Delivery Day

Delivery day at my house is always full of excitement. Unloading boxes of beautiful flowers, prepping them with water and trims, letting them stretch and breathe. Today was no different and I'm buzzing with anticipation for the fun to begin. Aki and Melissa are marrying on Friday with a burgundy theme and a love of lilies.

 

Through discussions and emails we decided to do an Ombre theme....choosing two colors and moving through the color spectrum from one to the other.  I can't wait to dive into these beauties and coordinate bouquets, corsages, and centerpieces. Such a lovely way to spend my day.

A big shout-out to Mayesh Wholesale Flowers. Stunning stems and killer customer service. I can't wait to work with them again.

Spring in an American Garden

I am always so flattered when people see my portfolio and choose their wedding flowers based off of designs that I'm proud of and worked really hard on.  Chelsie was referred to me by a couple of other clients and as we talked, she said that she had enjoyed my 'English Garden" wedding and wanted something similar...but with brighter colors. Her color scheme was a pretty country green, so she wanted to add some springy colors like bright happy yellow, purple, pink, and white, with just a hint of a red tulip as her signature flower. That sounded like a wonderful American garden to me! Bright happy tulips, iris, and daffodils. (Don't they look happy?)

She wanted some natural looking planted pots, so I had some fun in the garden section at my Home Depot picking up pots and plates with ivy plants to re-pot. I used a small vase in each pot and then surrounded it with dirt and ivy roots. The fresh flowers were then added to the vase section and filled it all out beautifully. Arranging it that way also allowed every piece to be taken home and enjoyed for months to come because the wilting flowers could be replaced with fresh flowers, stones, succulents, or any sort of arrangement that the new owner had a feeling towards. The ivy would continue to grow if watered regularly, and the flowers were easy to trade out.

The twist for me was that she wanted topiary! How fun! Difficult to accomplish well, and I stewed long and hard over how to make them work. I finally had a light bulb moment and kept the same posts and plates idea as the smaller arrangements, but bought a bag of quick-dry cement and had quite a day mixing up batches, securing posts in the middle, ensuring that they were perfectly level, but still saving room for the vases and roots of the ivy. Once the day arrived, securing flowers and ivy to the wet foam spheres atop the topiary took quite a bit of work...working in 4-D to make sure every surface is covered and attractive...is difficult but I think it was well worth it. And don't get me started on delivery! I wish I'd gotten a picture of my 5 year old daughter holding two of the posts to either side of her car seat to keep them from tipping over for me.

Thanks again, Chelsie! What lovely fun and it's always entertaining to be asked to do something new!

The Beauty of Birds of Paradise

When Aleasha called, she was a little nervous...she wanted to use birds of paradise and ONLY birds of paradise...and she wasn't sure if it was even possible. She'd seen some pictures but didn't know if they were real, if they were rare, or if they were only possible for the rich and famous. I assured her that I'd used Birds before and could get her the bouquet she wanted. Surprisingly, she wanted a different bouquet for her bridal photo shoot than the bouquet she wanted for her wedding day, but didn't know how she wanted it to be different. We threw ideas back and forth and finally agreed to use fewer birds for the bridals, but add in another flower to add some interest and texture  For the bridals we included some beautiful purple freesia and she loved it! 

For the wedding day itself, she wanted to include some other flowers for the wedding party because no one else but the bride and groom were going to get the Birds of Paradise. She'd liked it so well in her other bouquet that we agreed to use freesia again, as well as some calla lilies, and all the flowers would be in white to set them off against the colored dresses of the bridesmaids and the suits of the groomsmen. She had some small vases for centerpieces, some for tall buds, and some sporting beta fishes in the colors of the birds of paradise and the white lilies. She wanted a floating flower in the vases with the fish and birds and lilies in the bud vases, and I think the fun simple lines made everything come together. All that was left was a smaller simple tossing bouquet that wouldn't poke an eye out, so the freesia came to the rescue once again.

Leasha told me later how much she'd loved seeing her vision come true when she hadn't been sure that even part of it were possible. Those are some of my favorite compliments!...that a bride can tell me the names of her favorite flowers and trusts me to be able to put them together in a way that will be beautiful for her day.

Congratulations, Leasha!

A Variation on the Classic 50's Wedding Bouquet

Damien and Krista were such a pleasure to work with! She knew that she wanted soft, summery colors of pinks, creams, purples, and blues...blue being her primary color (check out the gorgeous navy blue sapphire wedding ring), but after that, she really didn't know what else to add. We settled on a classic 50's tea flower theme that she'd seen on my website, with roses, freesia, princess lilies (aspadistra) and the deep blue delphiniums that tied in her signature color. 

The twist to Krista's event was that she wanted to marry in lovely Missoula, Montana, the town where she grew up, and there really weren't any flower options for a destination wedding florist in the area. Road trip it is! We ordered the flowers in Utah and drove the 8 hours to the site in Montana, flowers cooling in the trunk.

The gorgeous Gibson Mansion was home to the event, and the owners could not have been more kind or accommodating. We were able to distribute flowers quickly and easily. They even ended up pinning several of the party members while exterior centerpieces were being placed. (expert pinning too!)

 The beautiful dining room made for easy layout of the bouquets, boutonnieres, and corsages so that everyone could see their names easily and grab what was theirs.

The entire event took place in the gardens at the Gibson, which added dappled shade, more garden flowers, and a summery atmosphere that lasted all afternoon and into the evening.

Buying the flowers in Utah and packing them in ice in the trunk of my car for the long drive up to Montana was quite the adventure! Building centerpieces and bouquets in the limited space of a Super 8 was worth a lot of laughs too! It was all worth it though when such wonderful people enjoy what I do and we are able to create loveliness together...no matter where we need to go! Having a beautiful wedding is possible when everyone is willing to work together and think outside the box. Thanks again, Damien and Krista for the amazing Montana fun!

Feel free to visit my Florilista website for more examples of my work.

Summer's Dyed Daisy Delights

Summer had some very simple requests for her flowers: daisies...ONLY daisies...but her specifics were very specific: Sky blue, chocolate brown, polka dots, curly willow, wrapped stems, white blooms for certain wedding party members, blue for others, brown ribbon for one, blue ribbon for another, polka dot ribbon for her, exact numbers of flowers for each centerpiece and more! It may sound like a lot, but it actually makes my work very simple and clear! I had my list of names and a flower color next to each name and a ribbon color next to each flower for that person. Boom! Everyone knew exactly what was theirs and it made distribution and pinning very clean.

The blue daisies did have to be dip dyed very lightly and carefully the night before the wedding, but once they were dry the construction was pretty straightforward. The theme carried through the entire event with polka dots all over every table, picture, and decoration with daisies and curly willow...blue and brown were a lovely presence in every corner.

What a great way to bring sweet young touches like dots and daisies into a sophisticated theme of blue and brown!

Thanks so much to Steve and Summer for including me in their awesome, detail-oriented aweseomeness!


For more flower fun visit my Florilista website!

Bowls, Magnets, and Barongs!

     I hate hot June days when delicate flowers are involved. I do. I admit it. I take it personally when the flowers succumb to the heat and lack of moisture (desert area of Utah). Camille smiled sweetly at her bouquet for her formal session a month before her wedding and said it was just fine. We had talked and emailed and finally narrowed things down to everyone's satisfaction. Her wedding flowers in July were truly going to shine and be something to get excited over, but a formal photo session where the focus was the dress?...flowers weren't so budget worthy. We ended up agreeing to a simple clutch of hydrangea, but spray painted in a dark purple to bring in some of her color choices. Hydrangea. Such a great option, but trouble. Hydrangea is truly temperamental even on their own, but to add paint and heat? It was admittedly not my best work, though I did the best I could with what we had. She still looks beautiful, doesn't she?

     Flash forward a month to the day before the wedding in July, and imagine the happy grin on my face when I walked out of my wholesaler with indestructible orchids, ripping roses, lovely lilies and some happy healthy hydrangea...no pain this time. Both the bride and the groom being part Filipino, wanted to bring in vibrant colors and tropical sensibilities to their flowers...deep maroon purple and acid green being the most prominent choices.

     Their entire event was one of fun and family. After the initial ceremony where the men were in suits and ties, the reception toned things down and all the boys came out in traditional Filipino barongs...a light, cotton and silk shirt embroidered with a little shimmer. 

     The trouble with a thin regular shirt that has no lapel like a suit jacket? Where do you put the boutonniere? How do you pin it to the shirt?

Can you see a pin?

     Nope! No pins! One of my favorite new things for cases such as this are magnetic boutonniere inserts. They work when there are young children in the wedding party who don't want to get poked and for ladies with pretty dresses too, keeping pin holes out of your gowns.

     Such lovely easy placement too! You don't have to be good with the pin worrying that you're going to pop off a rose head, snap out the stems, or make the groom bleed. Place it and let the magnet pull itself into place. Good stuff.

     The rest of the event was just as beautiful with floating dendrobium orchids over striking damask table cloths, a gorgeous cake that needed very little floral embellishment, and pretty though simple bouquets for the bridesmaids and for the tossing portion of the evening.

     It came together so beautifully! I'm so honored that Camille wasn't worried when her first bouquet didn't live up to its potential....we'd worked together and she knew the wedding day would be worth the wait!

And it was!

 Thanks so much again, Andrew and Camille for all the amazing fun of your gorgeous day!!!

For more flower fun visit my Florilista website!

Yellow Rose of Texas?

You would think that the state flower would be the Yellow Rose, right? At least, they should make it the yellow rose after the fame of the song, but no. The State Flower of Texas is actually the Bluebell! Who knew? Well, I'm headed to Texas tomorrow for a wedding over the weekend and thought I'd post some recent work in honor of the Lone Star State.

Brian and Amy decided to use the colors of the college where they met and fell in love...bright sunny yellow and deep navy blue. Amy was so fun to accomodate with requests like, Daisies, but not Gerber daisies, and even with a math degree she wanted it messy without being too messy...not uniform and straight but not droopy either. She had the specific color requests and if the blue wasn't a real honest deep navy blue we needed to try something else, but otherwise, she was so willing to hear ideas for alternate flowers and arrangements. The blue Delphiniums that we used are a cousin to the Texas Bluebell, and ironically enough, there are yellow roses there too! with the greenery and a couple of spots of white to add interest, it was a lovely collection of flowers.

The fun part came when the groom offered some assistance. The groom?? Yes, the groom! Brian had been an avid lover of Oragami for years and wanted to include at least one blue paper flower for his bride. The idea sparked and we all loved it! In the end, Brian made more than 20 flowers for us to use in ALL the arrangements, and they were a huge hit!

What a bright, beautiful, cheerful collection of fun! Thanks, Brian and Amy for allowing me to bring such loveliness to light!

A Bouquet of Blue Skies and Yellow Gold

With lovely spring days all around, I wanted to revisit a fantastically fun wedding from the ever amazing HMC...now HMCC. Luckily, she married the man of her dreams, who just happened to have a name with the same initial. No need to change the monogram!

HMC and I met on Facebook of all places, a friendship recommended by a mutual friend. What a great recommendation! HMC was funny, insightful, and delightful. We'd never met, but I smiled every time I saw her name come up with a new post. Over time, she got to know some of my work as well, and then when she wed, she needing some flowers that I was more than happy to provide. We did finally meet to talk blooms, colors, and composition, and then again on the day of her wedding where I handed off the flowers, which she said were a surprise. She was so caught up in the pomp and ceremony of the day that when she saw her bouquet she nearly cried. She said that as wonderful as everything had already been, she loved that she got to have beautiful flowers on this day too! He he he.

HMC was so happy, it was a joy to bring her these beautiful flowers made up of spring. The blue hydrangea and hyacinths brought out the sky, and the large sunny yellow lilies were just like her bright smile.

Here's to bright beautiful spring wedding days!

Dave and Lori's College Class

When Dave and Lori came to me with a fairly simple flower request, orange roses, white freesia and carnations with silver accents, I thought it was going to be a pretty easy gig. The fun came when Dave called me back and asked me to turn the carnations a good deep blue as a suprise for his fiance! He he he. The color combo had to do with their school history, and he assured me that it was going to be something that Lori would LOVE, and since he was paying for it, I went along with the present. Apparently, she hadn't thought that the blue was even possible, and she had settled on the idea of only getting orange and white flowers for her wedding. Dave wanted to show her that blue flowers were possible, and I had a blast dip-dying the carnations into a lovely navy color. The combination of colors turned out to be really fun, and Lori was thrilled when I delivered what she hadn't known could be created.



After delivering the flowers, some drama came up when the cake didn't show. I happened to still be around when the baker finally came along (following some stern phone calls from the bride's sister) and they asked me to take a few of the extra blooms and help the cake when it wasn't quite what had been ordered. At the end of the night, the lights, colors, and suprises made for a great event. Thanks again to Dave and Lori for including me in their fun.

For more flower fun visit my Florilista website!

Ever wonder what I do when no one is looking?

As a florist...a WEDDING florist no less...most of my daily work is actually figuring out what brides want. I coordinate designs according to their wishes...even drawing out ideas sometimes to make sure that we are all on the same page and so that the flowers I deliver on the big day are exactly what every bride has asked for. (Or more than what she asked for if I can help it.)

Once in a while though, for gifts, personal events, and for trade shows, I get to play and create entirely out of my own brain. I've even been lucky enough to have clients give me a couple of small instructions and then let me have free reign and a great time doing what I wanted to do as a surprise to them.

If you're prepared to enter my brain for a moment, here are some fun examples of projects I have done when no one is instructing me!



For more flower fun visit my Florilista website!