Let me preface this by saying a I LOVE my logo.  My amazing sister Betsy Causey created my logo when I began Amy Lynne Originals back in 2007.  It has stuck with me ever since.  When I had my website overhauled in 2010  the one thing I made clear to the web designers was that I loved my logo, did not want to change anything about it, and wanted to see it everywhere.  So, when Liz mentioned a living logo I was immediatly onboard.

My logo consists of a white background and a side profile of a single gerbera daisy.

Here it is in it’s digital form…

I created a live backdrop by attaching white flowers (hydrangea, garden roses, spider mums, carnations) to a styrofoam board.  The single gerbera stem was placed in front and viola..the living form…LOVE!

Thank you Liz for the amazing idea and your mad photography skills.  I already ordered some new business cards with this image on the back!

Amy

Courtney and Ally both started working at ALO a few weeks ago.  I love their energy and eagerness to learn!  They were thrown right into the mix with some big events and both shined!

I wanted to introduce and Ally and Courtney to all the ALO followers, so I was so excited to have Elizabeth Glessner with Glessner Photography join us in the studio! Elizabeth graciously agreed to take time out of her schedule and take some head shots.  To my delight, she captured some of the ongoing training as well as some cool images of the studio too!

So, one of the things I love about Elizabeth is her calming presence.  I am not going to lie…I loathe getting my picture taken.  I was so relaxed that I found myself laughing every time the camera was pointed in my direction – Elizabeth is clearly a pro!

Meet Ally!  When she is not working with ALO her creativity continues with photography and working as a cupcake artist.  I love it!

Meet Courtney!  Courtney is a student at Salem College (right around the corner!) studying studio art with a concentration in oil painting – yes, we are a creative bunch!

And this is my new head shot – I love it Elizabeth!

Elizabeth captured Ally and Courtney in training…

While Beth Ann was not at the photo shoot, she will be joining us LOTS this spring.  Her mad design skills, attention to detail, and team leadership make her a huge asset to the ALO team.  Check out the logo she painted on my studio wall when we relocated – love it that Elizabeth took a picture of this!

I am so grateful for…
–my business
–my studio
–my fabulous team
–and to Glessner Photography for sharing their talent with us!

It is going to be an incredible year.
~Amy

Congratulations to Cate and Brian!  We loved designing for your wedding day!

Amy

I had the privilege to work with and observe Liz Nemeth, of Liz Nemeth Photography this past fall.  This is the first time I had the experience of collaborating with a still-life photographer.  Since the majority of my designs coincide with weddings, watching photographers on the go and constantly moving to capture the whole day is the norm.  With Liz, we were set up in the studio and I watched her experiment with different backdrops, angles, props etc.  It was fascinating!

Just to set the scene, I did not design anything too specific for Liz.  The shoot took place right before Thanksgiving and I was busy designing centerpieces for various clients.  Liz just grabbed things she liked from the work area to try (I love it that she liked my dirty old bottles!).  Every so often I would pop out to see what she was up to.  So fun!

Here are a few of the beauties from the shoot…

I can’t wait to work with this incredible photographer again.  Mmmmmm, maybe a spring shoot?  My wheels keep turning!

Happy Saturday,
Amy

Right from the start guests were under the mistletoe!  We decorated the entrance with snowy branches, holiday greens, and lights and then hung a large bunch of fresh mistletoe from the top.

The centerpieces were a mix of low and tall designs, each adorned with a piece of fresh mistletoe fastened with a traditional red grosgrain ribbon and illuminated with a small LED light.  Pine, cedar, juniper and variegated holly were used along with red tulips, leaudendron, and snowballs made of white button mums.

I imagine the whole room shimmered in the evening as each design was dusted with snow, brightened with lights in the branches, and surrounded by white milk glass votives.  I only saw it in the daylight, but I can imagine all of its loveliness that evening.  Thank you Old Town Club for the opportunity to brighten your holiday dance!

Happy Holidays!
~amy

Venue: Childress Vineyard
Photographer: Glessner Photography
Baker: Maxie Bs

Enjoy the pictures…

For more images from this lovely wedding visit Autumn Song’s Blog post!

If you want to see more from this amazing wedding check out this video created by the very talented Inkspot Crow!

The wedding flowers included several beautiful varieties of garden roses, astilbe, sweet peas, dahlias (they were huge!) and so much more.

Enjoy!

As Becca and I come up on our one-year anniversary, we have an even more exciting milestone to announce: We’re moving!

While we both love our Burke Street space, the growth we’ve had over the last year has us busting out of our little shop’s seams. As of September 1, we’ll be moved into a new space that has enough square footage to hold our growing business and collaborations.

I can’t divulge the location just yet – there’s still a few details to iron out – but I can share that there will be ample parking, lots of space, and a super short drive to downtown.  And I know it isn’t glamorous, but I am pretty excited about our new dumpster too!!

Thank you all for your love and support this last year. We’re so excited to be able to bring you a heightened level of service and design with this move.

With all that being said…I will truly miss Burke Street.  We have had lots of laughs at this location…

And lots of goofing around…

And more…

And even more…

Yes, we will miss Burke Street, but the good times will keep on rollin’ as we both make this big move!

Socially yours,
Amy

Images by: Sally Gupton Photography

Kate carried a bouquet filled will all kinds of fun stuff!  Scabiosa pods, fresh mint, succulents, dusty miller, and hyacinth…just to name a few!

The bridesmaids carried a similar style, but with pops of coral!  We loved the ranunculus…

The ceremony took place in Bethania Moravian Church.  We hung swags of grapevine, greenery, amaranths, and white hydrangea in each of the beautiful big windows.  I am not going to lie…I LOVED the way these turned out!

The reception at Milton Rhodes had a vintage feel to it.  We used milk glass vessels for the flowers…

And birdcages on the food tables…

It was such a lovely wedding.  Congratulations Kate and Mike!  We truly enjoyed designing for your very special day!

Wedding Styling and Planning by: Rebecca Rose Events
Images provided by: Nancy Ray Photography

Mary Jane carried a hand-tied style bouquet filled with texture including ranunculus, craspedia, solidago, iris, and blue thistle….

Her bridesmaids carried a similar style bouquet, but pulled in more of the vibrant red!

The flower girls carried not a traditional basket…but a bucket of petals…

The reception was an afternoon luncheon on the patio at SECCA.  We hung blooms over some of the long tables…

And used tall vases of forsythia on the round tables…

I just had to include this cool shot of the hanging blooms…

It was a beautiful day, beautiful couple, beautiful wedding.  I felt blessed to be a part of it!

Images by Sara Wilson
Event Design by Rebecca Rose Events

~Many, many thanks to Sara Wilson for capturing all of my work in the studio.  I feel so blessed to have her each week~

Best wishes to the happy couple!

Beth Ann came up with a creative twist-to-fit wrist corsage with lace.

Anna Marie surprised the judges with a lovely two finger ring corsage with beads.

Anna Marie is beginning a career in the nonprofit sector and is thrilled to have the opportunity to work with Amy and learn from her magical talent.

Beth Ann is excited to help with floral designs. She also works at a local architecture firm and is talented in graphic design.

Check out our About page for their bios. A big welcome to Beth Ann and Anna Marie!

I started by deciding that I was not going to do anything mainstream.  I picked two different more modern designs.  I then met with our awesome neighbor Haute Chocolate  and incorporated 4-count boxes of their hand-crafted chocolates into one of our specials.  I struggled not to eat all of them before they were sold, however I did do some sampling.  Okay, a lot of sampling!  

This is what we offered:

As the big day approached I started really thinking about the varieties of flowers I wanted to use.  Even though roses are the flower mostly associated with the holiday – I avoided them.  I picked long-lasting blooms mixed with a variety of different greeneries and even some berries (i.e. hypericum, berzillia).  I even had some fun with looping grasses!

I will have to say, I was impressed with my attitude about the holiday.  I think that because I went with something more eclectic I was excited.  Check me out as I am approaching the truck to retrieve my Valentine’s Day blooms.  I look almost giddy!

I spent a lot of time on the truck picking out some extras and closely checking out the product I ordered.  Valentine’s Day is such a huge day for the floral industry so I have learned to be cautious.

Overall, it was a sweet holiday.  I look forward to next year and have already decided to trust my instincts and not follow what is traditionally done.  It is ok to be different!

Images by Slogan

What a night! Newly engaged brides and their fiancés, parents and friends enjoyed a champagne reception, viewed three rooms styled by Rebecca Rose Events and learned the latest tips and trends from Becca Atchison of Rebecca Rose Events all in an amazing setting of The Graylyn Estate.

In the first room, the Persian Card Room, we used a large centerpiece and dramatic lighting. The floral arrangement was made up of hydrangea, bells of Ireland and agonis after dark. We kept the setting traditional so it wouldn’t compete with the ornate room.

The color scheme for the Front Porch was pink, red and burgundy. We used three tall arrangements across the long rectangular table. Garland of red twig dogwood, caspia and wax flowers stretched down the table. You can see the apples and candles added the finishing touch along with the Bon Appétit place setting.

The Sun Room was full of whimsy and peach and white carnations. Hanging the flowers from the chandelier made it look like they were floating. We also used various size glass vases filled with dusty miller, carnatons and ranunculous. Even the fountain was decorated with floating candles and carnations.

Traci Arney Photography took all of these stunning images. Special thanks to Abigail Seymour Photography for the production assistance, inspiring styling by Becca and Graylyn for hosting!

We hope you’ll join us next time!

In creating the centerpieces, we played off the circular pattern on the linen and came up with the circle design to create the tree. Then many pears were spray-painted black and silver.

In order to create these gigantic “trees,” most of the work was done at our off-site workshop.

Each tree had a black silhouette of a partridge that sparkled with black glitter. The rings on the trees were suspended with fishing line to give the appearance they were floating. Fresh pine garland was used as the base on the rings. Bells of Ireland, green dendrobian orchids, green buttons, green spider mums and plumosa fern were the other fresh materials used.

The finishing touch: Napkin rings made out of black flat wire, black glitter paper leaves and a green button mum.

We hope you’ve been inspired to create your own holiday masterpiece!