Kristin Brancaleone, Rancho Santa Margarita, CAVendor: Floral DesignerWebsite: The Treasured PetalAbout 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!
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!”
Nancy @ Nancy Liu Chin Designs, San FranciscoVendor: FloristWebsite: Nancy Liu Chin DesignsAbout Me: A San Francisco native, Nancy graduated from the University of California - Berkeley's Haas Business School where she studied finance and marketing. Beyond running her floral studio, Nancy is a huge fan of Top Chef, loves to travel to exotic locations, is an avid reader of contemporary fiction and considers herself on Team Edward (Twilight fan!), entertains friends in her loft style home in San Francisco's SOMA neighborhood, and can be found at SF Giant's home games. Nancy and her husband, Kevin are a dynamic pair and can be frequently seen walking their white Bichon Frisee, Chin Chin around the city and lounging at cafes sipping Italian sodas.
Wedding #2, that is also a FAVE wedding of the year, features soft pinks, creams, and white whites. Details including this lovely invitation printed on a handkerchief and mailboxes are just a few that the bride, Lindsey incorporated in her San Francisco Wedding.
Nancy @ Nancy Liu Chin Designs, San FranciscoVendor: FloristWebsite: Nancy Liu Chin DesignsAbout Me: A San Francisco native, Nancy graduated from the University of California - Berkeley's Haas Business School where she studied finance and marketing. Beyond running her floral studio, Nancy is a huge fan of Top Chef, loves to travel to exotic locations, is an avid reader of contemporary fiction and considers herself on Team Edward (Twilight fan!), entertains friends in her loft style home in San Francisco's SOMA neighborhood, and can be found at SF Giant's home games. Nancy and her husband, Kevin are a dynamic pair and can be frequently seen walking their white Bichon Frisee, Chin Chin around the city and lounging at cafes sipping Italian sodas.
Could this beautiful wedding in Fairfax at the Meadow Club, photographed by Cliff Brunk, be the wedding of this year. This is Wedding #1 - In the Meadow, featuring green orchids, hydrangea, mini callas, fiddlehead, dahlias, ’super green’ roses, pom pom mums, and dark foliage. Details included birds, bird nest ring bearer pillow, haystacks, a vintage car, and floral motif. Invitations by Hello! Lucky. Rentals and lighting by Hartmann Studios. Photography by Brunk Photography. Floral and Event Design by Nancy Liu Chin Designs.
Nancy @ Nancy Liu Chin Designs, San FranciscoVendor: FloristWebsite: Nancy Liu Chin DesignsAbout Me: A San Francisco native, Nancy graduated from the University of California - Berkeley's Haas Business School where she studied finance and marketing. Beyond running her floral studio, Nancy is a huge fan of Top Chef, loves to travel to exotic locations, is an avid reader of contemporary fiction and considers herself on Team Edward (Twilight fan!), entertains friends in her loft style home in San Francisco's SOMA neighborhood, and can be found at SF Giant's home games. Nancy and her husband, Kevin are a dynamic pair and can be frequently seen walking their white Bichon Frisee, Chin Chin around the city and lounging at cafes sipping Italian sodas.
I follow your blog and just admire your work so much. I have a question for you regarding hydrangea. I love love this flower but ran into quite a few incidences where it drooped on me if left out of water. I see them in magazines all the time where brides hold a beautiful white hydrangea or even mixed with hydrangea or hydrangea pomander, and wonder how long does that bouquet last?
Flush Designs, PasadenaVendor: Invitations, Event & Floral Design, PhotographyWebsite: Flush DesignsAbout Me: Flush Designs is run and owned by me, Courtney C. Keefe de Jauregui. It is all encompassing, from the custom & handmade invitations seen at my website, to full exploration in event styling and design, to flower arranging, to playing sidekick and second shooter to my husband's wedding photography. I am working on becoming a wedding "One stop shop". :) I am a graduate in fine art painting, but a self taught graphic designer. As I still needed to get my hands dirty, I started taking letterpress classes, thus becoming my new love. When I am not busy working (usually still in my pajamas) and telling myself to remember to buy a new chair (this one hurts), I am singing to my 3 cats and enjoying a cold pint with my husband at our favorite local Irish pub. Maybe it's in the reverse order. :)
As I mentioned in my last post, here was the sneak peek. Erin and I went to Maine to help style, arrange flowers for the reception, do the tablescapes and well… photograph our great friend’s wedding. We had a blast!! I wanted to share with you some photos. You can see the whole story of the days and more pics from the wedding and day after shoot we did over on our blog here and here. Some of the flowers were wild flowers pick around the property, with a others delivered the morning of from a local farmer. I had NO idea of what flowers I was going to be working with, but it turned out great.
I rummaged the land for fun pieces of bark to lay on the table too. I used old Ball jar lids as the tea light base, and burlap for the runners with a cross pattern of different fabrics and and extra flags (used for the bunting banners) as little placemats. Each table had a different metal letter on it that spelled out LOBSTER; so cute. The wedding was so much fun to style, attend, and photograph.
Kristy Rice, PennsylvaniaVendor: Invitation ArtistWebsite: Momental DesignsAbout Me: I remember drawing by flashlight way past my bedtime as a
young child – I never stopped. For me creating art is not an act but a
lifestyle. I am passionate about creating moments on paper, my
home, loving my hubby and believe you can never have too
many fantastic handbags.
To catch up on my renewal planning adventure check in here, here, here, here and here! The hubby and I just booked our flight for a trip to Las Vegas and Zion next month. Our first stop will be in Vegas for the much anticipated Engage!09: The Encore. We then head to Springdale, UT for 4 days in Zion National Park. I cannot wait to choose our ceremony location and stop in at the Bit and Spur to plan our post-ceremony celebration meal!
Lately I have been thinking in more detail about favors and flowers for our renewal celebration and my mind immediately seems to go to succulents…
I adore succulents. Since last year, these lovelies have been popping up here, there and everywhere in weddings. It is no surprise since these tiny little plants pack a lot of color and texture punch. The renewal is months away but I am already thinking about favors for our guests. Succulents could be perfect. I just love the tin container below that doubles as a seating card. Last weekend I picked up a bunch of these Depression sherbet glasses. Can you imagine a succulent bloom planted in each one - such a sweet little favor!
Kristin Brancaleone, Rancho Santa Margarita, CAVendor: Floral DesignerWebsite: The Treasured PetalAbout 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!
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:
Princess Lasertron, OmahaVendor: Flowers made of felt, vintage buttons and other ephemeraWebsite: Princess LasertronAbout Me: I started Princess Lasertron in 2005 creating custom bouquets out of
felt, vintage buttons, and other ephemera. I give each bride an
heirloom-quality piece that will bring a personal dimension to their
wedding and everyday lives. What I love most is meeting and
collaborating with unique women whose weddings are a true
representation of them and their partners. As for me...I live
nocturnally, I'm an INTP, I play Dungeons and Dragons every other
Saturday, and I'm a perpetual student.
I know that you are going to fall sooo in love with Beckie and Kyle’s wedding… they are eloping in France and are just two super interesting and fun people that I would love to be friends with.
Kate Parker, New HampshireVendor: Wedding PlannerWebsite: Kate Parker WeddingsAbout Me: Kate Parker is the owner of Kate Parker Weddings, a wedding planning and floral and event design studio located on the Seacoast of NH. KPW specializes in simple and sophisticated weddings throughout New England and New York and also provides lighting services, paper products, custom out of town welcome baskets and music entertainment. Kate loves to work with as many details as possible- ribbon banding, monograms, favor tags etc to make each wedding unique and fabulous! She lives in Somersworth, NH with her husband Ryan, son Zachary, and chihuahua Lola. Although she doesn't have much free time, Kate loves to travel, read a good book, and entertain for close friends.
Some brides will not have any cocktail hour flowers and some brides will have more flowers here than at their ceremony. Typically your cocktail hour flower budget should be anywhere from 5%-15% of your total budget, depending on how many tables are out, how many bars you have, if there are any stationary hors d’oeuvres, and if your place card table is a part of our cocktail hour. Some venues allow brides to re-use the cocktail hour as a late night lounge for guests to get away from the music, so that might affect how much attention you’d like to spend in this area.
You should expect to spend about 5% - 15% of your flower budget on your cocktail hour flowers.
Here is a list of places you might want to include flowers in your cocktail hour:
Low-top tables for guest seating
High-top tables for guests standing and chatting, putting their drinks down, etc
Bar(s)
Stationary hors d’oeuvres table(s)
Place card table
Gift table
Guest book table
Bathrooms
You might also have lounge furniture, or a special photo booth area, and many of these items might be in your reception area. This just gives you a comprehensive list of your options as every venue is different and every bride’s vision is different as well.
Nancy @ Nancy Liu Chin Designs, San FranciscoVendor: FloristWebsite: Nancy Liu Chin DesignsAbout Me: A San Francisco native, Nancy graduated from the University of California - Berkeley's Haas Business School where she studied finance and marketing. Beyond running her floral studio, Nancy is a huge fan of Top Chef, loves to travel to exotic locations, is an avid reader of contemporary fiction and considers herself on Team Edward (Twilight fan!), entertains friends in her loft style home in San Francisco's SOMA neighborhood, and can be found at SF Giant's home games. Nancy and her husband, Kevin are a dynamic pair and can be frequently seen walking their white Bichon Frisee, Chin Chin around the city and lounging at cafes sipping Italian sodas.
A recent poll we condusted showed that the budget is the #1 stress for couples. Though many of you might recognize a few of my flower budgeting wedding tips, it may be a good idea to revisit them. Here’s a few tips on how to save and still have a great event.
Modest Flowers in Abundance
This is nothing novel but I’m a firm believer that a good floral designer can make any flower (well - almost any flower) look beautiful, elegant, and timeless when you give them a chance.
I wanted to share with you some photos. You can see the whole story of the days and more pics from the wedding and day after shoot we did over on our blog here and here. Some of the flowers were wild flowers pick around the property, with a others delivered the morning of from a local farmer. I had NO idea of what flowers I was going to be working with, but it turned out great.
