Sacramento wedding flowers, advice and news

Tuesday, June 24, 2008

Dynamite Weddings interview

This is an interview I did for Dynamite Weddings. I thought it would be fun to post it here too. They started the question and I had to finish it.

1. I also like to create- paper crafts. I make a mean birthday card! I also have fun, when I can find the time, scrap booking my family photos. I enjoy the textures and colors of the different papers and embellishments.

2. My first job ever was- a Soda Jerk for a fifties themed diner. I would go home after a long shift smelling like ice cream and soda. The restaurant gave out free Hubba Bubba Bubble Gum. That summer I got 7 cavities!

3. The biggest wedding I ever designed for- was an Indian wedding just this past March. There was 750 guests at the ceremony and 550 guests at the reception. It was overwhelming! The colors of the fabric and flowers we used were so beautiful. The bride and groom were gracious and totally appreciative of every wedding professionals hard work. This is a picture of the women at the ceremony. The colors of their saris are amazing

4. My favorite flower is- Peonies. My husband and I had our wedding in May so I could carry peonies down the aisle. They are an amazing flower. In the bud stage they are the shape and size of a ping pong ball. When they burst into bloom they are a multi-petal heady scented floral extravaganza! Sarah Bernhardt and Red Charm are my favorite varieties of peonies. This is a picture of a bridal bouquet I designed recently incorporating Sarah Bernhardt peonies.

5. The easiest item to incorporate into floral designs- Beads, baubles and gems. Sparkly jewelry inspired items are so much fun to put into the bridal bouquet. I also love to personalize the bouquet by adding a piece of fabric from the bridal gown. This bouquet of blue hydrangeas and belladonna also incorporated a piece of lace from the Brides dress wrapped around the stem.

6. Gardening at my house is- Almost non- existent. We have a huge yard and it is mostly empty. I am not great at growing plants. Most people think, because of what I do, I should be a great gardener. Not so! I have a tendency to forget to water my plants.
Currently, I am growing some plants I can use for my designs. So far I have four different scented geraniums, hydrangeas, Lambs Ear and Needlepoint ivy growing pretty well. I am also growing tomatoes for the first time! Those are for eating, not designing.

7. When bringing a housewarming gift I usually bring- a plant or flowers. They can warm up even the most barren of places. You can put a gorgeous orchid on a moving box and suddenly it feels like home.

8. When I go to the wholesale market- I am always looking for something new and different. Most of my brides trust me to choose accent flowers that match their theme and give their designs something no one has ever seen before. The bride on the left wanted me to choose some fun seasonal accents for her bridal bouquet. The colors of the wedding were dusty pink and taupe. I used Stellata pods and pink Sedum to accent the more traditional roses and stephanotis. What fun!

9. My first wedding was- about 20 years ago. The bride was my ex-boyfriends girlfriends step- sister. The bride had heard, through the grape vine, that I worked at a flower shop. Little did she know I was just a glorified bucket scrubber. I worked so hard on that wedding! I really did not know what I was doing so I caused myself a lot of double work. Everything went well in the end but I really sweated that event.

10. When I buy flowers for my home, I buy- flowers that make me happy. Sometimes it is a bunch of tulips that have a ruffled edge to their petals. I will grab a couple of bunches of tuberose because I love their fragrance. I love to pick-up some happy looking gerbera daisies during the gloomy season. In the fall who can say no to dinner plate sized dahlias and branches of colorful leaves?



11. If I was not a florist, I would be- a photographer. I am in such awe of my photographer friends talent for capturing the little moments that make an event so special. I just bought my first “real” camera and I am loving it. When I catch a great action shot it is such a rush! I recently went along with one of my photographer friends to help shoot a wedding and I had a blast. About 30 of my images actually made the cut and went into the final proof album. This is a picture I took of my cute pooch, Simon.

12. Two items necessary for any floral design are- creativity and water.

13. My favorite movie is- Singin in the Rain. I love this movie. Gene Kelly was an amazingly talented and gifted dancer. Debbie Reynolds was so cute and funny in this movie. I need to go watch it again!

14. If I could donate more time, I would- work more at my childrens school. My kids love it when I volunteer in their classes. Teachers need all the help they can get.

15. Something overrated in floral design concepts- is the DIY wedding flowers trend. Designing your own wedding flowers is a HUGE undertaking even for the most ambitious bride. I do not think brides have a clear concept of how much time and effort goes into planning and executing wedding flowers. There are so many things to worry about on the wedding day, the bride, groom and their families should notzf have to worry about the flowers too. Leave (ha!) the flowers to the professionals.

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Wednesday, June 18, 2008

Jenny and Chris are married!


Jenny and Chris had an amazing wedding this past weekend at Wilson Vineyards.

I was thrilled to work with some fabulous wedding professionals, and my friends, Andrea with Andrea's Images, Monty with All Seasons All Reasons and Sandy with Wilson Vineyards.

Jenny and her mother Pam were a dream to work with. They booked us a year in advance, almost to the day, of the wedding. Andrea and Pam put their hearts into every aspect of the wedding. From the personalized chair sashes for the bride and groom to the handmade table tents and the personalized wine glasses for the guests to take home all the details were attended to with loving care.

Check out the fabulous slide show by Andrea with Andrea's Images.

Congratulations to the happy couple!

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Saturday, June 14, 2008

Michelle and Matt are Married!



Michelle and Matt had a fabulous wedding just this past May 17th. They were married at the Westminster Presbyterian church and held the reception at The Sterling Hotel.

I had so much fun collaborating with Michelle and her Mom. The reception had many unique and special decor touches.


Check out the slide show from their awesome photographers Lydell Photography:

 

Tuesday, May 13, 2008

Desario

My husband Jim's (third from the left) band is Desario. They regularly rock the local scene here in Sacramento, Ca.

Check out their myspace: http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=21878347

Their new CD is the final stages and should be coming out soon. They also have several upcoming shows.

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Wednesday, April 30, 2008

This just in...



I just received these images from a wedding I did a while back at The Capitol Plaza Ballrooms with the fabulous and talented photographer, Carmen Salazar.

The Bride's name is Tatiana. What I loved best about Tati's (as her friends call her) wedding day look was her wedding dress. She found it at a vintage shop in her home town. It was originally from the 50's. Isn't it fabulous?

Her bouquet was an eclectic collection of flowers with blush colored pearl beads woven through it. I love how Carmen photographed the bouquet in this picture. The colors of the window sill and the tattered fringe of the curtain perfectly echo the feel and colors of the bridal bouquet.

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Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Aisle Dash


Aisle Dash wrote a blog entry about our boutonnieres!
Quoted here:

Boutonniere art
by Ilona Peltz on Apr 22nd 2008 11:58AM
Filed under: Flowers
Sometimes it can seem like the men are afterthoughts to a wedding (even the groom!). The women get the color -- the men, if they're lucky, get a pocket handkerchief, or maybe a cummerbund. The women get the showers and the parties; the men might get a stag. The women get lavish bouquets, the men get boutonnieres.

Boutonnieres. Let's stop there. Just because they're small doesn't mean they're unimportant. Often undervalued, these small delights add punch to the less flamboyant side of the wedding party.

More than just a rose and a bit of greenery, today's boutonnieres can be floral, textural, even sculptural. In the words of Shannon Cosgrove-Rivas, owner and head designer at Flourish, they are "a little world unto themselves."

Take a look through the gallery, and we're sure you'll see what she means.
Gallery: Boutonnieres as art

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Thursday, April 10, 2008

Where do you get your flowers?


When I started in the field of floral design, 20 years ago (yikes!) cut flowers that were grown and shipped from another part of the world for the average florist to use were rare. Partly because of the cost of expedited shipping and partly because communications between growers, wholesalers and the florist were cumbersome and difficult. With the advent of the Internet and improved shipping channels it has become commonplace for florist to use product from all over the world every single day.

This picture below is of a Groom's boutonniere I designed this past October. Where did those flowers come from? Let's break it down-
Dendrobium orchids- Hawaii
Ruscus- Florida
Hypericum berries- Columbia
I find is fascinating that such a small item's parts hail from three different parts of the world.
What about the picture of the bridal bouquet above?
Roses- Eucador
Lilac- Holland
Hypericum- Columbia
Blushing Bride Protea- New Zeland
Scented geranium- USA- Oregon
Lisianthus- Columbia
Seeded Eucalyptus- USA- Florida
Hanging amaranthus- Columbia
Isn't that amazing?
Over the past 20 years our world has changed dramatically. With the ease of communication the world has become such a small place. Countries and cultures that used to seem exotic and far away have become an intricately entwined with our everyday life.
Photo credits: Tee Taylor, True Love Photo
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