So we are officially in our new location and although we are still working on little decorating details we are fully functioning as normal. The weekend we moved in we had three weddings (and my two little girls were flower girls in one of them- yeah!) so the production room got all of our attention. I can now focus on the fun stuff- decorating the showroom! As I mentioned earlier, we will be having an open house and will keep you posted. But, please visit us anytime to see what new and cool floral designs we are coming up with in our new inspiring space.

For anyone living or working in the downtown LA area - or anyone up to a metro train ride into Downtown to explore- come visit our boutique in the Jonathan Club on the corner of 5th and Figueroa. Tenely and Malorie are busy making beautiful arrangements just waiting for you to take home or send to someone.

These are just a few examples of what you might find on our tables at our LA shop.

Semi-recently we were invited to a soft opening of a new restaurant on 7th called Bottega Louie, which opened up a couple of months ago and is fantastic (food and decor- they just need some fresh flowers in there!)- think Dean and Deluca for the West Coast. If you have not ventured into Downtown LA lately try to make a trip out of it. All the traditional places are still there- Taquitos at Alvera Street; French dips at Phillipe's, pancakes at The Pantry (my mom's personal fav); Grand central Market- but there are so many new and exciting things happening between art shows/gallery openings and new restaurants and music venues. We are excited to be a part of it!

We're Moving!!!!

I am so excited to announce our new venture....we will be re-locating our Pasadena location to the quaint downtown village of Sierra Madre! The new studio, housed in a large late 1800's adobe building (complete with a floor to ceiling fireplace- I hope I don't get over zealous and burn the place down!) allows us to more fully focus on our wedding and special events department. The new showroom is perfect for displaying the multiple services and design options that are available to our clients for their special day. Our design space is 4 times bigger!!!! Yeah!!!!! For any of you who have visited us on one of our busy Thursdays, Fridays or Saturdays you'll appreciate my excitement about more space!

Of course, daily floral pick up's and deliveries, as well as local and national/international wire services will be offered- nothing changing there.

Basically we will be closing the doors in Pasadena at 6:00 p.m. on Wednesday, July 15th and opening the doors at 9:00 a.m. in Sierra Madre on Thursday, July 16th! Although our current phone number will forward to Sierra Madre, please take note of our new number.

Check back with us frequently- we will be announcing an open house soon and invite you to come visit us!

Our new info:

Ixora Floral Studio

35 East Montecito Avenue

Sierra Madre, CA 91024

626.355.0040

Erin & Jason

Erin and Jason must have been one of the most relaxed engaged couples I had ever met! An intimate ceremony in San Marino at a family home followed by a fun, relaxed dinner at a fantastic restaurant, The Raymond, in South Pasadena was exactly what they wanted. Next Exit Photography was kind enough to share some images with us- you have to check out their web/blog! I have had a few clients that have used them in the past and I have always loved seeing the quirky, unusual locations and poses that seem to truly capture the couple's personalities and emotions. They are one of my favorite photograghers and belive me- I have seen a lot!

The ceremony chuppah was made by Jason himself and incorporated the groom's families heirloom tallit and the bride's grandparent's Greek wedding wreaths. We liked the idea of lightly enhancing the chuppah with passion vine foliage, white cymbidium orchids and green mood moss. The bride carried a natural, garden inspired nosegay of lily of the valley, stephanotis, lamb's ear, scented geranium and birch pods. For the reception, Erin and Jason loved the idea of creating organic vignettes on the long narrow tables. We used brown glass vases filled with blue thistle, Corba lilies, orchids, succulents and straw flowers, various size glass square vases were filled with moss or natural pebbles and interesting succulents or fresh cut arrangements of pin cushion proteas, cymbidium orchids and hosta leaves. Warm amber glass votives add the perfect amount of romantic lighting.

Heather & Spencer

We just received the wedding photos back from one of my favorite bride's ever! Heather and Spencer were married at The Athenaeum in Pasadena in late April and it was an absolute joy to design and plan the big day her and her mom.

The look was a classic, timeless design in shades of cream and white enhanced with lush lemon leaf foliage garlands (a favorite of the bride) and boxwood topiaries. For the ceremony the bride carried a full bouquet of all white peonies and the bridesmaids carried all white rununculas nosegays. The Athenaeum's beautiful architecture was enhanced with swagged garlands accented with clusters of abundant white roses and the aisle was adorned with a custom monogrammed runner. Large boxwood sphere topiaries studded with large white roses marked the aisle for the bride. The reception glowed with warm candlelight and lush all white arrangements in classic dark iron urns.

Thank you to Page from Page Bartelsen Photography for capturing such great images!

Erin & Michael

So, I am a multi-tasker so while I am taking a break for lunch from our busy, busy day (we have a Bat Mitzvah tomorrow/Saturday, a wedding on Saturday and The Pasadena Chapter National Charity League Fashion Show/Luncheon at The Langham on Sunday) I thought I would post some images from a wedding that we recently designed. Tara Rochelle of Tara Rochelle Photography was kind enough to send me some images of Erin and Michael's wedding at Valley Hunt Club in Pasadena.

The bride was going for a fun, yet elegant design. She definitely wanted Hot Pink in more modern designs but wanted it to flow well with the space- which is pretty traditional. Chocolate brown helped balance out the pop of hot pink and it turned out fantastic. We did a combo of tall centerpieces with crystals in the vase (traditional) and a clustered vignette centerpiece of miniature hot pink calla lilies, Bugatti and Hot Princess roses and raspberry mocara orchids accented with pink flax (more contemporary). Each napkin had a beautiful Mocara orchid to greet each guest as they sat down. The pink lighting helped unify the spaces (the tables were spread out in two adjacent rooms) and added a lot of personality.

Peonies vs. Dahlias

It's Dahlia Season! Unfortunately, the beloved peony season does not last forever and is starting to wind down a bit. We are still able to procure beautiful white, coral, blush, hot pink and red peony varieties but the dahlia is a fabulous alternative when the peonies become harder to get. I personally wanted to get married in June so I could have peonies everywhere possible! But, I got married in September and the peony thing was not going to happen. I have had a lot of client's who have been in a similar situation and although you can sometimes get peonies throughout the year, they are more expensive, more limited in quantities and variety/color and do not look as pretty as they do when they are in season. So, the perfect alternative for my client's who cannot satisfy their peony craving is the dahlia. I often encourage my summer and fall brides to consider dahlias in their bridal bouquets, bridesmaid's bouquets and centerpieces. The tiny little button dahlias also make very cool boutonnieres.

Dahlias can be on the market year round but the prime time is early summer through early fall. The blooms can range in size from a small button type dahlia about 1.5" across to the HUGE dinner plate dahlias, which can reach up to 10"-12" across. The blooms can be tight, almost ball-like with small petals or slightly compact, but medium size petals (as pictured in the orange bouquet) or larger petals and more textural and "spider-y"- Hence, the term Spider dahlia (as pictured in the white bouquet).

Blue and purple are pretty much the only two colors that the dahlias do not naturally occur. For bold tones you can find vibrant reds, oranges and yellows. For paler, more subdued tones, the Cafe Aulait dahlia (ranges from a warm creamy champagne to a blushy peach), pale pink and white dahlias are available. Dahlias also come in rich, deep burgundy and very dark burgundy- almost black. There are many varieties that are variegated (pink and white; orange and yellow; red and yellow; burgundy and white to name a few).

For those of you still dreaming of peonies it's not too late- and not impossible for other times of the year. They will still be abundantly vailable for at least another month or two. Below are a couple of photos of recent bridal bouquets incorporating peonies and different times of year. The pink and coral bouquets were January and February weddings. The white and red bouquets were used for weddings between April and May.

so, I have a blog.....Welcome!

So...this is my first post and just a warning- I am not a techi kind of person....flowers are more my thing! It doesn't seem like college was that long ago (but I guess it was--denial!) but somehow I made it through without email or even my own computer! So, to have my very own blog is pretty amazing!

OK- I hope I didn't date myself by my previous comment (I'm not that old!!!) but a little about myself: Graduated Cal Poly Pomona with a degree in Ornamental Horticulture and went to work for a pretty reputable florist in the Pasadena area. After about 4 years there my own personal design and party work was getting to be too much to handle, plus a full time job at the before mentioned florist. My then boyfriend (now husband!) encouraged me to start my own business.

I started small- I mean, real small! My dad is very handy and built me a little studio on their property in a beautiful canyon in Sierra Madre. That lasted about 9 months! I soon outgrew my very cute little studio and moved into a historic adobe building nearby. My weddings and events just kept getting bigger and more frequent and soon I had full time employees! My husband and I got married, renovated a 1931 canyon bungalow... life was busy but good!

in 2005, a fantastic opportunity came up to open a retail location in Pasadena. It was fantastic- I got to design the store from the floor up and create a great place to show our work, meet with clients, showcase the beautiful flowers and offer really unique gifts. My husband left his job in the financial market to be "Mr. Ixora" and we had our first baby girl, Violet (how appropriate, right?) 3 months before we opened the doors. In September of 2007 we opened our second store at the Jonathan Club ...and had our second little baby girl, Faye (or Faye-B as we like to call her).

Our clients have been great and the events get better and better every year. I would like to thank everyone that we have worked with in the past and hope that you will check in to my blog frequently to see what is new and happening in the Ixora world! I plan to post all our current events and hopefully offer some "professional advise" on the ever-changing and beautiful world of flowers and design. Oh and by the way...our official new and improved web site will be launched by the end of July!!!!!