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When I met Melissa at our first consultation, I immediately noticed her bright blue-green eyes. They are a brilliant aqua color, and they just sparkle. I associate that color with peace, contentment, and refreshment. Maybe because the color reminds me of splashing in the tropical waters of Thailand. Sighhh. I was delighted to find out that turquoise was the color of choice for Melissa and Andrew's wedding decor. Amazingly, I've never done a pure aqua wedding! I've done aqua and orange, aqua and red, aqua and yellow, but not plain aqua.

Melissa and Andrew tied the knot at the Loew's Hotel in Santa Monica- a sleek, modern boutique hotel with the most amazing view of the ocean. We were going for decor that would compliment the trendy look of the hotel and capture the laid back, breezy feel of Santa Monica.

I can't help but rave rave rave about the amazing planner, Christina from Simply Modern Weddings. She was always so thorough, punctual, professional, and sweet at the same time. When I arrived, her husband/assistant was hand-ironing all the napkins into perfect folds. After the wedding when my sister arrived to pick up the rentals, Christina stayed with her late into the night and helped until the last vase was accounted for. Above and beyond I tell you!

The following pictures are from photographer Trista Lerit's blog. Trista did an amazing job, as always. Her cool, modern style was a perfect fit for this wedding. She was my awesome wedding photographer, and now I'm blessed to call her a dear friend.

Melissa always imagined she would carry a bouquet of white and pink roses, but she felt a little pressure to stick to her blue and white palette. She decided to go with her gut. We used esperance roses and tied the bouquet into the rest of the decor with blue crystals.

Here's the groom, wearing a single phaleonopsis orchid with blue crystal beads. Love the tie and pocket square.

Her bridesmaids carried white bouquets that popped against their aqua dresses. I got to use one of my favorite flowers, fringed tulips, in the bouquets. They look like frayed fabric flowers.

Definitely the cutest flower girl dress I've ever seen.

The ceremony took place on a deck overlooking the Santa Monica Pier. We draped an arch in delicate white fabric, swagged it with aqua crystals, and tucked in some fluffy white and blue florals. It was the perfect ceremony centerpiece. Chic silk wrapped floral boxes lined the aisle and doubled as fun cocktail centerpieces.

The reception was just magical! The aqua lighting (via Rainbow Lighting and Sound) was superb, and the gorgeous blue chargers, linens, and blue tinted goblets were so fresh.

The massive centerpieces. I loved how the pink centers of the submerged cymbidium orchids tied in with Melissa's pink bouquet.

A little note about blue flowers -there aren't many. If you're planning on using blue flowers, you've got to be open to a range of tones and textures. Most light blue flowers aren't pure blue but have a lavender/periwinkle hue to them, and most are wildflower-esque. We used hydrangea, delphinium, and tweedia in this wedding. Other blue-ish flowers are muscari (grape hyacinth), irises, cornflower, and berries like blue viburnum and privet.

Tweedia is an adorable flower that does actually have a real aqua tone to it. But its stem oozes out a white milky substance that can get all over the place, so beware. We used clusters of tweedia blossoms to accent each napkin, and used floral tape to plug the milky stems.

Picture from wikipedia

Vanilla Bakeshop put together a stunning mini cupcake display. The cupcakes were delish- I got to try one (or two…)

Thank you Melissa and Andrew for choosing TPetal to beautify your wedding. It was a true joy to work with you! Cheers to your brand new life together!

Now enjoy your honeymoon, you lovebugs!