Weddingbee PRO

It’s such a pleasure to blog along with some of my favorite wedding vendors!  I have been reading Weddingbee PRO from day one, so I was thrilled when Bee invited me to join the team and share with all of you some of my wedding creations and floral tidbits. I’m amazed that The Treasured Petal has flourished the way it has in just two short years.  Here’s our story! 

I was kind of a loner as a kid (don’t feel too bad for me!) and spent most of my free time drawing and painting.  My favorite subjects to paint were my cat Cutie, mermaids, medieval princesses, and you guessed it - flowers!  I will never forget the first art contest I won in 2nd grade: I won a 50.00 savings bond and a picture in the newspaper for a painting of two butterflies and flowers against a sunset sky.  Cheesy, I know, but I was amazed to be rewarded for doing something that I truly loved doing.  I knew I had to be an artist someday! 

By the time college rolled around, I figured I should take the more “practical” route and headed to U.C. Berkeley to study Psychology.  During my studies at Berkeley, I decided to volunteer after class at a quaint little flower shop near campus.  I needed to be surrounded by color and beauty for at least a few hours a day.  My humble tasks included sweeping up stems, stripping rose thorns, and plucking the anthers out of lilies. It wasn’t glamorous and I was no Preston Bailey at the time, but what I learned at that shop was priceless: I learned to love and care for each and every flower. I also learned how to keep them alive for as long as possible, a talent that has served me well in this business.

I enjoyed studying Psychology immensely and was just about to apply to grad school to become a Marriage and Family Therapist, but decided that I needed to embrace my artistic roots and try out a career in floral design.  I began as an apprentice at two Orange County floral studios. I also attended some awesome classes at Goldenwest College in Huntington Beach to learn all the basics.  It is easy to “fake” a corsage or bouquet, but I really wanted to learn the correct technique before finding my own style and doing it “my way.”  You can’t break the rules until you know the rules, right? 

I loved working as a designer for other companies, but I longed to go out on my own. I wanted to work directly with brides, brainstorming ideas and bringing them to fruition. I booked my first wedding in 2006 and spent many sleepless and nervous nights crafting the arrangements for her jewel toned wedding. I have to admit, I was a nutcase! My husband Joe, who I was just dating at the time, was totally instrumental in getting me through that first wedding.  He was there filling water tubes at 2 am, carrying heavy vases back and forth, and taking pictures of all my arrangements for my portfolio. To this day, he attends almost every wedding setup for moral support and to snap pics.  Yes, he’s THE best husband.  Thankfully, the couple loved their flowers, and The Treasured Petal was officially born!

It’s been a wild ride so far.  It’s gritty, with lots of manual labor, thorns stuck in fingers, and 3 am flower mart trips, but there is so much joy in creating and experimenting.  It’s funny, I used to fantasize with one of my closest college friends, Angel Swanson (who you all know and love!) about skipping grad school and diving into the wedding industry.  It seemed so far-fetched and silly at the time, but I had no idea that our fantasy would come true for both of us!  Thank you for reading about my journey, and I look forward to giving you a glimpse into my world over the next several months.  Talk to you soon! 

This is Joe and I on our wedding day, captured by the wonderful Trista Lerit. 

Me, my cattleya orchid and gloriosa lily bouquet, and my 5 lovely bridesmaids in the background.  It’s a little fuzzy, but do you recognize a certain fabulous wedding planner on the far left??? 

Just for kicks, here are my two fur children, Pesto, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, and Basil, a Boston Terrier.