Language of Flowers Inspiration Shoot

When we think of All-Star teams of wedding professionals, the lineup would run something like this styled shoot for Salt Lake/Park City Bride & Groom Magazine. With images from Leo Patrone, flowers from Honey of a Thousand Flowers, Emily Brooks Floral Design, La Fleur, and Artisan Bloom, and styling from Saucy & Kitsch, this shoot is sure to inspire any bride currently planning her own wedding.

From Samantha Gardner and Tessa Woolf of Salt Lake/Park City Bride & Groom Magazine: When dreaming up this feature for the summer/fall issue of Salt Lake/Park City Bride & Groom magazine, we were inspired by “the language of flowers” — we wanted to showcase blooms and greenery rich in symbolism and history. After all, the flowers brides carried were originally meant to each have meaning, not simply be a pretty posy.

We envisioned our model as the beautiful bookish type, sitting at a stately desk, studying flowers, herbs, and all things botanical. The Washington School House Hotel in Park City, Utah was the perfect location to execute our “educational” photo shoot. First built in 1889, it’s one of the last surviving original school houses in the U.S. and one of the oldest historical buildings in Park City. The hotel features the school’s original quarried limestone exterior, but the interior has been renovated to be a luxe urban-mountain retreat and boutique hotel.

To bring our inspiration to life, we teamed up with photographer Leo Patrone, event designers and stylists Saucy & Kitsch, and florists Honey of a Thousand Flowers, Emily Brooks Floral Design, La Fleur, and Artisan Bloom. With four gorgeous bouquets, props galore, and three little white dresses, we got to work. We set up shop in the hotel’s historic living room, featuring 16-foot ceilings, original antiques, a cozy fireplace, and a massive antler chandelier lacquered in white and layered with crystals. The posh setting and all-white atmosphere created a cool, serene backdrop for the photo shoot.

Sarah Winward of Honey of a Thousand Flowers created a lush bouquet of garden roses. Garden roses have been around since ancient times (paintings of the flowers dating back to the 14th century have been found in the Middle East), long before the modern day hybrid tea rose was introduced in the 19th century. Kellie Jackstien of Artisan Bloom mixed vibrant flowers including coral peonies, miniature green hydrangea, purple veronica and anemone, green and white parrot tulips, and yellow and red and green variegated ranunculus with French pussy willow for a colorful bouquet. Peonies are said to represent bashfulness but are also symbolic of devotion. Pussy willow branches come from willow trees which are associated with new beginnings.

Natalie Bernhisel-Robinson of La Fleur clustered spiked thistle, smooth succulents, soft hydrangea, paper-thin ranunculus, refined orchids, and delicate maidenhair fern for a texture-rich bouquet. Thistle is an ancient Celtic symbol of a noble birth and character. Throughout history, the meanings of orchids have included love, beauty, and strength. Florist and garden designer Emily Brooks Wayment of Emily Brooks Floral Design dreamed up an architectural bouquet including ranunculus, lotus pods, Green Eye roses, astilbe, lisianthus, hanging amaranthus, star of Bethlehem, and more. Ranunculus was first discovered in Persian gardens in the 1600s by an English traveler who shipped the blooms back to England, where they were welcomed with enthusiasm. Star of Bethlehem symbolizes hope, reconciliation, guidance, and purity.