Florals By Claire

06/16/2024

Oh my, yesterday was a washout wedding day! 2 of my 3 weddings were supposed to be outside, but Mother Nature had other ideas.
Classic all white for Nicole at Brackett's Crossing.
Peach and blue color scheme for both Annie and Rachel at Keller Clubhouse and Hidden Greens Golf Club.
It's nice that Brackett's and Hidden Greens have a plan B for arches when ceremonies need to be moved inside.
I'm now making greenery swags for signage so they are more light weight and easier to attach.
Congratulations ladies and your new hubbies!

06/12/2024

Two weddings on Saturday and one on Sunday last week!
Saturday took us to The Sinclair on Grand for Margaret and Henrys wedding. This venue is owned by two of my favorite people in the industry. Shout out to Dos Goats - Adam and Christina! Margaret's flowers were wonderful and colorful for a summertime wedding!
Moving on to Hannah and Joe at Rush Creek Golf Club.
Her bouquet featured very delicate and spendy phaelenopsis orchids. My picture doesn't to them justice.
Not one, but two fireplaces in the ballroom. The decor for the one behind the head table was jazzed up more.
Sunday brought me to the stunning Bavaria Downs for Alyssa and Joe's nuptials.
Very popular neutrals for her bouquet. The decor on the bird cage gazebo?? You may think they were crooked, but the insane gusts of wind kept moving everything around!

Congratulations and best wishes to all!

06/02/2024

Another busy 3 wedding weekend to end May and begin June!
Friday I was back to Hidden Greens in Hastings for Laine and Blake. Unfortunately all the rain brought the ceremony inside. Beautiful shades of purple flowers throughout. Even though you can't tell with my terrible photo of the arch ;)
Saturday began at the Hutton House in Medicine Lake for Sarah and Joe. LOTS of flowers and decor including greenery showcasing the stairway. Many thanks to my daughter Natalie for her help with this!!
Lastly was Theresa and Kameron, who's ceremony was at a church with the reception following at Pinstripes!
Classic all white bouquets, with her bouquet featuring small succulents!
Congratulations and best wishes to these wonderful couples!

05/26/2024

A 3 wedding holiday weekend!
It was really gratifying when 2 brides cried when they saw their bouquets and one called me her fairy godmother. It's that joy that keeps me going.
Friday was at the Charthouse in Lakeville for Lauren and Matt.
Wonderful spring colors and fabulous peonies!! These little vintage bottles are very popular for simple centerpieces.
Yesterday, The St. Paul College Club for Erin and Scott. Lovely shades of purple and lavender. And flowers for wooden pedestals made by her brother. She wanted a whimsical bouquet with unique flowers. I was happy to create and oblige! Check out the super cool clematis!
Onward to the Landmark Center for Hayley and her groom. Classic white for her with accents of pink in her bridesmaids and decor.
Thank you to all and much happiness forever!!

05/19/2024

I can't get Alexa's aisle flowers to load!
So here they are!

05/19/2024

Crazy busy 4 wedding weekend!
Back to back days at Hidden Greens Event Venue for Brooke and Haley's weddings. Royal Golf Club for Abby and The Historic Concord Exchange building for Alexa.
Brooke chose a formal cascade style bouquet in shades of pink accented with gold paint dipped foliage.
Alexa's theme featured calla lilies and double oriental lilies from Holland. She had florals at the front and back of the aisle.
Haley's love of daisies was present in all her flowers. She chose to put flowers at the back of the aisle also.
Abby had fabulous burgundy peonies. She did flowers on the floor for her Ceremony at St. John Neumann in Eagan. And she made the flower box planter Welcome Sign I filled with flowers.
Congratulations lovely ladies and your new hubbies!!

05/12/2024

An absolutely picture perfect day for Sujin and Nathan at the Eagan Community Center!
Classic all white flowers against her bridesmaids dusty rose dresses. With just a hint of pink in her sweetheart table centerpiece.
A new twist on the floating candles in cylinders. Not greens around them, but small bud vases with just a few flowers.
The large arrangements on stands were moved outside closer to the ceremony time.
Congratulations! You were so wonderful to work with!!

05/12/2024

One of my new all time favorite roses!
I see all kinds of different varieties, but this one is a stunner.
Its name is "Paloma" and only available from one grower in
South America. Lovely pink edges graduating to ivory.

05/05/2024

Happy May and Cinco De Mayo, and welcome to the official start of wedding and Prom Season!! And yesterday started with a bang!
Richelle and Austin's wedding was at a church in Wayzata. And later on was Prior Lake High School's Prom at the Depot in Minneapolis.
Funny enough, they both had the same color scheme. Blue, yellow and white. Richelle's bouquet was in the style that is coming back - more dense flowers with very little, if any, greenery. The little white daisy chamomile is a very popular filler this year.
This prom hosts about 900 students! That's why it needs such a big space. I'm fortunate enough to have been asked to do all their decor florals each year. The student council voted on school colors!
Congratulations to this sweet couple and I hope a good time was had by all at the Prom!

04/21/2024

Neutrals with a touch of boho!
Sydney and Austin's wedding yesterday was at the Machine Shop in Minneapolis. Her bridesmaids wore champagne color dresses. The 3 varieties of roses along with the very popular white anemones were featured in her bouquet accented with some dried material.
At the head of the aisle we did something a little different. Rather than an arch or other florals, I took beautiful Boston Ferns and picked in pampas grasses and flowers. Now when the flowers are spent they have lovely houseplants from their special day.
Congratulations and Best Wishes!!

03/09/2024

I'm baaaaack!!!
After a lengthy and tough recovery from my knee replacement surgery, I got to do my first wedding of 2024 yesterday. And oh my goodness it felt great to work again.
Kayla and Joe's wedding at The Fountain Room in the Lumber Exchange Building was all about beautiful spring colors. That just puts a smile on everyone's face right now.
A new trend is doing a "flower box" on welcome signs. But they took it a step further and did this on a crossword puzzle for their guests to participate in.
Those tiny little daisy like flowers are actually fresh chamomile!

02/04/2024

Nothing better than finding this outside my door while recovering from surgery!
Thank you Wendy!!! Owner of Nothing Bundt Cakes on Grand Avenue in St. Paul.
I'm so addicted to these things!

01/31/2024

When the GM of The Knot sent me this message, it made me feel even more blessed to have won the award this year.
The top 5% in the nation is overwhelming!! How cool is that??!!

Hey There!

I wanted to be the first to personally congratulate you on winning The Knot's 2024 Best of Weddings award! Our couples LOVE to work with vendors that have won these prestigious awards and it means you represent the top 5% of wedding pros in the nation.

01/21/2024

Unbelievable Honor!!!!
To have now received this award 10 years in a row means so much to me! And this year means even more because I Iearned of my win from my hospital bed after having major knee surgery. I can't even begin to tell you how lucky I am to have been able to turn my passion into this business creating wedding flowers for couples to remember long after they have said their "I do's".
My deepest appreciation to The Knot and all the wonderful brides and grooms that touched my life this year.

01/01/2024

Happy New Year!!!!
2023 - A Year in Review.
As we begin 2024 I must reflect back on another super busy year with a total of 95 weddings. Slowing down in my old age - hahahaha!!!
First I must thank all the brides and grooms who chose me to be their florist. It means more than you know to share my talents and creativity for your big day. It is my passion, and much love and care go into everything I design.
2023 saw the classic black and white weddings as always, but soft shades of blue and greens were popular for bridesmaids dresses along with terra cotta and deep rose shades for fall.
A big trend is more minimalistic flowers for table decor. Small bottles filled with just a few blooms for centerpieces is very popular. Greenery is still a big hit.
Arches in every shape and form are by far the biggest trend for ceremonies. Very few weddings are in churches anymore. I must admit that it's rather convenient to have everything in the same place so there aren't the huge delays between the ceremony and reception where people have nothing to do.

Thank you to all the drivers who helped with deliveries and set up. John, Natalie, Bonnie, Lori and especially Brady.

For the better part of this year I was working with a severe problem with my knee. So next up for me will be surgery. I'm going to be sidelined for a while, so no weddings until March.
I will be itching to get back to work!
Take Care and cheers to 2024!!

12/30/2023

Last wedding of 2023 yesterday!
I was right back to the Capitol Room in St. Peter again for Hannah and Chris's wedding.
Classic white flowers with small accents of champagne sweetheart roses. I couldn't get any photos of the table decor because it all had to be placed during the flip of the room.

Sadly, no winter wonderland weddings this year. But hey, every bride was able to take photos outside with their flowers without fear of them freezing!

Congratulations Hannah and Chris and Happy New Year!

12/25/2023

Florals by Claire wishing you and your loved ones a very Merry and Blessed Christmas!

12/10/2023

Gotta love Winter Weddings!
The only problem is that winter is MIA right now!! Except for the light coating of snow we got last night.
All the winter pines smell so heavenly to work with. But they're so dang sticky. Hint... the best way to get the pine tar off your hands? Nail polish remover!
Katherine's wedding was at the St. Paul College Club on Friday.
I took the existing garland they had on the staircase and added 50 red and white roses to jazz it up. Her theme was truly embracing Christmas.
Saturday's wedding brought me to The Capitol Room in St. Peter, MN for Kacee & Spencer's wedding. Her theme was all about the wonderful holiday greenery, with less focus on the flowers. My artificial Christmas tree on my deck was the perfect backdrop for her cascade style bouquet.
Her decor down the aisle featured gorgeous magnolia leaves!
Congratulations and happy holidays! You ladies were great to work with.

11/17/2023

Sharing bridal bouquets from the last couple of weeks. And both brides shared their purple themes!


Becca had a modified cascade style bouquet that featured two kinds of orchids and those pops of orange were fabulous accents to her bridesmaids plum colored dresses. Her bridesmaids carried all white bouquets many of the same flowers.
Megan also chose all white bouquets for her maids focusing all the color just in her bouquet. With lavender roses, purple stock, purple lsisianthus accented with baby's breath was great with just that hint of snow that we had a couple of weeks ago.
Thanks ladies for asking me to be a part of your special day!

No more weddings until December 8th and 9th.

Best wishes to all for a wonderful and blessed Thanksgiving!

10/29/2023

A chilly day for my last wedding of October yesterday. Thank goodness it wasn't suppose to be outside!
Earl and Wilson Event Center in lowertown St. Paul served as the venue for the ceremony and reception for Meggie and Andy.
Many thanks to Andy's Groomsmen for helping me get all the flowers and decor items up to the third floor. I was especially grateful for the 6'7" Groomsman who was instrumental in helping me hang the arch flowers!!
All centerpieces had to be placed during the flip of the room, so I couldn't get any photos.
Congratulations and best wishes to this really fun couple!

10/22/2023

Wedding season is slowing down as we get further into fall with two weddings yesterday.
Back to Brackett's Crossing in Lakeville, where I'm a preferred vendor, for Gabby's wedding. Her bouquet featured a super cool Queen Protea!
Classic white for Sandra's wedding at Stonebrooke Golf Club in Shakopee.
It's so hard getting photos against windows! But you can get the idea!
Congratulations to these 2 very special ladies!

10/15/2023

A serious Uff Da weekend!
5 weddings total between Friday and Saturday.
The intense rain on Friday did NOT damper the spirits of sweet Lisa with her ceremony at a church and reception at Bearpath Country Club. I, however got rather wet in the delivery process. And walked into the church to deliver her altar bouquets while a mass was is progress. OOPS! Needless to say I left them in a corner.
Just a few sprinkles on Saturday for Nikki at 3 Ten Event Venue in Faribault, Jordan at the beautifully renovated Chart House, Annika at a Marriott hotel in Excelsior and Kenzie at the Eagan Community Center.
Pay close attention to Nikki's bouquet, which featured air plants and gorgeous Vanda orchids from Australia!
When I ordered Annika's flowers from my supplier, she called her my Spooky Bride!!
Thanks ladies! It was a crazy busy week, but well worth it to create beautiful flowers for your weddings!

10/08/2023

There's a movie 4 Weddings and a Funeral, right? That's exactly what I had this weekend!
My dear sister-in-law's mother passed away and I was happy to design a gardening theme to her flowers. From gardening gloves and a trowel to an antique watering can plus 2 other arrangements, it was fun to honor her mother this personalized way.
Then we have the 4 weddings that took me all over the place!
Friday in Red Wing, Saturday Minneapolis to Plymouth and then to Hastings was crazy. Thankfully I had John to get the flowers to Next Chapter Winery in New Prague.
Lots of different styles and color schemes.
Dana and Kristen had more dense style flowers with very little greenery. Emily and Haley had the more organic look with mixed greens along with their flowers. Emily surely embraced fall with her choice of flowers.
I wanted to get a more close up shot of Kristen's arrangements for the wine barrels, and my dog, Jax, stuck his head in!
My deepest sympathy to Kari, and huge congratulations to the lovely ladies I had the privilege of working with for their special days.

10/01/2023

Finished out September with a crazy busy 5 wedding weekend!
Natalie's wedding on Friday was at Bunker Hills Golf Course and Event Center. The deluge of rain in the morning cleared so she could still have her wedding outside. Dusty blue and sage green was her color scheme.
Yesterday was the big day for Nicole, Kiera, Kiersten and Leah.
3 Brides totally embracing fall with multiple different shade of roses, dahlias and 2 super cool queen proteas.
I have never been to Chankasa winery before. It was a hike! But well worth the drive because it was gorgeous.
Thank you to all these lovely ladies for letting me be a part of their special days! And a shout out to my dear fried Lori for helping me deliveries this week so I could get everything everywhere it was suppose to be.

09/24/2023

Friday's wedding was at the beautiful Abella in Chisago City. Emily was definitely my "Barbie" bride. Lots of pink and a ton of baby's breath everywhere!
Threats of rain yesterday held off just long enough for both Katherine and Alex's wedding.
Katherine was all about the wildflower look and Alexis was all about sunflowers.
I'm really happy that I got to do the flowers for the very first wedding held at the brand new event space at Emerald Greens golf course in Hastings. It's really beautiful and the ceremony site is breathtaking!
Congratulations ladies!

09/24/2023

I got to debut a new rose this week for Alexis's wedding. Check this out! Brides with mauve, dessert rose, etc... color bridesmaids dresses should consider these.
Of course I forgot to take a photo of the bridesmaids bouquets! They were paired with sunflowers and other white flowers.

09/17/2023

2 weddings yesterday on a gorgeous fall day!
I will surely take these cooler days after such a hot summer.
Both Rebecca and Stephanie chose beautiful dahlias for their bouquets at the Sinclair on Grand and Green Acres event space respectively. These dahlias were absolute perfection this week.
Congratulations ladies! Thank you for asking me to be a part of your big day.

09/10/2023

A busy and challenging week!
Every time a holiday happens on a Monday, it throws the whole schedule for flowers off since floral wholesalers and shippers are closed.
I got to a new place yesterday, Bright Lake Farm in Somerset, WI.
This is a true farm and I visited with the cows! The wonderful thing about this venue is that half of what they charge for rental fees is donated to ministries they support.
A funny coincidence with one of my brides - her uncle is my high school crush!
Best wishes to my 4 wonderful brides Danielle, Jackie, Regina and Sarah for a lifetime of happiness with their new hubbies!

09/04/2023

09/03/2023

Happy September!
I began this month with Christy's wedding and her
10 Bridesmaids!!
Her venue was the beautiful Leopold's Mississippi Gardens in Minneapolis. The ceremony site is literally on the water. It's always a pleasure to get back here.
Her bouquets featured soft tones for the champagne color dresses and featured lovely pink calla lilies.
She opted for 2 different types of centerpieces for her guests to enjoy.
Happiness Always Christy and John! Thank you for letting me be a part of you joy.