12.31.08
Posted in Weddings at 3:24 pm by tweeny
The Flower Lab recently had the honor to help sponsor the first annual Asian Bridal Fair at the San Gabriel Hilton in November, 2008. We had the great opportunity to work with Wildflower Linen to present gorgeous tables and floral-linen dresses in the ballroom foyer. We also helped with the florals of Bella Destinee’s booth by presenting a garden birdcage reception centerpiece with matching peony and rose bouquet. It was a great first Asian Bridal Fair with tons of delicious food, fashion, and of course floral decor! Check out some of the flowers we made for the show and our booth:
Permalink
11.10.08
Posted in Weddings at 2:57 pm by tweeny
The Flower Lab recently provided the flowers for a wedding at the beautfiul Ritz Carlton Hotel in Marina Del Rey. The venue was tops - not only was it the fabulous Ritz, but the valet manager let us park our big ol’ mama cargo van for free AND I had my first watermelon infused water - very refeshing!
It was another perfect day with clear blue skies and a cool seaside breeze. The outdoor ceremony was held in the Gardens where we decorated the gazebo with flowers in shades of pink: Asiatic lilies, hydrangea, roses, stock, and ivy vine. The aisle was trimmed with light pink organza fabric draping.
In the Marina Vista Room, the reception was decked out in all white flowers. Half the tables featured a tall centerpiece of all white dendrobium orchids surrounded by little bowls of white flowers: stock, roses, and china mums. The low centerpieces were comprised of roses, hydrangea, stock, and waxflower, also surrounded by a trio of white flowers.
Here are some pictures of the flowers - the good pictures are courtesy of Christine Chang Photography!
-
-
ceremony gazebo
-
-
Christine Chang Photography
-
-
pink flowers
-
-
-
Christine Chang Photography
-
-
tall centerpiece
-
-
Christine Chang Photography
-
-
trio of white flowers
-
-
low centerpiece
Permalink
10.02.08
Posted in Weddings at 1:53 pm by tweeny
The next stop on The Flower Lab’s mini tour of the east coast was the wedding of Jenny and Greg at St. John Neumann Catholic Church and reception at Lansdowne Resort in Leesburg, Virginia. Jenny wanted a timeless, elegant, and classy wedding reception with tall centerpieces featuring all white flowers. We used hydrangea, ‘Siberia’ lilies, lisianthus, and larkspur on 24-inch clear glass pilsner vases. The vases were half filled with water and a layer of ivory rose petals floated on the water’s surface.
the reception in the grand ballroom
tall, classic centerpiece
all white flowers: hydrangea, lilies, lisianthus, and larkspur
pilsner vase with floating rose petals
arrangement of lilies for the escort card table
Jenny wore a romantic wedding gown with lace, hand-made silk flowers, and Swarovski crystals. To complement her dress, she wanted a textured, romantic bouquet in ivory and gold with roses and flowers with delicate blossoms. We made her a hand-tied bouquet with creamy ‘Vendela’ roses, freesia, mini calla lilies, ‘white princess’ spray roases, ‘medeo’ sweet heart roses, gold asclepia, and gold/peach ranunculus. The bouquet was wrapped with beaded lace trim and tiny rhinestones were glued onto the tips of the roses and callas.
bridal bouquet
lace trim for the bridal boquet
bridesmaid bouquets
The DC metro area was the second and final stop of our brief tour of out-of-town special events. Because of the large scale of this event (6 bridesmaids, 3 flower girls, and 18 centerpieces!), I decided to order the flowers from a local wholesaler and what a great decision it was! The flowers were provided by Potomac Floral Wholesale, Inc. in Silver Spring, MD. They have a very convenient online ordering system and my sales representative, Iba Diop, was extremely helpful getting all the flowers and materials I needed. The warehouse is extremely well stocked with cut flowers as well as plants and supplies, and everything was of high quality. It was interesting to see that some of the flowers, like the ranunculus, were from suppliers I frequented at the Los Angeles Flower Market! Prices for some cut flowers can be much higher out here in the east, but quality is just as good and service is stellar.
This concludes my working vacation out east! It will be good to be back home and see our old dog Salt again!
enjoying the cool Santa Monica breezes
Permalink
09.30.08
Posted in Weddings at 2:49 pm by tweeny
(all photos courtesy of Jenny Tam)
ceremony site overlooking the Atlantic
It was a perfect fall day in New England when Wenli and Patrick were married at the Ocean View Inn in Gloucester, MA. It isn’t too common for The Flower Lab to do events outside of California, but I am definitely up for the challenge and ready for any chance to travel! Not only is it fun to showcase some west coast style and design, but I love checking out markets, wholesalers, and design trends all over the country (and world)!
Wenli loves loves loves orchids! So we showcased cymbidium, James Story, and mokara orchids for her fall palette wedding in reds and oranges. To offset the price of orchids and to keep within budget, we also featured beautiful deep red ‘freedom’ roses and orange, fragrant ‘milva’ roses. Orange freesia and brown hypericum berries were added for additional texture. Bouquets and personal flowers were comprised of mostly cymbidium orchids with accents of roses, freesia, and hypericum.
bridal bouquet
bridesmaid bouquet
mother’s corsage
The view for the ceremony was simply stunning - gorgeous blue Atlantic ocean water with gently peeling waves, a bed of garden flowers, and soft green grass. There wasn’t much more the place needed - just some small poseys attached to the aisle chairs to bring it all together!
ceremony chairs
chair posey
Sometimes my brides have asked to have additional bouquets of flowers available at the ceremony as special gifts to parents as a way to honor and thank them. For these thank you bouquets, we accented the red and orange roses with James Story orchids, black ti leaves, and wrapped the flowers in chocolate brown abaca mesh.
thank you parents!
Inside, the reception tables were long and rectangular, so the centerpieces featured red containers of similar shape and were anchored by two floating candle arrangements with immersed mokara orchids. For a natural “drift wood” New England beach feel as well as Asian inspiration, we used sand-blasted manzanita branches for the main centerpieces with pink mini cymbidium orchids glued to the branches. Red and orange roses and hypericum berries anchored the centerpieces to the fall theme.
reception tables
floating candle arrangement
branch centerpiece
another branch centerepice
wedding cake
Overall, it was a great trip out to Boston and Gloucester!
bye-bye Beantown!
Permalink
09.28.08
Posted in Weddings at 7:38 am by tweeny
Jenkis and Nathan planned a beautiful wedding bridging Western and Eastern traditions. The ceremony was held at the Hilton Pasadena followed by a banquet reception at Empress Harbor Seafood Restaurant in Monterey Park. The chose to feature burgundy as their main color – reminiscent of lucky Chinese red – while also mixing in shades of purple and fuchsia.
At the Hilton, we draped sheer burgundy fabric along the sides of the aisle and hung pomanders made from carnations with burgundy tips. The arch was decorated with burgundy dahlia, purple hydrangea, pink lilies, and purple alstroemeria.
the arch, aisle, and pomanders
pomanders close up
guestbook table with floating flowers in a lily bowl
bridesmaids and bridal bouquets
bridal bouquet with ribbon detail
The reception centerpieces were in luminescent fuchsia cubes – small enough to accommodate the many dishes soon to be served on the lazy susans. They featured ‘red magic’ roses, fuchsia gerbera daisies, purple hydrangea, and large burgundy dahlias.
reception table flowers
head table flowers in a silver luminescent container
toss bouquet
wedding cake
We made a European-inspired arrangement for the sign-in table of steel grass, china berries, and burgundy chrysanthemums.
sign-in table
It was pretty busy at the Empress Harbor Seafood Restaurant that evening with two wedding banquets that took out the entire restaurant! Regular patrons had to sit and eat al fresco (something I don’t think Chinese people in the SGV like to do in the LA heat!)
Permalink
09.24.08
Posted in Weddings at 6:09 pm by tweeny
Team Flower Lab recently provided flowers for a wedding at The Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. The very hip couple getting married were Amber and Patrick – who wanted something a little different and unconventional for their wedding. How cool is it that you can have weddings and special events at The Natural History Museum in the presence of dinosaur bones and elephants?
There are dinosaurs back there!
The ceremony was held in the main rotunda as you enter the museum alongside a snarling triceratops and tyrannous saurus rex. After which the reception commenced in the great hall of African mammals where tables were labeled according to their proximity to various exhibition cases – think table “hyena”, table “gorilla”, and table “chimpanzee”.
rhinos sit here!
Amber loves calla lilies so we used tall white callas mixed with curly willow and seeded eucalyptus in the ceremony altar pieces. The cocktail tables were decorated with a small pot covered in moss topped with a large burgundy dahlia.
lovely white callas
dahlia in a moss covered pot
I don’t think there is a more perfect venue to have mosses and manzanita branches in the floral décor than the Natural History Museum. And apparently we weren’t the only ones who thought so according to the special events coordinator! For the reception, we featured approximately 2-ft. tall natural manzanita branches secured in black pots with plaster of paris and decorated with flowers in shades of burgundy: dahlia, hydrangea, ‘black magic’ roses, hypericum berry, as well as seeded eucalyptus and lemon leaf. In addition to attaching burgundy dendrobium orchids to the branches, we hung red votive holders and some Spanish moss.
manzanita branches
dendrobiums and hanging votives
the great hall of African mammals
Amber’s bouquet was a simple and elegant bouquet of all burgundy calla lilies wrapped in sheer organza ribbon and accented with black beaded trim. The escort card table and sign-in tables featured tall arrangements of ginger in black glass trumpet vases.
burgundy bouquets and flower girl basket
ginger escort card table
The Flower Lab in action!
Permalink
09.02.08
Posted in Weddings at 2:07 pm by tweeny
Calamigos Ranch is a beautiful and popular venue to have a wedding. Located in the hills and canyons of Malibu, it’s a magical location with large trees adorned with twinkling lights. It’s hard to believe you are still in Los Angeles!
Corrin and Marcus had their wedding at The Oaks at Calamigos Ranch, with an outdoor ceremony on a deck among the woods and trees followed by an indoor reception in the building attached to the deck. In keeping with the outdoor and natural feel of The Oaks, Corrin wanted her flowers to have a wildflower look with mostly small, delicate blooms. Their colors were lavender and purple with highlights of pink and ivory.
For the bridal and bridesmaid bouquets, Corrin wanted sweet peas and hydrangea. We also added deep purple lisianthus and ivory spray roses.
The centerpieces were kept low and simple, but wildflower in feel with lavender hydrangea, purple lisianthus, pink wax flower, blue delphinium, and ivory spray roses.
Permalink
08.26.08
Posted in Weddings at 11:38 am by tweeny
Jessica and Chris were married at the Neighborhood Church in Palos Verdes Estates. It seems like the past few weddings I’ve done have been at venues with extraordinary views of the Pacific Ocean - this was no exception! The church is a beautiful Spanish building with terra cotta tiles with a back patio where you can look out and see an expanse of beautiful blue.
The colors were ivory, Tiffany blue, and copper, so we tinted white hydrangea using Design Master’s Peacock Blue. To get a deep orange like copper or terra cotta, we used ‘Circus’ roses and ‘Mango’ mini calla lilies. We also used gerberas and alstromeria of deep orange. For ivory, we used ‘Vendela’ roses, ivory dahlia, and ivory lisianthus.
The altar arrangements were in 24-inch tall clear glass cylinders filled with copper florists’ wire with pieces of coral attached. The flowers included tinted aqua hydrangea, orange alstroemeria, Casablanca lilies, and large ivory dahlias.
The reception was held at The Chart House in Redondo Beach. For a vintage look, Jessica requested that we used containers that look like they have been well-aged, like a copper penny that has turned a little blue-green. Luckily we found some nice French buckets that had the perfect color and look! To incorporate the oceanview, but not too literally, we attached sanddollars to the containers.
Permalink
08.24.08
Posted in Weddings at 11:05 pm by tweeny
One Saturday in August there were two weddings held at Stauffer Chapel with the same florist!
The beautiful stained glass windows in the chapel goes well with any color scheme. Here’s a wedding in purple and ivory with deep pink accents.
The reception was later held at the Lindero Country Club in Agoura Hills, just up the canyon road and a little further on the 101.
Permalink
08.13.08
Posted in Weddings at 5:57 pm by tweeny
Jessica and Jean were recently married at Stauffer Chapel at Pepperdine University. If you haven’t been to Pepperdine it’s a really nice drive up the Pacific Coast Highway and the views from the chapel are spectacular!
The altar at the chapel is set against a stunning backdrop of an entire wall of stained glass. (watch out for backlit pictures!). The colors of the wedding were white and yellow and Jessica wanted to incorporate lemons in the florals! For a more wedding “look”, we stuck with more subdued tones of yellow as opposed to bright, golden yellow.
lemony altar arrangement
Here’s the bridal bouquet comprised of ‘Tibet’ roses, lisianthus, yellow cymbidium orchids, freesia, dahlia, and mini calla lilies. We finished the bouquet with alternating lemony yellow and ivory satin ribbon.
bridal bouquet
full bouquet with ribbons detail
The reception was held at Duke’s of Malibu in the Moana room. There are almost 360 degree views of the ocean throughout the room! To continue with the yellow and lemon theme, the centerpieces had lemon slices pressed against the glass. And to create interest throughout the room, we made two styles of low centerpieces — one with a matrix of ‘lemon dream’ roses bordered by bupleurum and the other in a glass cube with a mix of yellow and white flowers (lisianthus, teddy bear sunflowers, hydrangea, dahlia, roses, salal, and bupleurum).
square table centerpiece
cube table centerpiece
Permalink
« Previous entries
