Weddingbee PRO
I think it's fun when wedding planners divulge what's in their emergency kits. Sometimes the stuff they stock seems so random and meticulous to me, proving how Type A these planners need to be! Angel from Love and Splendor wrote a terrific post for Weddingbee PRO about her emergency kit, and Liene from Blue Orchid Blog enlightened me with some of her unusual tools.
We florists also need to come prepared. When working with fragile, perishable artwork on a time crunch in sometimes brutal weather, things can definitely go wrong. But with florals, there is always a way to make it work. Through trial and error, I've built an arsenal of tools that has seen me through some snafus. Here are a few that I just packed up yesterday morning for a fabulous LA wedding:
Chair decor is such a sweet touch. It needn't be extravagant- just a little something to make the bride and groom feel special as they sit down for their wedding feast.
Photo by Jasmine Star Photography
Ashlee and Brenton's sweet June wedding was the embodiment of casual, effortless elegance. Actually, these adjectives just as well describe Ashlee, our lovely bride. At our first meeting Ashlee struck me as gentle, happy, and natural. Her wedding style just flowed forth from her personality, and we put together a design scheme centered around playful birds, feathers, nests, twigs, and lots of fun gardeny flowers. This wedding was not showy or glitzy, but intimate and full of rustic charm- perfect for her venue, the Talega Golf Club in San Clemente.
Their coordinator, Kerrie Underhill, is one of the hardest working gals in the biz. She orchestrated all the details of the day perfectly. She also makes a great vase commando when I come to pick up my rentals at the end of the night. Very rarely does a vase escape her watch. Thanks!
The talented Sarah K. Chen worked her magic once again. She has such a creative mind! The following images are from her newly designed blog.
Soft and dreamy, with pops of bright yellow and lime…
Ever wonder how… to keep fully wrapped bouquet stems hydrated?
*Disclaimer: Sorry if this post seems a little risque! I'm trying to be technical. Thank you to my assistant Shana for sharing this amazing little trick with me!
I'm about to share with you all a little florist secret- shh! Don't tell anyone I told you this! 
Take for example this stunning bouquet by Karen Tran via Away Soiree:
Notice that the satin ribbon wrap fully covers the stems, even at the bottom of the bouquet, allowing for a luxe, tailored look.
Since the bridal bouquet is the star of all wedding flowers, it's crucial that the flowers have a supply of water until the last possible second to keep blooms fresh. I usually don't do full bouquet wraps for this reason. I feel more secure when I deliver the bouquets in a vase with water so I know the thirsty stems are drinking and are ready for a full day of wedding action. But there is a way to keep fully covered stems hydrated. Don't giggle please. Condoms.
Today, my dear blog friend Janie from The Bride's Cafe featured the Sex in the City inspired bouquet I created for Jasmine Star. Stop by the cafe and say hello!
Thanks Jasmine for giving me another fun project to work on! It was a blast!
I have some gorgeous weddings to share with you coming up, so stay tuned.
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.
My church friends John and Jenn were recently married, and boy was there a lot of rejoicing that day! They had already weathered some trials during their engagement, and we all watched as their love matured during those hard times. I so admire these two and their love and commitment to each other. Their wedding was a true labor of love- lots of helping hands from the church and their families chipped in to make it the sweet, intimate event that it was. It was my honor to create the springy and feminine florals for their wedding.
Thank you to Marlin Munoz for capturing all the joy and smiles so beautifully. You guys are truly talented and I always love working with you!
Photo by Sarah K. Chen
As a floral designer, I've vowed to never stop learning. I still like to attend design seminars when I can, and I'm always asking other florists and my super savvy assistants if they think I could do something faster, prettier, or smarter. I might even go back to flower school to take some classes (and hopefully teach some classes someday.) In my new “Ever Wonder How…?” series, I'll be posting some neat florist tricks-of-the-trade addressing some questions that I certainly had before becoming a florist. And please, if you have an even better technique than what I am showcasing, leave me a comment!
Ever wonder how to decorate a cake with fresh flowers? That's one thing I didn't learn in floral school, surprisingly. I've seen and tried many different techniques.
Now, all those ways are fine and dandy. They work. I've tried them all. But something always weirded me out about sticking an ordinary flower stem into a gorgeous, priceless confection. First off, no matter how well you rinse, are you really getting off all the pesticides and preservatives? And I doubt that florist tape and wires are much cleaner. My issue with the floral foam is that sometimes the cages leak out water and tiny green foam particles, which could be toxic. And the foam is heavy- I do not want to see a cake collapse because I've just topped it with a 5 pound arrangement. A collapsing cake is one of my recurring nightmares. I'm serious; I can barely breathe when I put flowers on a cake.
The best and easiest solution I've found came from my assistant Montita, who spent most of her life in Thailand. She is full of snazzy ideas that she picked up from her home country. Basically, she's the bomb. 
Read more…
I am totally wild for this summery color combo- spicy oranges and corals against cool aqua. Leah and David wanted hip, artistic, modern decor for their beachside wedding at the beautiful Bel Air Bay Club. Bless Leah's heart; she was open to a huge range of funky, happy flowers, including cockscomb (the one that looks like a fuzzy orange brain) and pincushion proteas. These quirky flowers really gave the arrangements more texture and drama. I love a girl who can see the beauty in cockscomb.
Leah wanted a luxe tropical feel, but she wanted to do it without the typical beachy elements like sand and shells. We brought in lots of elegant white coral, beautiful candlelight, fabric wrapped vases, and orange sea fans.
Amazing couple + Villa Del Sol D'Oro + Jasmine Star Photography + lovely spring weather = a picture perfect wedding!
For me, it was love at first email- I had actually never physically met Alicia until the moment I handed off her bouquet. But I felt like I already knew her through all our excited emailing, and her fabulous blog, which documents every step of her wedding planning (including how she decided to hire The Treasured Petal, which I found so intriguing!)
They are quite the artsy fartsy couple: Alicia is a talented photographer and graphic designer, and Steven is a musician. I just knew their wedding would be chock full of details and sweet lovelies, and it was! I've never seen such cohesive design in each and every detail. Alicia made sure that everything, from her dress, to the linens, to the flowers, cake and menus pointed to her original vision for her wedding- whimsical, sweet, uber romantic, but with a little edge. As Alicia put it in our first email correspondence, “A vintage-inspired affair done in a totally modern way.”
Jasmine Star's work is always stellar, but she and JD really blew me away with this wedding. The following pictures are from her blog- go there and check out the slideshow for more!
Their colors- to die for! White, tan, the softest blush, and deep eggplant purple. Those were actually my original wedding colors (before I changed them 5 times). After seeing it all put together, I wish I had just stuck with them!
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Kristin Brancaleone, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
Vendor: Floral Designer
Website: The Treasured Petal
About Me: The Treasured Petal is a reflection of my love for scrumptious flowers, yummy textures, colors, ribbons, and all the other girly splurges that being a florist allows me to enjoy on a daily basis. Although I don't discriminate when it comes to flowers, my two favorites would have to be cattleya orchids and gloriosa lilies, which I carried in a ginormous bouquet on my wedding day. When I'm not crafting wedding florals and consulting with brides, I am usually at the dog park with my dogs Pesto and Basil, cooking healthy vegan dinners, watching Seinfeld with my husband Joe, at Bible study, or scouring craigslist for antique furniture to fill up my new house. I am also kind of a home-body and really love sipping tea in my pajamas while working my way down my google reader blog list!
