Christmas

How many stores have you walked into that have their Christmas music already playing? But even though its not yet Thanksgiving, we here at EWD have decided to embrace the holiday spirit a little early this year! We've called in extra troops to set-up all the decor we do, each holiday season. We've done all of the Christmas decorations for the Herrington Inn in Geneva for as long as it has been open as well as decorating many beautiful homes in the area!

Here's some photos from the Herrington, last year!

These are some photos of local homes we have decorated!

Interested in having your home personally designed for the holidays by the EWD staff? Give us a call! 630.232.1975

Eco-Chic Weddings

Go Green!

• Earth Friendly EWD
• From Brad Pitt to Jay Z to the grocery store down the street...almost everyone's going green, so why not you?
• It's gotten so easy to find organic food, cleaning products, clothing, and now everything you need to buy for your wedding.
• EWD strives to be as eco-friendly as possible.
• We go above and beyond most florists to recycle all the wrappings from our flowers as well as the foliage waste.
• We also return our flower delivery boxes back to our suppliers so they can reuse them.
  Containers and Flowers


• Rustic chic? We use many styles of heavy molded paper containers that will hold your centerpieces in water. They last about a week.
• We love to wrap them in moss, bark or leaves for a cute addish to your "eco-wedding style." Bring us your ideas...twigs, asparagus, hand-made paper.
• We have even used vegetables and fruit as containers...you know, spinach dip in a bread bowl.

• More of a sleek, clean look? Try using recycled glass which can come in almost every color, shape, and size.
• EWD can provide organic/pesticide-free flowers from local growers and flower farms, like zinnias, dahlias and other varieties when in season.



• We also use farms in South America and California that grow organic/pesticide free flowers (available year round), such as roses and hydrangea.
• Choose eco-friendly soy candles...they still give you that sexy glowing look.

"Elizabeth Wray Design did a tremendous job with our decor. Upon meeting Elizabeth, she immediately was able to determine the style of decor I was envisioning for my wedding simply by asking me a few questions. She offered suggestions of flower types that would match well with the style I was looking for. When I arrived at the ceremony, the flowers were EXACTLY what I had envisioned! The color combination we had chosen was spectacular and the team did a fabulous job arranging the flowers. When I arrived at the venue for the reception, the room took my breath away! The center pieces that Elizabeth had suggested (half high-ups and half down-lows) looked amazing! Our guests have commented on how beautiful the arrangements were and fought over who got to take them home with them! My family and I cannot thank Elizabeth Wray Design enough for their fantastic job! The entire process was easy and we knew we were in the good hands of true professionals. Our flowers were better than we envisioned because of their talent and expertise!!"
Elida at Hyatt Lodge, July '09

Happy Labor Day Weekend!

We here at EWD thought we'd kick off the beautiful holiday weekend by featuring one of the fabulous weddings we've had this summer! I can't believe summer is already over...but at the same time we're so excited about this autumn wedding season. We've got some really big weddings coming up in the next two months!

• Trends We Love...
• Do you feel like you have one foot in the 50's and the other in this millenium?
• Think vintage inspired dresses.
• The looks can still be very modern depending on the flowers and decor you use.
• This birdcage veil, worn by one of our brides, Erin, is a favorite of ours!
• Pair your vintage gown with modern flowers for a fun, fresh, look.
  (Photo courtesy of Kevin Weinstein)

• So many choices... tea length, bold belted waist dresses, and mermaid style gowns...think Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady. (All three dresses by Stephani Allin)
• Carry a pomander ball with a tea length dress.
• Use a family heirloom or your fave flea market find to add a little personal touch.

Recent Wedding

We just got the photos in from one of our favorite weddings this summer. We love Courtney's ivory and green color palate. Very chic!

Glam up your wedding with a fresh new look!

Style Update!

• Whether it's striped, polka dot, tone on tone, with a border, or modern shadow print...we love, love, love bridesmaid dresses that your girlfriends will actually wear again!
• Ask your girls to stay within two shades lighter or darker than your sample color if they are picking out their own dresses.
• One or two flower types in the bouquets look great against patterned dresses!
• Most chain bridal shops offer these sassy dresses... but we love Anthropologie's selection of super cute designs!
• The chocolate dresses featured above are from J. Crew, where you can also find bridesmaids dresses with a little bit more oomph!

(Some of our fave's from Anthropologie!)

"Elizabeth Wray and her staff are AMAZING!! I live in San Diego and was married in IL so you would think the distance would be challenging to plan a wedding. Elizabeth made my experience so easy and the result was the most gorgeous flowers that I have ever seen. She also did my programs, menu cards, framed seating chart, and placed my favors for me at the reception. She made me feel so at ease...a true professional! I cannot tell you how many guests complimented me on all of the items that Elizabeth Wray Design handled for me. She and her staff were a huge part in making my wedding the best day of my life."
Lori & Tom
May 09'

From the moment I met Meredith I knew this wedding was going to be a fun one. Meredith wanted big, luscious, tall arrangements in some hot, fun, summer colors. Even when we showed her the mock up, she said, I would love the tall arrangements BIGGER, more COLOR!
We used huge coral charm peonies, giant yellow garden roses, magenta colored stock, purple veronica, big green hydrangeas, and huge curly willow branches coming out the top. Incredibly vibrant centerpieces lit up the room…just fabulous!

In order to make her head table really pop we used petals from 300 roses in a solid saturated color block runner down center of table. One of my absolute favorite parts of this wedding though was Meredith’s custom made monogrammed runner. We also provided a dance floor gobo spotlight of her new "W" initial. Meredith lucked out with a beautiful day to match her fabulous wedding! Check back soon for more fabulous photos from Meredith's wedding!

"I just wanted to send you a letter of infinite praise and thanks! Words cannot describe the beauty of the flowers you provided for our wedding day. The compliments have never stopped coming from our guest. From day one you understood my vision and carried it through whole heartily! I will never be able to thank you and your team enough. I wish we could get married again just to see your beautiful work. You are a truly gifted artist and an amazing person! You are wonderful and so easy to work with. It was pleasure meeting you. Best of luck to you and your team in the future"
Meredith & Wes
June '09