Ceremony San Diego Magazine Cover!

Ceremony Magazine's Spring Cover showcases one of our favorite centerpieces designed for Adrianne & Dale last August. I was fortunate enough to contribute the floral portion of this stunning wedding by Susanne Duffy of Crown Weddings! We will be posting more photos of this wedding photographed by True Photography very soon.

Each curvaceous ceramic vessel cascades and rambles with ruffled and romantic garden roses in ivory, champagne and pale peach hues, ivory hydrangea adds to the scale of the centerpiece while the natural leaves of the garden roses and silvery dusty miller are the minimal foliage peeking amongst the blossoms. Hints of Victorian lavender, scabiosa flowers and heirloom clematis lend and airy romantic quality to the arrangement. Each blossom is hand selected for its contribution to the overall floral palette. An eclectic mix of both gold and silver toned mercury glass votives in a variety of styles and sizes surround this opulent floral display, completing this table-scape.

Kim & Sean

Eric Nelte of Blue Pearl Productions posted a three minute preview video of a recent wedding at The Lodge at Torrey Pines. Kim was an especially gracious Bride and she has the most amazing parents. Listen for the toast her father gives, it is darling! Susanne Duffy of Crown Weddings provided valuable guidance on the rich color palette, keeping with burnt umber, burgundy, and rich emerald green foliage; perfect inspiration for any upcoming autumn wedding. We will be posting more photos for inspiration when Darin Fong sends them along...stay tuned! We girls here at Adorations especially love the arch!

Kimberly and Sean from Blue Pearl Weddings on Vimeo.

Susanne & Chris

Susanne Duffy of Crown Weddings is one the very first coordinators to have referred me in this industry, back when I had only just begun creating romantic settings for couples in their honeymoon suite, after the wedding celebration. She was also one of the first that saw something more in me, beyond gossamer fabric and rose petals covering bed linens and scented shower walls. She had faith in my vision and my passion for providing an atmosphere for couples that continued the evening past the toasts and happy hugs and handshakes. I still remember sitting in her home studio, sharing tagged Martha Stewart magazines because I didn’t yet have a portfolio of wedding floral design to show my vision to clients. We all start somewhere, and I was fortunate to have Susanne telling her clients I was one of the ones to watch. She had more faith in me than I had in myself at the time as my voice trembled both with fear and excitement about this new direction my company was taking. While mostly self-taught, there are so many who have contributed to me along the way. In the whirlwind of a wedding season, we can forget to stop and acknowledge the true difference that those who encourage, refer, and celebrate us truly make! Sue is one such person, and her wedding gave me an opportunity to properly thank her through the best expression of gratitude that I know…flowers.

My few photos are just a glimpse; Darin Fong has posted a video that is especially sentimental and telling of the floral and decor elements! Check out the link here. Susanne & Chris’ wedding day is especially memorable, from the secret garden to the night club. The stories, the vows, the now united family that made me swell with tears as my husband and I held the heart shaped rose quartz crystal between clasped palms.

blessings abound!

2010 has begun with many blessings and I am in a state of gratitude for how good news is reigning supreme in the studio this month…where do I begin…I was surprised when Brooke from Ceremony Magazine delivered our cases of magazines to share with our clients with a mischievous grin on her face. I think I was the last one to find out the good news as we are kept so busy designing, that most submissions are done by either wedding coordinators, photographers, or the clients themselves. Discovering that one of the weddings that we designed with Red Letter Days Events had a 6 page feature was enough to cause a buzz around the studio, but to then hold the magazine with the bouquet shot by Cary Pennington on THE COVER…what joy!

The business of weddings is certainly fulfilling, we get to make a difference on a daily basis; a tangible difference with visible results. But soon those results fade as we pack up vases, donate flowers and are onto the next project…seeing the fruit of our labor (and believe me it is labor, but one of love), displayed again and oh so beautifully on the cover of Ceremony Magazine really made the difference for me as we begin the journey into the 2010 wedding season.

This wedding of Maureen and Gino; a stylish couple who run a very hip tattoo parlor, Two Roses, in the downtown San Diego area, complete with espresso bar and barber shop, took place at The Grand Del Mar, with the ceremony at Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Little Italy. Check it out along with our other published weddings with the likes of the ever fabulous Kelly Aull of Mint Weddings, and Susanne Duffy of Crown Weddings.
Posted below are collections of photos from Maureen and Gino's wedding that may not be in the magazine spread, but certainly tell more of the story. Our website's featured weddings category will be updated very soon to include the 3 other Weddings of Distinction highlighted in this same issue along with coordinating blog posts ...stay tuned...

In this all-inclusive issue of Ceremony Magazine, one of my favorites to date, I love the new layout, how they showcase the vendors for easy accessibility to the reader and the creative direction is superb…and I promise this is not biased for we share the cover with other greats throughout the season such as Adrianne Smith, whose luscious bouquet makes me long for Spring. Look for her covering the June and July issues, while Karen Tran's bouquet covers the August and September issues. It is truly an honor and privilege to be among so many wonderful industry professionals.