More non-pro pics of San Diego nuptials

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:-(

Larry and Jenny's San Diego Wedding

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.

Boutonierres for the groom and the fathers

The groom's

The ceremony flowers

We lined the aisle with leftover blooms

The aisle overlooking the cliffs

Just beautiful (minus the head)!

San Diego Inspiration Board

Following the flower trial last week, the bride and I discussed a few options. Namely, we decided that the spider mums were just too spikey for her bouquet. Perhaps a bit too much texture, especially sense she is wearing a vintage style sheath. We decided that soft ivory football mums might be a better alternative.


She also nixed the hanging amaranthus for the tree. So it will just be yellow and purple orchids dressing the manazanita branches.

So, all in all, we pretty much have it down. I put together a final inspiration board for their wedding.

San Diego Trial II - their Tree of Love

Again, this is a more ghetto-fied version of what their actual Pièce de résistance will be. They have requested that guests write a poem or other loving thoughts on pieces of paper to hang on their "tree of love" which they will have prominently displayed at their reception and then later in their home.

Their tree will composed of large manzanita branches. They are still unsure if it will be sandblasted, natural brown red, or spray painted. If they go out and collect them on their own (again manzanita grows like wild here), I think they should spray it a soft gold. If they buy it, I like the sandblasted.

Here is a pretty good tutorial of how to make your own from the WeddingChicks.

Sandblasted Manzanita

I started messing around with this just to get the feel of what it is like to work with branches. I collected some dead branches from off the side of the road (near the florist coincidentally). I can tell you this, one of the reasons why manzanita is so popular for floral decor is that it is so strong. These dead branches - not so much - I have crap all over my car.

So again, just screwing around, I hung some green amaranthus on them. The amaranthus is really cheap here at $5 for 5 stems, which I used here. Side note - I actually had a beautiful red amarnathus in my garden, but my damn landlord chopped it down. Oh well.


Again, this isn't the same type of branch, not the same type of vessel. But I think I like it better with orchids on them. These are with my cheap dollar store orchids.


If they decide to go for the orchids, I think we will just order yellow and/white dendrodiums as they are so much cheaper than the other orchids (anywhere from $15-30 for 75ish blooms). These fake ones are supposed to be mokara orchids, which I admit are a more interesting flower to me. Sam's club is selling them super cheap, so you never know.


For a tutorial on how to hang and conceal the amaranthus flowers, see this article from wonderful Nettleton Hollow blog.

More florals - a trial for a San Diego wedding

One of my friends from Miami is getting married in his home town of San Diego. He is a great, chill, outdoorsy fellow - very San Diego. Well, I offered my floral services to him and his lovely fiancee and they were so excited to have something off their plates.

The wedding, which will be in a month, will be held on the beach followed by a reception at a nearby home.

For the ceremony, they will have manzanita and/or driftwood branches lining the aisle,

as well as vases hanging on shepherds hooks. Here is a trial go at the ceremony vases

They are a white hydrangea bloom and two marigolds with green amaranthus hanging down.



The bride requested that her bouquet include alot of texture and a variety of different blooms. She also had a preference for yellow and white. Here is what I dreamed up with some excess ribbon leftover from my wedding (I personally dislike this ribbon).










I used white spider mums, yellow button mums, white carnations, and yellow marigolds. This is about half the size I will make for her actual bouquet. I will also add in yellow cockscomb and probably switch out the marigolds with yellow carnations (the marigold stems just don't hold up well).



As for the groom, I suggested rosemary and they loved the idea of it. Here is what I came up with, and I hope they love it as much as I do. It is just two sprigs of rosemary from my garden and three tiny yellow button mums. It smells lovely and I think it will accompany her bouquet very well.





















For the reception, they have beautiful metal rectangular containers, that they plan to fill with succulents like the ones shown and rocks.



























To give it a little more zing and color, I think we are going to add a sweeping small manzanita branch covered with some smaller orchids. Here is my inspiration, using my very own succulent plant garden, a branch from one of my juniper trees, and some dollar store fake orchids - yes it is a ghetto-fied trial

On the tables, they will also have some smaller vases with succulents for their guests to take home


All in all, I think this is going to be a fabulous looking wedding, which will be minimizing the amount of cut flowers, but adding in lots of texture with living plants and branches (manzanita grows like wild in Cali).

More soon on their Pièce de résistance !

Florals on a budget - cheap flowers

When I was planning our wedding, I knew that I had to DIY the florals. Florists just charge way too much for stuff I know what do. Still the flowers and vases themselves can be costly. I did a fair share a research to find well priced flowers. What I found was that online wholesalers are no deal. I actually got better prices getting quotes from local florists (plus no delivery fee). For my own wedding, I used a local flower wholesaler. Miami, as the gateway from the Central and South American floral farms, is filled to the brim with flower wholesalers. But most large cities have flower wholesalers that will sell to the public. If not, get a quote from your local florist and make sure to ask for a better price since they aren't arranging them for you. Other well priced places include Costco (call and place the order with your local store) and your local grocery store.

Now on with doing your floral centerpieces on the cheap. What I have learned is that cheap flowers look, well, cheap when arranged with other cheap flowers. But when showcased on their own, they can be the stars and become stunning. See, for example, the following....

Carnations credit

Poms or mums
credit

Even baby's breath

The extra plus for working with a monoculture of flowers is that your save time dealing with the placement of specific flowers. Instead there is more emphasis on shape, color, and texture



Next is the vessel. Buy cheap vases. Dollar Tree and Ikea have great ones. You can always cover them in paper and ribbon for pizzaz.

Avoid buying online, they will get you with expensive shipping.

Or just make your own vases, by repurposing containers.

Ball canning jars

credit

Or cut some of your wine bottles. For tutorial see here

credit


Also, for an additional bit of decor, you can always add a punch of color underneath the vase. like these from etsy seller darlingdamask

Sure, you could buy them or always make these yourself. But time and money can be an issue (or sewing prowess in my case). But, why not rent awesome napkins from your local linen company. They usually rent for 50 cents each and come in a range of colors, textures, and fabrics. If you aren't renting anything else from them, pick them up and just mail them back.

Wedding Day Run-through: the final, most fun bits!

Again, sorry for the grammatical errors.

Pretty much all of these pictures are from rock star Jade at Uplift Photography.

8:10 pm: Reception time! A panicked DOC tells us that two couples have no seats. I immediately feel that I must have screwed up the seating. I later learn that our venue only put 8 instead of 10 seats at one table, and another couple just flat out refused to sit where they were assigned. It all worked out in the end, because of a few no-shows. But I was kicking myself around for a good amount of time over it. I, then, exchange my evil heels for my ballroom shoes. Ralph and I dance as husband and wife. We do what is comfy for us and had a great time with each other being silly.


Next is the parent's dance. I immediately hear the song and wonder why the DJ had to pick the longer live version of Fleetwood Mac's Landside. I hate recorded live music played at events. My dad does a great job for a man that hasn't danced in close to 25 years. We have a fun time being silly too. I notice that Esther loves our song choice.

(I love how cute Ralph and Esther look here. The look I am giving my dad is awesome!)

Toasts are wonderful by our siblings. Donna was awesome and gave an unexpectedly non-sarcastic speech. Dave's speech was exactly what I expected. I hoped that everyone got his humor. I certainly did and I loved it.



8:20 pm: Dinner is being served. The seated appetizer was horribly disappointing. I LOVE crab cakes, but this one tasted eh, and the sauce is much too spicy for a broad audience. I eat like 3 tiny bites.

(apparently Adam liked it and even ate the crayfish garnish)

The Hearts of Palm salad eventually comes out, but where are the Hearts of Palm? It is good, but where is the best part? I get some aspirin in me, now that I have food in my belly, and immediately feel better. The main entree takes forever to come out and Ralph and I are ansy to go to each table and visit with our guests. I finally take a bathroom break by demanding that my new sistah Donna come to help me go. I return to find my entree, which is in some serious need of salt. I can't find the salt, as it was hidden behind the flowers, I eat three bites and then go and visit the tables. Our DJ tells us that we are running late due to the very slow dinner service and need to start the music. We hold him off for a bit to go and visit the tables, but we still miss 2 tables. I still feel really bad about this.


Now, I have no idea about time....

• With no headache anymore, I finally drank some Champagne. I think I drank a single glass over the entire night.
• I had a blast on the dancefloor and was so glad that Ralph stayed with me.

• I kept complaining about the heat. It was hot the moment we walked in - what was up with that?
• I noticed people with no shoes and then kindly asked someone to make sure that the flip flops were placed out. They finally appeared and I directed the barefooters there. It was a hit!

(I think this is a Marjie foot)

• The DJ played all the songs we requested and included a few songs that were right up our alley, however, they weren't mixed that well and he cut out alot of the crecendos and best parts of songs. Ralph and I were really sad about this, but understood that he needed to fit all our "must play" songs into a limited amount of time since dinner took too long. It didn't ruin anything for us and we were happy that the dancefloor was always kicking.
  
• We visited with people outside, where it was much cooler. I danced a bit out there too.

• My mom was in the bathroom during the playing of Dancing Queen. I tried to find her, but I didn't look there.
• I kept checking in with my Dad who was very amused at all the fun people were having.
• Cake cutting time. We had no idea what to do! We winged it and then winged it again.

• Garter removal. I had no idea what was coming! I sat out there and for some reason had no idea what the DJ was going to do. Ralph's dance was soooo classic Ralph. I love that he chugged the beer - because he knew what was coming.

• Bouquet Toss. Totally planned. I knew exactly who I was throwing it to. She just moved, but then actually caught it.

• Garter Toss. I see that my brother Dave actually went for it.

• More dancing insues. Ralph stayed on the dancefloor all night.

(Ralph's Grandmother - who rocked it all night. She says that this is the way she is 90-something young)

• We end the night with one slow song (Clapton's Wonderful Tonight) and then go into Journey's Don't Stop Believing. Somehow we become encircled as we dance/sing the silly song. The funny thing is that Journey followed us on our honeymoon and had a concert right next to our resort. We totally tailgated and stayed for half the show. I have a feeling that Don't Stop Believing was saved for the last song too. I was too chilly to wait for it.

• I try to give away as many flowers as possible. I snag a bunch of leftover favors. I try and help with clean up as Ralph yells at me to stop. I give in and we head off to our sassy little Chevy Cobalt. People keep telling me that the limo is waiting for us... he he, that ride was for my parents and family.
• We go back to the hotel room only to find this (thanks to Heather, Emily, and Corey)....

There is no other way to say it: we had a freaking blast!!!! Thank you to everyone. xoxoxo

(my amazing necklace was Ralph's gift to me - it was the most perfect gift ever)



(Our last day in Hawai'i, walking the coastline)