Was it Shakespeare?

Wasn't it Shakespeare who said, "A rose by any other name would smell as sweet"? Well that's swell, but who goes to a wedding to smell the flowers?  

Me?  I want color.  In fact, I want, like, SHAZAM!, kind of colors.  Nothing to upstage the bride mind you (like that would be possible) but something that can bring the magic and dynamic of the outdoors through precise and careful placement.  

And what better way to do this, in my humble opinion, than flowers or maybe I should say "colorful" flowers to be precise.    

Gan and I had no easy task finding colors that we wanted so late in the season.  We wanted the pop of spring but the sophistication of late summer.  And we wanted to do this while trying to avoid the fall, pumpkin Halloween colors.  So, we focused on royal colors that would contrast well against the "PARTY ON" green and give the event the prestige it deserves.  

So, I'm always on the lookout for colors, especially in flowers, and especially in a season that is almost a year away from our special day.  

I snapped this picture today with my cell phone at the farmer's market on Nicollet Mall downtown.  It's slightly over-exposed and this washed out the richness of the color, but you can get the idea.  Darn close to our colors without getting too trick or treat-ish.   

Now, in truth, this flower is a little too round for me and doesn't go with the lilies and other flowers that Gan and I were looking at.  At least, for the main table, this isn't the right flower. But the colors... ah yes... I think they would make great decorative flowers for other areas where we wanted a splash of color.  (Bathrooms, distant bar tables, Uncle Mike's why-didn't-I-get-one corsage, flower pedals for the flower girl to throw, etc.)  

I have no idea what KIND of flower it is, but as for colors... well this flower is pretty damn nice.