Pink City Hall Wedding {the Reception}

Long overdue but life and wedding season has been crazy busy. Kids are back in school, I'm back in school this week, I still have about 12 more big weddings to get through before finals and the Holidays and then I'm off for a month between mid December and January..it's going to be awesome. This summer went by super fast.

Here is the final post on the Pink City Hall Wedding In San Francisco.

Part 3 Let Them Eat Cake
Part 2 The Set up
Part 1 The Bouquets

Here is one of the two centerpiece we used for the tables. The centerpiece was an all orchid arrangement of a combination of light pink to fuchsia Phalaenopsis orchids surrounded by clear cylinder vases with floating candles in them.

The table linens and gold accents on the napkin ring holders and the plates were so pretty.


Here is centerpiece two, a rose pave in a clear cube vase. On top of the flowers sit three vases in varying heights with water and floating candles.



These pave centerpiece took me about an hour each.
Here's the design I played with to start. I took a picture with my camera phone when I realized I would be sitting there for the next 8 hours or so pave-ing my little heart out.

Here is a last minute Buffet piece we made for the Antipasto table.

The Dessert buffet looked delectable once it was set up! Wish I had taken a picture of it afterward.

The Ice Bar was sweet. I think I need one of these at my next wedding. :)

A few random pics of the room and details.

The staircase to the upper level in City hall was lit with Bao and Crystals name :)

The ceremony pieces had to be taken down from the staircase and re-purposed around the room in various areas. The room was filled with flowers and orchids everywhere.

This is a mini version of the bridal bouquet to place on the head table for the bride to toss and it just glowed in the lighting there.

So all in all, it was very successful and beautiful event. I am very lucky that Crystal is just the sweetest person, she made it really easy to work with and she was just gorgeous on the day of! All of her gowns were beautiful and she looked stunning in them. Bao hi five'd me like 4 times at the end of the night, lol, the only thing I wish I could have shared with you was the crazy grooms cake of him sitting at his computer with 9 screens!
So I thank C&B for allowing me to share in your special day.
I wish you much love and success in your marriage! : )

{And they lived happily ever after...}

Kumquats, red rununculas, golden poppies, AND daffodils?!?

Spring has indeed sprung!

I
LOVE LOVE LOVE
kumquats right now. I
WISHWISHWISH
I could grow them in my backyard, but sadly, my thumb is black. : /

This is a mock up for an outdoor wedding taking place on someone's estate.
That's the second one I have this year and I am thrilled!
This is a wooden container with a plastic liner inside that I have been holding on to for a while now, just waiting for the perfect opportunity to be used.
What do you think of the blue and red runner?
I like it : ) Ikea~ $1 BABEEEE!


The kumquats are bananas. Yeah it doesn't make sense, but you get me right?

I used red rununculas, white daffodils, kumquats on the branch, and surprise surprise:
wild golden poppies.
The golden poppies won't last in the arrangement but they can stand in for now so that my couple can get an idea of what a bright orange flower would look like in there.


*sigh* I love looking at it in my kitchen...and believe me I NEVER bring flowers home.

For Elizabeth....

who guilted, er, encouraged me to start posting again. : P

I have had the craziest 6 months and I am finally in the clear. WHEW!
I have no excuse not to go back to posting and taking pictures and visiting other blogs so here I am. Thank you Elizabeth for the reminder that someone reads my blog! and misses it ; )

This bouquet was a mock up for a bride who is kicking around the colors yellow, red and touches of white. I told her it would totally work, and to let me show her. I used yellow and red tulips, white and red tulips, red roses, jade roses, and yellow cymbidium orchids with red throats.


I 'm diggin it...I have another mock up I'm making tomorrow to show red, yellow with pops of orange....that should be interesting.

Thanks for reading!

Cherry Brandy Roses

"I want Cherry Brandy roses,the orange ones with the gold center? I like the round look, not a perfect ball though , with lots of different flowers; like magenta and yellow...
oh~ and the blue Iris."

That was the direction I was given and because it was one of my best friends I just nodded my head and smiled. But inside I was thinking about all the different colors she wanted to use and a little part of me cringed because I hate using so many colors together.
I prefer to stick to the storyline and call it a day.
But it being one of my best friends on her special day and my offering her anything her little heart desired, I had no choice but to oblige. I also ended up being her photog so I got to flex my creative eye a bit. : ) Lucky for her I am addicted to photography blogs too!

I figured the blue iris would photograpa bit purple so I added in some purple anemones that she *loved* I just wish that I could have caught the colors better, the day was bright and the flowers just jumped out and slapped ya right in the face!

Candied apple favors! My sister has been perfecting her homemade candied apples and of course jumped at the chance to contribute to the wedding.


Lucky girl with a beautiful ring!

LOVE San Francisco City Hall. The dress she wore went well with the color and architecture.


The happy family.

The couple got a beautiful day in San Francisco, everything worked out as planned, the flowers were to her liking and that made me happy beyond words, and my best friend married the love of her life. He's a good, calm, strong man that can handle my strong big hearted passionate friend; they've got a good Yin and Yang thing going: my friends and I are happy for them and subsequently will let him live, lol.
I don't have to wish them anything else because
they are living happily ever after now .....

Tulip Ikebana

Hello lovely blog. I have been away for a while on hiatus....but Ikebana always, always makes me feel better!

This was the first class I have attended since February something....
BUT! I am back with some pics. This lesson is called "Paying attention to the place in which the flowers go"....alright, alright...that's the rough translation. But I swear it's something like that!
I'll update the name of the lesson.

Look at these Tulips, my goodness! They are my favorite. : )

This is a wall arrangement that pays attention to the view from below.
Can you believe I bought that red glass container from a thrift store for $3?!?! score.

Eco Chic~ The Great $50 Challenge

What have I been up to you wonder since I have been away so long? Loads of stuff! lol, one of them is the The Great $50 Challenge over at Sprout blog!

I originally entered an Ikebana Arrangement but wasn't too happy with it as a wedding centerpiece because I felt it was more of a guest check in table arrangement or a foyer entrance arrangement.
Here are the rules:

1. Centerpiece value must equal $50 retail, (US dollars) – including container and labor.
   
2. You must show your math. Retail price of all ingredients
   
3. You must show what percentage of the $50 price is for labor.
4. 1 centerpiece submission per designer.
5. Centerpiece must be appropriate for a wedding.
6. Submissions must be received by 6:00 pm Eastern Standard Time, January 31 2010.
   
7. Voting will run from February 1 - February 28 2010. Winner will be announced March 1, 2010.
8. Winner will be blog reader’s choice.

Cool huh?

So I decided that I would switch from this Ikebana arrangement which I really like. :)

To this eco chic arrangement, which I really love. :)

Let me start by saying that I love Green arrangements and anytime I can avoid floral foam I do.
Ikebana teaches you how to work without mechanics( sometimes you use a kenzan) but mostly I use techniques like Jumonji-dome and Soegi-dome, which are a crossbar technique and a split branch technique.

So this is a functional centerpiece that can be placed at any table that will give it height, won't obstruct the view or flow of conversation across the table, and gives it a modern element.
The branches can be any type that has maybe flower or fruits, brides now can take advantage of Quince and Cherry Blossoms, later it can be forsythia( sp?) or tomatoes, or pomegranates or kumquats, you get the idea. But the branch can be cut from anywhere.

I used Red Quince and one loooong piece of curly willow.

The bulbs are tulip bulbs that I bought at my local farmers market for about $2 each. The goal would be to replant them after wards in a garden for the guest or the couple to take home. The gifts that keeps giving(enter cheesiness, hehe!)


The river rocks came from, yep you guessed it.But you don't have to add this element, in this picture I took the rocks away and put some blooms on the bulbs inside.



The container has been reused about 5 times now, but it can come from a private collection or from a Goodwill or garage sale, and they can all be mismatched to add charm. There's no rule that says they have to match! So REUSE!




So all in all, I like it. All under $50!

VOTE FOR ME!!!!!
Starting FEB 1st here

Sprout Blog

Orange-a-glad glad?

As in " knock knock. Who's there? Orange/ Orange who? Orange-ga-glad I didn't say banana?"

My daughter tortured me with that knock knock joke after I taught it to her, lol. She couldn't get enough!

What does it have to do with this post?
Nothing!

But Orange-ga-glad this bouquet is a little different than most orange bouquets? eh? eh??
Don't mind me, I'm just giddy from the New Year. = )
Lots of trials and tribulations last year, but 2010 is going to be alright.
Calm, cool, collected. That's how I am going to tackle this year.

Here is a bouquet I forgot to share last month. I absolutely love euc pods, the kale, the milva roses, and the tulips.

The ribbon has a blue butterfly accent that played off nicely with the all orange and cream wedding with hints of that bright blue!

This is a simple boutonniere with a small orange tulip, some euc pods for accents and a ruffled galax leaf finished off with the orange and blue ribbon.

One of my resolutions is to learn how to spell boutonniere on the first try and to post more. : P

Happy New Years!!!!

Another Year...where does the time go?

Happy New Years to you and yours.= )
Hope 2010 brings lots of creativity and contentment in your endeavors.
Lots of love and happiness in your home.
Lots of success in every aspect of your life.

I have big thangs going on in 2010 so stay tuned!

See ya next year!

Merry Christmas!!!!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

Bread Bread Give Thanks!

This is my centerpeice for Thanksgiving! I went to the flower market and my heart said tulips, anthuriums, eucalyptus pods, and kale. I rolled with it. =P
The roses are Milvas; so coral-ly! hehe

Well, Thanksgiving is not turning out to be as planned but I am thankful that I have the
opportunity to be home with them today. : )
My honey has been sick for two weeks now and still cannot eat solid foods so I feel terribly guilty dragging him to my mother's house for dinner. My mom has offered to make him turkey soup which I will come home and blend so it works out. : )


Happy Thanksgiving everyone!

Green Dianthus Ball Bouquet

Getting ready for Thanksgiving!!!!

I'm excited and happy that I have a few things to do this week that give me creative freedom.

First up is a sample of what I consider green and white with a bit of gold.
I love this green dianthus ball{AKA green carnations!}
I refer to is as a Horton Hears A who flower ; )
This bouquet has light green hydrangea, green dianthus, gold cockscomb, and white avalanche roses.

.

Similar to the idea in my previous post I made this bouquet so that it would drop into a vase that has equisetum( horsetail) in it.

I think it allows it to double as a bar arrangement, check in table, escort card table, or bathroom arrangement.

This vignette is to show how we incorporate levels using simple white vases. The ones I used I bought at Ikea a while back to hold short stems on my counter.

Here is the unconventional masculine boutonniere.
banding the horsetail like in the vases earlier and just using a bit of the dianthus with the cockscomb for color.

Here's a quick table number idea for a bride who wants something a little different.

I'm proposing we do this on a HUGE level.
Carry the idea of banding horsetail together with gold flowers, in this case orchids, so just give it some color in small placements.

These are left over escort cards from my own wedding I had lying around.
They were simple Crane&Co. envelopes in a 2x2 with black embossed lettering in the back that says "TABLE" and the front that says the name of the guest,
who didn't ,ahem, show at my wedding : /
Then finally the insert is a Martha Stewart stamp that has the table number in it.