Summer Wedding at The Felt Estate Mansion, Saugatuck, Michigan

This past summer, Forrester Farm hosted an agricultural student intern from France. Alize hopped off the plane in Chicago and jumped right into our busy wedding season as my assistant with both wedding flowers and farmer's market fun. The first wedding that Alize assisted with was at the gorgeous Felt Estate Mansion in Saugatuck, Michigan. The setting was beautiful, the staff was very helpful, and the rain stopped just long enough for Elly & Alex to enjoy their outside ceremony. The following photos were snapshots taken by myself and Alize. Enjoy!

Always a Student....

I hope that I am always learning, looking at things in a new way and not becoming stagnant in what has always been. Today, I took a corsage class at one of my favorite floral wholesale locations. As the weather would have it, I had the instructor all to myself, and it was wonderful. There are always new products entering the floral market, and today I got to play with many of them.

While creating, I was thinking of another learning day while at my wholesaler's. In the spring of 2010, 3 designers were brought in for a Wedding Show to display some new products and techniques. I hope that you enjoy the photos of the fun evening out.

The class that I took today was very inspiring. I'm even more excited for the busy wedding season to be in full swing!

Peonies on Parade

Bridal planning meetings are in full swing at Forrester Farm. Spring always brings discussion of one of my absolute favorite flowers - peonies...

(Photos property of Forrester Farm)

Praying for and giving to Japan

I can't even imagine what the citizens of Japan are going through right now. The video and news that we are getting give a vivid idea, but really, we are not walking in their shoes. For those who are asked to stay in their homes due to the radiation levels - my heart is just going out to them, praying for protection.

My cousin Pam, who is a grant writer, just shared the following quote and links with her readers. I wanted to pass it along here as well.

“Strange is our situation here upon earth. Each of us comes for a short visit, not knowing why, yet sometimes seeming to a divine purpose. From the standpoint of daily life, however, there is one thing we do know: That we are here for the sake of others...for the countless unknown souls with whose fate we are connected by a bond of sympathy. Many times a day, I realize how much my outer and inner life is built upon the labors of people, both living and dead, and how earnestly I must exert myself in order to give in return as much as I have received.”
Albert Einstein

Here are some links to organizations who are involved with the relief efforts in Japan. If you are able to give, please help the victims of the earthquake in Japan.

Network for Good

Mercy Corps

World Vision

Blessings!

Exploring Venice, Italy

Charming and filled with history, Venice was everything that I had pictured and more. While meandering through the cobblestone walks there were breath taking moments at Piazza San Marco and Saint Mark's Campanile and Basilica. So much to see and explore, the sights and sounds were amazing. As I mentioned in the previous two posts, Wikipedia offers a wealth of information on different parts of Italy. If you are interested in more details, click here : Venice.

I was so thankful to be able to join my husband on his work trip. Taking the little jaunt from Bergamo to Venice was a wonderful perk. We made a day of it, returning to Bergamo in the evening.

Enjoy the photos and hanno un grande giorno (have a great day)!

In all, we took over 750 photos during our short trip. I hope that you have enjoyed the small sampling that I've shared in the past 3 posts. Buona giornata!