A Celebration of Friends & Flowers: Elise & Julia’s June Wedding at The Barn at Valhalla
Early summer in North Carolina always feels generous — sunlight stretching long into the evening, wildflowers filling the fields, and everything humming with abundant joy. Elise and Julia’s June wedding at The Barn at Valhalla in Chapel Hill, NC captured that feeling beautifully.
Their vision was a joyful, garden-inspired celebration that reflected their partnership — thoughtful, relaxed, and full of family and friends. They loved the idea of flowers that felt as if they were gathered from a meadow that morning: light and full of personality.
It was the perfect fit for early June, when local blooms are lush and every stem wants to join the party.
A Hybrid Floral Approach with Heart
From a passionate gardening family, Elise wanted to blend DIY creativity with professional floral design, crafting a floral experience that felt personal and budget-conscious without sacrificing beauty. In her words:
“I had originally planned to do all the flowers myself to save money (and because it sounded fun), but my smart partner convinced me to hire a professional wedding florist for at least some aspects—namely the bouquets and ceremony arrangements.”
That’s how we landed on one of my favorite models: a full service/DIY hybrid wedding combining custom-designed bouquets and ceremony florals with farm-fresh buckets for family and friends to arrange themselves. It gave Elise and Julia the best of both worlds — professional design for the key moments and hands-on connection for the details.
Color, Texture, and Season
Their palette reflected early summer in full swing: soft pinks, purple, butter yellow, peach, and pale blue brought to life through zinnias, campanula, feverfew, lisianthus, cosmos, and garden roses.
Every stem carried movement and intention — whimsical pods, delicate grasses, and silvery foliage that added quiet contrast. Julia later wrote:
“The flowers were stunning, with unique pods and greenery that added wonderful character and texture.”
That’s always my goal: to design flowers that feel alive — textured, layered, and full of personality — while echoing what’s growing just beyond the field fence or venue grounds. For Elise and Julia’s wedding, the florals matched the hydrangeas blooming just off the deck walkways.
Ceremony & Celebration
One of the unique features of Valhalla’s venue is the option for a full weekend rental - including all the housing on site. Elise and Julia took advantage of this and turned the whole weekend into a celebration.
Set beside Valhalla’s pond, their ceremony took place on the deck beneath the dappled shade of tall pines. We built a meadow-style mantel installation on the large stone fireplace at the front of the aisle, designed to look like a garden had sprouted on the wooden ledge.
Large arrangements brimming with first-of-the-season dahlias and pastel zinnias flanked the aisle entry while a cheerful floral welcome sign greeted guests on the wooden boardwalk to the ceremony site.
Inside the reception barn, long tables were scattered with bud vases created by the couple’s friend and family team using the farm-fresh stems I’d delivered earlier that morning. Julia wrote,
“She provided buckets upon buckets of gorgeous blooms and greenery that perfectly matched my bouquets and arrangements — my family and friends had such a great time using them to create their own bud vases and small arrangements for the tables.”
It was a happy balance of professional design and personal touch — the hallmark of our pickup and hybrid wedding style.
Easy, Organized, and Down-to-Earth
Elise and Julia were the kind of couple who radiate fun and friendship, and they wanted vendors who did the same.
“She was easy to communicate with, organized, and had everything ready well ahead of schedule,” Julia shared. “She really listened to our priorities, and the result felt so ‘us.’”
That feedback means the world. My favorite weddings always feel like collaborations — guided by expertise but rooted in personal meaning.
A Perfect June Evening
As the summer sun dipped behind the trees, the pastels turned golden and the dance floor lit up with a custom disco first dance. Guests laughed on the back deck overlooking the pond while fireflies began to appear — the kind of fleeting, slow beauty that summer does best.
It was a weekend filled with texture, laughter, and joy — a reminder that wedding flowers don’t need to be extravagant to feel extraordinary. Sometimes, it’s the intentional mix of design and love that makes the magic happen.
Planning Your Own A la Carte or Pickup Wedding?
If you love the idea of professional design with a personal, flexible touch, a pickup or hybrid wedding might be the perfect fit.
Hen House Flowers creates seasonally grounded, design-forward florals with a fresh-from-the-farm soul — for couples who value floral beauty, personal connection, and service options.
