Monthly Archives: July 2008

Don’t forget to decorate inside your flower vases

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I’m of the opinion that while every flower lover loves a vase, that the vase itself tends to be wasted real estate. Seriously! So let’s start using up that vase to make the entire arrangement work hard at looking beautiful.

For example, from a past 25th anniversary celebration, you’ve got a sprig of yellow cymbidium orchids submerged in water on top of a bed of rocks. Simple, yes? And expensive, too — a sprig of orchids can run you about $25 each, I believe. Can you imagine an extra $20 per table, in addition to your arrangement. It’s just an option, and there are so many more…

Here’s another example, from the huge event I stumbled upon in St. Petersburg. Those are pink glass pebbles in the conical vases, and bigger glass pebbles submerged in water below an unlit candle in the cubed vase. Again, simple, high impact, and you add an extra oomph to the decorations. But, wait! There’s more!

Photo by Flickr’s Flor & Forma

These are really tall, cylindrical vases, but those roses aren’t the gargantuan type that would have such straight stems, right? So in the taller vases, it looks as though they wrapped the inside with long, green variegated leaves (meaning, it has the white stripe). I don’t remember the name of the leaf, but doesn’t it look like that one houseplant so many people have? Simple, huh? The slightly shorter vases look like they’ve got what could be reeds in it, but I’m not sure. The effect, though, is increased depth and stature to the entire arrangement.

Photo by Flickr’s lovyprincess

Fruit is increasingly being incorporated in wedding flower arrangements, and why not? It’s cheap, its colorful and its fun. However, I don’t know how the acidity of certain fruits, like lemons and limes, might interact with the flowers — I would imagine that it might decrease the shelf life of the cut flowers, but I have never done an experiment to find out. I’d also recommend possibly working with colorful vegetables, like carrots or eggplant. :) My mom often liked to use green beans.

Photo by Flickr’s Tabbi Kat

This might be my favorite vase arrangement. Inside a punch bowl, there’s water, some dendrobium orchids, a second vase (presumably filled with another flower arrangement) and a fighting fish! It’s awesome. It’s fun. And it moves! What a conversation piece. But probably only recommended for the boldest (or most fun loving) of brides.

Find A Wedding Photographer: Christopher Becker

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I am such a fan of photojournalism. Seriously. I’ve been enamored, sometimes even infatuated, with photographers that I’ve worked with in the past, they were so effortlessly talented. I like to think I attract similarly talented people. But anyway, combine photojournalism and wedding photography and you’ve got a recipe for incredible memories for life.

All photos by Christopher Becker

Only because I had a bunch of other posts in the queue, I’m only now blogging about Becker. He’s a photographer out of Orange County and he’s spectacular. Not only that, he seems to have massive fun as he works. Who doesn’t want that at their wedding?

Above, is a wedding Becker shot in Colorado at the Roaring Fork Club (what a great name!). Hehe, with scenery like this, you don’t need much in the way of decorations! By the way, you can click each photo for the full size.


I’ve only been a casual reader of his blog for maybe two, three months now, but the man really has a sense of what to capture. Check out the groom above, seeing his bride for the first time — I love this photo. Society says men are not supposed to get emotional, but I love the tenderness of the awe and love in his eyes. I don’t know about any other bride, but I’d want to engrave that image in my mind forever. This was part of Becker’s all-time favorite wedding images post.


Again, here, Becker gives you details that you might miss in the hullabaloo that is most weddings. At this wedding at the Ponte Family Winery in Temecula, you might only focus on the rose petals, the gorgeous skies, the tastefully decorated trellis. But I love the details on the back row — pink, black and white ribbons tied to the backs of the chairs in the rear. Cute and simple.


Becker, in his favorite wedding images post, said that this one was among his most commented images. I can see why! I love awesome, slice of life stuff like this. What a great story to tell the kids…”kids, when we got married, it was on the beach and it was a beautiful day, and while we were taking pictures, this nude old man walked by and gave us a dirty look…” Awesome.

Anyway, enough from me. If you think Becker might just be the wedding photographer for you, shoot him an email and tell him I sent you. But even if you don’t think he’s for you, here’s what he has to say about choosing a photographer:

i’d say to meet with as many photographers as possible, narrow it down to the ones who’s work they admire, then hire the photographer with the best personality match to the couple. after all, you are stuck dealing with your photographer long after the wedding and you are going to want to make sure you like that person.

Save money and go green by renting flowers

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Have you ever heard of renting flowers? Neither had I, until I came upon Elaborate Floral Design‘s booth at the BrideExpo show at the L.A. Convention Center. But I kind of like the concept. I mean, what are you going to do with those flowers anyway? You’ll probably give away all your guest table arrangements. But if you’re like many right now, you’re probably looking to save some cash, yes? So rent.


EFD, as I’ll refer to them here on out, had some really lovely, simple arrangements. Like the one above, for $25, you’ve got calla lilies entwined in a shallow glass bowl, with clear glass pebbles and flameless candles in the middle. You’re probably thinking, shoot. I could do that on my own. You probably could. But why do you want one (or, depending on the number of tables you have, maybe 10 or 15) more thing to do? You probably don’t. Plus, if you want really pretty, spectacular arrangements…


…like this one, it would cost you a pretty penny if you went the traditional florist route. Above, that’s a vase topper laden with roses and stargazers and a footer of roses and more flowers (sorry, can’t identify the spiky ones). Um, although, I’m not positive that this arrangement is silk… Anyway, this would be a seriously expensive arrangement otherwise. EFD even has season-themed lines of flowers from which to choose from.

In addition, there is the whole bonus of leaving a smaller carbon footprint. According to EFD’s site:

We are taking steps to becoming an all green company, here are a few examples of how we are taking action and going green!
1) E.F.D. specializes in renting out silk centerpieces, which not only helps our environment by recycling and re-using but it also helps our economy with our affordable prices.
2) E.F.D. is changing all of our harmful chemical cleaning products to eco friendly and organic cleaning products.
3) E.F.D. is changing how we pay our bills, we will be paying everything online with no papertrail.
4) E.F.D. uses only energy efficient appliances.
5) E.F.D. will be using only compact flourescent lightbulbs.
6) E.F.D. recycles all glass, paper, cardboard, and metal.
7) E.F.D. buys local produce and groceries
8) E.F.D. uses a programmable thermostat.
9) E.F.D. uses energy star electronics.
10) E.F.D. will never share or sell your info to anyone.

You probably never imagined silk flowers for your wedding, I know. But you know what? All that matters is that the decor is still spectacular. And I’ve seen some silk flowers look pretty damn real — they just have to be well maintained.

EFD even lays out all the reason:

Our event Rental Lines feature top of the line silk flowers, that confuse the eye, and entice the touch! Not only do our flowers look and feel real, but they can smell real too! Why rent silk flowers? 1) The Budget-you spend less than half the cost of having an all fresh event! 2) The choice- your favorite flower that might be out of season, is not with our top of the line silk florals! 3) The Privilege- instead of waiting until your wedding day to see all of your flowers you get an exclusive look at everything, and get to make any changes! 4) The Look- no matter hot or cold, rainy or humid, the flowers always look great and no wilting! 5) The Experience- with our uniquely designed silk florals we can manipulate, twist and arrange our florals in ways you can not with fresh floral!

Need I say more?

Overlooking the ocean at La Venta Inn in Palos Verdes Estates

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This may be a little late, but better late than never! (Brides, remember that line when everyone asks why the wedding started so late.) Wedding Decorator pal Doris came all the way from Washington D.C. to take pictures of her friends’ wedding just for this lil’ ole blog! Well…not quite.

All photos by Doris. Thanks, Doris!!

As the headline suggests, this wedding took place at La Venta Inn. It so happens I have done a wedding here — a long, long time ago. I remember the place pretty well — spectacular location, as you can see from the photo of the gazebo, although the facility where the reception is a little tight — no 500-person parties here! But if you asked me for pictures, I probably lost them. Oops! Not to worry, Doris has swooped and saved the day.


The flowers, I gotta say, are spectacular. Totally bright and eye-popping, perfect for an outdoor wedding overlooking the ocean. Very summery. These lovely flowers were designed by Be Buds Florist in Torrance. Nice job! The photo above, by the way, is a close up of the gazebo’s centerpiece, and have a gorgeous variety of flowers — orange-edged yellow and pink roses, green cymbidium orchids, pink orchids, pinky-green hydrangeas. There’s just so many!


The pew decorations are simple but effective — red and orangey-yellow roses attached to the chairs. Simple, easy, colorful. Ka-pow! Massive impact. Heheh.


I’ve been meaning to do a post on staircases. Don’t ignore your staircases! I love decorating staircases. They add a lot of drama, without needing a lot of decoration. Think of all the bridal magazines you’ve seen, where the bride’s wedding gown train is spread behind her on the staircase. And those staircases don’t even tend to be decorated! Decorating a staircase is easy, just like in this photo — rose petals, a few bunches of roses, and some draping. Easy elegance.


This photo was labeled a tabletop arrangement — which could mean it was for the gift table, or the sign-in table or a cocktail table. Anyway, here we’ve got more hydrangeas, more of the orangey-yellow roses and — are those coffee bean buds?! How cool are those?! They’re actually called hypericum berries.


This is the sweetheart table. It’s very simple, but in a way, the statement of where the bride and groom are going on their honeymoon — Maui — kind of invokes your imagination.


This guest tables appeared to be set with three different styles of vases, carrying three bunches of flowers, although I’m not clear if all the tables had the same type of trio. I don’t think that’s the case, since in the background, I don’t see the big sprig of orchids at that table to the right. Anyway, I like the asymmetry here — square, tall vase with a green cymbidium orchid sprig in water, topped with a candle, a short cube vase with a bunch of those orangey-yellow roses, and the sprig of bright pink orchids. Really cool. And, I think, looking at the other pictures in Doris’ set, there were other combinations for each table.


Last but not least, the cake. A bakery was not listed on the wedding website so I have to assume that La Venta Inn did this cake, and it is so simple and beautiful. As a wedding decorator, I tend to like wedding cakes that are simple so that they can be dressed up with flowers. I mean, look how this one turned out! And the florist left nothing un-decorated — the cake knives, the wineglasses, everything has blossoms on it. And yet, nothing seems to be dripping with flowers. That’s good decorations, my friend.

Flutist’s wedding at the Padua Hills Theater

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All photos by FlutePrayer

Apparently, a flutist like FlutePrayer attends a lot of weddings! The same weekend she attended that lovely wedding at the Los Angeles County Arboretum, she played a duet at this wedding at the Padua Hills Theater. I actually am unfamiliar with the Padua Hills Theater in Claremont, so this is a treat for me, too.


The lovely bride and groom walk back down the aisle, happily married. I love that the bride chose purple — did you see those bridesmaids in front of the gazebo? Purple is such a strong color, plus it denotes royalty. What else could you ask for in a color? It really pops against white, but also looks so elegant paired with silver.


You see what I mean? Purple table cloths and white rose petals? Wow! So romantic. By the way, those glass vases holding up the guest table arrangement look slim and elegant, but they’re actually quite strong. I’ve placed many a heavy arrangement on those vases, but the trick is to place the arrangement without overextending it. You don’t want it to tip over into your food.


Ah, and the arrangement itself. Those look like stargazers, pink orchids, pink larkspur and possibly carnations. The overall effect, with the glass reflecting the candles and the purple table cloths (such an easy, yet eye-popping detail) — elegant.