Flowers add life, warmth and personality to a wedding. They are nature’s gifts to us;  they make us smile when we are sad, and they remind us of the most precious memories life has to offer.  I’ve worked at my trade for many years, crafting the perfect wedding design for each and every bride and groom who decide I’m ‘the one’ for them! Whether they are going for ‘uber contemporary’, vintage chic, or classic traditional style, I can interpret it through flowers, and all the different tools I have, to create an event extraordinaire!

It’s very simple for a bride and groom to choose the type of flowers to match the style of their event. The process really starts with me getting to know them as people.  They come in, sit down, and we talk.  Sometimes we talk about everything under the sun!  Sometimes they tell me about their favorite movie,  their favorite rock band, their favorite colors, or their favorite place to go on vacation. These are all hints to better understand what they both enjoy, and what they want their party to reflect to their guests!

We look at textures and colors, and ways to apply light to the tables and the ceiling of the room.  We look at styles of furniture to put around the dance floor, or ways to incorporate a chandelier, or what shape the floral arrangements should be, or how to create a backdrop for the band. Years from now, the bride and groom remember it all!

Without a doubt, the current trend is the vintage chic feel.  A lot of people feel comfortable with the cutesy, almost whimsical feeling.  It’s an easy look to replicate, and a tried and true favorite.  Brides and grooms are also wanting to keep the focus on their closest friends and family, with a look that creates a very ‘feel good’ vibe.

The magazines say 10% of a wedding budget is put towards florals, but what the magazines don’t tell you is that this percentage is not realistic if you want something extra special and over the top.  If you want flowers for the wedding party, a few florals in the front of the ceremony, and simple centerpieces, 10%  is usually a reasonable percentage.  But if you want those gorgeous patterns of rose petals down the aisle, or the elaborate floral centerpieces towering over the table tops at the reception like you see in the magazines, it will most likely be above 10%. Many brides and grooms are now dedicating closer to 40% or 50% of their budget to the décor, in order to achieve the look and feel that you see in many of the gorgeous weddings in magazines and online. For example, a special table cloth, unique chairs, and furniture seating areas in key locations can enhance the overall look of the event.  When you hire a wedding visionary, or ‘event designer’ such as myself, we can help realize these ideas, and bring them to life. The right details created by a trained eye make a huge difference.

My favorite flower for bridal bouquets is a fresh gardenia, hands down!  They are sexy,  sultry, and so fragrant!  They have gotten a bad rap as the flower that ‘browns’ if you touch them, but look at so many of the photographs of my work and you will not see a brown gardenia!  Just don’t toss that bouquet like a football and you’ll be fine!

In addition to flowers, we love to incorporate different elements into our arrangements  Feathers, crystals, succulents, fruit, vegetables, shells…all forms of nature work with all forms of nature!  The added elements are nice to echo in a ‘theme’ or to make a statement that enhances the feeling of the event!

I will always remember Megan and Sergio’s wedding, and Megan’s mom Katie!  They are a great family and I loved working with them!  This very traditional wedding ceremony took place in the Capella at The Grand Del Mar.  They wanted the classic space to have style, and they allowed me to create gorgeous yellow bouquets to brighten the space!  It was my favorite color to use in the Capella, other than white, which will ALWAYS be my first choice for ceremony flowers in a traditional venue such as a chapel, church or synagogue.

Megan and Sergio met on a soccer field, so they wanted to incorporate their love of soccer into the wedding decor. We thought it would be a fun element to bring to the cocktail hour, where all the guests could enjoy the fun and whimsy. We covered round benches to resemble the look of a soccer ball in black and white, and we created floral soccer balls to enhance the turf covered seating card table. Later, ‘someone’ encouraged the bride and groom to dribble the floral soccer balls around the Grand Del Mar. The ‘game’ was caught by Aaron of True Photography, and the photos are priceless.

The reception room came to life with over sized ‘trees’ of flowers in the centers of the tables,  and the chocolate brown dance floor gleamed in the ballroom!

We created a large U shape table to host all the wedding party and their families, and of course the bride and groom. We literally built the table inside the ballroom on the morning of the wedding!  What a wonderful wedding to be part of!