
Petal to the Metal
Timeless bridal bouquets
By Rachel Mooney
Published June 1, 2012

By Rachel Mooney
The hard part is over.
You’ve snagged ‘The One’ and coerced him to put a ring on it and now have a legitimate reason not to go on the blind dates set up by your intrusive aunt.
The rest should be as easy as, well, wedding cake.
As the excitement grows and the inevitable dreaded wedding planning begins, take solace in the knowledge that you can at least kill two birds with one stone while looking for your wedding bouquet. Ritzy Rose owner Jen Diehl creates something new out of something old and, depending on your taste, perhaps something blue by scouring the U.S. for vintage brooches to craft her jaw-dropping handmade brooch bouquets for walking down the aisle with style. This is one bouquet you won’t be tossing to the swarm of wedding-hungry single ladies.
With a background in costume design and a degree in textile and apparel from Cornell, the Ritzy Rose owner allows brides-to-be to incorporate culture and history into their weddings through her creations. Traveling across state lines regularly for her pieces, including a 700-mile-long yard sale, Jen and her husband and co-owner, Jason Diehl, draw inspiration from her collection of 8,000 brooches, charmingly organized in a 1960s factory Roto-Bin.
Despite having a job that could potentially put this vintage-loving cupcake in the direct firing path of wedding-crazed bridezillas, Jen states that even her most high-profile celebrity client, country superstar Miranda Lambert, “was one of the easiest people to work with.”
“Sometimes I can feel myself not quite connecting with a bride somehow during the design process,” she said. “That’s when I’ll pick up the phone and give them a call.”
Despite living in what could be considered Groundhog Day 2: The Bergdorf Wedding, there is no drought of creativity at Ritzy Rose.
“A quirky doctor in the U.K. told me she was not afraid of color and she wanted her bouquet to be weird,” Jen said. “I started with a base of vintage enamel flower brooches, but then wove in elements like a tiny porcelain baby doll, a green plastic 1950s oil truck, a circus car with a lion inside, a blue elephant wearing a hat that played guitar, ballerinas and butterflies.”
If all this seems like a woman’s Pinterest-inspired wet dream, that doesn’t mean there isn’t something for the grooms, too.
Jason has made it a point to partially convert the Ritzy Rose into a boys club for our testosterone-wielding counterparts.
“This past year Jason launched a collection of boutonnieres completely catering towards guys’ interests. He has the incredible ability to combine things like spark plugs for car enthusiasts, shotgun shells for hunters, fishing lures, antique watch faces, military insignia and more with a little bit of bling to tie it all together. We also create cake toppers, handmade jewelry, corsages, headbands, fascinators and bridal sashes.”
No wedding would be complete without a few hiccups along the way, but Jen says it’s all about keeping it real for her and her clients.
“The important thing to keep in mind is to have realistic expectations for your wedding day,” she said. “Between the eye candy on Pinterest and all of the professionally styled photo shoots on blogs, I think we expect that our weddings will look just like the ethereal, overexposed photos we are so used to seeing. But in real life, the wedding will most likely be full of little imperfections and awkward moments. I blurted out ‘I do!’ at the wrong time in my vows,” she confessed. “But all of these moments are woven together to create a day that you will never forget.”
To see Ritzy Rose’s extensive portfolio, visit www.theritzyrose.com



Comments
Dromailla @ 02/02/2013 05:52 am
Irrilirog @ 02/02/2013 10:40 am
Lemetridits @ 02/06/2013 11:22 am
skactoste @ 02/07/2013 04:02 am
takeSkife @ 02/08/2013 08:46 am
Sairlneni @ 02/11/2013 11:23 pm
Cagautola @ 02/15/2013 08:39 pm
Seammeene @ 02/16/2013 12:08 am
begephatteJem @ 02/17/2013 03:19 am
TopTobidots @ 02/20/2013 09:27 am
Plullylussy @ 02/20/2013 09:52 pm
Crywodoaxorry @ 02/20/2013 11:48 pm
nerShushner @ 02/21/2013 09:04 am
utercenedrack @ 02/22/2013 02:51 am
ImmubbutRus @ 02/22/2013 03:34 am
Illizenisee @ 02/22/2013 04:20 pm
Grevanefekece @ 02/23/2013 03:34 am
WhowWooto @ 02/23/2013 07:38 am
Apereedrono @ 02/23/2013 10:56 am
Seammeene @ 02/23/2013 12:49 pm
Adedebuinna @ 02/23/2013 02:59 pm
Rambpaymoussy @ 02/23/2013 05:21 pm
Tottodoto @ 02/23/2013 06:32 pm
Knonnaskawl @ 02/24/2013 03:07 am
Lemetridits @ 02/28/2013 06:55 am
deaboordJam @ 03/03/2013 01:40 pm
AspiveAfferve @ 03/05/2013 04:52 am
Rambpaymoussy @ 03/06/2013 12:04 am
LAYENESEADY @ 03/08/2013 09:00 am
Lemetridits @ 03/10/2013 07:47 pm
buy sustanon 250 @ 03/23/2013 05:56 pm
buy deca durabolin @ 03/25/2013 09:13 pm
XRumerTest @ 03/28/2013 02:52 pm
luxury companions @ 03/30/2013 07:27 am
XRumerTest @ 03/30/2013 02:48 pm
bymnoffenly @ 04/02/2013 10:31 pm
gdedunsedackervjf @ 04/03/2013 07:06 am
sandyronger @ 04/12/2013 02:35 am
BioCatRu @ 05/01/2013 10:41 pm
Goordetry @ 05/06/2013 10:19 pm
XRumerTest @ 05/06/2013 10:39 pm
XRumerTest @ 05/08/2013 11:23 am
Add your voice