thought were as vulnerable as I, suddenly reveal that they too know what it is like to keep the silence and harbor the shame.

This month, I am honored to feature my friend Henekis Stoddard. She works for an organization called Umbrella, in Northern Vermont, where she is an advocate for victims of domestic and sexual violence.

“Being a woman in this world, every woman has had an experience.   Whether we see it or not, we have experienced the culture of sexual violence.”- Henekis Stoddard.
 

The Umbrella Advocacy Program is dedicated to supporting individuals victimized by domestic and/or sexual violence and their children. As an advocate Henekis is there to understand, support, accept and provide options for survivors. She works to broaden our understanding of sexual violence in our culture; to know that it is not our fault and hold the right people accountable. She is there to give victims confirmation and confidence that is was not their fault.

In 7 ½ years working for Umbrella, she has not noticed much change in society, “As it is just a blink in time” says Henekis. Yet, there has been some change in initiatives, in terms of prevention work, such as bystander accountability. There is increased knowledge of where victims can go and who to call for help. She educates students in high schools and colleges on healthy sexuality and relationships.

 ”People like to think social woes happen to someone else. If it is happening here, we feel responsible, and that is really scary for people.”   Yet, Henekis is not afraid to help. She is not afraid to speak up about sexual and domestic violence.

Henekis grew up in a house with an open door policy. Mom and Dad were volunteer helpers and safe home providers for victims of domestic abuse and drug addiction. They were active in the civil rights movement, anti-racism, creating change, grass roots and on the fringe politically.

Her family goes way back with the Umbrella organization, which was started in 1976 and was the first advocacy program for domestic and sexual violence in the State of Vermont. Even Henekis’ Grandmother worked for the movement to end violence against women. She was the first court advocate for victims in her county in New Hampshire. “Gram” was a helper, non-conventional, not a radical, but always thought outside the box. She was the first woman in her coffee klatch to go to work during WWII and didn’t stop working after the war.

 ”It was bred into me. I was raised by survivors – women who did and did not speak of incidences.”

At a young age, she had an awareness of what oppression did to people. They were a close, extended family, in which things were talked about. They were informed. “Mom educated me on being a woman in the world and to break down silence and secrets.”   “We were ingrained with feminist theory and thought.”   Henekis has a dual BA degree in Psychology and Human Services as well as a minor in Sociology. She is an activist at heart. Henekis did not grow up knowing she was going to be an advocate, it sort of happened organically, when a friend  encouraged her to fill her position as she was leaving Umbrella.

What seems most devastating to her is today’s pop culture. It is more pornified and more violent than ever before. Media is often myth-based and victim blaming. “So often, teachable moments like the abuse that happened to Rihanna is used by media to manipulate and exploit situations.”   In her song sung with Eminem she sings – “I like the way it hurts.”  What kind of message is this for our youth today that idolizes super stars?

Many women idolize super sexy stars like Lady Gaga, yet they hate the woman next to them because they learn that woman is  their competition. When women turn against one another like this, it makes it harder for women to unite. We need to work from within if we are  going to develop more community support and change the way our culture perceives these issues.

“The most potent weapon in the hands of the oppressor is the mind of the oppressed” — Stephen Biko, 1946-1977
 

 Henekis feels absolutely accomplished in being a stepping-stone for many women and honored to be present in such a difficult time for survivors and to witness their greatest strengths. “This job gives me a lot of resolve. At the end of the day it is all worth it — it can be hard, it can break a person, but hasn’t broken me yet.”

There are advocacy programs similar to Umbrella all over the United States.

The Umbrella Advocacy Program is one of 15 organizations in the state of Vermont. http://www.umbrellanek.org

Other References

http://www.rainn.org/
The National Sexual Assault Hotline # 1.800.656.HOPE
http://www.rapehelp.com/

To most women, the 50′s epitomizes glamorous dressing. Starting with Dior’s “new look” that featured full skirts with a matching tailored jacket or shirt, designers placed an emphasis on accentuating the female form through the use of long curving lines and fine detailed trims. From pinup girls and rockabilly, to bobby-sockers and Audrey Hepburn’s little black cocktail dress, women were rocking their curves. Here are a few radiant woman highlights from the fashion-driven, fabulous fifties.

Billy Jean dress from Tara Lynn Bridal's Vintage Bride Collection

Skirts

Skirts were king, or rather queen, in the 50′s. Pants were mainly consigned to chores and to trend buckers such as the movie star Katherine Hepburn. Whether full or slim, skirts were often pleated and shaped to flatter the female figure and were often paired with a matching cardigan, blouse or tailored jacket. Hem lengths were consistently knee grazing or lower leaving much to the male imagination and increasing ease of movement.

Suits

The suit reigned supreme for many women and was worn for everything from lunch with friends to shopping and business meetings. Not content with mimicking men’s wear, designers created suits with exquisite tailoring and details that clung to every feminine curve. Suits featured “nipped” waists, dramatic collars, flared jackets and even inset panels and appliqué.

Fabrics

Jersey, knits, embossed taffeta, natural cottons and linens were popular fabric choices in the 50′s. Colors included white, neutral beiges and pale yellows for casual wear. For formal wear, royal blacks and blues and jewel-toned reds, greens and even orange tones were popular.

Patterns included small flowers, geometric stripes, polka dots, hounds tooth and even plaid swimsuits. In addition to patterns, foundation colors were set off by contrasting accessories, collars, cuffs or pockets. Pockets in the fifties were often set at an angle and showcased detailed stitching or accent trims.

Accessories

Fifties accessories include thin belts, large buttons, pillbox and fascinator hats.

While cat eye glasses are the most well known, ladies had dozens of shapes to choose from and aside from the essential black, frames could be found in bright pinks, reds, blues and even greens.

Undergarments such as slips were essential to creating the flare and lines integral to so many 50′s fashions.

Jewelry

While we all tend to associate pearls with the 50′s. Women utilized bold costume jewelry featuring beads, rhinestones and faux metals so they could spend more money on clothes.

Set pieces featuring matching bracelet, necklace, earrings and occasionally broaches were very popular. Since pierced ears were relatively uncommon, most earrings featured clips or adjustable screwback findings.

Hair

Whether it was fashioned into a beehive, ponytail, poodle cut, French twist, a bouffant or victory rolls, 50′s hair was sleek, shiny and glamorous. Perms were often used to enhance waves and set curls in order to reduce styling time.

Summer Rayne Oakes, a beautiful, bright brunette who lives in New York City, is a study in surprising contrasts.

Summer Rayne Oakes on the cover of Experience Life magazine, 2006, wearing a Tara Lynn butterfly jacket

She’s a scientist-turned-fashion-model who has done a research paper on sewage sludge and also thinks we should all buy fewer clothes.

You might find her on a fashion show runway, or attending the Copenhagen climate talks.

She looks stunning on the cover of a fashion magazine.   But she also raises insects in her apartment, including Madagascar hissing cockroaches, red-backed darkling   beetles, and blue death-feigning beetles.   (She’s loved bugs since she was 9, she says.)

In addition to being a model and insect collector, she’s an author, TV correspondent, consultant, and business woman.   With this kind of “resume,” perhaps it’s not surprising that her achievements are so diverse:

• She has worked with Payless Shoe Stores to launch a sustainable shoe line, Zoe and Zac.
• She started a curriculum, Ecofashion 101, for 1^st through 12^th graders.
• She has written a series of editorials on sustainable fashion for Lucire, a global fashion magazine in Australia and New Zealand.
• And she’s authored a book, Style, Naturally, a guide to shopping for sustainable clothing.

Recently, Summer teamed up with Benita Singh to launch Source4Style.com, a website that helps fashion designers search and source sustainable materials for use in textile designs, so that they can then spend more of their time on designing.

But, lest we think that moving in all these directions might be a type of madness, Summer is quick to remind us of the single-minded method in all this “madness”-the goal of creating a sustainable planet, a goal as refreshing as her name.

Crystal Bowersox and Brian Walker's Wedding

Crystal Bowersox,

Is Wed Wearing an Earth-friendly Organic Fiber Wedding Gown

American Idol Finalist,

Designed by Tara Lynn

With her genuine, earthy style, Crystal Bowersox sang her way to the number two spot on last season’s American Idol competition.   And now, pausing from her singing tour, she has brought that same authentic style to her wedding, wearing an earth-friendly gown made of hemp and cotton that was created by Tara Lynn (www.taralynnbridal.com), a small local business in northern Vermont with a solar powered studio.

“The gown is a simple princess line with an open back; a machine-knit hemp twine strap crisscrosses in back,” says designer, Tara Lynn.   “Crystal loves sunflowers, so we put a hemp twine sunflower appliqué in front with French knots in the center of the flower and accented with bits of crystal and glass beads that I’ve collected over the years from yard sales and second hand stores.   Crystal also liked a seashell wedding gown on our website, so we created a macramé train of hemp twine with seashells all over it.”

Tara Lynn works by hand and on vintage sewing machines to create one-of-a-kind wedding gowns from natural, organic and repurposed fibers that are shipped throughout the U.S. and around the world.   Her work has appeared at a number of art shows around the country from New York to Boston, Philadelphia, Chicago, San Francisco and more.   Tara Lynn designed the evening gown worn by Ashley Wheeler, Miss Vermont, during the Miss America pageant in 2009.

By Tara Lynn

As I work with different women on their wedding gowns, it strikes me how unique each person is.   I try to capture some of that uniqueness in every gown I create. Read more »

Some people ask about my butterfly appliqués.   I’ve always loved butterflies.   In fact, there’s a butterfly hanging from my ceiling which I’ve had since childhood.

I use many different species of butterflies in my designs, but one of the more popular ones is the Monarch.   I feel that the Monarch’s story makes it especially suitable for wedding gowns. Read more »

As an eco-conscious bride your goal is to simplify your wedding by eliminating the frou-frou, glitter and excess.

And the first rule is, take a deep breath, relax and give yourself time! Read more »