Flourish - Wedding Flowers & Floral Design, Florist

Perfect 5 star rating on Project Wedding!

We just received this e-mail today from Project Wedding:

"Congratulations! You have received a perfect 5-star rating on Project Wedding! Your clients love the impeccable quality and service that you provide, and we are excited to award you with this elite distinction."

You love us! You really love us!

Tell us: When planning your wedding did you read on-line reviews as part of your decision making process?

Labels: Project Wedding, Sacramento florist, Sacramento wedding flowers

Doo- dads for your bridesmaids

I love the idea of putting the initial of your bridesmaid's first name on the stem of their bouquet. Such a cute little detail and so thoughtful.

You can find them here: www.personalizationmall.com

What are you doing (if anything) to personalize your bouquets?

Image from Sharon Hoyt

Labels: Sacramento florist, Sacramento wedding flowers, Sacramento weddings

On the way "in"- Lady Slipper Orchids

Part of my job is to forecast trends in wedding flowers. One flower that I think is up and coming is the Lady Slipper orchid.

Unusual, sexy and rare the Lady Slipper orchid is the perfect flower to add a twist to the traditional bridal bouquet.

But bargain shoppers beware, this lady is no cheap date! Expect to pay about 20 dollars per bloom. I say she is worth it!

Is there a trend in wedding flowers you think is up and coming?

Image by True Love Photo

Labels: Sacramento florist, Sacramento wedding flowers

Christmas wedding

Stacy and Mark's wedding took place on December 28th with the reception at the Capitol View Room, Hyatt Sacramento, Ca.

What I loved: They named their tables after the 12 Days of Christmas. With the table numbers being the cutest plates featuring a painting of each day. Plus- candles, candles everywhere!

Labels: Ca, Hyatt Sacramento, Sacramento florist, Sacramento wedding flowers

Real wedding Wednesday- Candace and Zac

I just received these photos from Jaclyn Photography of Candace and Zac's wedding. The wedding and reception took place in the Barrel Room at Wine and Roses in Lodi, Ca. Candace and Zac were a total joy to work with!

Labels: Jaclyn Photography, Lodi CA, Sacramento florist, Sacramento wedding flowers, Wine and Roses

Photo shoot flowers

Chris with Shepard Photography asked me to make him a bouquet for an urban bridal shoot he was doing. I happily made him this bouquet of phalaenopsis orchids, Black Star callas, fuchsia carnations and black tinted tree fern. Very fun!

Labels: Sacramento florist, Sacramento wedding flowers, Shepard Photography

Trendsetting wedding flowers- Princess Diana

I thought it would be interesting to post a series of blogs about wedding flowers that have appeared in the media and set trends or changed the way flowers for events were designed.

Certainly one of the most iconic weddings that have taken place in recent memory was the marriage of Charles to Diana in 1981.

Diana carried an elaborate cascading bridal bouquet. The bouquet was designed to scale with Diana's wedding gown. The bouquet set the trend of large cascading flowers for the bride. That trend continued through the 80's and much of the 90's.

Fun Facts:

Diana's bouquet consisted of gardenias, orchids, stephanotis, freesia, lily of the valley, roses, ivy, tradescantia, myrtle and veronica

It is a tradition for a sprig of myrtle, from the bush grown from the original myrtle in Queen Victoria's wedding bouquet, to be included in a royal wedding bridal bouquet.

Three bouquets were made for Princess Diana. One for the practice the night before the wedding, the second was delivered to St. James' Palace, the third bouquet was taken to Buckingham Palace on the day of the wedding and used for the formal photographs.

After the wedding one of the bouquets was placed on the tomb of the Unknown Warrior in Westminster Abbey.

The bouquet was 42 inches long and 15 inches wide and weighed approximately 6.5 lbs.

Labels: Sacramento florist, Sacramento wedding flowers

Merry Christmas!

Everyone at Flourish wishes you and yours a wonderful Christmas holiday filled with warmth and love.

These pictures are from our annual family photo session with Beth from True Love Photo.

Aren't the boys getting big?

Labels: family, Sacramento florist, Sacramento wedding flowers

Fun to toss

As a fun alternative to the traditional white woven basket filled with loose rose petals give your flower girl something new to carry and toss:

Scented Spring: Organza drawstring bag filled with lavender buds and crushed rosemary for her to scatter.

Brightest of Summers: Galvanized metal bucket decorated with colorful trailing ribbon filled with wildflower petals of blue delphinium blossoms, orange zinnia petals, yellow sunflower petals and purple hydrangea florets for her to herald the bride.

Fall Fun: Gathering basket decorated with moss and acorns and filled with colorful maple and oak leaves for her to sprinkle down the path.

Winsome Winter: Crushed velvet cone filled with small, white tissue paper snowflakes to lazily drift down the aisle.

Image by Andrea's Images

Labels: Andrea's Images, Sacramento florist, Sacramento wedding flowers

Real wedding Wednesday!

These lovely images are from a wedding we did this past summer. Thanks to the talented photographer, Allison Stahl for sending us the eye candy!

Labels: Allison Stahl, Sacramento florist, Sacramento wedding flowers, Sacramento weddings

The most disappointing bridal bouquet, ever

I was never a religious watcher of the HBO show "Sex and the City". But I did pop in every once in while to see what Carrie and her gals were up to and wearing. I really enjoyed the fashions on the show. Sometimes it was with a loud "Oh no she didn't!".

When I saw the movie I was so

excited to see what Carrie's bridal bouquet would look like. Boy, was I so disappointed! Her dress was incredible, her veil was incredible (bird on her head is still out to the judges) her bouquet was NOT! A bridal bouquet should compliment and elevate the bridal ensemble. Much like a beautiful piece of jewelry.

Carrie's bouquet was sloppy, amateurish, half dead (note the petals on the ground) and ho-hum. The only thing good about her bouquet was it exploded quite nicely when Carrie used it to beat up Mr. Big.

What bouquet would I have designed? Maybe something like this (on the right):

Image by: Justine Belson

Labels: Sacramento florist, Sacramento wedding flowers, Sacramento weddings

In Order of Importance

Choosing where to spend your floral budget can be a difficult decision. You want your dollars to go to good use and have the most impact.

Personal flowers: Anything anyones holds, carries or wears. These flowers will the most photographed and remembered on your wedding day. Spend the money to get exactly the look and design you want for your wedding. This category should be the one place you do not skimp.

Centerpieces: Your guests will spend most of their time at their tables. Choose your centerpieces to have the most impact. Be creative, have a sense of humor and have fun with your centerpieces. Give your guests something to talk about.

Cake flowers: The cake is the center of the reception. The first thing your guests will do after finding their table is go take a look at the cake. If you are opposed to fresh flowers on the cake (I know, sometimes people are) flowers around the base of the cake is a lovely alternative.

Ceremony flowers: The focus of the ceremony should be the marriage. Of course it is wonderful to have an abundance of flowers but if your budget does not allow for flowers everywhere you look, focus on the ceremony area. I design all the ceremony flowers to be re-used in some fashion at the reception for added decor.

Guest book table: It is nice to welcome your guests with an arrangement at the guest book table.

Head table: Most of my couples opt to use the bridal party bouquets as the head table decor. To add something extra to the re-purposed bouquets try pillar candles in large hurricane glass.

Place card table, food tables, and other areas: It is nice to have a beautiful floral arrangement in these areas but going simple or foregoing flowers in these spots altogether works as well too.

Images by: Rachelle Photography

Labels: Sacramento florist, Sacramento wedding flowers

My Inspirations- Flowers for Four Weddings

When I first started designing in flowers in the early 90's I found a lot of inspiration from floral designers in England. I loved their loose and natural style. Their designs were filled with and featured old fashioned flowers that spoke to me.

One of the books that inspired me when I first started designing was written by the florist in charge of the flowers from the movie "Four Weddings and a Funeral". If you have not seen this movie, put it on your list now! It is a wonderful romantic comedy and the flowers in the movie are amazing. This book has one chapter focused on each wedding from the movie. It is filled with really wonderful close up pictures with some how-to as well.

Labels: Inspirations, Sacramento florist, Sacramento wedding flowers

Amazing cake!

I just came across these pics of the cake from one of my weddings. This was from the wedding of Anu and Mithu. I loved the elephant cake stand.

Labels: Sacramento florist, Sacramento wedding flowers, Wedding Cake

My Inspirations- The Language of Flowers

This is such a lovely little book. It contains such pretty pictures flower flowers and their meanings.

Everyone knows a red rose means love. But did you know Lilacs mean first emotions of love or sunflowers mean haughtiness?

This book was a re- release of a book originally published in 1885. It is small and sweet in size. The illustrations were done by the famous Kate Greenaway who was known for her children's picture books.

Why it inspires me: I love the romantic idea of giving meanings to flowers.

Labels: Sacramento florist, Sacramento wedding flowers

and you are....

Have your floral designer label all the boutonnieres and corsages with the first name and designation of each recipient.

Assign a helper (someone who knows the members of your family) to distribute the boutonnieres and corsages. Your florist will not know Uncle Harry and Grandma Josie. but your helper will know these VIPs and can point the florist in the right direction.

A little for-thought will help eliminate confusion when the personal flowers for your wedding are delivered.

Image by Justine Belson

Labels: Justine Belson Photography, Sacramento florist, Sacramento wedding flowers

Making your flowers "Pop" in pictures

Never choose dark flowers for your bridesmaids if they are wearing dark colored dresses or light colored flowers for your bridesmaids if they are wearing light colored dresses. You do not want your pretty flowers to blend away.

Keep this rule in mind when choosing your bridal bouquet too. If you are wearing a shade of white make sure your bouquet has some color (this can be achieved with greenery) so it does not appear to be a white blob in your wedding photos.

Image by True Love Photo

Labels: Sacramento florist, Sacramento wedding flowers, Sacramento weddings

Inspiration- Madderlake

Before I started my first business there were several floral design books that, in retrospect, set me on the path to what I consider "my floral design style". I thought it would be fun to showcase the books I found so inspiring.

Madderlake was a ground breaking flower shop in New York in the 80's and early 90's. The two main floral designers, Tom Pritchard and Billy Jarecki authored three books during the height of their success with their business.

Travel back in time with me to 1989. At the time I had been working in a very traditional flower shop. Flowers were designed in a contrived and manipulated manner. Baskets, bows and cellophane were used in flower arrangements to the point of making the actual flowers an afterthought. I loved working with flowers and I could hear their little voices calling out to me. I envisioned designs where the flowers were cherished and featured

in a way that spoke to the receiver.

"Flowers Rediscovered" (1985) was so amazing to me. It opened my eyes to a whole other way to design flowers.Pritchard and Jarecki talked about designing flowers naturally. Letting the flowers tell you how they wanted to be designed. looking to nature for clues and inspiration.

When my business partner and I opened Blooming Art in 1994

"Madderlake's Trade Secrets" (1994) was the inspiration for our shop. Pritchard and Jarecki talked about using containers that would showcase the blooms they held. Trade Secrets is full of lovely images of flowers in glass beakers, antique bottles, test tubes and distressed tin pails. While that sort of designing may seem almost pedestrian by today's standards it was revolutionary in the early 90's. I opened Blooming Art stocked with clean lined clear glass vessels (hard to find in 1994), an eclectic collection of antique vases and buckets of cut flowers that inspired exuberant and artistic arrangements.

In the late 80's and early 90's Tom Pritchard and Billy Jarecki were rock stars of the American floral design world. They introduced new ideas and inspired a revolution and burned out quickly. I have no idea where they are now and if they are still creating with flowers (let me know if you know!). Tom Pritchard and Billy Jarecki opened my eyes and inspired me on so many levels.

I highly recommend all of the Madderlake books. They are as relevant and inspiring today as the day they were published.

Labels: Madderlake, Sacramento florist, Sacramento wedding flowers, Tom Pritchard and Billy Jarecki

Flowers are good for you- Edwin and Robbie

A while back I ran a "Flowers are good for you" contest. In honor of a medical study that found having flowers around you lowers stress and improves health. I asked my blog readers to nominate someone they felt deserved a "pick-me-up" to receive an arrangement.

This is the e-mail I received from a wonderful daughter about her parents:

"I would like you to consider my parents for your flower giveaway.

My parents just celebrated their 29th wedding anniversary this

past July. Through their 29 years of marriage they have

been through a lot. This past year has been one of their most difficult years.

After working for the same company for 27 years, my father found out his job was being eliminated. His only option was to drive to Stockton and work a shift Sunday overnight to Monday and another shift Wednesday overnight to Thursday. My mother has been so strong through my fathers lay off and job transfer but she still worries about him all the time. The two of them have been through so much this year, yet they have managed to still be there for each other. My fiancee and I are getting married next year and look up to them and their marriage. I think that a floral "pick-me-up" would show them that their are people out their that see how hard this year has been. I am so proud of what they have overcome this year and want them to know they can make it."

This recession has been so hard on so many people. I wish all the best for Edwin and Robbie in the upcoming year.

Labels: Sacramento florist, Sacramento wedding flowers

Marianne and Ryan at Berghold Vineyard, Lodi

I just received these amazing images from True Love Photo of Marianne and Ryan's wedding. Stunning, Right?

Marianne wrote me the most wonderful thank you note. "...people who said you were the best were so right. When I walked into your office for the consultation I was a nervous wreck (I really had no vision). But when I left your office I felt relieved and confident that my flowers were going to be beautiful! At that point my vision started. Your professionalism and organization was top notch! I probably would have gone crazy without you. :)"

I had so much fun working on their wedding. What an gorgeous couple and an amazing event!

Labels: Berghold Vineyard, Ca, fall wedding flowers, Lodi CA, Sacramento florist, Sacramento wedding flowers

Wedding Flowers A to Z- Designing words

Before you meet with a floral designer take some time to think about the design, or look, of your wedding flowers. Do you like wild and romantic or simple and traditional flowers? Make a list of descriptive words and what they mean to you. Share your list with prospective floral designers. It will really help them see your vision.

Here is a list to get you started:

Naturally Wild- Loose and textural, floral designs using seasonally available flowers.

Romantically Inclined- Floral designs using old fashioned, blowzy and ruffled blooms.

Fashionably Funky- Bright, graphic and interesting blooms designed with non-floral elements (wire, colored glass beads).

Tasteful and Traditional- simply designed flowers in light and blended color palettes.

Labels: Sacramento florist, Sacramento wedding flowers

Centerpieces- different can be beautiful

I think it lends interest and fun to a reception room when you have a variety of centerpieces. Often times we will design half the tables with a tall arrangement and the other half with a low arrangement. Another idea is to use the same tall vase in a different way.

When designing your reception centerpieces you will want to make sure the different centerpieces relate well to each other.

The centerpieces on the right and left were from the same wedding. The vase was used in two different ways to achieve an interesting look. This can also be a way to save money. By having only half your tables with full arrangements you can save quite a bit of scratch.

Another way to add some interest is by designing half your centerpieces full and lush and on top of a tall vase and the other half a more simple version and in a low vase. The two centerpieces below were from the same wedding. The bride wanted a "Wow" effect but was able to save some money by scaling back on some of her tables.

Labels: centerpieces, Sacramento florist, Sacramento wedding flowers

Flowers are good for you- Macy

A while back I ran a "Flowers are good for you" contest. In honor of a medical study that found having flowers around you lowers stress and improves health. I asked my blog readers to nominate someone they felt deserved a "pick-me-up" to receive an arrangement.

Gerica, one of my past brides, wrote me this letter:

"My little 2 year old daughter, Macy, has endured more in her short life than my husband or I combined. Last summer we started noticing that she was having a lot of balance problems and difficulty walking. She had been steady on her feet for months then all of the sudden things changed. By the time she was 18 months old her knees were grossly swollen and she could barely stand let alone run around like other toddlers her age. After 2 months of labs, doctor visits and worry she was diagnosed with Juvenile Rheumatoid Arthritis (JRA).

We have spent the last year of our lives trying (most times unsuccessfully) to get this disease under control. Within 6 months of her diagnoses most of the major joints in her body (ankles, knees, wrists, elbows, etc) were all flared up and she was in severe pain. She has had 3 minor surgeries and is currently taking 5 different arthritis medications to finally have some relief.

She may only be two and a half but she inspires me every day. Her entire life has been spent in pain, in/out of doctor's offices and at times unable to participate in the "normal" life of a toddler. But she is so resilient and does not let it slow her down. I can only hope to have the determination

and perseverance that she has! We have "surprised" her with little things over the last year so that she has her special moments... pedicures with mommy, daddy bringing home balloons, new stuffed animals.... Little things. I LOVE to see the smile on her face and see her light up and for a moment just be a "normal" happy kid!

I wanted to "nominate" Macy for your giveaway because she loves flowers and gardening with my husband. When we are driving around town she will point out all the different color flowers to me. Her favorites are the "beautiful purple flowers" at the gas station."

To read more about Macy and her condition take a look at the article The Sacramento Bee recently published about Macy and her family, here.

Macy is the 2010 walk honoree of the Sacramento Arthritis Walk on May 1, 2010 at William Land Park. To make a donation please go to Macy's page, here.

The pictures are of the arrangement I delivered to Macy. What a sweet little girl. I know she has a beautiful and bright future ahead of her. One that is hopefully pain free.

Labels: Sacramento florist

A post a day keeps the doctor away!

Last December I promised one blog post everyday. I thought it would be fun to repeat the exercise this year.

For a limited time there will be a fresh spoonful of Flourish-y goodness every single day. So don't fill up on those other blogs.

Labels: Sacramento florist, Sacramento wedding flowers

Introducing- you choose freebies!

I am in a giving mood! But you need to strike quick before I come to my senses. :)

Book your wedding flowers with Flourish before 12-19-09 and you get to choose a freebie!!

Choose one free bridesmaid bouquet or free cake flowers or one free centerpiece or a free guest book table arrangement or a free place card table arrangement. *

What are you waiting for???

*must mention this blog post to receive the freebie. Free item cannot exceed 100.00 value and cannot be traded for cash or used towards previously booked events. Offer good for new bookings only.

Labels: Sacramento florist, Sacramento wedding flowers, Sacramento weddings

Jill and Jacob are married!

Who: Jill and Jacob

What: Light heart wedding with a fun and different color palette

When: October 10, 2009

Where: Vizcaya in Sacramento, Ca

What I loved: Jill and Jacob included many personalized touches to their wedding. The couple's dog acted as ring bearer, cowboy hats and boots were part of the wedding attire and other cute additions.

For your viewing pleasure, hop on over to the fabulous Sarah Maren Photography's website and watch the beautiful slide show Sarah put together of this wonderful wedding.

Labels: Ca wedding, Sacramento florist, Sacramento wedding flowers, Vizcaya Sacramento

How to make a Harrison cake...

My son Harrison put together the following recipe as part of a class project:

Harrison cake

7 cups video games

9 cups skateboarding

4 cups black hair

4 cups knowledge

6 cups awesome

10 cups athleticism

Start the blender and warm the oven to 400 degrees. While the oven is warming you can start blending the ingredients. Combine video games, skateboarding, black hair, knowledge, awesome and athleticism. Blend for 5 minutes, place in a pan and put it all in the oven for 15 minutes. There you go! You have made a Harrison cake.

Labels: family, Sacramento florist, Sacramento wedding flowers

Flowers are good for you--GIVEAWAY!

Recently I was made aware of a study done on the effect of flowers on your emotions.'Clinical Researcher in Psychology at Harvard Medical School Nancy L. Etcoff said she followed 55 women of various ages and backgrounds over the course of two weeks, surprising them with bouquets of flowers and asking them to keep diaries documenting their daily activities and emotions. "What we found is that living with flowers for a few days affected a wide variety of positive and negative emotions,” she said.' Quoted from "The Harvard Crimson"

This inspired me to sponsor a giveaway. Three lucky people will receive an arrangement of fresh flowers valued at 75.00 delivered to their home or place of work.

To win please e-mail me why your special someone needs or deserves a surprise "pick-me-up" of beautiful flowers. That special someone could even be yourself. :)

Fine Print: Delivery address must be with in 1/2 an hour of Downtown Sacramento. Flowers, colors, container and delivery date/time are at the discretion of Flourish. Winnings may not be used towards wedding flowers or recieved in cash.

Winners will be chosen on September 10, 2009 and will be notified via e-mail.

Labels: Sacramento florist, Sacramento wedding flowers

Amy and Tom are Married!

Who: Amy and Tom

What: Beautiful wedding with fresh pops of color in the flowers.

When: August 21, 2009

Where: Wine and Roses Hotel in Lodi, Ca

Hi Gloria!!!

Labels: Sacramento florist, Sacramento wedding flowers, Wine and Roses

Incline Village wedding

I recieved this note with these pictures from one of my spring brides. Demetria and Reid live in another state so all of our planning was done via phone calls and e-mail. I met Demetria the first time when I brought in her bridal bouquet. The wedding took place at the goregous Saint Francis at Incline Village, NV and the reception was at The Chateau. The views were to die for!

This note is so sweet! I love my brides!

Shannon-

Here are some photos that my wedding photographer, Samuel Potter got of some of your work.

The colors and the designs were beautifully coordinated. I am so glad I have these pictures.

You were so great to work with and I will definitely recommend your work to my family and friends. You are very creative and those special touches is what made our photos come to life. Thank you so much. -Demetria-

Labels: bridal bouquets, Sacramento florist, Sacramento wedding flowers, Sacramento weddings, Tahoe wedding flowers

Kristen + Garrett= Married!

Wh0: Kristen and Garrett

What: Casual and fun wedding accented with a relaxed flair.

When: July 18, 2009

Where: Northstar at Tahoe in Truckee, Ca

The best part about working with Kristen and Garrett was they let me be creative and have fun with the flowers. Kristen gave me a stack of inspiration photos and then turned me loose on the flower market.

Labels: centerpieces, decor, Northstar at Tahoe, Sacramento florist, Sacramento wedding flowers, vintage

What's in your toolbox?

I am inspired by another post I just read by Kristin over at Wedding Bee Pro. How cool to read some of the things that go into her toolbox.

I have been designing flowers for about 20 years. But still every event teaches me something new. Over the years I have learned so many tricks and tips that I could write a book! My toolbox list has developed from many, many events and many, many mishaps, problems, Oops and "Oh No's!".

Here is a look at what my tool box looks like. I like the open tool bag better than the traditional tool box because I can grab the needed tool and run. I can also see everything at a glance.

Now for the list:

FLORAL TOOLS:
2- clippers
1- knife
1- scissors
1- pliers
1- wire cutters
glue gun and glue sticks
rubber bands (great for gathering fabric)
Pipe cleaners (all purpose fastener)
Cable ties (I was once told "If it can't be fixed with duct tape and cable ties; it isn't worth fixing.")
Green floral wire
Corsage and boutonniere pins
Floral Tape
Water proof tape
Greening pins
Thin black ribbon (for boutonnieres)
Thin ivory ribbon (for corsages)
Adhesive clay (for sticking arrangements to the top of containers)
Floral glue (special glue that glues flowers with out damaging them)

CLEANING SUPPLIES:
Lint roller (Great for getting little bits of flowers and greens off linens)
Windex wipes (I am super picky about finger prints on vases and candle glass)
Polish wipes (Great for getting finger prints off metal vases and containers)
Garbage bags (flowers create and HUGE mess)
Tide to go pen (works wonders)
Clorox bleach pen
Shout wipes
Baby wipes (good for getting the dirt and grime off linens)

MISCELLANEOUS SUPPLIES:
3M hooks (they are wonderful for hanging items and not leaving a residue)
Clamps (the rubber tipped clamps are fab for attaching fabric to structures with out damage)
White out (In a pinch White Out will cover bruising on white flower petals with out causing further damage to the flower)
Candle Stick-um (Holds candles in holders)
Suction hooks (for hanging wreaths or flowers on glass doors)
Quarters (Parking meters eat quarters)
Double sided tape
Scotch tape
Low candle holders (for when the couple forgets the holders for their unity candle)
Water tubes
Glue Dots
Long lighter
Off- set spatula (great for repairing the icing on a wedding cake)

Labels: Sacramento, Sacramento florist, Sacramento wedding flowers, Sacramento weddings, wedding tips

Highlights from David and Sarah

I recieved a link to a highlights reel today. I designed the flowers for David and Sarah last year.

Take a look:

David and Sarah at Le Rivage

Thanks Jensen Video!

Labels: bridal bouquets, centerpieces, decor, fall, Le Rivage Hotel, Sacramento, Sacramento florist, Sacramento wedding flowers

Joseph + Richard= {Married}

Who: Joseph and Richard

What: Renewal of their marriage vows before their friends and families. Colors were a cool blue and classic white.

When: June 27, 2009

Where: Grand Island Mansion, Walnut Grove, Ca

Labels: Grand Island Mansion, Sacramento florist, Sacramento wedding flowers, Sacramento weddings

Wedding decor A to Z- Budget

Series of topics about wedding decor, planning and trends categorized A to Z.

B is for Budget- Everyone has a budget. Budgets can be large or small, realistic or unrealistic, do-able or "No way!!" But I do not want to delve too deeply into the budget topic in this post. It would be too looooooong a post. Instead I thought it would be fun to offer some ideas for "fooling" the eye when it came to your floral budget (No- I am not going to tell you to choose flowers in season because haven't we all heard that little gem once too many??)

Have Fun!! Really- choose designs that are different, playful and interesting. Often times you can get a lot of "Wow" with out too much "Ow" when you are creative with your flower designs. Submerge flowers in a clear vase (pictured left) and float a candle on top. Instead of corsages give the all the honored women rings accented with flowers. Use candles floating in water instead of the more expensive pillar candles.

Recycle- Ask your friends and family (and friends of family) that were recently married if they have vases, candles or other items you can use in your wedding decor. Often times they are happy to get rid of the boxes and free up space in their house. If not, just guilt them into giving you the stuff.

Reuse- I love to re-purpose the flowers from the ceremony to decorate the reception. Some of my favorite ways to do this is: Use arch decor on the head table, use aisle flower clusters in posy cones to hang from wall sconces, aisle clusters can also be placed in short vases and used to decorate around the reception room, place large ceremony arrangements behind the cake table or head table. Pick up every single rose petal from the aisle and re-use them on the guest tables. Oh come on- I am just kidding about that last one. :)

Color- Use high impact color combinations. Hot pink, orange and lime green are going to give you a lot more visual decor than a room full of ivory and white flowers.

Image by Allison Stahl

Labels: Allison Stahl, Sacramento, Sacramento florist, Sacramento wedding flowers, wedding flower budget, wedding tips

Gosh- I am blushing!

Ubloom.com's blogger did a write up about our recent wedding flowers for Jonathan and Christy. I didn't even pay her to say such nice things about me!

By Lisa Luck

uBloom

uBloomer, Shannon Cosgrove-Rivas (Flourish) strikes again! This time, she created an exquisite, summertime wedding filled with fragrant English Garden Roses in pastel and muted tones, mixed with layers of unusual textural elements (some I had never seen before) that created interest and enhanced the ruffly roses and outdoor feel of the wedding.

Of course, I HAD to ask Shannon some questions about this wedding because I needed to know MORE about the elements she used to decorate the venue in an amazingly soft, lush and romantic style.

Shannon, tell me a little bit about the "look" and feel you were trying to create with this wedding for Jonathan and Christy.

The bride requested a really soft summery look with a touch of a vintage feel. When I think soft and vintage I think of ruffled and fragrant garden roses. I used Juliet and Patience roses (grown by Green Valley). Side note: When my usual Fed-Ex driver delivered the roses he comment on how good the boxes smelled. The roses have such a gorgeous scent.

You used some unusual elements in your designs, I’m really curious about them.

The wedding took place on the grounds of a private Victorian home in the small town of Clarksburg, Ca. The home overlooks vineyards and an off-shoot of the Sacramento river. My goal was to bring the surroundings into the floral designs. I ended up using quite a few field flowers. Fever Few, Tree of Heaven (the light green seed pods), Seeded Eucalyptus, Dusty Miller and Scented Geranium lent garden textures to the designs.

Share some of your thoughts on this wedding.

Christy was awesome at communicating the look she wanted. When we met she had put together a document with pictures showing flowers and designs she liked and a few she didn’t like. Once she knew I grasped what she was envisioning, she pretty much let me run with the flower choices. I love a client that trusts me. It really frees me up to do some of my best work. I am able to cruise the market and choose really fun flowers and textures to go with the wedding’s theme.

One of the things I really love about Shannon is that she has a natural talent and the enviable ability for coordinating floral materials, colors and textural elements to create an atmosphere that perfectly complements the brides dress, venue etc. Shannon interprets the brides vision in flowers in such a way that never ceases to WOW and AMAZE me (and many others). Her designs are full of well thought out details that make her work extraordinary and I LOVE how she takes many different floral elements and effortlessly arranges them together so that they always look perfectly natural, elegant and yet, always surprising.
To experience the "Flourish" style and a bit of summertime romance…check out Shannon’s Vintage Rose Wedding gallery.

Thanks Lisa- I love you (and uBloom), too!

Labels: Clarksburg, Sacramento, Sacramento florist, Sacramento wedding flowers, Sacramento weddings, uBloom