Mariana & Kurt

Planning a wedding in Southern California when you live on the East Coast can be a challenge...but frequent emails, links to photos and good communication are the keys to having a beautiful and stress-free event. Mariana lives in New York and we spoke on the phone frequently and met for updates, walk-throughs and samples whenever she happened to be in town.

The design for her wedding was a classic Victorian inspired design with lots of deep rich red accents, champagne tones and just a bit of black for drama.

The ceremony was held at the First Congregational Church on Wilshire in Los Angeles- Gorgeous traditional church (It's claim to fame is that it has the largest organ in the United States- believe me- I know- the organist was warming up all during the install and wow! was it dramatic!!!). The church is very large so the scale of the altar pieces needed to hold their own and be bigger than average. Champagne chiffon swags accented with clusters of deep red Black Magic roses accented the entire aisle (all 175' of it!) while two large pieces anchored the entrance and beautifully framed the bride and her father for the procession.

The reception was held in the Georgian Room at the Langham Hotel in Pasadena. Four foot tall five arm stands dripping with crystals and covered in masses of red roses, orchids, amaranthus and trailing ivy were placed on luscious champagne satin linens. Lots of votives, rose petals and black satin napkins accented with a velvety reflexed Baccara rose completed the tablescape.

Thank you to Ruth Wang from Behind the Scene Wedding Coordinators- it is always a pleasure working together! and Thank you, Victor Sizemore for the creative, beautiful photos!

Jenny & Josh

Check out some images from a wedding at the L'Auberge Hotel in Del Mar that we designed this past weekend- can't wait to see the professional photos!

The client's wanted to meld unique designs, glamorous crystal details and the beach locale into the entire design. It was important to find a balance and not get too thematic with the beach inspiration. Miniature bleached starfish details on menus, placecards and table numbers and bleached manzanita branches were just enough to pull it all together.

Ashley & Matt

Ashley and Matt were recently married at Holy Family Church in South Pasadena with a reception following at The Valley Hunt Club. Because Ashely lives in New York her mother and I worked together to create a traditional design with a bit of a fun and modern twist. The bride loved pink but felt like going all pink was just too much so we highlighted the hot pink by incorporating chartreuse and celadon greens and ivory and white into the color palette. To pull out more of the hot pink "theme" the pocket folded napkins held a pink backed menu and were accented with a large refluxed Bugatti rose for each guest. The bride liked the drama of the high centerpieces (notice the cool hot pink wire rings and hot pink roses inside the vases) and the cleanliness of the Vignette style design of three square vases each holding a single monochromatic arrangement. Pin spoting, uplights and lots of candles completed the look. Can't wait to see the professional shots!

Organic Natural Inspired Design

We recently had a few summer weddings that the clients desired simple yet elegant natural, organic inspired designs highlighting interesting local cut flowers and foliages accented with succulents. The designs fit in perfectly with the Spanish/Italian architecture and iron & wood and white plaster details of the venues (The Old Grapevine at the San Gabriel Mission; The Eagle Rock Arts Center; The Villa Del Sol at Alverno High School).

The Old Grape Vine event featured a vignette of three cylinder vases filled with moss and an accenting pink flax leaf and twine vase detail. Each vase contained either a cut floral arrangement of orange dahlias, zinnias, Mexican sage and mint or an echeveria or miniature cymbidium orchid stem accented with string of pearls. I thought the napkin fold/band was so clever- a nice alternative to the standard pocket fold.

The wedding in Eagle Rock infused soft French blue hydrangea, Iceberg garden roses and Vendela roses, mixed succulents, blue thistle, rosemary, lavender and lamb's ear. Each chocolate brown napkin was accented with either a sprig of rosemary or lavender. Loved the escort card display!

The Villa Del Sol is one of the most beautiful venues ever! (In fact, I personally scoped it out for my own wedding years ago because I had actually gone to high school dances there- way back when!). The front entrance gates were accented with welcoming olive branch, lemon leaf, mood moss and gardenia wreaths. As the guests entered through the gates they were greeted by a reception table with one of the cutest "sign-in table" concepts ever! We had various bowls of mixed loose flowers nestled in beds of moss and flower petals. The guests could pick out their favorite and pin it to their lapel or place it in their hair. Each guest was invited to fill a small bag with loose herbs to toss on the bride and groom as they walked down the ailse. Each herb was labeled with its significance (ie. rosemary=rememberance, lavender=devotion and sage= wisdom). The bride's bouquet was created by each of her bridemaids and close friends coming to the shop early on Saturday morning to pick out one flower that they wanted included into the bride's bouquet (I was given liberty to add additional flowers to fill out the bouquet and give it a finished touch). The centerpieces were a mix of iron candelabras and tall branch stands with loose, earthy inspired designs of roses, lisianthus, olive branches, artichokes, grapes and moss. The finishing touch was a single miniature artichoke on each guest's hemstich linen napkin.

Trish & Dave- Sublime White and Grey with a Splash of Yellow

The perfect setting for a summer wedding- A cruise ship in Newport Harbor! What could be more perfect for So. Cal? As the sun set on the horizon, close friends and family celebrated an intimate wedding ceremony with the bride and groom on the upper deck. During cocktail hour on the lower level of the ship, the upstairs was transformed into an elegant dinner reception. The tables were draped in slate grey satin with matching napkins accented with a perfect yellow Mocara orchid. The setting was complimented by unusual grey vases filled with white phalenopsis orchids and square votive candles. The bride custom made the table numbers and CD's with the coolest yellow details for each guest. (Check out her web- she is a fantastic child/family photographer! Love her stuff and the patience of a saint- she photographed my two crazy girls a while ago! http://www.trishreda.com/)

Fun Summer Wedding - Macall & Patrick - Keeping it Sunny and Cool!

Yellow is definitely a new popular color that many of our clients are asking to be incorporated into their floral design. We are so excited about this trend with a "poppy" new color. (A fav of mine as well- in fact, our new chairs in our consultation office are bright sunny yellow!) Paired with more subdued colors like slate grey, black or chocolate brown, yellow is a is a fantastic way to inject a pop of color and create a fresh fun vibe.

Macall and Patrick truly embraced the sunny yellow in their summer wedding color scheme. Shades of yellow roses created great contrast with the bridesmaid's bright tangerine dresses and crisp white table linens.