Derek and Brandy: Hydrangeas bloomed on invitations and at the church

A blue bridesmaid dress inspired Brandy Mueller's wedding theme.

"The dress reminded me of hydrangeas," said the May 30 bride, a 2000 graduate of Belleville West. She married Derek McClure, who grew up in Kansas City.

When the flower didn't show up well against the bridesmaid dresses, she switched to green, keeping the large showy pale, blue blossom as her theme.

Hydrangeas bloomed on wedding invitations.

They filled blue mason jars (that once belonged to Great-Grandma Frieda Mueller) on church windowsills and in the sanctuary of Concordia United Church of Christ, the site of the wedding.

Brandy, who does online merchandising for Brown Shoe Co. in St. Louis, learned to make sugar flower hydrangeas to decorate the lime green-frosted wedding cake. Each of the 150 buds was a miniature work of art for the fashion design major.

"I talked to Nancy (Robinson who owns Artistry on Cakes in Belleville)," said Brandy. "She told me the best DVD (by Nicholas Lodge) to use to make them. I don't know the number of hours I sat on the couch and worked on them."

"She pretty much can do anything she put her mind to," said Barbara Dye, Brandy's mother.

Tricky parts of wedding planning: "Probably the guest list, tracking people. I pretty much gave up all my weekends to work with little projects for four months. Also, music was hard. I'm not a music person. I had a piano player, Rich Kindle, who lives near Collinsville. I'd never heard him play. I wanted the Beatles' song 'I Will.' He'd never heard of it." But he learned it. "He brought two violinists with him. It was amazing."

Reception: Close to 200 attended at Bellecourt Manor in Belleville

Honeymoon: Punta Cana, Dominican Republic "It was sunny every day."

Where they'll live: Richmond Heights, Mo.