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The first floral raft I ever saw was this R. Jack creation on the Love and Splendor Blog.

(Photo by The Image Is Found).

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Last month, Joe came to do a job that none of us gals wanted to do. I felt like this was a man’s job, so I called on the best guy I know.

Here he is in action, placing three floating floral rafts in their designated spots.

The shallow end was no biggie…

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I’m still invigorated by last weekend’s wedding. After we had all the decor set in place, I actually had time to walk around the site and just gush at the simple beauty of it all. Our couple, Meg and Shawn, longed for a laid back country feel with tons of mason jar candles, paisley fabric, and simple florals. I got to use buckets and buckets of pure white snowberries. They just spilled from the vases and were as plump as grapes. Love them so much!

I hope to share the professional pictures soon, but Joe was able to snap pics of a few details. By the way, he hung all those mason jars from the magnolia tree. It was his project, and he took it very seriously! Thank you Joe!

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Ever wonder how... to prevent “sweaty vase syndrome”?

I like the look of stacked vases. The picture below features bubble bowls stacked on top of cylinders of submerged orchids.

Photo by The Image is Found.
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When my friend Kelly Demaray first contacted me about her clients’ Firebird Ballet inspired wedding, I knew it would be so fabulous. There would be candlelight, a dramatic palette of fiery oranges, reds and eggplant, and lots of moonlit dancing beneath the tall buildings of downtown L.A. - the perfect urban setting for Cafe Pinot. Not to mention the fabulous Rebecca of Docuvitae would be photographing. Many thanks to Rebecca for sharing these images with us!

Best of all, they have an amazing proposal story: the bride Kirsten is a dancer, and the groom Jonas proposed to her on stage after they watched the Firebird Ballet (Kirsten’s favorite ballet ever!) What a man! As Kirsten’s “Man of Honor” said matter of factly at our consultation, “Everyone needs a Jonas!”

Here’s a painting inspired by the ballet:

Image from Wikipedia.

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This weekend’s wedding was a dream. It took place at Rancho Del Cielo, perched atop a hill in Malibu overlooking the ocean. When I handed the bride her bouquet, I got to hear the words I love so dearly, “I’m gonna cry!!!”

If you stepped into my cooler last week, you would find:

local pink garden roses and plump tulips…

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While chatting over tapas at Lola Gaspar, Trista Lerit handed me a cd of images from the vibrant winery wedding we did together months back. Even though this wedding took place as spring was blooming, the jewel tones are so PERFECT for Fall, and I couldn’t resist revisiting this wedding. Especially since the weather is feeling more brisk and autumnal and I’m starting to drink hot tea instead of iced. That definitely means Fall is near. I welcome it!

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My big sis Jenny-lyn married James in Hemet, CA last month. James is a pastor in Hemet, a little town near Temecula, in the middle of the desert. In August, temps reach over 100 degrees easily, and it’s dry as a bone. You can imagine that this influenced my flower choices greatly.

The task before me: to create fun, funky, flirty arrangements that would hold up in the desert, for a wedding of over 350 people, on a very modest budget. Also, I was to be the matron of honor, and deliver a witty toast, at that!

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Picture this - It’s August in California and it’s 100 degrees. You’re transporting flowers to a big hotel, and the loading area is in a boiler room of all places. You pray that your flowers survive the moist, sticky heat as you wait for the teeny tiny elevator to arrive so you can bring your flowers to the reception… two centerpieces at a time. This happened to a colleague of mine who is an amazing photographer and graphic designer, but who also dabbles in the floral arts occasionally. This experience left her traumatized.

I’ve been there, too! A few weeks ago, my assistants set up an outdoor wedding in 103 degree weather. The bride’s favorite flowers are orchids (yay! sturdy!) and dahlias (uh-ohhh). My sharp assistants followed my instructions carefully and added the dahlias to the arrangements at the last minute. Except the ceremony started an hour late , and by then the blazing sunshine had taken its toll! Of course, my girls brought extra flowers along and fixed the arrangements just in time. Everything looked beyond gorgeous, but you can imagine the stress levels!

Any couple getting married in the summer months in California is ultimately taking a risk, not only with flowers, but with melting cakes, running makeup, flattened curls. I got married in August, so I totally understand! But I owe it to my clients (and my own sanity) to take the following precautions to minimize the effect of heat on delicate flowers. I can’t do miracles, but I do all that I can do to make sure that even if I look like a sweaty mess by the end of the day, my flowers still look fabulous.

1. Choose Wisely: I create my floral recipes and place my orders about 2 weeks before the wedding. When I do that, I check the weather forecasts. If it looks like it’s going to be sunny and/or hot, I try to choose sturdier flowers for outdoor arrangements. If a bride LOVES delicate flowers like dahlias, tulips, or gardenias, I’ll try to reserve those flowers for indoor arrangements or handheld bouquets that can stay in vases indoors until the last possible second.

bromeliads, orchids, and china berries- virtually sunproof
Photo by The Image is Found

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I always ask my brides which flowers they love, and which flowers they absolutely don’t love. Roses are almost always mentioned. Most brides see their lovable qualities- their gorgeous spiraled petals, the insane variety of colors, shapes, and sizes, their sturdiness in all kinds of weather, and their relative affordability (I can’t think of a more bang-for-your-buck flower out there.). But there are some brides who consider roses to be a little “same-old”,”traditional”, or “bleh”. Perhaps they just want to explore the hundreds of other more unique flower possibilities before they settle on the old stand-by. I totally get it.

These are the roses that excite me every time I pick them up from the mart. These are the varieties that have reignited my love for roses and have converted my most anti-rose brides into rose lovers.

1. Polo:

A creamy white rose. Love their cup-like shape and ruffly texture.

(Photo by Tony Florez Photography)

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