Temecula Wedding, Revisited

While chatting over tapas at Lola Gaspar,  Trista Lerit handed me a cd of images from the vibrant winery wedding we did together months back.  Even though this wedding took place as spring was blooming, the jewel tones are so PERFECT for Fall, and I couldn’t resist revisiting this wedding.  Especially since the weather is feeling more brisk and autumnal and I’m starting to drink hot tea instead of iced.  That definitely means Fall is near.  I welcome it!

Texture!  Color!  Dimension!  Everything I love about floral design rolled into one arch.

Creamy white callas against cherry dresses.

I really appreciate the time my assistant took to decorate the cake.  Each calla and fiddle fern is perfectly placed.

Proof that flowers make people smile!

My sister is married :)

My big sis Jenny-lyn married James in Hemet, CA last month.   James is a pastor in Hemet, a little town near Temecula, in the middle of the desert.  In August, temps reach over 100 degrees easily, and it’s dry as a bone.  You can imagine that this influenced my flower choices greatly.

The task before me: to create fun, funky, flirty arrangements that would hold up in the desert, for a wedding of over 350 people, on a very modest budget. Also, I was to be the matron of honor, and deliver a witty toast, at that!

Jenny-lyn is always adorable, but was positively radiant on her wedding day.  Those earrings were her “something borrowed”- I wore them on my wedding day, too!

She always claimed she’d recycle my wedding dress on her wedding day, which was an airy Liancarlo gown with subtle beading and ruffled train.  But in my heart I knew she needed a dress of her own, something over the top and dramatic to match her personality.   Her Reem Acra gown was so perfect for her.

I adore the intricate embroidery and the sweet satin bow.

Jenny-lyn’s bouquet was a sweet mix of pinks and whites, including nerine lilies,  roses, and feathery astilbe, wrapped with fuchsia satin and black lace.  Oo la la!  She demanded that I make her bouquet small and easy to carry.  She still has horrible memories of holding my two ton bridal bouquet AND her bridesmaid bouquet during my ceremony.

Notice the unexpected touch of black: we hand painted each billy ball/craspedia!

I give James major props for being ok with all the pink!

Not surprisingly, I sobbed my way down that aisle; my second emotional meltdown that day.  The first was when my sis put that veil on.  That totally choked me up!

My sis’s style is bold, flirty, and feminine.  Everything has to be pink pink pink!  Black lace, satin, bows, feathers, and vintage buttons were used to spice up our simple arrangements.

My hubby Joe did a reading from the book of Romans.

My parents.

Enough delicious cupcakes to feed 350 guests, handmade with love by my floral assistant’s  mom, Cathy.   She’s a super star for delivering those babies all the way to Hemet, and displaying them so beautifully on tiers of glass!  Please email me for contact info if you’d like to taste her treats for yourself.

Some of the simple, creative decor elements included 1) tall vases filled with illuminated orchids, topped with pink florals and a lit lampshade.  2) patterned hatboxes in the wedding colors, girlified with feathers, bows, and flowers (such a fun DIY project!)  3) white ceramics filled with china mums and zinnias.  4) shiny black urns filled with various florals.

A view of the whole reception, with the floral lamps shining brightly in the background.

Thank you to the sweet and talented Chad of Chad Martin Photography in Hemet for so generously sharing these images!

Heat wave + Flowers = Anxiety

Picture this: It’s August in California and it’s 100 degrees.  You’re transporting flowers to a big hotel, and the loading area is in a boiler room of all places. You pray that your flowers survive the moist, sticky heat as you wait for the teeny tiny elevator to arrive so you can bring your flowers to the reception… two centerpieces at a time.  This happened to a colleague of mine who is an amazing photographer and graphic designer, but who also dabbles in the floral arts occasionally.  This experience left her traumatized.

I’ve been there, too! A few weeks ago, my assistants set up an outdoor wedding in 103 degree weather.  The bride’s favorite flowers are orchids (yay! sturdy!) and dahlias (uh-ohhh).  My sharp assistants followed my instructions carefully and added the dahlias to the arrangements at the last minute.  Except the ceremony started an hour late, and by then the blazing sunshine had taken its toll!  Of course, my girls brought extra flowers along and fixed the arrangements just in time.  Everything looked beyond gorgeous, but you can imagine the stress levels!

Any couple getting married in the summer months in California is ultimately taking a risk, not only with flowers, but with melting cakes, running makeup, flattened curls.   I got married in August,  so I totally understand!  But I owe it to my clients (and my own sanity) to take the following precautions to minimize the effects of heat on delicate flowers. I can’t do miracles, but I do all that I can do to make sure that even if I look like a sweaty mess by the end of the day, my flowers still look  fabulous.

1.  Choose Wisely: I create my floral recipes and place my orders about 2 weeks before the wedding.   When I do that, I check the weather forecasts.  If it looks like it’s going to be sunny and/or hot, I try to choose sturdier flowers for outdoor arrangements.  If a bride LOVES delicate flowers like dahlias, tulips, or gardenias, I’ll try to reserve those flowers for indoor arrangements or handheld bouquets that can stay in vases indoors until the last possible second.

bromeliads, orchids, and china berries- virtually sunproof. Photo by The Image is Found.

2.  Buy Fresh: This is where excellent flower suppliers come in.  Think of what wedding flowers have to go through before they end up on the table- they travel from all over the world to the U.S., then to the flower mart, then to the flower shop, then they are handled and designed, then transported to the site.  Only the freshest of blooms can withstand that much manhandling.

Photo by Sae Lee Photography.

3.  Use a Reliable Cooler: Ours is bigger than all three bedrooms in my house put together, and has never ever failed us.

4.  Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate: We change the water often and keep the flowers well-misted with finishing spray.

5.  Load quickly: We start the air conditioning in the cargo van first, then load the vases and nonperishables, then lastly the flowers.  And we keep the air blasting the whole trip!

6.  If possible, stall!: Not always possible, but we try to keep the florals indoors or in shade until the last minute.

As the shade rolled across the villa, we placed the centerpieces accordingly.  Notice there are no centerpieces on the sunny side!

Photo by Jerry Yoon.

7.  Bring Extras: We bring extra blooms to take the place of flower casualties.  Always a smart idea!

I'll never forget this wedding- it was 106 degrees in Sierra Madre that day! Luckily, the flowers were troopers and held up pretty well. Photo by Jerry Yoon.

Here’s what I’m dying to know: Any floral designers have to deal with extremely COLD weather?  That’s something I’ve never experienced.  Also, what do other vendors, like bakers and makeup artists, do in heat waves to keep their product looking fabulous?

My Favorite Roses

I always ask my brides which flowers they love, and which flowers they absolutely don’t love.  Roses are almost always mentioned.  Most brides see their lovable qualities- their gorgeous spiraled petals, the insane variety of colors, shapes, and sizes, their sturdiness in all kinds of weather, and their relative affordability (I can’t think of a more bang-for-your-buck flower out there.)  But there are some brides who consider roses to be a little “same-old”,”traditional”, or “bleh”.  Perhaps they just want to explore the hundreds of other more unique flower possibilities before they settle on the old stand-by.  I totally get it.

These are the roses that excite me every time I pick them up from the mart.  These are the varieties that have reignited my love for roses and have converted my most anti-rose brides into rose lovers.

1.  Polo:

A creamy white rose.  Love their cup-like shape and ruffly texture.

(Photo by Tony Florez Photography)

2.  Pink Intuition:

How funky are these fuchsia zebra striped beauties?

3.  Faith:

These lush roses have a color that’s hard to define: where lavender meets dusty rose meets silver.  They are so much more beautiful in person.

(Photo by Viera Photographics)

4.  Amnesia:

There is something mysterious and a little haunting about these greenish-greyish-purplish roses.

5.  Black baccara:

My love for this rose is probably obvious, since I use it whever I can. You can’t fully appreciate it until you feel it’s velvety soft petals.

(Photo by Trista Lerit)

6. Abraham Darby garden rose. Scratch that, any garden rose!!!

(Photo by Jasmine Star)

7. Mimi Eden Spray Rose:

A million tiny petals that burst open in shades of intense pink and cream.  Their mini blooms are the size of quarters.

(Photo found here)

8.  Sahara:

Soft beige with a touch of pink on the outside of the petals.  Adds a hint of color to neutral white arrangements.

(Photo by Jonilyn Photography)

9. Supergreen:

My go-to green rose.  While green tea, jade and limbo roses can look a little washed out and yellowish (depending on the bunch), supergreen is reliably a vibrant shade of chartreuse.

(Photo by Michael Norwood Photography)

10.  Circus:

No rose opens as beautifully as this orange and yellow bi-color lovely.  It just pops in this bouquet!

(Photo by The Image Is Found)

There are so many others I could list, I may need to do a part 2   With so many rose varieties coming out all the time, there are still many more to discover.  Also, R.I.P. to my favorite rose varieties that are no longer available in L.A. (like sterling silver and candy bianca!)

Are you a “rose person?” What are your favorites? Also, if you’re a florist, are you mourning the loss of a favorite rose that is no longer being produced?  I feel you!

Happy Arrangements, Happy Friday!

It’s been a bit of a challenging week (still recovering from my sister’s  wedding last weekend), but today has been wonderful so far.  The highlight?  A mockup with one of favorite brides and one of my favorite coordinators which ended in tears by the bride (HAPPY tears of course!)  I cannot wait for Aaron and Barbara’s fantastic flamenco inspired wedding coming up.  There will be tapas, flamenco dancing, flirty black lace, embroidered linens, espresso beans, and luscious red and wine florals.

To go with my good mood, here are a few happy arrangements captured by Jasmine Star during our Anytime shoot.  Thanks Jasmine!

lemons, campanula, leptospernum, china mums, parrot tulips, viburnum.

Hydrangea, viburnum, ranuncula, sweet peas, delphinium, lilac, anenomes, campanula, peony roses... Hmm, what's NOT in this arrangement?

Part of my good mood may be due to the fact that Pesto had his first in-home obedience training session last night. Since we got Basil, Pesto’s been acting up and snapping a lot.  His trainer gave us a good prognosis, and said we’d soon have the sweet, docile cavalier we’ve always wanted.  There’s hope!

Looks can be deceiving... Pesto can be a real brat.

Have a wonderful weekend!

A Winery Wedding, Part 2

Welcome to Part 2 of Jenn and Chad’s Cotolot Vineyard wedding. Tony Florez caught them strolling through the grape vines…

And toasting to their union!  Love this pic.

You know how I love decorating the chairs! I think I figured out why- back in high school my whole A.P. art portfolio was centered around the theme chairs. I find them strangely inspiring…

Simple sweetheart decor that doesn’t block the guests’ view of the couple. Check out those dahlias!

Tall trumpet vases filled with crystals and lime green orchids, topped with piles of hydrangeas and phaloenposis orchids. Love the elegant shape of the vase and the playful burst of florals.

Low glass cubes packed with florals and candles decorated every other table.

A collection of submerged florals led the way to the cake.

Congratulations Jenn and Chad!  I hope your first few months of marriage have been sheer bliss!

A Winery Wedding: Part 1

Napa? Temecula? Sonoma?

Actually, somebody’s home in Orange County. Can you believe it?

Jenn and Chad had the most vibrant, lively, joy-filled wedding at Cotolot Vineyards, a private residence in Coto De Caza complete with a vineyard, wine tasting barn, grassy meadow, and more. Coto is filled with so many amazing estates, but Cotolot Vineyards, owned by the groom’s gracious relatives, absolutely takes the cake. While we were setting up, I couldn’t help but daydream a little bit about being the queen of Cotolot.

The inspiration for Jenn and Chad’s wedding was wine tasting- the rich green and purple color of grapes, the rustic feel of a vineyard, the intimate and festive atmosphere of a boutique winery, with a bit of glitz and glam added to the mix.

The wedding was perfectly executed by one of my favorite planners, Kerrie Underhill of Platinum Weddings by Kerrie. The fabulous Tony of Tony Florez Photography was there to capture every detail beautifully. I swung by his immaculate studio in Corona Del Mar today, and he was kind enough to give me a cd with over 1200 glorious images. I had so much trouble choosing just a few to share with you.

Meet our gorgeous bride, Jenn.

And meet her bouquet!

garden roses, crystal studded stephanotis, frayed tulips, and gardenias with feathers.

The bridesmaids were so well dressed, and the bold florals complimented their ensemble so perfectly.

apple green hydrangea, deep pink spray roses, tibet roses, and magenta tulips and phaleonopsis orchids.

The handsome groom, Chad. I see a little Leo in him. Do you?

Notice the amount of detail that was put into his bouttoniere.

A cheerful display of florals greeted guests.

The ceremony was simply decorated with colorful florals to bring out the natural beauty of the whole scene.

Much more of this spectacular wedding to come!

What’s in my cooler?

My friend let me chop down a ton of beautiful green apple branches from her overloaded tree. They are so shiny and bulbous, and look so sweet in this weekend’s centerpieces. I can’t reveal too much, but here’s just a glimpse at what my designers have been up to the last few days.

It involves the aforementioned apples…

And the most beautiful dinner plate dahlias…

Recycled glass bottles…

And petally garden roses that will satisfy any peony lover-who-can’t-get-peonies-in-August.

Can’t wait to see it all come together!

Have a wonderful weekend!

And happy (late) anniversary to my good friends Angel and Erik! It was an honor to stand beside you on your big day 4 years ago.

Orange Dahlias and Pink Peonies

The other day, my brother and I were hanging out at Border’s books, and I picked up my usual ginormous stack of wedding mags. When I opened up the new Brides Southern California Magazine, I saw my tangerine dahlia bouquet and calla bout (photographed by the fabulous Michael Norwood) staring back at me! Check out the new issue and read about the inspiration for this simple yet striking bouquet and bout pairing.

On another note, head on over to the Love and Splendor blog to see one of the most girly pink weddings Angel and I have ever done together. Evoke Photography took the most stunning pics that day. Here’s a peek of Martha and Hector’s florals:

pink peonies, white ranunculas, sahara and tibet roses, viburnum, and peony tulips

faith (still my favorite- the softest powdery lavender and dusty rose) and anna roses, viburnum, ranuncula, pink hydrangea, and perfect pink tulips

A little cherub!

Have a wonderful Monday!!!

Barefoot Wedding, Part 1

My nephew-in-law just married the gal of his dreams in a shady meadow under a perfectly clear Oregon sky. This was definitely a homemade affair on a super tight “college kid” budget. Joe stepped in as the photographer (thank you to my friends Jasmine Star and Trista Lerit for their last minute pep talks!), I pulled together some simple florals, and a friend cooked enough chicken pesto pasta to fill all our tummies. I do love me a fancy fete, but sometimes two lovebirds surrounded by family and friends under a big tree is all you really need.

On the plane ride up, I was a little nervous about doing florals in a strange city with no real workspace, recipes, tools, assistants… but upon entering the laid back city of Eugene, I couldn’t help but chill out. Eugene is sometimes called a “little Berkeley”, where college students, coffee shops (I’m talking REAL coffee), trees, native gardens and bikes rule. I was whisked back to my Berkeley days and felt right at home there. In fact, if the weather was ALWAYS as sunny and fresh, I might be tempted to leave California behind. Alas, I don’t like sporting the drowned rat look 80% of the year

The big adventure of our trip: We decided to pick flowers from a U-Pick flower field at the base of Mount Pisgah instead of going to a wholesale mart. Imagine a magical place where you can come with your clippers and fill your bucket with whatever wildflowers catch your eye! It was pure bliss. Not to mention the whole scene was beautiful beyond words. Thank you to the folks at Sparhawk Farms for being so kind! We paid 4.00 per handfull, and 6 buckets FULL of wildflowers was only 50.00. I personally think the farm was very generous with what they consider a “handfull”.

Helloooo gorgeous! *EDIT: I’m referring to the scenery below, not myself above!!!*

Our lovely bride, Sara, picking the flowers she would soon hold on her wedding day.

Fresh lavender, queen anne’s lace, and funky blue wildflowers whose name I cannot recall (can anyone identify? they are NOT cornflower/bachelor buttons…)

A closeup of the funky blue flowers…

I was overjoyed to find rows and rows of floral delicacies: blossoming hypericum berries, chinese lantern flowers, and delicate lysimachia which can be pretty pricey at the flower mart. All mine for 4.00 a handfull!

Starting to assemble some no-fuss bouquets… no color scheme- we just went buck wild!

I’ll be posting pics of Josh and Sara’s barefoot wedding soon!