Weddings are expensive.  How many times have you heard you ask yourself "HOW much is/are...(insert photography, flowers, invites, food, etc)...going to cost?!"  So it is no wonder the most popular question I get asked is, "How do I save money on my wedding flowers and still have a beautiful event?" My two favorite answers to that question are, use high impact colors and interesting details.

Compare this lovely bouquet I designed a couple of years ago in shades of white:

 Photo by Sarah Maren

To this bouquet I designed for a Fall wedding with high impact oranges and reds:

Photo by Kight Photographers

Both bouquets are gorgeous, to be sure.  But which bouquet leaves a lasting impression?  Which bouquet would make you stop and take a second look?

Meet Shannon, a new author soon to be seen frequently on our Wedding Channel (mainly). She has over 23-years of floral experience and is so deliciously creative with her art, that we had to snag up some of her talent for our benefit!

Besides owning and running, Flourish, located in Sacramento, California, Shannon also blogs and manages, FancyPantsWeddings.com, a fantastic resource and fun place for wedding tips, floral advice and you name it.

Shannon has been a COLOURlover since September 2010 as FlourishShan, and constantly refers brides over to COLOURlovers.com to first create a palette before deciding on flowers. We'll get to learn more about her flower advice and a little DIY in the coming posts. Give her a big welcome and feel free to hit her up with any wedding flower related Q's! Enjoy! - Molly Bermea / Blog Editor

Hello, from Shannon herself...

Hi!  Let me start my intro post by saying that I LOVE color!  Color has always been a defining element in my life.  I clearly remember the color of my childhood bedrooms, the color of my high school's corridors and the colors of my own bridal bouquet.  Color drives my passion for floral design.  I consider the way I combine colors in my creations to be my strong point as a designer.  That is why I am so drawn to the COLOURlovers site and the tools it offers to myself and other color-philes (is that a word?).

Sarah Maren Photography