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A couple days ago, I started to answer Lisa’s question on the cost of peonies, writing about Perceived Value and Pricing.
Today’s issue centers around why local grocery stores and warehouse stores are able to carry flowers at or below wholesale. For the answer, I have consulted the wonderfully talented, Amy Marella of Hidden Garden, for insight. There are several issues going on:
1) Bulk Quantities - Flushing
It is not uncommon to find Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Costco with a wide assortment of flowers. These wholesale warehouses and grocery chains buy their flowers in “bulk” and/or buy flowers that are “flushing” from the growers. I had never heard this term before Amy used it. Amy was kind enough to help define the term. “Flushing” occurs when flowers are coming in great abundance and the grower is willing to get rid of them quickly/cheaply because they have a very large quantity.
Amy states, “this is not to say that the flowers at these locations might not be perfect, but they are not hand picked by the buyers”. Given that - each week these outlets have differing stock. There is never a guarantee of what you might see at your local grocery store like Whole Foods, Trader Joe’s and Safeway. These large corporations have the buying power to purchase in “bulk” therefore offering consumers much lower prices than a local floral shop who doesn’t buy in the quantities that a large, national grocery store could.
With all the custom holiday cards we are designing lately, I am completely inspired by cozy winter whites, and rustic charm with a bit of modern whimsy. This inspiration board I think showcases perfectly exactly what is inspiring me right now. (Never mind it’s 80 degrees in Southern California right now!) Think white cashmere blankets, handmade marshmallows, and a creamy white hot chocolate…sigh!
From the top that amazing paper deer head and that adorable display of hanging bottles spotted on Style Me Pretty. This is a space created by the amazingly talented Hatch Creative Studio, for their clients to host their events in. Brilliant! The dreamy photos of the space were shot by the infamous Karen Mordechai (aka Sunday Suppers). Next up is that beautiful white hot chocolate! Yum! Found via Meme Recipe Blog. Check it out for the recipe! This ultra chunky button Cowl is amazing! It doesn’t get much cozier than that right? Found via the Lulu & Loie’s etsy shop. I am constantly coveting these gorgeous Moroccan Poufs and this luxurious white one is amazing! Via Serena and Lily. These last two photos are more of the Hatch Creative Studio. Love the snow shoes on the wall! Brilliant!
Every once in a while, a couple comes along that changes my life forever…
I tend to fall in love with people while photographing them and often come away from the experience with a sense of admiration and love that is normally difficult to achieve when you’re just meeting someone for the first time. Now, I’m not sure if my couples end up feeling the same way about me, but hopefully they see my love in the images they end up with. 
Sally & Rodney just blew me away with their kindness, joy, love, compassion, and inner beauty, which resonates in everything they do and with everyone they meet. While most couples will keep in touch maybe a year or two after their wedding, they often slip out of contact and remain beautiful memories, but Sally & Rodney have only become closer to me as friends over the years and through the many different twists and turns our lives have taken since then.
While chatting with a fellow stationery designer on Twitter I discovered the stunning work of Jane Wilson-Marquis. Her hand-painted collection immediately drew me in; I wanted to see more. Jane’ s inspiration “derives from Greco-Roman, Medieval and the Arts and Crafts periods. Her clothes create a romantic vision and wrap the wearer in sculptured swatches of luxurious fabrics.” Hand-painted flourishes take fashion as art to the next level with the tactile quality of each painted stroke.
As I dove deeper in to the Jane Wislon site I discovered her “Wearable Art” Collection and was simply blown away. The sculptural quality of each gown combined with heavily painted bodices was immediately enchanting. As an eclectic wedding gown choice or spirited attendant’s dress, these painted designs would take center stage at any celebration.
Claudine & David are a very special couple to me; iIadored them from the moment I met them at our consultation. The first thing that struck me about the two of them: they are one good-looking pair!! The second thing — they share a deep love and respect for one another, and a companionship that I truly admire. I love falling in love with my clients, and being inspired by their relationships. it’s just another joyful part of this job i am blessed to have. 
Claudine and David were wed in september in a beautiful, traditional Catholic ceremony at Sacred Heart Chapel, on campus at LMU (where Claudine is an alum and lecturer!). The reception took place in Roski dining room, also on campus at LMU. It is a sleek, modern space that was re-done literally *weeks* before their big day. What timing, right?? The space is adjacent to a lovely contemporary garden (Shea Terrace), with abstract sculptures and water features, as well as the perfect raised area for dancing under the stars. The evening unfolded beautifully and I am delighted to share a glimpse of the day with you through the lens of my dear friends, Amelia & Justin Lyon. To know them is to love them! They are both wildly talented, tons of fun, and wonderful to work with. The images they captured for Claudine and David are simply stunning. Make sure to click over to their blog for more pics & a slideshow!
Last month, we were in New York for a couple of weeks to shoot our new DIY wedding book with co-author and stylist Shana Faust and photographer Joseph De Leo. It was an amazing and overwhelming experience, and has largely been responsible for the slow-down in blog posts!!
The first floral raft I ever saw was this R. Jack creation on the Love and Splendor Blog.
(Photo by The Image Is Found).
I believe your wedding album design should reflect your sense of style just as much as every other choice you make for your wedding day. To help you identify which wedding album design is most appealing to you, I’ve taken one set of images and created a variety of album designs to show how each album design affects the viewing and interaction of the images on the page. While there are literally infinite design possibilities for wedding albums, I’ve found that most designs can fall into one of the following categories: Fine Art, Traditional, Editorial, Collage, or Embellished. I’ve included a quick preview here, but you can click on the links to view the complete album design sample.
FINE ART
This album design displays one image per page, like a gallery in a book, allowing each image to stand on its own and command the full attention of the viewer one image at a time. Images are usually centered on the page with a white or black background or matting, with or without contrasting border/bevel (the sample below is black background with contrasting white border/bevel.) If the book is printed with images on the front and back of each page (allowing two images to lay side by side when open) there are opportunities for pairings of images that uncover hidden or implied relationships. If you’re a minimalist, or want your album to look like a portfolio of art, this is the album design for you:
It excites me to no end when I get to do photo shoots. This one was done with a fantastic team including the ever talented Kevin Chin, Anne Millett of Mira Aster, Classic Party Rentals, and Utterly Engaged Magazine.
The lovely Claudine + David were referred to me by Angel Swanson from Events of Love and Splendor, so of course I was ecstatic when they wanted to book us! For one, any client of Angel’s is already a sweet client in our eyes and for two, we love any chance we can get to work with Angel as she and her fab sidekick sister Ana “bring it” to every event that they coordinate!
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