A week of LeeAnn!!!

My wonderful client LeeAnn is guest blogging this entire week on one of my favorite must-read blogs, Elizabeth Anne Designs.

LeeAnn’s posts so far have been witty, creative and adorable.  Check her out and leave some blog love!  Also, keep checking EAD because I wrote a post about the conceptualization of LeeAnn’s florals that will appear any day now.  I knew LeeAnn’s wedding would make a big splash!  I show images from LeeAnn’s wedding at consultations and every bride just gasps at what a beautiful day it was.

Bouquet Inspiration…

One of my favorite photographers (I’ll spill all the details in a few weeks) asked me if I’d like to create a unique, over the top bouquet for a special day after shoot she’ll be photographing. She basically gave me free reign with this, and told me to create a work of art. Her one rule- must not be a perfect “roundy moundy” (as my old floral instructor called it) of flowers tied with a ribbon. Of course, I’m up for it! But, no rules? No predetermined color palette? No list of flower likes and dislikes to work from? Challenging, but sooo fun.

While reading my daily dose of wedding, style, and home decorating blogs, I came upon these images by Jacqueline Veissid via All Things Bright and Beautiful that just took my breath away.

The beautiful red, black and mustard florals against the thick white satin. The red-stained lips, and the golden bird perched on her finger. So beautiful!

I just adore that blood red color.

My word that is stunning! I love the big satin rosettes adorning her gown.

So, I’ve got my jumping off point for a dramatic, pretty, quirky and whimsical bouquet in white, black, blood red, and mustard. The colors somehow seem exotic and a bit oriental.. In addition to white “canvas” flowers like tibet roses, some funkier flowers that immediately came to mind were:

fuzzy white mink protea perhaps with a blood red rose emerging from the center…

black callas…

feathery red cockscomb (different variety than the “fuzzy brain flower” as many brides call it)…

and craspedia…

Not sure how to work this in, but I also saw branches of pomegranates at the flower mart that were slightly cracked open to expose the ruby red seeds. BUT I can imagine the damage these could do to a white wedding gown, so I think I’ll go without 🙂 …

I want to wire black satin rosettes into the bouquet, and I want the stems wrapped with pleated black satin, dressed up with a locket like this on I found on Etsy by t8designs:

Now, I’ve got the ideas swirling around, all I need is to narrow the flower choices down (I can’t include EVERYTHING I love), and make it happen! Can’t wait to share the photos with you.

This weekend will be filled with house-hunting, wedding prop-making, and hopefully long naps with a pup tucked in each elbow. xoxo

The Treasured Petal on The Bride’s Cafe!

Much to my delight, the oh-so-sweet floral designer and blogger extraordinaire, Janie Medley, has posted a Treasured Petal feature on her amazing blog, The Bride’s Cafe!

Please stop by the cafe, check out The Treasured Petal post, say hello, and stay awhile. In fact, peruse ALL of Janie’s posts- they are fabulous! I’ve mentioned before that The Bride’s Cafe is my alltime favorite blog; I can easily get lost in wedding land for hours at a time there. In fact, The Bride’s Cafe helped to inspire me to start up my own blog.

Thank you Janie for showcasing some of T-Petal’s designs! I am so honored to be a part of your blog. In fact, I was a little starstruck to see your name in my email inbox. As an avid blog reader, you’re like a celebrity to me 🙂 Thank you for your warmth and kindness!

Now, I have a busy busy week ahead. I plan on hitting up LA several times this week to hunt down some ice blue silk dupioni fabric and ribbon, crystal bouquet bling and other shiny trinkets, plexiglass sheets, dark wooden boxes, bamboo thatch, chartreuse pillar candles, and the list goes on. This gives you a little hint at the amazing weddings to come in the next few weeks. Each of them are so different. I’m so excited I can hardly contain myself. Stay tuned!

P.S. How cute does my pup Basil look in my bio picture? It’s her 15 minutes of fame 🙂

Showcase: Jill and Harry, Thinking Outside The Box…

Note: I’ve been dying to post Jill and Harry’s wedding for months now, but wanted to wait until I had more floral shots to show you.

When the delightful Courtney of Joyful Weddings and Events presented me with her inspirations for Jill and Harry’s modern and colorful wedding, I was just itching to get my hands on it! The unique color palette was lemongrass green and tangerine against stark white. The couple wanted a playful, clean, retro-modern look with squares and geometric shapes. I made sure to choose flowers that were round, structured and geometric as well, including dahlias, button mums, spider mums, and roses.

This was the monogram that inspired all of the square decor choices. Courtney and the couple adored the clean, simple look, and the ideas started flowing!

When I saw Michael Norwood’s beautifully vibrant images from Jill and Harry’s wedding, I couldn’t stop smiling. He did an amazing job at capturing the colors, energy and joy of that event. This wedding stands out in my memory as one of the most carefree, creative weddings I’ve participated in. I also had a chance to stretch myself as a floral artist. I see the beauty in a whole range of styles, and I find it such a joy to translate each bride’s individual style and tastes her wedding decor. I would say, however, that my natural style tends to be feminine, whimsical, and a little bit wild. But to have the chance to think outside of the box and create an atmosphere that was super simple, minimalistic, but oh-so striking was so much fun!

Thank you to Courtney for being so wonderful during the conceptualization of this wedding, and on the wedding day. Thank you to Michael Norwood for sending me these fantastic, unforgettable images. And thank you to my fabulous staff for spending countless hours sticking thousands of tiny mums into giant foam squares. For that, I’m eternally grateful! 🙂

The carefree couple, Harry and Jill. How stylish are they?

The bride carried a round bouquet of perfect orange dahlias. I love the symmetry in each bloom. The bridesmaids carried crisp white tulips which held up perfectly well in the June heat! Thank goodness for good flower suppliers!

The groom wore 2 callas on the lapel of his radical gray suit.

Simple and sweet ceremony setup, with floral squares lining the aisle, and two giant carnation balls.

There’s that monogram again!

Cute little cocktail table accents.

Such an adorable cake. The cake table was completely covered in floral squares and pomanders, and a mosaic of loose mums.

The centerpieces: Voodoo and Supergreen roses all lined up in low glass vases.

Don’t you love the stationary they chose?

I love square plates.

Such an enchanting scene with the square lanterns giving off that warm glow, and the white petals scattered on the ground.

F.Y.I. I heard that some boys decided to play soccer with the orange carnation balls in the background as the night was ending. I hope Michael got a picture of that!

Jill and Harry- Thank you for your kindness. I’m so glad your wedding turned out exactly how you pictured it; may your married life together be just as enchanted! Thank you for letting me be a part of your day!

Show and Tell: Stuff I like!

This just-for-fun post features some elements that I’m especially drawn to as a florist.

I like plexiglass!

A Beautiful ceremony setup from White Lilac Inc. I’ll be crafting some similar columns in the next few months.

I have always loved this plexiglass wish tree from our friends at Events of Love and Splendor. It’s truly a work of art. Angel and I have an incredible wedding coming up which will feature an amazing plexiglass cake stand. Can’t wait!

I like bamboo!

This asian inspired arrangement is from Botanicals Chicago, one of my alltime favorite florists.

I’ll be building a bamboo arch next week, similar to this one from the geniuses at Yvonne Floral Designs, for an upcoming wedding.

Nico Designs captures a similar look with bamboo, but uses deep brown stained poles. Which is your favorite, the green or the brown? The green is really fresh and striking, but the brown is less overtly tropical. I’m still torn on that one.

I like dahlias!

Black dahlias, fiery orange dahlias, petally pink dahlias, ball-shaped, mum-shaped, you name it! You can probably spot dahlias in almost every wedding I’ve done, because they add such a unique texture and geometric feel to arrangements. Definitely one of my favorite flowers.

Black dahlias- such stunners! (Photo by Trista Lerit.)

Funky light tangerine dahlias. (Photo by Michael Norwood.)

Vivid red dahlias (Photo by Jonilyn Photography.)

I love this pointy little cactus dahlia.

And freakishly huge “dinner plate dahlias”. Beware, dahlias of this size are super fragile and bruise easily, but boy are they gorgeous.

I like Fiddle Fern (what some call monkey tails)!

I can’t tell you how many brides I’ve consulted who thought that fiddle fern was made of wrought iron. No, it’s actually a real fern, and has a rubbery texture, like a pencil eraser! Some brides are creeped out by them, others love the playfulness they bring to bouquets and bouts. If a bride gives me the ok, I’m more than happy to use them if they suit the mood!

Kadidja and her man rocking the fiddle fern in the bouquet and bout. (Photos by Sarah K. Chen.)

Another of Botanicals’ amazing creations using fiddle fern as the heel of a shoe. Totally wish I had thought of that for my friend’s wedding (she has a degree in shoe design!)

Thanks friends for indulging me!  I can’t remember doing show and tell even once in elementary school, so this is my outlet for that sort of thing.  Happy Labor Day!!!