All wired up
Published July 19, 2011 | 
So you have your helpers, you’ve gotten your flowers and now it’s time to put everything together. And with so much on your mind, the last thing you need to worry about is how to support the stems of your arrangements in your vases.
Would you believe that everyday ordinary chicken wire is the answer to supporting your stems. It’s great, you can use it inside the container to build a framework, around floral foam to create a better support or even outside of the container if you are using baskets with a container inside to hold water.
And it’s easily found, any large hardware store carries galvanized chicken wire, so do farm and feed supply stores. You can also get green plastic coated wire from a florist wholesaler, but it will be more expensive this way.
Chicken wire is perfect for holding soft stemmed flowers and foliage, such as aenmones and spring flowers. The best gauge of wire to use is 2 inches. You should always make sure to cut the wire a little wider than the opening of the container and three times the depth. Shape it so that it will easily fit into the vase. This will create a perfect support system and if the wire mesh is small enough, it will be completely hidden by the time you have finished your arrangement.
Destination Receptions – Winery Chic
Published June 17, 2011 | Last time I talked about the lovely wedding I did in a winery in Somona California, this time I wanted to share with you some of the creative things that we did with the reception and the bridal favors.
Because this was a destination wedding, the bride chose to give luggage tags as her favor. So we displayed them on beds of wheat grass. It turned out the wheat grass was too tall and the luggage tags couldn’t be seen, so I trimmed the wheat grass…kind of like mowing the lawn, only I had to use scissors. I think they came out great, what do you think?
This couple had a cocktail hour in the courtyard and chose to decorate those tables with candles. So I used a 7 1/2″ tall cylinder vase and cut up 3 limes for 
each, added water and then a floating candle. For the votives, I wrapped a piece of brown ribbon around the base and glued a button mum to cover the ribbon seam. I used glue dots to fasten the ribbon and Oasis Floral Adhesive to attach the button mum.
Lastly, this couple chose to have half tall and half short centerpieces. The tall centerpieces were Manzanita Branches in a 28″ tall cylinder vase with green 
cymbidium orchids and hanging crystals. I also had some ice crystals in the base of the vase. The short centerpieces were 12″ tall cylinder vases with a stem of green cymbidium orchids in each and a little crystal ice at the bottom of the vase.
This was a gorgeous wedding…hope you get some ideas for your own wedding from this photos and descriptions.
Destination Wedding Ideas – Winery Chic
Published June 14, 2011 | 
Some time ago, I had a super cool winery wedding in Sonoma, Ca. The brides color scheme was green, brown and ivory. Her bouquet was made using Polo roses (they open like an old fashioned rose), white lisianthus and green (called brocoli hydrangea-which is a NEW growth green in color and 
eventually turns white as it matures) and her bridesmaids carried white hydrangea with green button mums and hypericum berries. The bridesmaids bouquets are shown on the right, don’t they make a gorgeous display all together?
The ceremony was outside in front of the beautiful fountain. This bride elected to have pomanders hanging on the chair ends. The pomanders were made using floral foam 6″ balls, they were covered in moss and then green spider mums, green button mums and green cymbidium orchids were added and the balls were hung with brown satin ribbon.
Here is a close up of the pomanders…. I used a moss table runner I found at the craft store and cut it into small squares and covered the floral foam ball using greening pins. Then I inserted 5 spider mums, 5 stems of button mums and 2 cymbidium orchids for each ball. These were very time 
consuming…I didn’t keep track, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I spend 1 hour on each ball.
Next time, I’ll share with you what I did for the reception!
For the Recessionista Bride–The Durable Carnation
Published April 8, 2011 | Carnations come in two varieties – the standard carnations are a single flower head on one stem. The flower heads can be as big as three inch diameters. The other type of carnation is a mini carnation. Mini carnations have multiple flower heads on each stem. The flower head size on a mini carnation is about one inch in diameter.
One of the best things about carnations is the incredible assortment of colors they come in, starting with white and working through yellow, orange, pink, red, burgundy, lavender, purple, fuscia, and many bi-colors (two colors in one flowers). Another great thing about carnations is they last a really long time and they are one of the most durable flowers you can buy. Vase life will vary by how fresh the flowers are when you buy them, but 6-21 days at the consumer level is pretty darn great!
As a Recessionista Bride, you’ll be happy to know that carnations are pretty inexpensive as well.
Carnations have a very mild, pleasant scent and are great for forming shapes so they are a great choice for creating bouquets. In the picture below, carnations were the main flower for the bridesmaid bouquets…orange carnations and just three orange roses in each. I think carnations gathered together can resemble a large hydrangea. In the picture to the right, the bride’s bouquet was made out of blue hydrangea with ivory roses and chocolate cosmos. Notice how the bridesmaid bouquets look so similar to the brides bouquet in terms of shape and size. If you didn’t know any better, you might think the bridesmaid bouquets were made out of orange hydrangea!
Color Coordination
Published March 22, 2011 | 
This is a good example of how you can coordinate the bridal party bouquets. Notice that the bridal bouquet contains white mini callas, pale pink peony, green hypericum berries and green cymbidium orchids. Also notice that it is much larger than the bridesmaid bouquets. It is customary for the brides bouquet to be bigger and nicer than the rest of the bridal party. Since the bridesmaids were wearing a dark pink, this bride chose to have them carry pink and white mini calla bouquets. She pulled the mini-calla flower from her bouquet as the tie in flower for the girls. She also pulled the mini-calla flowers as the tie in for the guys boutonnieres. See below. You can coordinate your flowers in two ways: 1) You can all carry/wear the same flower type. 2) You can all carry/wear the same color, but different flowers.
The guys for this wedding all wore mini-calla boutonnieres. The guys were all pretty big guys, over 6 feet tall. So we gave them double white mini-calla boutonnie
res with green hypericum berry and Italian Ruscus accents. The guys could have been further defined by having the groom wear the white mini calla boutonniere and the groomsmen could have worn either one white and one pink mini-calla boutonnieres or pink mini-calla boutonnieres. HINT: Many guys don’t want to wear pink, especially if it is a pale pink! If you really want pink flowers, consider a dark pink for the guys. You’ll have a better chance of getting them to wear the dark pink boutonniere without any grumbling!
San Francisco Flower Market
Published September 27, 2010 | Hi There,
I buy my flowers, most of the time, from the San Francisco Flower Market. I grew up in San Francisco and visited the flower market before I was a florist. It is a fascinating place to visit. It is so BIG. There are two main warehouses know to the florists as the Japanese side and the Italian side. I just watched a video produced by J TV about a recent visit to the San Francisco Flower Market and want to share it with you.
You will be able to see for yourself just how big the San Francisco Flower Market is. I have bought flowers from everyone you will see Jay interviewing. Enjoy your peek at the San Francisco Flower Market. And, everything they all say about “family” is so true!
Posted in Do It Yourself Wedding Flowers, Flowers, How to do your own Wedding Flowers, how to wedding flowers | 
aged green hydrangea, bridal bouquet, budget weddings, centerpieces, Cheap wedding flowers, DIY flowers, Do It Yourself Wedding Flower Guide, flower arranging, flowerarranging101.tv, fresh flowers, roses, San Francisco Flower Market, wedding florist | 
Leave a commentWinery Chic Wedding Idea
Published August 24, 2010 | Hi There,
It’s not super easy to see the bouquets displayed on a table this way. Here is a picture of the bride holding her bouquet. 
The ceremony was outside in front of the beautiful fountain. This bride elected to have pomanders hanging on the chair ends. The pomanders were made using floral foam 6″ balls, they were covered in moss and then green spider mums, green button mums and green cymbidium orchids were added and the balls were hung with brown satin ribbon.
I used a moss table runner I found at the craft store and cut it into small squares and covered the floral foam ball using greening pins. Then I inserted 5 spider mums, 5 stems of button mums and 2 cymbidium orchids for each ball. These were very time consuming…I didn’t keep track, but I wouldn’t be surprised if I spend 1 hour on each ball.
I think they came out great, what do you think?
I used glue dots to fasten the ribbon and Oasis Floral Adhesive to attach the button mum.
The short centerpieces were 12″ tall cylinder vases with a stem of green cymbidium orchids in each and a little crystal ice at the bottom of the vase. 
Posted in Do It Yourself Wedding Flowers, how to wedding flowers, manzanita centerpiece, Sacramento Wedding Florist, wedding flowers, wedding planning, weddings | bridal bouquet, candle centerpieces, cymbidium orchid centerpiece, DIY wedding flowers, Do It Yourself Wedding Flower Guide, Flowers, green flowers, Jacuzzi Family Vineyards, Jacuzzi Winery, manzanita centerpiece, outdoor wedding, Planning a Wedding, sacramento wedding florist, Sonoma California winery wedding, wedding flowers, wedding planning, wedding trends | Leave a commentStock- A Fragrant Favorite Flower
Published August 8, 2010 | Hi There,
Stock is not a flower I use a lot of in bouquets. When I do, it is normally just the tips that I am using. I do use a lot of stock in centerpieces though.
Posted in DIY, Do It Yourself Wedding Flowers, Flowers, How to do your own Wedding Flowers, how to wedding flowers, Sacramento Wedding Florist, Sacramento Wedding Planning, Save 50-75% of the cost of your wedding flowers!, wedding flowers, weddings | bridal bouquets, budget weddings, Cheap wedding flowers, DIY Bridal Bouquet, DIY wedding flowers, Do It Yourself Bridal Bouquets, Do It Yourself Wedding Bouquet, Do It Yourself Wedding Flower Guide, Do It Yourself Wedding Flowers, stock flowers | Leave a commentRecessionista Bridal Workshop
Published July 28, 2010 | Hi There,
We’re having another Recessionista Bridal Workshop….if you are looking for ways to save money on your wedding, this is the place for you to be. We’re giving out Swag Bags filled with all kinds of goodies for you, door prizes, great hands-on experiences, food sampling and so much more.
Where: Tre Events, 1212 Howe Ave., Sacramento, Ca.
When: August 15, 2010
Time: 1:00 – 4:00 PM
This workshop is FREE to you and your guest, but you must pre-register at www.recessionistabridalworkshop.com
Indian Wedding
Published May 31, 2010 | I’ve done a few “Indian” weddings before…well, the brides and bridal party wore sari’s….but that was about the extent of the “Indian culture” including in the wedding. This past Saturday, I did the most traditional Indian wedding I’ve ever done. The entire bridal party wore Indian attire, even the guys. The backdrop was a “mandap” …Indian alter. See picture below. In addition to the flowers attached to the pillars of the mandap, I also provided garlands of flowers (like Hawaiian lei’s) for the bride and groom (they are used during the ceremony), a bowl of flower heads (also used during the ceremony), lot’s of rose petals….used on the aisle, made into paisley’s, used on the mandap stage and thrown at the couple….see pictures below.
Gold and Burgundy themed Mandap
Rose petals were used to make paisley's which were the theme running throughout the wedding
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