An offer of Marriage

What a beautiful weekend!! There is always that distinct moment when you realize that the grey skies and falling snow will soon be replaced by blooming flowers and the sound of lawn mowers on weekend afternoons. My mom always told me that spring was around the corner when you could hear the birds singing first thing in the morning.

This weekend, I heard the birds...and the sun was out...and it was warm. To me, this means spring is close which makes me a  happy camper as I begin another week (I feel 80% confident that just because I said those fated words it won't be nice until May).

I have been debating about what to blog about next but I thought I would be totally obnoxious and post about the very successful proposal of two of my very dear friends. We will call them "Boy and Girl"...I was lucky enough to be a part of their proposal and was given the very neat-o opportunity of helping to set the site up for said event.

"Boy" did an awesome job of finding the site and made a really fantastic contact that let us use the space however we saw fit. He chose to use The Priory hotel on the Northside because they have a really nice courtyard which has an 'oasis in the city feel'. If you would like to see their website,
click ---> http://www.thepriory.com/gallery.php

Ok, once "boy" found the site, he asked my boyfriend and I to help him with the overall setup. We decided on Luminaria leading up to the proposal site, some well placed lanterns, and flowers to create a simplistic, romantic scene. After determining the logistics, we needed to set up an intricate lie to get "girl" to come to the priory without suspecting anything. Boyfriend and I are good friends with this couple and on each Friday in lent we try out a different fish fry in Pittsburgh, thus we decided that boyfriend should call and cancel on them at the last minute. This would require them to go to dinner on their own. We then asked them if they wanted to meet at the Warhol at 9:00 (they needed a reason to head north of the city). "Boy and Girl" would then arrive to the Northside early and need to grab a drink somewhere...of course, The Priory is the best place to do that.

Now for the set-up. First I stopped at the florist to pick out the flowers, I decided on daisies with green filler to mix the feel of spring and winter together.

 I also got a dozen roses to create the LED tealights (I got the original idea here: http://pinterest.com/pin/239887117623805362/). Here's how I assembled them:


First I took the petals off...

 I then took spray adhesive to glue them around the tealight, smallest petals first





Here's how they came out:

 I decided to put the flowers under the tree, I felt like it made the ground more fairy tale in appearance, as if lighted flowers were magically growing from the ground.

 

The picture below is the very beginning of the set-up, first we put the lights around the tree ("boy" found the lights at Target, they were solar powered LED). We were concerned about the mix of LED lights with traditional bulbs, but I ended up being happy with the differentiation between the two. The LEDs added a twinkle to the overall ambiance, and the white offset well with the pink of the roses. 

The next picture shows the luminaria lit, as well as the flower arrangement and lanterns around the fountain. The fountain area was not in working order since in was winter, so we had to do some improvising to hide the plastic protecting the inside of the fountain. I liked the big lantern being offset by the flowers hanging over the edge. 

 

 Here is a closer picture of how the area looked straight on....

 

 They even left the lights in the grand hall on for us, and the stained glass was so beautiful! I could hardly stand it. The stained glass was boyfriends idea...he's a smart cookie.

 This is the view from the opposite side of the courtyard. The red door is where boy and girl entered the courtyard from.

 The site at the end, I was pretty happy with how it came out.







Now, the pièce de résistance. I couldn't end the blog post without showing a picture of how the ring was displayed. "Boy" found this really nifty flower holder. It seemed obvious to put a single rose inside of it and place the ring so it was hanging from the rose.




 <--------- cute, right???

             From the side   --------------------------->

 Of course, she said yes. How could she not after such an elaborate lie! She was completely surprised and the two are now happily planning their future together. It was such a blast setting this up and I couldn't be happier for this lovely couple. They are so good for each other and I can't wait to see what wonderful things they experience together.

Just give me a call for all your planning needs ;)

Keep an eye out for more crafting, baking, and living upward.
-J