Soolip Sunday

Usually I like to "sleep in" on Sundays. This means stay in bed until 7:15, or thereabouts; which is blissful when you have a 17 month old baby. Today, however, we delivered these gorgeous arrangements to our new friend Cassandra Santor at her booth at Soolip.




Cassandra is launching her "Beautiful Day" coordination package. Check out her site here to learn more.


The space for the Soolip event is Vibiana, a breathtaking renovated cathedral in L.A.'s old Bank District. Click here to see the site yourself. Really awe inspiring as a blank canvas for your event, and full of light! Very hard to find...

Sneak Peak Blossoms

What a busy week, filled with some really fantastic flowers! Today we delivered these little lovelies to a photo shoot in Palm Springs. Soon to grace the pages of our favorite wedding fashion bible, Martha Stewart Weddings! Fingers crossed! Here's a little sneak peak of the flower necklaces we designed for them.

A demure strand of white hybrid delph and lilly of the valley.



































A double stranded choker of red delphinium with anemone accents!


A few couture bouquets for accenting those couture gowns! Vintage ribbons and fabrics too.

This Little Girlie Went to Market

Starting a new habit is not so hard when it is a habit of pure pleasure. Every week I plan on visiting the local markets to bring you a snapshot of what's in season and readily available to everyone. Lush, local, small carbon footprint etc...just good old fashioned beautiful flowers from your backyard - so to speak. This week we visited the quaint but plentiful farmer's market in Studio City, just off Laurel Canyon and Ventura Blvd.
Here's what gorgeous now in the last weeks of March. Just on the tip on spring's fingertips:

Ranunculas! sooooooooo soooooo puurrrty


sweet peas...an all time fave of mine. I could stare at their ruffles for hours.

Daffodils...I always think of the singing daffodils in Alice and Wonderland when I see these, and they are quint-
essentially SPRING! Purely sweet, simple and demure.

and, what's this? The season's first flush of Lilac?











Maybe 6 more weeks of Lilac and then it will be all gone so grab a bunch or two for the house and just enjoy its breathtaking scent.

Bridal Bliss - Alicia

Okay. I love what I get to do each day. Playing with flowers is blissful. And it is even that much better when you are making them for someone special. These are some pic of our samples for a lovely young bride to be, Alicia. Getting married on April 4th! So exciting.


We have decided to forego the bubblegum pink and work with primarily cremes, and whites with a touch of the soft blush peonies and pale greens for undertones. SO the final look will be somewhat different than what you see here....even more beautiful I think! And it suits her!


Can't wait to see her in her dress with the bouquet. That always makes me smile.

Unique locations in Los Angeles for the ecclectic bride!

I just remembered something that I really wanted to share with you brides to be. There is a very cool website out there for all you gals who are looking for the "unconventional" spot to hold your wedding.Such as the Mountain Mermaid in Topanga pictured above. When I was getting ready to select a venue for my own big day, I spent many hours researching the venues listed here. This site is a compilation of all the historical sites within Los Angeles that can be used for events; including some basic stats for each spot. Amazing old broadway theaters, private estates, even historical firehouses. Check it out! Not your average banquet hall!!!! Go to the Preservation Rescources page and then click on Historic Sites for Special Events

laconservancy.org

Sunday Harvest - Jasmine part II

Don't worry...I'm going to get to the vintage wedding bouquets soon. But first, let's see what became of all that luscious jasmine from Sunday's walk along the horse trails. I'll say one thing: My powder room smells sooooooooooo good and girlie. I think a bubble bath is in order.


Wild climbing roses...SWEET!


A version of honeysuckle I have never seen before...but this grows like mad all over a fence by the river. Would love to have this brilliant pop of color in my garden.

Sunday Harvest - Jasmine

I've been out walking lately, and I noticed something really wonderful....Spring is almost here! The first clue was the Jasmine in the air. Late evening strolls are the best way to notice this intoxicating scent. Yummy!!!!



So Ken, Alice and I had an adventure Sunday morning. The task at hand was to collect some of the wild growing Jasmine from the River bottom and bring it home. Nothing better than a room with a little hint of it on the bedside table. I collected the vines, Alice collected rocks, and Ken documented it all. Fun times.

Stay tuned to see how I use a little bit of jasmine and other foraged vines to bring some levity and fragrance into the house.

Inspiration - Vintage Wedding Bouquets

These bouquets are so magnificent and inspiring to me. All the details of the gowns and the veils and decorated headpieces...dreamy. I wanted to explore the transformation that the bride and her flowers have gone through over the decades. From one generation to the next. As we all know, fashion, good or bad, has a habit of repeating itself.

Most of these pictures are from the 1920's. An era of flapper dresses, little bobbed hairdos, and prohibition. What a time to be alive and young. My great grandmother would have been in her 20's then, raising her

children above the family barber shop in New Orleans. I like to imagine her with her arms wrapped around a bouquet of lily of the valley, carnations, and roses, all nestled in a bed of maidenhair ferns on her wedding day. Ribbons upon ribbon dripping from the stems. There has to be a way to capture this look in our modernized world.


Coming next week...OUR rendition of these ribbon laced beauties!