Take a peek: Firebird Ballet Wedding

When my friend Kelly Demaray first contacted me about her clients’ Firebird Ballet inspired wedding, I knew it would be so fabulous.  There would be candlelight, a dramatic palette of fiery oranges, reds and eggplant,  and lots of moonlit dancing beneath the tall buildings of downtown L.A.- the perfect urban setting for Cafe Pinot.  Not to mention the fabulous Rebecca of Docuvitae would be photographing.  Many thanks to Rebecca for sharing these images with us!

Best of all, they have an amazing proposal story: the bride Kirsten  is a dancer, and the groom Jonas proposed to her on stage after they watched the Firebird Ballet (Kirsten’s favorite ballet ever!)  What a man!  As Kirsten’s “Man of Honor” said matter of factly at our consultation, “Everyone needs a Jonas!”

Here’s a painting inspired by the ballet:

Image from Wikipedia.

Kelly emailed me a picture of the gorgeous invitations to get the creative juices flowing. Courtney from Flush Designs was able to mesh the passion of the Firebird Ballet with Kirsten and Jonas’ love of art deco. To see these perfect invitations from every angle, check out Courtney’s beautiful blog post!

Our bride, Kirsten.  She is a real beauty with such a contagious energy about her.

Jonas was such a dapper groom.

Kirsten’s bouquet was made of the most luscious burgundy peonies, dahlias, and black baccarra roses.  She also asked that a few blue flowers be added into the mix, as this is considered good luck in Sweden.  I tucked in some pale blue delphinium blossoms.  I love this color combo, and now I’m dying to do a deep wine and periwinkle wedding!

The bridesmaids were uniquely attired in plum dresses of their own choosing.  Their shawls were hand-knit by a loved one, and their wild sunset bouquets tied their look together.  A reader asked me if I think orange circus roses pair well with eggplant dresses- the image speaks for itself 😉

My fav detail of all: the cake.

I’ll be able to show you much more of this fabulous wedding in the days to come, and give you the full scoop on this amazing couple.  For now, I’m off to the dessert to visit my sister and her new husband!  Have a GREAT 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!

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!

Sitting Pretty: Chair Adornments

Chair decor is such a sweet touch. It needn’t be extravagant- just a little something to make the bride and groom feel special as they sit down for their wedding feast.

Photo by Jasmine Star Photography.

Photo by Jerry Yoon Photography.

Photo by Gabriel Ryan.

Photo by Sae Lee Photography.

Photo by Jasmine Star Photography.

Photo by Trista Lerit.

Photo by Trista Lerit.

Some other cute ideas?

• Mini wreaths
• Pomanders hung from satin ribbon
• Trailing ribbons in different colors and textures
• Flower leis, coral or starfish hung from ropes for a beachy feel
• Crystal strands or ostrich feathers for a glam wedding
• Fabric flowers and tassels for a vintage wedding
• Berry and greenery garlands for a rustic feel
• Giant, colorful lollipops for a whimsical wedding (these would even be cute at the kids’ table!)
• “bride” and “groom” signs like these shabby chic keepsakes from Etsy

Ashlee and Brenton’s Homespun Wedding

Ashlee and Brenton’s sweet June wedding was the embodiment of casual, effortless elegance. Actually, these adjectives just as well describe Ashlee, our lovely bride. At our first meeting Ashlee struck me as gentle, happy, and natural. Her wedding style just flowed forth from her personality, and we put together a design scheme centered around playful birds, feathers, nests, twigs, and lots of fun gardeny flowers. This wedding was not showy or glitzy, but intimate and full of rustic charm- perfect for her venue, the Talega Golf Club in San Clemente.

Their coordinator, Kerrie Underhill, is one of the hardest working gals in the biz. She orchestrated all the details of the day perfectly. She also makes a great vase commando when I come to pick up my rentals at the end of the night. Very rarely does a vase escape her watch. Thanks!

The talented Sarah K. Chen worked her magic once again. She has such a creative mind! The following images are from her newly designed blog.

Ashlee’s dog gave me big smooches when I arrived. Such a cutie pie!

Soft and dreamy, with pops of bright yellow and lime.

Happy flowers delivered in mason jars. Those ruffled tulips opened up beautifully just in time.

Brenton and the boys…

The ceremony took place in a quaint Spanish courtyard.

I am quite fond of this arch- tangled branches dripping in florals with pint sized mason jar vases hanging from the top. Mason jars filled with snapdragons, lilies, hydrangea and craspedia accented the aisle.

After the reception, the couple found some time to frolic in the grass as Sarah snapped some pics.

The bunnies also found some time to frolic in the grass.

I love how it looks like a bird was inside the cage and escaped, leaving some feathers behind.

There were actually 3 different centerpieces. The round tables had clusters of vases holding a particular flower (left: white oriental lilies, supergreen roses, and yellow china mums; right: white hydrangea, buttery yellow stock, and lime spider mums). The look was unifed by a fiddle fern heart in each vase. The longer banquet tables held oblong mixed arrangements and hurricanes containing coffee bean and pillars. The burlap runners added some texture and earthy color to the tables.

My assistants topped this elegant cake with spray roses, freesia, scabiosa pods, tulips, fiddle fern, and a little nest they whipped up out of curly willow.

Those upside down vases in the background would later be platforms to display some of the aisle arrangements. Yay for double duty!

The arch flowers were dismantled and placed on the sweetheart table.

Talk about instant gratification! Guests could take their photobooth pictures with them as mementos of the evening.

Thank you Ashlee and Brenton for letting The Treasured Petal run with your vision! May your married life be just as sweet and cozy as your wedding!

Thanks again to Sarah K. Chen for this sneak peek! I’m excited to see the rest!

A Breezy Blue Wedding

When I met Melissa at our first consultation, I immediately noticed her bright blue-green eyes. They are a brilliant aqua color and they just sparkle. I associate that color with peace, contentment, and refreshment, maybe because it reminds me of splashing in the tropical waters of Thailand. Sighhh. I was delighted to find out that turquoise was the color of choice for Melissa and Andrew’s wedding decor. Amazingly, I’ve never done a pure aqua wedding! I’ve done aqua and orange, aqua and red, aqua and yellow, but not plain aqua.

Melissa and Andrew tied the knot at the Loew’s Hotel in Santa Monica– a sleek, modern boutique hotel with the most amazing view of the ocean. We were going for decor that would compliment the trendy look of the hotel and capture the laid back, breezy feel of Santa Monica.

I can’t help but rave rave rave about the amazing planner, Christina from Simply Modern Weddings. She was always so thorough, punctual, professional, and sweet at the same time. When I arrived, her husband/assistant was hand-ironing all the napkins into perfect folds 🙂 After the wedding when my sister arrived to pick up the rentals, Christina stayed with her late into the night and helped until the last vase was accounted for. Above and beyond I tell you!

The following pictures are from Trista Lerit’s blog. Trista did an amazing job, as always. Her cool, modern style was a perfect fit for this wedding. She was MY awesome wedding photographer, and now I’m blessed to call her a dear friend.

Melissa always imagined she would carry a bouquet of white and pink roses, but she felt a little pressure to stick to her blue and white palette. She decided to go with her gut. We used esperance roses and tied the bouquet into the rest of the decor with blue crystals.  Vivian Tran of All Made Up did such an amazing job on makeup.  Melissa looks like a princess!

Here’s the groom, wearing a single phaleonopsis orchid with blue crystal beads. Love the tie and pocket square.

Her bridesmaids carried white bouquets that popped against their aqua dresses. I got to use one of my favorite flowers, fringed tulips, in the bouquets. They look like frayed fabric flowers.

Definitely the cutest flower girl dress I’ve ever seen.

The ceremony took place on a deck overlooking the Santa Monica Pier. We draped an arch in delicate white fabric, swagged it with aqua crystals, and tucked in some fluffy white and blue florals. It was the perfect ceremony centerpiece. Chic silk wrapped floral boxes lined the aisle and doubled as fun cocktail centerpieces.

The reception was just magical! The aqua lighting (via Rainbow Lighting and Sound) was superb, and the gorgeous blue chargers, linens, and blue tinted goblets were so fresh.

The massive centerpieces. I loved how the pink centers of the submerged cymbidium orchids tied in with Melissa’s pink bouquet.

A little note about blue flowers: there aren’t many. If you’re planning on using blue flowers, you’ve got to be open to a range of tones and textures. Most light blue flowers aren’t pure blue but have a lavender/periwinkle hue to them, and most are wildflower-esque. We used hydrangea, delphinium, and tweedia in this wedding. Other blue-ish flowers are muscari (grape hyacinth), irises, cornflower, and berries like blue viburnum and privet.

Tweedia is an adorable flower that does actually have a real aqua tone to it. But its stem oozes out a white milky substance that can get all over the place, so beware. We used clusters of tweedia blossoms to accent each napkin, and used floral tape to plug the milky stems.

Picture from wikipedia.org.

Vanilla Bakeshop put together a stunning mini cupcake display. The cupcakes were delish- I got to try one (or two…)

Thank you Melissa and Andrew for choosing TPetal to beautify your wedding. It was a true joy to work with you! Cheers to your brand new life together!

Now enjoy your honeymoon, you love bugs!

Happy Day, Happy Florals

My church friends John and Jenn were recently married, and boy was there a lot of rejoicing that day! They had already weathered some trials during their engagement, and we all watched as their love matured during those hard times. I so admire these two and their love and commitment to each other. Their wedding was a true labor of love- lots of helping hands from the church and their families chipped in to make it the sweet, intimate event that it was. It was my honor to create the springy and feminine florals for their wedding.

Thank you to Marlin Munoz for capturing all the joy and smiles so beautifully. You guys are truly talented and I always love working with you!

Playful and pretty. Peonies, gerberas, mini button mums, freesia, roses, viburnum, ranuncula, sweet peas.

These colors just make me happy! Love how they pop against the black gowns. Sweet peas, roses, viburnum, ranuncula, hydrangea.

I've never seen Jenn so happy and radiant.

Or John so calm and contented.

Here's where we all started crying.

Sweet little arrangements of hydrangea, lilacs, and other treasures of spring overflowing from silver urns.

This is my favorite image of the bunch. The pose is so classic, like an old Victorian portrait, but I feel like they are looking eagerly ahead to their future through that window.

Cheers to you, Jenn and John! You are such a beautiful couple with such a strong faith. I hope to see you both soon! Double date at Felix’s again?

Leah and David’s Coral and Aqua Wedding

I am totally wild for this summery color combo- spicy oranges and corals against cool aqua. Leah and David wanted hip, artistic, modern decor for their beachside wedding at the beautiful Bel Air Bay Club. Bless Leah’s heart, she was open to a huge range of funky, happy flowers, including cockscomb (the one that looks like a fuzzy orange brain) and pincushion proteas. These quirky flowers really gave the arrangements more texture and drama. I love a girl who can see the beauty in cockscomb.

Leah wanted a luxe tropical feel, but she wanted to do it without the typical beachy elements like sand and shells. We brought in lots of elegant white coral, beautiful candlelight, fabric wrapped vases, and orange sea fans.

Thank you to the fabulous planner Kelly Demaray for being so much fun during the planning and execution of this very detailed wedding. You are so sweet!

To the staff at Bel Air Bay Club– I’ve never been treated so kindly at a wedding before. You were so cheerful and helpful. A+!

A big thanks to Sae Lee Photography for sending over these gorgeous images so quickly. I’m so excited to share them!

Meet the gorgeous bride!

The ceremony took place on a grassy lawn overlooking Pacific Palisades. Needless to say, it didn’t need much beautifying!

Two honored guests carried petite bouquets of happy orange flowers. That blue looks stunning against the orange, doesn’t it?

I loved that each bridesmaid carried unique bouquets and wore unique dresses. Such a well-dressed bridal party!

I love the anticipation in this picture!

coral peonies, voodoo movie star roses, mokara orchids, callas, tulips, and more.

And now for the ravishing reception details!

There were two table setups, both using a variety of vases and candles. I am quite surprised I found fabric for the vases that matched the napkins to a T.

Tons of texture in these lush arrangements.

Geberas, roses, mokara orchids, ranunuculus, pincushions, cockscomb and more.

I found these delicate hanging candles and though they’d work beautifully for this wedding.

The elegant cake was propped up on glass cubes filled with orchids and coral.

I see an orange cat, popcorn, pizza boxes and beer. A man's dream come true? I'm a little confused, but I love it!

Can’t forget those little extra touches!

Leah and David, may your wedding be abundantly blessed! I had such a blast working with you and seeing it all come together. Enjoy wedded bliss!!!