Art Alive 2011

So today was "installation day" for Art Alive and it's so awesome seeing all the amazing works of floral art created every year! Having done this a couple of years now it is also fun to see how people interpret the pieces of art differently too.

This year I picked Madonna of the Roses and as usual I go a more literal route. It must be the wedding florist in me that I want people to see the painting in the flowers-- or maybe I'm just not as schooled creatively.

Here are two arrangements that blew me away! They were not only structurally fabulous, but you knew right away what piece of art it belonged too (and trust me, that doesn't always happen).

If you can make it down this weekend, Art Alive runs Friday, April 29th-Sunday, May 2nd at the San Diego Musuem of Art in Balboa Park!

St. Louis Blooms

So I am visiting my husband, Adam, and his family in St. Louis and am blown away by all the beautiful spring flowers just growing along the beltways, in the parks, the yards, etc... and I understand that I really missed the daffodils and tulips in full-bloom. I love all these beautiful spring blooms!

Bushes of Honeysuckle and Hydrangea are growing like crazy, especially with all the rain they have been getting.

These Lily of the Valley were blooming along a beltway down the street from my mother-in-laws. I cringe at what I spent back in San Diego last weekend on 10 stems of these little, sweet-smelling, blooms.

I'm not sure I have ever seen a Dogwood tree. The name doesn't do it justice... the whole tree is just one big cluster of flowers!

These are peony buds... 100s of them on three bushes! I couldn't believe it! And there are so many beautiful types of hyacinth, including the blue grape hyacinth.

I just loved all of these wild, spring flowers, but headed back to my native Southern California tomorrow where we too have some awesome, draught resistant, blooms...

Yellow Flowers: bright, fun, and totally on trend!

Of course there are a ton of yellow flowers out there and they are sure to brighten up any event especially a wedding!

Here are a few fun flowers to consider when thinking yellow for your wedding day...

Rannuculas! You know I love them. :)

And Zinnias are a fun summer flower that come in loads of shades, including yellow.

Freesia smells beautiful and has a great green spray that adds a crisp pop to a bouquet.

And dahlias are a great flower for any arrangement, can also float, and is another personal favorite! Lastly, the Billy Ball... this is so on trend right now and I can see why. It's fun, fresh, make great boutonnieres, small posy bouquets, or is a fabulous pop to any arrangement.

I lot of brides are gravitating towards this vibrant color paired with grey bridesmaid's dresses. Something to think about... :)

The Wine Themed Wedding

A number of brides love the dark eggplant purple for their wedding. Some brides and grooms are drawn to this color because of their love of wine (and I can't blame them!) and create a wine theme for their wedding day. Here are a few pics from today's wedding that I took and another from a wedding past to give you some inspiration...

This bride provided small glass, champagne grape clusters to wire into her bouquet. The look was discreet and perfect for the theme of the wedding. Added to that were dark purple lilac, white peonies, white French Tulips, white sweetheart roses, and variegated ivy which created a free-form hand tie bouquet that I truly loved!

A casually, elegant aisle arrangement is this bow of raffia with vines of ivy.

I feel like I hit the tulip jackpot when I saw this Black Hero French Tulip at the growers yesterday and bought the two bunches they had before anyone else could steal them away. The color matched the dark purple lilac that I used in the bridal bouquet perfectly and I couldn't have been more excited!

the "Anthro" Bride & Tablescapes

Flowers by Erin had an awesome weekend and I wanted to share a few iPhone shoots with hopes that I'll be able to share some professional pictures soon!

So I love this whole look and vibe! My brother, Ryan, and my sister-in-law, Ali, really embodied the whole "Anthro" look when they were married last August. I had really wanted the opportunity to create a wedding with that aesthetic. Yesterday was that day... Ali, my mom/trusty assistant, and I put together this amazing wedding at the Coronado Community Center. I loved it!

Instead of traditional centerpieces we did tablescapes which simply implies lots of vases, jars, and carafes of flowers and candles. For this bride I also incorporated potted plants in rustic wooden containers and river rocks. We used all garden flowers in bright pink: larkspur, tea roses, garden roses, misty pink, waxflowers, fuchsias, rannaculas, veronica, hydrangea, etc...

The bride's bouquet was also free form with shoots of white veronica and wax flower along with hydrangea, garden roses, and lots of her favorite flower (and one of mine too) rannaculas both open and unopened.

The wedding was coordinated by Lindsy Hines and Weddings by Lindsy and she is amazing! http://www.lindsyhines.com/

And in case you are still looking for a great venue to have your wedding at check out the Coronado Community Center: http://www.coronado.ca.us/department/division.php?fDD=13-158

"Style Me Pretty"

So I am reminded of this blog posting on a great website, Style Me Pretty, because this weekend I will be doing her sister's wedding here in San Diego as well.

http://www.stylemepretty.com/2010/12/22/romantic-san-diego-wedding-by-studio-verite-photography/

The floral arrangements consisted of white and ivory roses, hydrangea, dendrobium and phalenopsis orchids, and dahlias with soft touches of pale pink "sweet akito" roses. The gold gilded containers accented the hanging crystals perfectly and it all came together beautifully.

Kelly knew exactly what she wanted and it was a pleasure creating her wedding flowers!