We Meet Agian, Florist

Mike had three centerpieces to show the florist. Obviously, only the painted one is finished and the other two are still works in progress.

The unfinished two will/do have glowing mushrooms inside them as well as lit ones on them. Mike discovered glow-in-the dark hot glue on our last craft store trip. Am I the only one who wonders what besides this project people would use that for? The mushrooms inside the log are hot glue, tissue paper and high lighter. He painted the inside of the log black and added a tiny led black light. Neat, huh? I think the third kind he made is my favorite though. All gnarly and old looking. He'll put glow mushrooms underneath that one.

My best (but not very good) shot of the glow mushrooms. So fun!

We discussed filling the centerpieces with dried willow and vine clippings. Putting down a piece of fabric under each centerpiece with moss on it. Maybe burlap with a mixture of green and gray sheet moss and deer moss glued around the edge to make a border. We talked about our plans for disguising the pillar, Mike of course has taken that to the next level. As well as the potential room decor.

It's been determined that we need one more trip to the venue soon. This way we can solidify room decor and lay eyes on the ceremony site. We haven't looked at the ceremony site for years. Plus I want to discuss table set-up with their event person.

Here are the burlap sacks we got for our favors. We'll have oak and purple orchid seedlings for each household to choose from and take home. My original plan for leaving the favors around the centerpieces is not going to work. They are too amazing to be cluttered up with stuff. So, we talked favor presentation a bit too.

Thinking it over.

With the vine. So pretty!

Another shot of all three

All Lit Up

We were so excited to see it with the final lights. Lovely, of course the real ones will have a few more willow branches. I love the delicate little white lights, so fairy like. We discovered that with the lights on in the room it looks like a fairy tale illustration from some leather bound edition come to life. In the dark it looks like a real tree stump adorned with lights.

Center-piece-de-resistance

Now all we need is more willow branches and some lights on them and it's done! Centerpiece 1 of 10, Yay!! Isn't Mike talented? I couldn't have turned paper machê, hot glue, tiny colored lights and some paint into that! Amazing.

This more than anything else that we've done for the wedding makes me so excited for it to get here!! It's beyond my expectations as always. I can't wait to drop it off with florist she flip. Hurray!!

Beginning of the Middle

Early on I gave the decor responsibilities to Mike. He drew this years ago.

I have to tell you, when he drew this I had come up with my enchanted forest theme, but the only thing I said about centerpieces was non-floral with lights. He had this vision of scooping up some of the forest floor and putting on the table. Mushrooms and moss surrounding willow branches. The mushrooms would be lit and we'd put lights on the branches.

As soon as the holidays were over (after off and on experimentation with LEDs for months) he started our centerpiece prototype. When he cam up with the concept he had no idea how exactly how it would be realized. He realized a few weeks go he could sculpt mushrooms out of hot glue. It was readily available thanks to his crafty bride, malleable and transparent so light can shine through. Amazing, stuff my green glowing mushrooms.

After the mushrooms were conquered he decided to make a tree stump to hold the willow branches. Nice upgrade, yes? It'll tie into our cake design. He ended up sculpting it out of paper machê. Which is a perfect medium for a beat up old log, bumpy and irregular. Then he made bracket fungus (those step looking ones that grow out of the sides of trees. Krista climbs them up a tree in Fern Gully) lit with amber colored lights. Beautiful.

He's finished everything, but the painting. I'm so excited!

Like I said this is unpainted still and it was taken in a room full of sunlight. Obviously, it will be in much dimmer lighting at the wedding and it will also have lit willow branches in the center.

This one's a little blurry, but you can see the detail and color of the lights much better.

Here's an idea of what the lights look like in the dark.

I'll post pictures when it's finished. We're thinking he'll make about 10 of these, but we'll know for sure once RSVPs start coming in. I'm getting so excited about my beautiful reception.