Notes from the bride to be: October 2009

I learned alot from this wedding. Namely, I just did not have the time to do a perfect job and that kind of kills me. It is mainly because I don't live there and we were planning from a distance (you should have seen our hotel room). That being said, I am so happy that I could help a dear friend and also attend his wedding - and meet his awesome wifey. I'll say it again, that their wedding was such a heartfelt event and I feel that it was even better because it was 100% friend and family run, well besides catering (which was to-die-for amazing).

So here are a few pictures of the event from family and friends:

Here I am setting up their very important "Love Tree" which consisted of sandblasted manzanita. I didn't even try to look nice for set up btw.

And here is Ralph, my dear husband, cleaning and brushing off all the dirt on these planted succulents that the bride and groom so painstakingly planted.

He also was in charge of tucking all the dendrodium orchids into the napkins rings, which were twine covered wire from JoAnn's.

Ralph and I then set up the decor at the ceremony site, which consisted of old manzanita branches and leftover flower heads from all the other floral decor (cushion mums, cockscomb, china mums, carnations, and other non-descript mums). The shepherds hook arrangements were white hydrangeas, yellow cockscomb, and green amaranth. In a few vases which we ran out of hydrangeas, I substituted a collar of white carnations. The ring bearer carried the rings on some succulent plants.

The happy couple were married in front of the stunning Sunset Cliffs and were framed by bamboo that was found in the groom's childhood home. The groom arranged the bamboo and Ralph and I (and the rest of couple's family) tied faux Phalaenopsis orchids on them. We had a blast doing it and drinking too much wine.

The bride's bouquet was made of white china mums, gold cockscomb, and some yellow carnations. She wanted texture and variety in her bouquet. I brought a bunch of fabric from my collection and this orange silk dupioni was what she chose. I wrapped some blue ribbon top for her something blue (it was leftover from my own bouquet).

At the reception home, guests walked into to the yard and were greeted by their "Love Tree". Their guests were asked to bring something written from their heart to put on the tree, which would be left on display in the couple's home. Because of this, I was careful to tie the orchids on the tree with twine, so that all would be removable once the orchids were no longer fresh.

Here is what it looked like at the end of the night:

They used a combination of high and low tables for the reception. For the high tables, I wrapped wide cylinders with Ti leaves and placed 3 white china mums and gold cockscomb in them. People were talking about those gold "brain" flowers all night, which were one the couple's favorite flowers of the wedding.

The main centerpieces were at the low tables and they mostly consisted of the potted succulents. A manazanita branch with white and yellow-dyed bombay dendrobium orchids on them were placed into each pot. Because it was so windy, I didn't want to chance it, so I (and Ralph) glued the orchids on the branches and trimmed their penduncles.

The awesome table numbers were all DIY by the groom!

A toast by the step father of the bride,
who was a great help throughout the wedding
and a source of wine and cheese!!!

Well, I wish I could end this with a picture of Ralph and I from the evening, but unfortunately, we didn't have a chance to take any pictures. I am sure there are a few pro pictures of me pinning on boutonnieres, but nada of Ralph:-(

It was such a wonderful, heartfelt event. One of the best parts about arranging the flowers for my friend Larry, is that I got to know his new wife, Jenny, so very well over the last month. Over the past month, we exchanged at least 100 emails. It was wonderful to learn so much about her and how well they are suited to each other. When I met her in person, she was exactly the way I envisioned her. It truly warms my heart that they found each other!

As for pictures, well, Ralph and I were pretty busy, so there aren't a ton from us. However, there were plenty of other friends tasked with documenting the event as well as several sets from pro photographers, so those pics should be popping up soon. In the meantime here are a few shots from us.