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a garden blog, A Writer's Garden, Breaking Barriers, Gail Pallotta, Wedding arbor, Wedding flowers
Flowers on a Windy Beach
As a youngster our daughter watched a wedding ceremony on a beach underneath an arbor filled with flowers. “When I grow up and marry, that’s what I want.”
From then to now things changed, but she didn’t. When she set her wedding date, she wanted to say her vows on the beach in Destin, Florida. I perused available arbors. Several photos showed bouquets on either side of netting draped over a frame, rather like ties holding back curtains. A garland of greenery wound up one, and all were beautiful. But they weren’t what she remembered.
photos courtesy of Personal Touch Photography
My friend, Rosemary, a flower arranger, who made the bouquet, explained that filling an arbor would take quite a few flowers. They needed to fit tight to resist a heavy breeze or a possible thunder shower.
I traveled to Destin to handle some of the arrangements, and the wind blew fiercely. In my mind’s eye I saw flower petals blowing off an arbor trimmed with only bare green stems. My daughter had mentioned seeing an arbor in a retail store where she lived. They had a branch in Destin, so I visited them, and there it was—an arbor covered in flowers—artificial flowers! But they looked so real.
Up close, the arbor was much larger than I had imagined, and the arrangement wasn’t exactly what we needed. However, as it turned out, I could rent the arbor, which included a garland of ivy, and create my own design, which the lady in charge of the store’s floral department would attach to the frame.
Relieved and enthused, I walked through their selection. I’d always loved arranging flowers. My heart danced knowing I’d do it to fulfill a childhood dream for my daughter’s wedding.
I used a garland of roses exactly like the one on the display, but added several purple Cali lilies on each side starting at eye level to match the real Cali lilies in the bouquet.
Then I asked the lady at the store to add three arrangements, similar to their model but consisting of purple bows with white roses and lilacs.
The arbor was perfect for my daughter and the groom. His favorite color is purple! The day after the wedding, my husband and I removed the artificial decoration. My daughter is thrilled to display her wedding flowers in her home.
All photos are courtesy of Personal Touch Photography in Fort Walton Beach, Florida www.personaltouchweddingphotos.com
About the Author:
Award-winning author Gail Pallotta’s a wife, mom, swimmer and bargain shopper who loves God, beach sunsets and getting together with friends and family. Even though she doesn’t have a garden, she grows flowers in her yard and loves to create flower arrangements. A former regional writer of the year for American Christian Writers Association, she won Clash of the Titles in 2010. Her teen book, Stopped Cold, was a best-seller on All Romance eBooks, finished fourth in the Preditors and Editors readers’ poll, and was a finalist for the 2013 Grace Awards. An author of inspirational, sweet romance, she’s published five books, poems, short stories and two-hundred articles. Some of her articles appear in anthologies while two are in museums. Visit Gail’s new website at http://www.gailpallotta.com
Gail’s latest book, Breaking Barriers, is number 8 in Prism Book Group’s Love Is…series based on I Corinthians 13: 4 – 8. The Christian romance is available at http://amzn.to/28VWW48
Catherine Castle 