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.

inspration boards made easy

This is noteworthy resource for Industry Pros and Brides alike. Check out the BIG HUGE Labs website to make straightforward inspiration boards for your next wedding or social event! Their Mosaic Maker acts as a substitute for those who may be undersupplied with layout software.

This link will take you where you can download images from your computer, link your Facebook or Flicker account, creating up to 36 images on one page! Remember to always give photo and source credit!

For me the obvious bonus is the capacity to create a photo collage of my wee one...something I know his grandma has been waiting on...oh and they will print the images for you too! My examples are just a few of the choices..check it out!




row one~column one: jennifer dery photography

rooftop chuppah sneak peek

Designing for Rachel and Michael was such a joy and this is certainly one of our favorite wedding designs of the season. From the very beginning Rachel had a specific vision in mind, focusing on black and white with saturated pink hues. I especially love this wedding because of the black and white chuppah. The burned out velvet textiles carried a vintage vibe, but are updated with a modern ‘burnt’ brocade pattern.

We repeated the same brocade pattern in the aisle entrance pedestals, the sheer black and white talis covering and again in the 60’-0” aisle runner. The pink hues were introduced from the onset with the custom designed graphic stylings of Daniel Crawford beginning with the glam meets rockabilly invitation and concluding with the ‘oh so very cool’ Ketubah.

The focal flowers consisted of hot pink anemones, cattelya and phalaenopsis orchids (as seen here is the detail shot of the teardrop vases), with seasonal ranunculus and sweet peas interspersed in the bouquets. We presented all the flowers in simplistic contemporary glass and Lucite vessels, (to be seen in future posts). This concept is not necessarily just about the flowers.

The installation was seamless thanks to expert coordination by Kelly of Mint Weddings and Megan Bachman at Andaz Hotel.

If any words such as modern, contemporary, sleek, sexy, or urban describe your personal style for your wedding, this rooftop ceremony location must make the top of your list.

We are especially thrilled to have our work photographed by Paula and Mike of Luna Photo; they are simply one of the best at telling the full story, from behind the scenes to the detail shots (which are our personal faves). We will most certainly be posting again when we have the good fortune of seeing those images!

Look closely and you can see the darling flocked black cones on the end of each chair with white rose petals. {click on image to enlarge}

who you calling moody?

worth the read...photos at the end...promise!

Creating this company had been the perfect external manifestation of what I inwardly feel. I can recall many times in my past being called “moody,” but if you took a deeper look you would see a girl with many aspects of her personality confined in just one female form.

It's like wanting to wear blue jeans and a t-shirt one day, while on another longing for simple frills and maybe a touch of bling. I love design, I love color, texture, raw materials, the visionary process of bringing many seemingly different objects together to make a unified whole. But, for the life of me I cannot settle on just one aspect, one style, that is THE perfect expression of ME.

There is no fault in this; it actually serves me quite well in designing for my clients. I can be just as excited about rough-hewn wood, moss and succulents, as about black lacquer square boxes with deep red roses and a burned out velvet brocade aisle runner. That is what is best about this profession; I get to be more fully expressed through you, the client. There is never a dull day, no humdrum weddings here and for this I continue to be grateful.

I have been known to say, I would rather die a slow painful death than to design the same wedding over and over again. I may not be moody, but I can be dramatic! I love approaching each project anew, with fresh eyes; for each of you are distinct, both in your individuality and in your togetherness as a couple. I welcome your stories, your dreams, even your concerns. Each gives life to the vision, enlivening the process, and infusing fun at a time that can have its stressors.

For me, the meat and bones, flesh and blood of a personal design project most often begins with an emotion…or two. Bringing a tabletop to life is a very poignant act for me. In the tabletop for the 2010 Ceremony Magazine edition the prevailing sentiments were nostalgia combined with determination; nostalgia for the past and determination of purpose for Adorations in the coming year.

You may wonder, how does one convey this in design? Perhaps a tabletop shoot on the corner of 13th and G in downtown San Diego, our "Vintage Avenue," for example. Mingling curvaceous peonies, garden roses, delicate skeleton magnolia leaves and parrot tulips with rustic reclaimed wood pedestals, wrought iron and galvanized metal were the perfect expression of nostalgia and determination for me.

Joshua Aull of Joshua Aull Photography took notice of this in telling the photographic story with attention to the leading lines of the red brick wall and galvanized industrial door. His intuition and perspective helped bring this shoot to life. The flower selection in the magazine layout and further displayed below was an obvious choice for me; it’s all about color and contrasting texture, making the corner of the East Village the perfect choice to shoot a classy vintage vibe. Check out my amateur photo of Josh while he captures the scene…

click on any of the images to enlarge for a better view!

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.

Festival of Brides Part Deux

As promised the ever fabulous Cary Pennington delivered a CD of images to us last week and of course I just had to create a part 2 about the Festival of Brides with Red Letter Days. Many of San Diego's vendors that participated in the show have shared such positive feedback, that we are considering showcasing at the next Festival. We are also happy to share that it seems that Cowgirl Magazine has taken a liking to our collaboration with Red Letter Days and is featuring an article in their magazine sharing Cary's photos of our presentation. How fun!

Festival of Brides for Red Letter Days

Today began with me driving away from our little hilltop retreat this morning at 6 am to meet two great wedding coordinators, Mia and Rebecca from Red Letter Days at the Grand Del Mar for the installation of their custom designed booth! Their concept was to create an arbor with a dramatic sand ceremony table as the focal point. Our primary ingredients for the inspiration came from black brocade fabric from Velvet Relic, and a plethora of birch logs, branches and risers. I just love the way the black and white concept all came together…below are some "teaser" photos while I await the professional masterpieces from Cary of Cary Pennington Photography who was onsite to capture the day! Mia and Becca I am sure are having a blast meeting new Brides and Grooms and inspiring them with their humor, knowledge, and savvy wedding sensibilities!