Carnation Comeback

Don't call it a carnation comeback, but I've had quite a few requests in the last year or so for these "old fashion" flowers. 

I think the biggest reasons are the wide variety of colors (there are more options then even roses or gerber daisies), the fullness of the petals and they are inexpensive compared to other flowers which makes them super budget friendly. 

This full arrangement was made with light pink and white carnations with white hydrangea.

Pari's Bridal Bouquet had green hydrangea, orange dahlias, yellow sweetheart roses, purple phalenopsis, and orchid purple (which is closer in color to fuchsia) mini carnations.

If you are thinking about using carnations go for it! They aren't as "old fashion" as you may have remembered. When you are looking for large, full arrangements on a budget, or with a color flower that is hard to find, think about carnations.

Smashingly, Elegant Wedding in Peaches and Creams

This smashingly elegant wedding took place at the Museum of
Art in Balboa Park (http://www.sdmart.org/) in October and had all the Old Hollywood beauty and glamour you could ask for!

The bridal bouquet was a beautiful creations of grey dusty miller, white lisianthus, "Sahara" roses, peach sweetheart roses, ivory roses, and beautiful, sweet-smelling gardenias.

The bridesmaid's bouquets had gray dusty miller, white lisianthus, antique "Sahara" roses, and peach sweetheart roses.

The Chuppah, a traditional Jewish wedding structure, was decorated on all 64 feet with beautiful garlands of seeded eucalyptus, Italian ruscus, white hydrangea, and white roses. Chuppahs are very often used in non-denominational outdoor weddings too!

When you walk into the inside of the museum there is a large fountain in the rotunda which was surrounded by cocktail tables with candles or small arrangements on each. The large staircase leading to the galleries upstairs was covered in a garland of seeded eucalyptus and lemon leaf with clusters of white wax flowers, white hydrangea, white roses, and peach sweetheart roses.

The bride and groom wanted to have two different centerpiece options for their 20 reception tables. Many couples like to do this. In some cases it can be a great way to save some money, incorporate tall and short
arrangements, or in the case of this couple add more candle light and intrigue
to some of the centerpieces.

These elegant centerpieces had large white dahlias, white hydrangea, white wax flowers, ivory roses, Sahara roses, peach sweetheart
roses, and seeded eucalyptus in gold urn shaped containers. The candle
arrangements had three candles of various sizes in hurricane vases surrounded
by two smaller arrangements. Every table had multiple votive candles as well.

I simply LOVED arranging this wedding and a big thanks to Jenn and Monica at Eventity (http://www.eventityinc.com/) for being such amazing coordinators to work with!

SoCal Wedding in Coronado with a Turquoise Twist

Turquoise was all the rage a few years ago. Some brides choose to keep it simple and classic with all white flowers and brown accents throughout. Other brides choose bright popping colors of yellow, orange, and mango. Karen choose coral red for her wedding last Thursday at the Coronado Community Center.




In keeping with the SoCal trend of succulents her bridal and bridesmaid's bouquets had beautiful succulents. Karen's bridal bouquet was a beautiful, eclectic combination of all white and green flowers: dahlias, freesia, roses, scabiosa, gerbers, bouvardia, hydrangea, and succulents. The bridesmaid's bouquets had similar flowers, but in red and green. The boutonnieres were also made of succulents and red hypercuim berries with a turquoise ribbon wrap.

The ceremony, held on the lawn in front of the CCC, was set-up with a sofa table purchased by the bride and groom for their wedding and arrangements down the aisle chairs added the splash of turquoise and beautiful flowers to coordinate.

The cocktail hour was set-up just outside the room and the mother of the bride and her sisters covered every table with burlap purchased from a fabric store which accented a simple mason jar or carafe with a few stems of one flower, clusters of multiple blooms, or candles.

I can't wait to share the centerpieces with everyone. I love this look!

Bright, Fun Flowers with a Sophisticated Style

Congratulations to Matt and Pari on their beautiful wedding yesterday at the Rancho Bernardo Inn! I love this venue and am even more in love with the Aragaon Courtyard and adjacent ballroom. http://www.ranchobernardoinn.com/ I can't wait to see the professional images by True Photography and post them when they become available.

Among the thousands of flowers used at the wedding, there were 50 sprays of purple phalenopsis orchids (which matched the bridesmaid's dresses perfectly!), 240 stems of green hydrangea, and 280 stems of dahlias to name a few! Here is an image taken right after the flowers were delivered, before sorting and arranging... It was pretty incredible.

I loved, loved her colors! Originally, Pari was thinking more of the sunset colors, but then fell in love with the bridesmaid's dresses. She didn't want loads of purple though so we decided to sub the red for an orchid purple (more like a "plumberry" color), and keep the orange, yellow, and green. The look was exciting and fun, but sophisticated.

Pari and Matt celebrated with both a Persian Ceremony and an "American" Ceremony. Afsaneh Sargordian and her company http://afsanehsargordian.com/ designed an absolutely beautiful Persian ceremony in which I created two large and one small arrangement for.

It was a striking, yet beautiful contrast to the bright and colorful "American" Ceremony which had balls of brightly colored flowers flush to the lush, grape vine covered arbor sides, Shepard hooks with kissing balls down the aisle, a runner of yellow, orange, and deep pink rose petals, and butterflies and dendrobium strands hanging from the arbor completed this picture perfect ceremony!

All in all I loved arranging this wedding, and wish Pari and Matt much happiness!

Beautiful Succulents and More!

I just received these pictures of a wedding I did in April. I love them! The bride's flowers were so perfect with green succulents, white hydrangea, white rannuculas, white waxflowers, and white anemones with black centers.

The bridesmaid bouquets were similar, but with touches of "raspberry pink."

The wedding ceremony was held at Sunset Point adjacent to The Dana Hotel. http://www.sandiego.gov/park-and-recreation/parks/missionbay/sunsetpoint.shtmlrecreation/parks/missionbay/sunsetpoint.shtml

Sunset Point is one of the many locations in San Diego that are permitted out by Parks and Recreation for those of you looking for a unique, quintessential San Diego location.

I love seeing pictures from my brides and coordinators. Please keep them coming! A special thanks to Meaghan at Weddings Made Splendid for sending these along. I was great working with you!

Some of My Favorite Wedding Wineries

I recently did a wedding at Bernardo Winery. I really liked the open grassy area and arbor for the ceremony and reception and the covered "Rosario's Pavilion" for a funky, rustic cocktail hour and bar. It's all very private considering there are shops, restaurant, and tasting room on site as well. http://bernardowinery.com/events/weddings-and-receptions/

A great Temecula venue that's a favorite is the Temecula Creek Inn. http://www.temeculacreekinn.com/weddings.html. It has this amazing Stone House and outdoor ceremony and reception site that is far removed from the golf course and hotel. It's a super grassy, rustic, and spacious location and I love it! What I love even more is that they golf cart the guests to and from the wedding site and their hotel rooms (which means all eat, drink, and be merrying you can handle).

I also love the Faulkner Winery in Temecula. It has a large restaurant with a 180+ degree view of Temecula Valley complete with two outdoor ceremony sites, an outdoor deck, and it's super private. http://www.falknerwinery.com/weddings/weddings.php Notice a trend... :) I love a more personal, intimate setting.

Other wineries to consider are South Coast which is a huge spa, hotel, and winery and a lot of fun! Ponte, which has a great Barrel Room that you can have your reception in (but be sure to bring a sweater or a wrap). And of course Wilson Creek has a great Almond Champagne! They also redid their whole venue to better accommodate larger weddings and events.

If you know of other venues I should have mentioned or check out let me know!

Waterfront Weddings in May

This Friday and Saturday I had waterfront weddings at the Hilton Bayfront and the Hotel Del Coronado.

The Hilton is a new, modern and contemporary hotel with lots of white vaulted ceilings and light wood accents. It's located across from Petco Park in downtown San Diego. http://www1.hilton.com/en_US/hi/hotel/SANCCHH-Hilton-San-Diego-Bayfront-California/index.doDiego-Bayfront-California/index.do

Of course everyone knows the Hotel Del Coronado. They have many beautiful rooms to accommodate any size reception and you can have your ceremony and cocktail hour on the world famous beach in front of the Del. http://www.hoteldel.com/?src=ppc_google_brand1

I used over 70 dozen roses in white "Akito," cream "Vendela," light pink "Sweet Akito," and medium pink "Blush Akito." They were all beautiful and I love roses!