Friday, June 26, 2009
How to make an interior designer happy at her wedding...
This is the Fairway Pavilion at The Hilton La Jolla at Torrey Pines...don't you wish you had been invited to this party?  check out this amazing wedding dress...so classy, and elegant, and clean simple lines...Jolene chose a great color combo to work with! Pinks, peaches, butternut and chocolate! I never 'kiss and tell' but this bride and groom rate in the top 10 of all! She 'spoke my language' and understood the value of color, not only for her bou  quet, but throughout the wedding! It was a gorgeous day at the Hilton Torrey Pines. A path of colorful rose petals and a wide cream colored runner created a simple path to the 'altar!' With a space this gorgeous, save your decorating dollars to spend in the ballroom.  The cocktail hour was in the foyer of the Fairway Pavilion, and out on the terrace...we chose to use a bright coral linen for these tables, again keeping the decor simple. This large table under the chandelier was used to hold the seating cards, which this crafty bride designed herself in the shape of shells, and we set into shallow trays of sand... Every time the door opened, the orchids fluttered in the breeze! It was so cool...  This look of floating cyrstals and candles and flowers has been so popular...here you can see it in close up!  Very pretty images, and very nice people!
 Cupcakes are everyone's favorites, right? We decorated these with fresh flowers and raspberries!
More great ideas...
I'm all about color, as most of you know...  and I'm all about different, as most of you know...here's a couple of tables that are both colorful and different. The blue and rust combo came alive in the green grass at Grand Del Mar (it's where everyone seems to want to do photo shoots this year! I can see why!) We paired the best of the best with linens from Wild Flower ( www.wildflowerlinens.com) , chairs from Chameleon Chair ( www.chameleonchair.com) and table top rentals from Unique Table Tops ( www.uniquetabletoprentals.com) Then I came in and created a table top that is a little unique unto itself...the manzanita branch has been made into countless trees by all the florists of the world...I still like the material, but I thought it might be fun to let it meander thru an iron base, and let the calla lilies 'be themselves'...check out the flatware...it matches the 'monkey tails' that are playing with the calla lilies!  I didn't mention him but I must...Paul Barnett shot this for us all, and we are thrilled. Wouldn't you love to eat dinner at this table?  I'm completely diggin' the glass candleholders...don't you love colored glass? If you've been to my house, and, or, my studio, you know I love it too! Have you had yellow raspberries yet?
Thursday, June 11, 2009
so do you guys remember the scene in Caddyshack, where the priest goes out to play golf in the driving rain, thunder and lightening?
  Well, that's how I felt last week at La Costa, where we were doing a photo shoot for a magazine... The thunder and lightening was crashing around us, but the shoot must go on! It's that time of the year again, when all the magazines start their round of photo shoots...I just wanted to do something very different, so I headed to the nursery, and found some awesome succulents...then I went to the grocery store, and found some crazy veggies, that made this table top a little more interesting than the 'norm'...then I went to my storage room (that would make Martha Stewart proud) and found some wonderful vintage silver pieces in my own personal collection that created the perfect juxtaposition with the succulents...Carol Smith at Invitation Factory created the fun menus and CD party favors, and Wild Flower Linens supplied us with the beautiful linens in soft shades of taupe and mauve, that rocked with the natural beauty of the grounds at La Costa Spa and Resort... And best thing yet, my fate was not that of the priest in Caddyshack...I made it thru the lightening strikes!
Friday, May 29, 2009
The Grand Del Mar
 So I loaded these images a little backwards...we all know I'm a florist, not a computer chick... This was another event I was honored to create for the same convention that I just posted below. However, this WAS the grand daddy event of the week and what it made it so was the 120 or so in attendance were the cream of the crop of the event industry, nation wide, and it was held in the Capela of the most gorgeous Grand Del Mar. And I got to do the flowers! Wow, just amazing! So Paul Barnett shot this for me too...a 17' tower of purple orchids, purple stained glass and candles creating a centerpiece for an X shaped table, which was then strewn with candles, and flowers, and fruit, and stunning linens and exquisite chairs...Wild Flower Linens and Chameleon Chairs  Then a few weeks later, my next adventure at this beautiful hotel brought me, Paige and Charles (the catering pros at the hotel) to a whole new creation...a stunning bridal coordinators event, that featured dresses from M Bride, set in the Capela (room looks a lot different without that 17' tower of purple orchids, huh?) These images were taken by another talented photographer, Boyd Harris. Boyd's work is beautiful!  Carol Smith designed the most exquisite menu and place setting keepsakes for the coordinators that I have ever seen. I wish I could show you the invitation that she made for the party. Seriously they could have been sent to the Queen of England, they were that gorgeous! (I love her hats! Those of you that know me, know I tried to see her hats last year, but she wasn't there when I arrived...too bad! The queen that is, not Carol's hats...I don't think Carol wears hats?)  
I've been busy
   In January, I was invited to participate in an annual event, this year hosted in San Diego at the awesome Hard Rock Hotel...it was called The Wedding Lunch, and I partnered with a terrific team of event professionals...  Rachel Peniche of Plan It San Diego was my partner in design (and crime :) Holland Flower Market of San Diego and Petals and Petals of Miami came thru and saved us by giving us just spectacular flowers!
 The event was in concert with a week long convention hosted by The Special Event magazine.   Not only was it challenging in a creative sense, it was a great experience to work side by side with a fab team of designers who created other aspects of the event....  But this was my playground...a world of black and white...which, for all of you who know me, know I live far from a world of black and white....  My own world rocks in colors of the rainbow....  But not that day! Paul Barnett behind the camera
Frugal Fashionistas
 Are you a frugal fashionista? Do you love a good deal? Finding something that looks like it was more than it was? All of these images show affordable 'now' designs to enhance your table tops....  and they're all under $150 per table...(psst...a lot of them are well under that amount!)   Enjoy!
What makes it all work is a design sense and a desire to make your party stand out from the rest! 40 years of being at the top of my game has taught me it's not about the most showy or over the top...it's about the 'look,' something that says 'you' in the best way! I'm a frugal fashionista too! (ssh, don't tell anyone :)
Estancia
Who says we have to have dinner first?  Michele Coulon is the girl with the passion for cake, and chocolate...well, me too...but Michele is the cake designer...she created chocolate iron swirls and hand made chocolate dogwood blossoms, and calla lilies, to create this awesome work of art for Estancia Spa & Resorts' Wedding Coordinator Fete last weekend...And again...lucky me, we got to do the flowers and design of the event! We created a base for the cake that was created from many different  foliages and textures... Check out the frosting flowers mixed with the fresh flowers...I still wanna know how she made those dogwood out of chocolate!?  I'm on a "phal" fetish right now...they are so amazingly graceful, full of movement...the white butterfly orchid spikes, is  what I'm referring to, for those of you who don't speak florist... also, love, love, love the rich chocolate eucalyptus foliage...and do you see that little succulent floating on the wire? Details...  this is the seating card table...we used birch logs, which we slit with a small hand saw, and slipped the seating cards into the slits, to keep the cards from blowing off the tables...I worked with many natural elements on the table top to achieve this uber natural look...sand, roc  ks, beans, wood... Lemons and roses, and sunflowers, and sisal rugs and open panels filled with vases covered with interesting textures of fabric...fit perfectly on the lawn at the hotel!  Erika Hinshaw, the rock star at Estancia in the catering office, made sure everyone was comfy out on the lawn...pashminas for everyone! Paul Barnett, maestro photographer, shared his view thru the camera! You do me justice each and every time Paul!
  I'm a lucky girl, that's for sure...Bloomingdales Fashion Valley asked me again to provide the floral decor for their fab wedding show a few weeks ago...so here is my table...
I love earthy colors...but I also love peacocks...who knew?
I accented the earth tones with peacock blue napkins and other table top elements!  Check out these fun containers I found on the sale shelf at Bloomies...awesome!   Do you see why French tulips ulimately must be my favorite Spring blooms? And why I love Holland? 
Friday, April 10, 2009
 Recently we had the opportunity to provide floral bouquets to enhance the beautiful bridal gowns featured at M Bride of La Jolla. This bouquet has a bevy of spring flowers in it...lilac and peonies are my favorites!
Another exquisite gown from M Bride, this time with a gathering of spring tulips!
 This is a great idea if you like unusual things! A complete sphere of flowers...I made this one out of carnations, but if they are not your cup of tea, there are lots of other choices!
And for those of you who love simple and elegant bouquets, here's one just for you! All white peonies...it's hard to beat this one...but remember, peonies are very seasonal, and very pricey...think about taking that walk down the aisle sometime soon if you want to use these flowers!
Friday, September 12, 2008
Each and every weekend, I get to meet the most wonderful people and get to go to the most beautiful events in the world…it’s my job to make the events beautiful! This wedding was a few weeks ago at The Del. The bride, her mom, and her grandpa, were super! It was a great day, and the photos reflect the magic of the event. Tim Otto is responsible for them. Check out his web site at www.timotto.com – enjoy the photos of this beautiful day!
Here’s the bridesmaids…hard not to love the color of their dresses, and the flowers against them!
I’m a believer in romance and this is one of the most romantic couples I worked with all year long…they are so wonderful, and so was their family. I love my job! I get to create beauty, and meet wonderful people, and make them happy on the most intimate day of their lives! Ah, life is good! The canopy we did for these guys had 2 or 3 shades of fabric woven together to create a beautiful effect in backdrop for the shades of cream and beige and burgundy flowers!
The beautiful grand ballroom at The Hotel Del Coronado! Probably, this room is the most traditional environment in the city, so creating a more contemporary look can be challenging in the space! We employed traditional design tactics but updated the look of the all white wedding with bursts of butterscotch and chocolate amidst the white flowers, and chose linens that are just a shade off of white.
Some of the tables had spikes of white butterfly orchids in them…they are just so fab in their simplicity!
Some of the tables had these tall cylinder vases, with butterscotch cymbidiums floating in them, and tall arrangements of casa Blanca lilies, imported roses, a really interesting foliage called grevallia, and chocolate brown accents…the depth of the foliage and the brown accents, really tied the flowers into the warmer colored charger plates, while still giving a really clean elegant ‘all white’ wedding look!
The cake was awesome, too, from VG Bakery; we set the cake on a dark wood cake stand to elevate it, and give it a little more importance in the room, and then embellished the cake with white ruffly orchids and those great chocolate monkey tails. What a pretty wedding this was!
So, a couple of weeks ago, I was invited to design two parties at La Costa Resort and Spa for a wedding coordinator get away they were planning. What do wedding coordinators do when they’re not coordinating? Well, these two days they were pampered by the staff of the resort, and I tantalized their senses with a great opening night party, all done in shades of hot pink, and then took them to the French Quarter for the closing night dinner. Hey, it’s hard to impress a crowd like that! They’re some of the most talented and creative people in the city, and let’s face it, they’ve seen ‘it’ all, so my designs needed to be unique, memorable and a little outside the box. I had help from my friends (like the Beatles said) in pulling it all off…first there was Paige Levy in the catering office (Paige has now moved to the beautiful new Grand Del Mar…go see her) at La Costa Resort & Spa; then there was Classic Party Rentals who pulled out the stops and got us all the great china and stemware you see in the photos; Wild Flower Linen created beautiful pieces for our tables; Plush Impressions brought in tons and tons of loungey furniture; Wayne Foster Entertainment dazzled them at dinner and Tim Altbaum provided DJ services for the opening night party! Did I forget anyone else? Oh yeah, me…we did all the design and floral…so enjoy the next group of photos! The entry was marked with huge floor vases filled with submerged spheres that were pink and opalescent…David at Plush, found me a hot pink runner…that in itself was amazing! Thanks to all who helped make this event a really cool success!
The corners of the bar held various sizes of clear glass cylinder vases and I submerged different sizes of spheres, and then topped them off with a candle…I love the pink water too…just brought it all together in our world of pink-ness!
The crazy fun linens for the little cocktail tables were the brainchild of Wild Flower Linens (www.wildflowerlinens.com) and they added a great spunky element to the décor. In the background, you can see how we used some great furniture from David Wright (no he’s not my son, or my brother) who owns Plush Impressions (www.plushimpressions.com). Did you see the clear Lucite bar stools next to the belly bars? Those are his also. I wanted a huge pop of color, so we built planter boxes to hold the lush palm trees, and painted them hot pink.
This is Plush Impressions cool glowing bar that was the anchor in the middle of our party. At night, the white parts of the bar you see glow in any color you want…we chose pink, cuz it was our ‘thing’ but you could have orange, or purple, or blue or green…just whatever fits your mood! The stainless steel parts are also great if you want to add a vinyl monogram or message…just make sure it’s vinyl that adheres without glue!
Hot pink rocks are nearly impossible to find, but we found them! The hot pink accent was great fun!
I’m also really diggin’ this swampy looking tree that my awesome designer Rebecca created! Black Manzanita with crazy green fuzzy wired stuff, and green Spanish moss. I swear the thing looked totally real! It sat on this great terrace that comes off the Poinsettia Ballroom, and David with Plush Impressions brought us black ottomans and black shag rugs (www.plushimpressions.com) to finish off the area.
The room wasn’t set completely when I took these photos, but you can see some of the details of the party! We created an environment that was reminiscent of New Orleans, and chose fleur di lis as an accent piece; atop the bright yellow spheres was a fleur di lis…on the edges of the cake were fleur di lis! Even topping the fringed lamp shades there was a fleur di lis! And no, fringed lamp shades don’t come that way! We got out the glue guns and added the fringe! We added a variety of prints that I called ‘sisters’ that worked together to echo the French Quarter look of the event. Stripes covered the chairs, while a scroll damask pattern centered the tables. We also used two varieties of mustard linens on the tables: one was a textured bengaline, and the other was a textured suede! I love texture!!! The linens were supplied by Wild Flower Linen (www.wildflowerlinen.com) and the awesome chairs came from Chameleon Chairs (www.chameleonchair.com) And the ballroom is the Poinsettia Ballroom at La Costa Resort and Spa!
Sunday, August 31, 2008
The day started out cool and overcast, and rapidly increased in warmth and humidity, and I wondered if the flowers would last as Jen Dery shot images for a Grace Ormonde Wedding Style magazine photo shoot we did on Friday at The Grand Del Mar, inside the gazebo. Stacie Barba of A Day of Elegance (www.adayofelegancesd.com) invited us to work with her and create a table top, with her inspiration, of the color pink. We put a twist on it, and shaded the traditional "sweet" pink with a bit of brown. The mocha crushed velvet linen on the table was perfect, thanks to Wild Flower Linens and Classic Party Rentals supplied the brown and pink glassware accents on the table, along with the chairs and flatware and charger plates.
The Grand Del Mar is an awesome property so go check it out if you haven't seen it yet!
Thursday, August 14, 2008
Another cool wedding at Estancia in La Jolla
 We are so lucky to have really visionary brides and grooms who hire us! This couple wanted something truly unique and not the "boxed" wedding flowers. We decided that given the look of the resort they chose, the truly ab fab Estancia Resort & Spa in La Jolla, that we'd go after a slice of "old Mexico." From the cooking elements that the bride loved, to the warm glow of colorful glass, illuminated by candles and inviting room lighting, this party had a unique vibe to it. (and, by the way, the reason I say that resort is awesome is because they truly practice excellence in customer service...all the way around, really nice place!) The couple hired Trena Lozano, from Trena's Special Occasion, to coordinate the event. As usual, it came off without a hitch; Trena is a wedding rock star! Carol Smith, from The Invitation Factory created the menus, and seating cards, that coordinated with our centerpieces. Carol created an old iron medallion look that we repeated on the bridesmaids bouquets.
The beans and the brightly colored gourds spilling onto the table tops, and the tequila bottles added so much color to the tables; it was awesome.
Check out these arrangements!
I love really unique pieces, so when I went to Europe to the grand daddy of all flower shows last year, I saw these really nice floral containers and so I bought them, and I filled them with pin cushion protea for this wedding. Do you think they are cool too?
The ceremony was really different too
We just didn’t want to use rose petals in the grass, so we opted for lime green fuji mums instead. Then, we created a base of the same flowers for the legs of the canopy to sit within. The breeze was blowing so nicely and the little orchid garlands fluttered in the breeze. They were happy guys that day too!
A Colorful Way to Begin a Blog
 On a very warm summer afternoon, only a week or so ago, a great couple tied the knot at their grandma's house in Point Loma ... it was magic! Here's some of the photos I took that day. Check out the ceremony set up, creating a great intimate environment, and the starfish that appeared throughout the party ... the reception was at the Stephen Birch Aquarium, so the starfish felt right at home! Mark Vogel at TKA Catering and his team of professionals provided the food and beverage for this party, and by the way, those guys really know what they are doing. The food is great, and the service is stellar. Merilee Norman of Ever After Events was the coordinator for the wedding day.
 Awesome, amazing roses, huh?
 These happy little guys greeted guests as they arrived at the wedding
 The lanterns were great during the day time, when guests first arrived at the party, and then when night fell, they lit up with a solar powered light (so the bartender could see...very important that the bartender can see...LOL)
|
