They were but sweet, but figures of delight, drawn after you, you pattern of all those.

My Gardenia in bloom at last...heavenly scent!

                                            Yet nor the lays of birds nor the sweet smell
                                            Of different flowers in odour and in hue
                                            Could make me any summer's story tell,
                                            Or from their proud lap pluck them where they grew;
                                            Nor did I wonder at the lily's white,
                                            Nor praise the deep vermilion in the rose;
                                            They were but sweet, but figures of delight,
                                            Drawn after you, you pattern of all those.
                                                                        
                                                                      William Shakespeare Sonnet 98

At long last summer arrives, full of glorious flowers and a host of weddings. 

Wondering today about flowers and weddings. Why do they go so well together? They are lovely, and full of personality and that "something special" that takes a day from ordinary to fabulous. But, though flowers grace the wedding day with their beautiful shapes, scents and colors, they cannot compare to the bride and groom in their happiness. 

Ellis and Jenny are Man and Wife! David Strauss Photography

 Loving the boot craze!  David Strauss Photography

Spring says yellow!  David Strauss Photography

Wedding flowers bring a certain personality with them...free form and fun loving, soft and sweet, bold and courageous. Folklore from all over the world gives meaning to flowers and colors that we modern folk have long since left behind. Brides today are free to explore all sorts of options.
 

Melissa and Jason tie the knot!

Be on the look out for what is in season, as well as what appeals to your sense of style. Keeping it fresh and pretty, but reasonably priced can be as easy as looking in your neighbors yard (and asking before you cut, of course!). I like Shakespeare's advice once again:

At Christmas I no more desire a rose

Than wish a snow in May's new-fangled mirth;

But like of each thing that in season grows.

William Shakespeare Love's Labours Lost

 

Wedding days pass by all too quickly for families who have worked so hard to plan and prepare. Their beauty is fleeting. 

The real thing of beauty is that couple themselves, starting off sharing the rest of their lives together. They get to choose, each day in the years ahead, whether their life together will be a thing of beauty or not. 

When they walk along together in their later years, holding hands in quiet contentment for a life well spent together, they will have achieved something the world still finds remarkable, and oh so sweet!
 
The wedding day is only a pattern of beauty, set at the start, drawn after the true loving marriage that lasts a lifetime. Wishing that for all the lovely young couples whose vows I've witnessed this year!