A Garden Cocktail Party, a High School Sweetheart Love Story, and a Bouquet Built Around the Color of Her Mother’s Memory
Some weddings are years in the making. Samantha and Jake’s was fifteen.
They started dating in seventh grade in 2010, the kind of love story that quietly grows into the real thing while everyone is watching. On August 15, 2025, they got married at Appleford Estate in Villanova, Pennsylvania, surrounded by the family and friends who had been there since the beginning.
They chose Appleford because it felt intimate and luxurious at the same time. The landscaping, the gardens, the details. But the part that pulled them in was the weeping willow tree at the ceremony spot. It became the anchor of the whole day. They built everything around the idea of a “garden cocktail party,” intentional and a little romantic, the kind of wedding where nothing feels staged because every detail was thought about for a long time before it ever got chosen.
The Bouquet
Samantha’s bouquet was all softness and contrast. White roses, calla lilies, and light blue delphinium with pops of baby pink running through it. She chose those florals specifically to play against her bridesmaids’ dresses, which were a pale yellow.
The yellow was not random. It was her late mother’s favorite color.
That single decision pulled everything together. A summer wedding in pale yellow, a bouquet built to set it off, and a quiet thread of her mother woven through every photo. The kind of detail you only catch when someone tells you the story behind it.
How She Found Us
Throughout planning, Samantha kept seeing other brides preserving their bouquets. She knew immediately she wanted to do it too. Flowers have always made her happy. She still has the petals from the day Jake proposed, tucked away as a small reminder of that moment.
When she found our studio, it felt like things lined up. Our work matched what she had been imagining, and we were close enough to home that she could come in person.
The Reveal
Eight months later, the email went out. Her piece was ready for pickup.
She told us she was smiling before she even got in the car. When she walked into the studio and saw the finished frame, she stopped. Her exact word was floored.
“I was so excited to see my bouquet for the first time in 8 months. When I walked into the studio, I was FLOORED with the beauty of our preservation piece. It brought back so many emotions and memories of our day that I will carry with me forever. My experience was truly magical.”
That moment, the one where someone sees their flowers for the first time after the wedding, is the reason this studio exists. It does not get old.
Where It Lives Now
Samantha hung her large frame in the main hallway of their home. It is the first thing people see when they walk through, and the compliments started right away.
She told us she smiles every time she passes it. That is exactly where a preservation piece belongs. Not tucked away in a closet, not waiting for the right wall, but somewhere you actually see it every day.
Samantha’s Vendors
A wedding like this takes a full team. Here are the people who made the day happen:
· Photo & Video: Mikaela Hope Photography | Instagram - Website
· Florist: Beautiful Blooms | Instagram - Website
· Venue: Appleford Estate | Instagram - Website
· Catering: Serock Catering | Instagram - Website
· Coordinator: Shannon, Taylor Emily Events | Instagram - Website
· Hair: Emma Carl | Instagram - Website
· Makeup: DevEsthetics | Instagram - Website
· Content Creator: BTS with Maddie B | Instagram - Website
· Dress: Maggie Sottero, Bridals by Sandra | Instagram - Website
· Suit: Suit Supply Custom | Website
· DJ: Meritage DJ | Instagram - Website
· Bouquet Preservation: The Pressed Bouquet Shop by Element | Instagram - Website
Samantha’s Piece
Product: Large Pressed Floral Frame Wedding Date: August 15, 2025 Venue: Appleford Estate, Villanova, PA Florals Preserved: White roses, calla lilies, light blue delphinium, baby pink accents
Thinking About Preserving Your Bouquet?
Whether it is a wedding bouquet, memorial flowers, or blooms from a moment that mattered, we would love to help you keep them. We have preserved over 16,000 bouquets and shipped to all 50 states.