Blue Hydrangea and Curly Willow Centerpieces

I knew right when we got engaged, that Charlie and I would have a fall wedding.  We love fall in Chicago.  The sun is warm and the air is cool and the city just seems to sparkle a bit more.  The only dilemma:  I dislike traditional fall colors.  Brown, orange, red...need not apply.  

When I was younger, my mom taught me about the different pH levels in the soil to make hydrangeas turn different colors.  She always has the most beautiful, plush, and colorful hydrangeas - ranging from deep magenta to a vibrant sapphire.  I did not inherit MJ's green thumb.  Or maybe I did and don't know it because I've never had a yard of my own.  Hard to say.  Regardless, here is MJ.  Doesn't she match the flowers perfectly?

It's no surprise that these are one of my all time favorite flowers.  Since my favorite colors are gray, blue, and purple, hydrangeas played into our wedding color theme quite well.  

The curly willows were my mom's idea.  Such a smarty.  I thought they added drama and height and tied  perfectly into the season.  

Incorporating the curly willow also allowed us to hang tea lights from each of the tall centerpieces.  This looked magical at night time. 

Here is a picture of the head table.  If you look closely, you can see silver brunia pods in the bridesmaid bouquets as well as the dusty miller and silver seed eucalyptus in the garland.  This helped tie in the silver linens and silver bridesmaid dresses.  

Pale hydrangeas aren't really my favorite.  But still having enough money left over to eat the hottest new pork dish in Chicago...is.  The pale hydrangeas helped offset the cost of importing the deep blue and purple hydrangeas from Holland as well as provided some contrast.  I think the lighter color really made the darker flowers pop. 

I love how the large green leaves created a collar around the base of the flowers. 

Sigh...

...and lastly, here is a picture of the other centerpiece variety.  We wanted varying heights to break it up a little and I just LOVED how this looked.  The seeded eucalyptus and dusty miller is my favorite.  It just looks so organic and not so contrived.  Read:  I'm a hot mess and would never have totally neat, symmetrical flowers. 

Ok folks - here they are.  Our hydrangea and curly willow centerpieces.  Hopefully I provided some brides out there with some inspiration for a non traditional fall wedding.  Stay in love and stay hip! 

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