Flora Nova Design

Backyard Elegance in a Northwest Setting

2012-01-20T10:42:00.000-08:00

This wedding is dear to my heart - a wonderful bride and groom, a gorgeous setting for the ceremony, a romantic and intimate style for the reception. We only had a few weeks to plan and execute this wedding but working with the delightful bride Robin and the fabulous team at True Colors Events made this all just an easy and wonderful project for us!
The wedding took place at the clients' beautiful residence on Mercer Island - a gorgeous setting to host a wonderful outdoor party like theirs. The fabulous images below from Bradley Hanson illustrate the stunning surrounding beautifully.
It was all the little details that were tended to that made this wedding such a memorable event!

Robin liked a trailing design for her bouquet in burgundy, peach, chocolate and accents of ivory colors.

We used lush garden roses, wildcat orchids, chocolate dahlias, sedums and hydrangea to create a sumptuous bouquet in a yummy color palette - so rich with lots of texture!

Details - Details: the color of the orchid in the groom's boutonniere matched the tie color perfectly!

And more details: the layered, gathered silk style of the bride's dress was repeated in the bouquet wrap ..

Loved the bride in her breath-taking Luly Yang gown - just stunning!!

The ceremony! Oh, the ceremony! The gorgeously landscaped setting in the back yard made this one of the most beautiful natural ceremony settings I have ever seen. The terraced area with a planted stone wall, the view of Lake Washington, and the surrounding Northwest greenery created a perfect backdrop. No further decor was needed - even the clear acrylic chairs used for the ceremony couldn't take away from the natural beauty of the setting!

The reception was super-stylish and expressed the couple's exquisite taste throughout. We rented a clear canopy tent for their large patio and added crystal ceiling chandeliers and champagne colored silk drapes to enhance the ambiance for the evening.

Lush centerpieces of garden roses, sedums, hydrangea, fern curls, and dahlias decorated the dinner tables. And of course paired with lots of votive candles for romantic candle light ...

A gorgeous focal point of the reception area was a large planting bed totally covered in rose petals! Groupings of hurricane candles added a warm light to the area.

The cocktail patio overlooking Lake Washington ...

... featuring a large acrylic bowl with floating candles and floating blooms.

Large vases with submerged orchids were lining the entry area.

Thank you Brad for the gorgeous images!

And finally, here is a wonderful video by cabfare productions capturing the day!!

Robin + Dennis: Love Under the Trees from cabfare productions on Vimeo.

The fabulous list of vendors:

Coordination - Jesse Brix with True Colors Events

Photography - Bradley Hanson

Videography - cabfare productions

Chair Rental - Pedersen's Event Rental

Tent and Furniture Rental - AA Party Rental

Linens - BBJ Linens

A Romantic December Wedding

2012-01-01T12:22:00.000-08:00

Hayley and Michael tied the knot just last month - it was such a beautiful celebration infused with lots of candle light, a warm holiday-inspired color palette, and romantic vintage touches. Hayley looked absolutely stunning in her gorgeous lace dress - wow! To complement the style of her gown we designed a large bouquet with red roses, peonies, tulips, berries and lots of trailing orchid blossoms.

Such a beautiful picture of the couple and their brides maids...- Abbey Road in Seattle :)

The long maroon-red brides maids' gowns were accented with bouquets in mostly creams and champagne colored flowers with hints of red to tie in with the dress color.

The groom's favorite flower - a tulip. It always makes for a fun boutonniere ...

The wedding reception took place at one of my favorite vintage venues in town - the Dome Room at the Arctic Club Hotel. It was the perfect venue to celebrate their elegant reception. The dinner tables were decorated with large crystal candelabras, large floral centerpieces, and lots and lots of candles. It couldn't have been more romantic.

Thank you La Vie Photography for providing the beautiful images of this wedding!!

Other contributing vendors:

Coordination - Katy Griffiths with Vows Weddings

Ceremony Location - St. Joseph Cathedral on Capitol Hill

Reception Location - Arctic Club Hotel

Wedding Cake - Cakes by Creme de la Creme

A Summer Wedding at Newcastle Golf Club

2011-12-12T16:18:00.000-08:00

It is such a treat to see pictures of a nice warm summer wedding on an icy cold winter day like today - and a perfectly sunny warm summer day it was for Nicole's and Michael's wedding at Newcastle Golf Club this past August. Blue skies, temperatures in the upper 70s, and a view to die for!

Nicole chose a color palette of golden yellow with black and white - such a crisp and sophisticated palette which creates sharp contrasts with a hint to the contemporary. Ooohhh, and against the blue sky yellow is the perfect summer color.

Enjoy these beautiful images of Rachel Bayne Photography!

The gorgeous black and white linens for the reception tables by Choice Linens!

A Wedding at the Seattle Aquarium

2011-11-18T08:38:00.001-08:00

This was our first wedding at the Aquarium - the wedding of the wonderful couple Jeannie and Scott in late August. And I must say - this venue provides a fantastic atmosphere for an elegant affair! I was skeptical beforehand - but oh, was I wrong! You can see yourself below ...
We worked with the theme and color palette of the venue: blues, greens, creams, spheres, water, sea glass ... Paired with a fantastic lighting job, the setting was super beautiful!

Thank you so much Gabriel Boone Photography for the beautiful images!!

Venue: Seattle Aquarium

Lighting: Wave Link

Linens: Pedersen's Event Rentals

Cake: Starry Nights

Design Fun for Urban Unveiled 2011!!

2011-11-08T11:00:00.000-08:00

Today I wanted to share a collection of great images of lush and luxurious designs we provided for various partners at this year's swank Urban Unveiled show - beautifully photographed by John & Joseph Photography and Belathee Photography. Couldn't resist to share the different designs - the different color palettes and the various textures and styles. We had so much fun designing these!

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The first of the set was a lush vintage design for the Belathee Photography team - we used flowers in muted blush and silvers to create a design with a vintage garden feel. So romantic!

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This next set was for the True Colors Team - romantic lush arrangements in light pinks with dark purple and chocolate accents to match the glam lounge setting of their space. We used lots of garden roses, ranunculus, and orchids to represent the luxurious feel.

This modern display was for the John & Joseph team: a tall vase with submerged spheres in green, white and silver paired with a tall tree blooming with clusters of cymbidium orchids created a great backdrop for their photo booth.

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For Seattle Parties we created created a lush bouquet in cream, blue, and green with silver spheres embedded with the flowers representing flashy 'disco balls' :)

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Pedersen's Party Rentals used a beautiful black and white linen paired with bright yellow napkins and swank crystal chairs. The gorgeous tall floral centerpiece with trailing yellow calla lilies was a perfect addition to accommodate the look and feel!

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Finally, our own Flora Nova Design table represented a glamorous display of black and white with silver sparkle accents. When designing a table we coordinate materials, textures, and fabrics and the repeated use of colors and styles creates the perfectly unified look!! It was all the little details that gave this table and table top a glamorous and luxurious feel:

the specialty linens by Choice Linens, the plates and glasses with silver rim by Pedersen's ...

... the lush trailing orchid garlands ...

... the tall and lush floral arrangement using just high-end floral: hydrangea, garden roses, vintage dahlias, and orchids ...

... the specialty chairs ...

... the repeated crystal theme in the orchid garlands ...

... the silver spheres inside the tall crystal glass vase which picked up the pattern on the table linen ...

... the sparkly textures on the floral favor and the napkin ring ...

... and finally, the beautiful stationary matching the table elements by Izzy Girl

Simply an eye-catching overall design!!

Lavish in Light Pink - Spring Wedding at Bellevue Club

2011-10-18T17:53:00.000-07:00

Today I want to share images of Domi and Jonathan's lavish spring wedding - and you will see in a minute that spring speaks through all designs incorporated throughout their wedding.
Domi and Jonathan got married in early May - on a beautiful sunny spring day. The cherry trees were in full bloom (yes, we had a late spring due to cold temperatures in the Northwest) and nature was at it's peek. With their floral designs in cream, blush, and light pink we brought the spring inside - we decorated the church and ballroom with many seasonal spring elements. May is a time of year when we have access to gorgeous large calla lilies, tulips in abundance, and beautiful blooming branches - and we incorporated them as much as possible.
Brian and Jennifer from Photo Elan captured those details absolutely beautifully!!

***VIDEO***

Aaron Horton created a beautiful video capturing all the special moments of the day - and with lots more detailed shots. Click here for Domi & Jonathan's wedding video.

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The wonderful group of vendors:

Wedding Ceremony Location - Villa Academy Chapel

Reception Venue - Bellevue Club

Wedding Coordinators - True Colors

Photography - Photo Elan

Videography - Aaron Horton Productions

Linen and Chair Rentals - Pedersen's Party Rentals

Molly & Preston: A Fabulous Summer Wedding!

2011-10-02T13:40:00.000-07:00

I am TO-TA-LLY excited to share these pictures today! Everything about this wedding was perfect! The super cute bride and her mother, the wedding venue, the color theme, the style and feel of the day. Needless to say it was one of my favorites this year!
Because Molly and Preston live in California, I mainly got to "play" with the bride's mother Nicki - and boy ..., did we have fun! No corners were cut to make this the perfect day for the wedding couple. And Rubin Photography simply did a fantastic job capturing the fun of the day!

Molly and Preston tied the knot this past July - their wedding ceremony took place at grand St. James Cathedral and the sophisticated and so very elegant reception at Newcastle Golf Club. The whole day was filled with laughter, fun, and excitement - and ... even the Seattle weather showed this lucky couple what a gorgeous summer day can look like in the Pacific Northwest! Not a cloud in the sky! Swoon!
For this beautiful wedding Flora Nova provided full event design services. We helped with and coordinated everything decor related: from chairs to table linens and draping, the umbrellas to the black and white dance floor, the entire table top and stationary, and of course all floral elements. So totally fun! Their color palette of yellow and black was paired with accents of silver and small hints of chartreuse green and we carried the palette throughout all those design components.

Molly's gorgeously lush bouquet consisted of garden roses, cymbidium orchids, calla lilies, begonia, craspedia and proteas. The fully wrapped bouquet stems were adorned with a fun black and silver brooch.

Don't you just love those bright yellow umbrellas? What a fun way to accessorize!

Here our new wristlet design for moms and grandmas - the yellow orchid makes this a very elegant floral accessory!

The wedding reception in the Newcastle ballroom was breath-taking - the up-lit yellow centerpieces just popped on the otherwise black tables. Yellow and black is such a sophisticated color combination!

The grand centerpieces featured garden roses, orchids in abundance, dahlias, spider mums, and hydrangea. Shorter vases with more yellow flowers brought punches of yellow down to the table top.

I always suggest different center piece styles of various height and style. Some tables, like in the photo below, we designed a piece in break-away style: different vases contained flowers of a different kind. So cool!

And other tables were decorated with a low lush arrangement with floral spilling over the vase top.

It was all the little details - like the orchids tucked into each napkins and the different ribbons wrapped around the napkins - that made the table top so elegant.

Here, Molly's beautiful bridal bouquet adorned the sweet heart table ...

And of course, the black and white dance floor was just the dot on the "i"!

Wow! What a grand wedding cake! It created a beautiful focal point during the wedding reception!

The Newcastle staff always does such a beautiful job with the presentation of the cut wedding cake! Isn't this cake plate just adorable?

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THE WEDDING VIDEO
On our Flora Nova Design YouTube channel you can also view a video with additional detail shots of this wedding - please check it out!
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The fabulous set of vendors:
Reception Venue - Newcastle Golf Club
Photography - Rubin Photography
Coordination - A New Chapter Weddings
Chairs and Linens - Pedersen's Party Rentals
Lighting & DJ - Beautiful Noise
Stationary - Izzy Girl

Cultural Fusion Wedding at the Four Seasons Seattle

2011-09-19T18:57:00.001-07:00

I just received yet another set of stunning pictures by John & Joseph Photography who photographed one of our recent weddings - so I needed to share right away.
It was the cultural fusion wedding of Brenna and Kas who tied the knot last April at the swank Four Seasons Hotel in Seattle. Many Indian textures and styles influenced this mostly western-style wedding: from the bright purple Indian bridesmaids' saris, to the grooms suit, to the rich color-palette of bright purple and orange ..., this wedding was fun, rich, and sophisticated in style!

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For Brenna we designed a bouquet in mostly whites with just a few accents of dark purple - picking up the color of the bride's maids dresses.

For the ceremony we created a backdrop consisting of many different elements - the mix of tall blooming branches, bunches of mostly purple floral, tall white vases, and submerged orchids lend texture, color, and richness. If you are a regular reader of this blog you will know that this grouped style of various decor elements is one of my favorite - so classy!

Lining the aisle were tall glass cylinder vases of mixed floral - bringing in some rich oranges to brighten up the palette.

The focal point of the ceremony were tall willow trees blooming with white and purple orchid blossoms.

The reception guest tables were decorated with different centerpiece designs - like in this example, with a mix of orange and purple flowers mixed with silver foliage ...

... or like here, with a modern break-away style design ...

... or like here, with a cluster of candles in different sizes - containing floating candles and submerged orchids.
Silver linens and silver Chivari chairs completed the look and gave this wedding reception quite a luxurious flair ...

Austin Beaver and his team provided purple wall up-lighting which gave the room an elegant glow after dark, creating a very magical atmosphere.

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We also created a little movie clip of this wedding featuring these and many more photos of this beautiful wedding.
To view this movie, either click on the image below
or visit our
Flora Nova Design Channel on YouTube

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The fabulous set of vendors:
Ceremony and Reception Venue - Four Seasons Hotel Seattle
Photography - John & Joseph Photography
Day-of Coordination - Prive Events
Chair and Linen Rentals - AA Party Rentals
Lighting and DJ - Austin Beaver

Fun Spring Wedding at Newcastle Golf Club

2011-09-09T09:20:00.000-07:00

OK, I promise I will now be blogging more frequently again - it's been 6 weeks since my last post. Can't believe that summer is almost over ... But now with kids back in school, vacations over, and the busiest part of the wedding season coming to an end, I finally want to catch up on sharing the latest set of gorgeous wedding images.
Today, it's my pleasure to share these sweet pictures of lovely Callie and Andrew's wedding. They got married this past March at Sacred Heart Chapel at Forest Ridge School in Bellevue, where Callie went to high school, and then celebrated their reception at Newcastle Golf Club.

Callie's gorgeous bouquet was designed with local white calla lilies - these stunning callas only grow from about January through May/June

Beautiful wristlet corsage for Callie's mom

I loved Callie's request to create slightly different centerpieces for each of her 15 reception guest tables and we had fun creating fun designs with a modern twist - incorporating lots of calla lilies - Callie's favorite flower

Fun decor for the bride and groom's chairs

The fabulous set of vendors:
Venue - Newcastle Golf Club
Photography - Azzura Photography
Coordination - Every Last Detail
Specialty Linens - BBJ Linens

A Grand Wedding!

2011-07-26T09:40:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's been almost a month since my last blog post - it must be the season... Yes, it's busy wedding season but I just can not wait to blog about this beautiful wedding we worked on last month and to share the absolutely gorgeous pictures I just received from Stephanie Cristalli.

The lovely couple Galye and John chose two of the grandest wedding venues in town - for their ceremony St. Mark's Cathedral and their reception the historic Great Hall at Union Station. I had never worked at Union Station and must say - it is now one of my favorites in town. You will see why below.
I just loved this wedding! Everything from their soft color palette of peaches, creams, and light greens mixed with accents of gold, the bride's gorgeous dress, the grand atmosphere at Union Station, elegant rentals, ... - everything perfectly coordinated by the always fabulous team at True Colors.

As you can see below I had the hardest time limiting the selection of pictures to show here - there are so many beautiful detail shots that I just need to splurge ... ;-)

Gayle and John started their day at the Fairmont Hotel ...

... the weather started out so typical for this summer - a little drizzle - but that just offered the opportunity for a fun shoot in the rain under the umbrella.

Gayle's bouquet in mostly creams included just a few accents of peach

The magnificent St. Marks' Cathedral!

For the altar area we designed a grand focal point featuring peonies, calla lilies, trailing amaranthus, and tall eremurus.

The Great Hall at Union Station offers a grandiose space for an elegant reception - tall ceilings, white marble walls, with a touch of historic luxury.

The grand entrance area, draped in ivory sheer (not visible here), included a long escort card table with a rose bud vase for each guest, and a cocktail lounge area featuring white leather sofas, a fun photo booth, and several bars.

The cocktail area was separated from the reception area with a natural "hedge" of tall willow trees blooming with orchids and peonies - a great solution if a large space needs to be divided into two areas.

The reception guest tables were decorated with various centerpiece styles - the focal point being 10 super-tall arrangements featuring mixed floral with beautiful large local peonies, tall willow branches, trailing amaranthus, and tall vases with submerged orchids.

Other tables featured either low mixed designs of hydrangea, roses, peonies, or simply bowls with floating blooms and floating candles.

The fabulous set of vendors:
Overall Planning and Coordination - Travis McBurney with True Colors Events
Photography - Stephanie Cristalli
Ceremony - St. Mark's Cathedral
Reception - Great Hall at Union Station
Chair, Linens, and Chargers - Pedersen's Party Rentals

Gorgeous Winter Wedding at Sodo Park

2011-06-27T10:13:00.001-07:00

This wedding was one of my favorite of 2010! Not only because it was a luxurious winter wedding (we can't get enough of those!), but also the bride and groom gave us a lot of design freedom to come up with a winter wedding of their dreams. And do I LOVE this wedding!
And to top things off this wedding was featured on the ultimate national wedding blog today - Style Me Pretty! Oh, it can't get much better than that ... :)
As you can see below, I had the hardest time deciding which pictures to use for this blog post. So I ended up using a LOT! Super talented Airika and Gerald of The Popes | Photographers captured to many beautiful details that it was impossible to limit the selection. By the way, a full set of pictures (over 100 of them with lots more details) can be found on the Style Me Pretty Gallery.
More background information on the sweet wedding couple Sarah and Steve can be found on the Style Me Pretty page - so make sure to check it out. And the long list of vendors contributing to this cool winter wedding is below.

The list of fabulous vendors contributing to this wedding was long, but besides The Popes I want to emphasize the tireless efforts of Holly Patton with Perfectly Posh Events who worked her magics pulling all these details together. It was such a pleasure working with her!

Also contributing to this wedding shown in the details above were:
Sodo Park and Herban Feast - the fantastic venue and catering company
Tallant House - with a gorgeous cake decorated with sugar snow flakes
AA Party Rentals - providing the chairs, linens, and charger plates
Glassybaby - the colorful glass votives
Austin Beaver - DJ extraordinaire and up-lighting
Prop Gallery West - draping and lounge furniture
Chic Ink - all the beautiful stationary
Bella Umbrella - the vintage umbrellas held by the bride and her bride's maids
Mary Calhoun - the lovely officiant

Sophisticated Winter Wedding at Canlis

2011-06-19T17:14:00.000-07:00

I loved this wedding! Classy in white and green, a contemporary feel, an intimate setting, a wonderful bride, a fabulous venue, ...! I could keep going but I guess you get the sense of Megan and Wayne's wedding at Canlis Restaurant in Seattle last February. Megan was a true pleasure to work with - so easy going, stylish, and fun! Just a wonderful person!
Megan had seen a design on the Flora Nova web site which she fell in love with. But we took that inspiration a step further and created something different, something fun, something very stylish for her wedding day.
The ceremony setup was contemporary, and had a classy and elegant feel. As you might know from previous blog entries, I am a big fan of multiple design elements for a ceremony area: and this time we used tall manzanita branches, mounds of hydrangea on top of tall white glass vases, trailing calla lilies, lots of hurricane and hanging votive candles, and lighting. The up lighting made it a dramatic composition! So striking against the dark evening sky.

For Megan's bouquet we simply used three elements: cymbidium orchids, roses, and hydrangea in whites and greens.

The branches used for the ceremony "bloomed" with orchid blossoms and were adorned with crystal strands and hanging votive candles.

For the reception we created centerpieces in 2 different styles - one high up and one low - but each of the designs featured looped or trailing long-stemmed calla lilies - Megan's favorite!

And here a couple more detail shots of the evening. It was an intimate, warm, and wonderful wedding day for just 50 guests.

Thank you Kristen Tourtillotte with Kristen Marie Photography for the beautiful, beautiful images!!

Style Me Pretty Feature!

2011-06-14T18:17:00.000-07:00

Some of you might remember the wedding of Amanda and Justin at Suncadia last August - well, today this gorgeous wedding is featured on the Style Me Pretty Little Black Book Blog. This is sure very exciting! Go check it out and tell us what you think!
And the fun doesn't end here - there will be yet another featured wedding on Style Me Pretty later this month - a fab winter wedding which has never been published or blogged about!! Stay tuned - more about that later in June!

Intimate Edgewater Wedding

2011-06-05T15:08:00.000-07:00

I just love, LOVE small, intimate, and luxurious weddings - like this one at the Edgewater Hotel for just eight guests.
Katy and Noah got married this past March in the small chapel of First Baptist Church in Seattle and had a wonderful dinner reception in the beautiful Forest Room at the Edgewater Hotel for just their closest family members. And they sure celebrated in style!
Patti, the bride's mother living in Florida, contacted me last winter to help me design and decorate her daughters wedding. Patti's decor inspiration was a purple bouquet she had seen in one of the Flora Nova web galleries - she had fallen in love with it's colors (plum and green) and it's style (lush and luxurious). We sure had a fun time coming up with all design elements and what started out as a grand vision, became a wonderful design plan.
Katy and Noah are both members of the military, and a little unexpected moment of surprise happened in February, when Patti called me that their wedding, which originally was scheduled for a date in May, needed to be moved to an earlier date in March, because Katy was redeployed and needed to start her training sooner than expected.
Fortunately the earlier date in March was still available and we switched gears to make it happen. And what a beautiful wedding it turned out to be!

Thank you Carol Harrold for these beautiful images!!
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Katy's bouquet consisted of calla lilies, orchids, tulips, roses, and green hypericum and berzillia berries

For the bride's maids bouquets we used more green elements to make them 'pop' in front of their purple dresses

The small chapel at the Seattle First Baptist church is a perfect location for a small wedding ceremony like Katy and Noah's

The pews in the chapel were decorated with tall hurricane candle stands and small bouquets in purple and green

We provided every element for this beautiful long reception table: from the gorgeous floral designs, to table linens, Chivari chairs, gold rimmed charger plates, dinner ware, goblets, napkins and napkin rings, candles, and chair sashes. The combination of purple and gold is timeless and so elegant!
To complete the look, we decorated the area around the fireplace and the window front with floral and candle designs - a nice addition to the overall decor.

The fabulous team of vendors:
Wedding Ceremony - First Baptist Church
Reception Venue - Edgewater HotelPhotography - Carol Harrold
Rentals - Pedersen's Party Rentals

Stylish Winter Wedding at Canlis Restaurant

2011-05-21T12:25:00.000-07:00

Today I am very excited to share pictures of a stylish winter wedding at Canlis Restaurant in Seattle. I recently received these gorgeous images from Laurel McConnell: I was so excited to finally get a chance to work together with this fun and talented Seattle photographer!
Brian and Elen got married at Canlis Restaurant in early January of this year. Canlis is THE Seattle venue for an intimate wedding, offering some of the best food and views the city has to offer.
Elen and Brian envisioned simple elegance for their wedding ceremony and reception and liked clean and modern designs in white and green with accents of silver and black (for those of you who know me, I am of course a big fan of classy, neutral color palettes!). Designing their long reception table was so much fun - but see for yourself - lots of detail shots below:

The Canlis Restaurant Penthouse at night with its fabulous views

For Elen we designed a modern bouquet in white with hydrangea, callas, and phaleanopsis orchids mixed with black and silver foliage

The ceremony featured 2 large trees blooming with orchids, brightly illuminated from below to give them a beautiful glow

We had a lot of fun designing several fun and modern floral pieces for the long reception guest table. Tall glass vases filled with white phaleanopsis orchids created beautiful focal points, mixed with several lower designs - all of a different look and feel - lining the table center creating a luxurious floral table runner.

We added fun and whimsical details into each of the designs, like wire-wrapped vases, wire spheres inside the vases, or small cubes clustered together containing single orchid blooms.

The team of vendors:
Wedding and Reception Venue: Canlis Restaurant in Seattle
Photography: Laurel McConnell Photography

A Seattle Wedding of Northwest Elegance

2011-05-06T21:32:00.000-07:00

Working on Gretchen's and Bret's wedding last March was truly a pleasure! Gretchen and her family were such sweethearts to work with - we had so much fun planning for this wedding which I'd like to describe in short as "True Northwest Elegance!"
Gretchen is the sister of Airika Pope, wife of the talented husband and wife team The Popes Photography - you will see below how fabulously talented they truly are!! Thank you so much Airika for trusting me to do your sister's wedding designs!! :)
Gretchen had a vision to incorporate many cool natural Northwest elements into the decor and the bouquets. And you probably know from earlier blog posts that I just love the rich flora the Northwest has to offer: from mosses, ferns, and succulents to lichen branches and local hellebore and tulips. We incorporated it all into lush and yummy designs in deep purples and greens.

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Gretchen's bouquet was a very natural and organic design featuring succulents, calla lilies, roses, hellebore, lady slipper orchids, ferns and fern curls. A simply stunning combination!! I loved how it turned out!!

The gorgeous bride in her gorgeous dress

Love this picture of the couple under their vintage umbrella!

Details of the ceremony decor: large designs of branches, ferns, hydrangea, cabbage roses were combined with tall hurricanes, river rock, succulents, and mosses.

For the reception guest tables we chose various centerpieces: some tables had gorgeous tall lichen vase designs"blooming" with purple orchids, other tables were adorned with mixed low floral/fern arrangements, and then some other tables featured tall hurricane candles with rock and moss accents.

For the rehearsal dinner the night before we created designs in similar fashion - but added some fun twists. The long guest table was a visual showcase for the richness in Northwest nature.

The fabulous team of vendors:
Ceremony and Reception Venue - Hotel 1000 Seattle
Photography: The Popes in collaboration with Erwin Wijanto Photography
Linens: Pedersen's Party Rental
Desserts: Trophy Cupcakes

DJ and Lighting: Wavelink Music

April Showers ...

2011-04-28T08:57:00.000-07:00

Yes, April showers ... bring local flowers - and that in abundance! I am always getting excited at this time of year when more and more local product appears at our Seattle flower markets. This year will be especially exciting because Seattle just added a brand new Local Growers Market co-op. Around 20 local growers (more will be added next year) from the Northwest (Washington, Oregon, and Alaska) got together and opened their doors to sell their product farmers-market style. Very cool! Next to tulips, daffodils, and lots of blooming branches, we will have an abundance of calla lilies, hydrangeas, dahlias, and many, many more beautiful garden flowers. Big lush garden roses is another one of my favorites! And peonies into September! Yes, that's right: local peonies into September from a grower in Alaska. They will cost a little more, but if you love peonies I can now get them reliably throughout the wedding season. Wow!
Make sure you ask us about local flower availability - not only are they the freshest, more fragrant, and prettier option, but you also support your local community and reduce your carbon footprint. What better way to celebrate your big day!

Below are just a few examples of local product we used in recent designs - enjoy!

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Dark purple hellebore, succulents and ferns for Gretchen's beautiful Northwest inspired bouquet
Photo by The Popes Photography

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Large white calla lilies for this beautiful ceremony display at Canlis Restaurant
Photo by Kristen Marie Photography

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Ferns and succulents for a Northwest inspired dinner table
Photo by The Popes Photography

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Dark purple tulips for these romantic bridal bouquets
Photo by Carol Harrold Photography

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Local viburnum, wisteria, and peonies for this gorgeous wedding ceremony arch
Photo by Cory Parris Photography

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Deep pink peonies and deep purple kale leaves for this ceremony aisle arrangement
Photo by Sheila Addleman Photography

Black and White and Red - Always Classy!

2011-04-15T14:59:00.000-07:00

All week I've been looking forward to blog about this special January wedding - it is the wedding of Amanda and Clark who celebrated their fabulous wedding at Herban Feast's Sodo Park venue in South Seattle.
So many gorgeous elements and details made this wedding really special: the beautiful couple, Amanda's impeccable taste, a great venue, specialty linens, the girls' dresses, beautiful ceremony and reception decor, classy stationary, a luxurious desert buffet - oh, and so much more. Megan with A Kurant Event worked wonders to coordinate and pull all of this together so beautifully.
As soon as I received the photo CD of talented Joey Nicole Photography in the mail this week, I could not wait to share her stunning work with you. As you can see below, I had the hardest time choosing which ones of the many beautiful pictures to use for this post, so I'll just go ahead and publish almost all I got. :) Here you go ...

Amanda's stunning red bouquet of callas, garden roses and long strands of trailing orchids

The girls were wearing beautiful black & white dresses with lace details - the lace was a theme carried throughout the evening and was repeated in stationary details, the table linens, and on the buffet tables.

The ring bearer boutonniere

The buds of garden roses make a gorgeous boutonniere - this one was for the bride's dad

The ceremony decor made for a WOW factor - a fully ceiling suspended arbor with trailing orchid garlands, lots of candles down the aisle, Chivari chairs, draping, lighting all made for a gorgeous setting.

More detail shots of the floating arbor - complete with a 'bridge' of hydrangea, lots of orchid garlands, crystal strands, and hanging votive candles - quite magical!

Surrounding the floating arbor were tall hurricane candles and a thick bed of rose petals

A fun and elegant detail: the garlands were made of alternating sections of orchid blooms and crystal beads.

Many clusters of hurricane candles lined the ceremony aisle - each hurricane containing a floating candle, and cylinder glass with ribbon and wire accents in the wedding colors.

Gorgeous tall manzanita trees adorned with orchid and crystal garlands flanked the aisle entry.

***
After the ceremony the whole ballroom got transformed into a gorgeous reception space with tables decorated with various centerpieces: trees blooming with orchids and adorned with votive candles, clusters of candles on a bed of petals, and mixed red floral vase arrangements were the designs for the guest tables.

For the beautiful sweet heart table we used a different linen and Amanda's gorgeous bouquet made the center stage.

And lastly, here some details from the yummy desert buffet - the display of cakes and deserts were eye candy too ;-)

And here the complete list of fabulous vendors:
Venue - Herban Feast Sodo Park
Coordination and Planning - A Kurant Event
Photography - Joey Nicole
Lighting and DJ - Austin Beaver
Linens - Choice Linens
Deserts - The Radical Cupcake

A Fun Wedding Celebration!!

2011-03-21T09:12:00.000-07:00

Annette and Bruce know how to throw a party! Wow - they sure did it right!
This adoring couple got married at Herban Feast's Sodo Park last November. Their fun, artistic, and whimsical approach for their wedding day showed through in so many aspects - it was truly a pleasure working for them!
With help from Jesse and Travis from True Colors Events so many wonderful details were tended to and coordinated, so many fun twists were implemented - and the decor so classy and elegant. Here just some of them:

Annette's bouquet of all white calla lilies, adorned with a classy brooch, was simple and clean.

The 150 reception guests dined at two super-long tables. I am a big fan of long tables and these were fun to decorate: many many pairs of square and rectangular vases filled with white flowers of different kinds, and lots of floating hurricanes as well as votive candles adorned the table centers.

Their color scheme of ivory and chocolate was accented with red and blue - the red and blue of the kind you find in common 3-D glasses (their invitations in 3-D included those glasses - how fun is that?!). The blue was brought onto the tables with blue napkins. The red was incorporated with red symbols covered in red rose petals - more on that later.

After dinner the room was completely transformed for the cocktail reception for 300 guests: the long tables were replaced with lots of round tables - cocktail tables, bistros, and large rounds for sit-down, and the dancing to live band music started.

Large vases of tall calla lilies - Annette's favorite flowers - were clustered throughout the perimeter of the room for larger visual impact.

And here some more examples of the fun details:
Each guest's favor was a beautiful key chain with a "Wedding Puzzler" attached. The guests had to solve the message behind a pattern of symbols we placed onto the long dinner tables - the symbols covered in red rose petals were actually a message in Morse code which kept the guests entertained for a while (a little girl of 12 won the contest! :).

Another example of the fun details of the evening: the evening's program in poster format greeting the guests by the door.

One of my favorites of the day: the couple rented the huge billboard right outside Sodo Park for display of fun personal photos.

The wedding cake was the most unusual and whimsical I had ever seen: an enormous yummy Twinky, Ho Ho, and Ding Dong!
Fun little twists throughout the evening made this a super-fun party for everybody!!

Thank you Stephanie Cristalli for the absolutely great photography!!

Black & White Party

2011-03-08T12:36:00.000-08:00

Last September we had the pleasure of working on a super-fun surprise party for a gentleman's big birthday bash. I was contacted by his daughter and his wife who organized the celebration and they were looking for our help in designing the event space.
The theme was evolving around The Beatles, the 60s, and Black & White. For this intimate party for 50 guests, they had booked the World Trade Center at the downtown Seattle water front, had flown in a fabulous Beatles tribute band from LA, and wanted us to create a stylish and sophisticated atmosphere for the ballroom.
Next to the modern floral/candle center pieces we provided table linens, table top rentals, chairs, and wall up-lighting and transformed the room into a cool dance club. The party was a full success and the band a total blast - wow, Kristen and Frances sure knew how to throw a great party.
Here some pictures of the ballroom beforehand and the decor - thank you Photo Elan for providing the photos!

Photography: Brian & Jennifer at Photo Elan
Venue: World Trade Center
Party Rentals: Pedersen's

Lighting: Seattle Parties

French Château Wedding

2011-02-28T18:37:00.000-08:00

Last spring I was contacted by Emilie and Louis, a French couple living in Seattle. They were planning their wedding in France - their ceremony at Basilique de Note-Dame-De-Sion and their reception at romantic Château de Vandeléville.
Emilie had fallen in love with floral designs she had seen on our website. She was working with a florist in France but after several mock-up attempts the French florist just hadn't been able to reproduce the right-looking design. Emilie was desperate by the time she contacted me. She had a vision for her wedding flowers, but the florist just hadn't gotten it right until that point.

Emilie and I were pondering the idea of me flying to France and doing the flowers for her, which unfortunately turned out to be not possible because I was already booked with a wedding here in Seattle.

Instead I partnered up with her florist in France, worked closely with her, and helped her with the planning and design process. Well, finally I received photos of the designs we collaborated on. Wow - it was a déjà vu moment. :)

What a great experience this was! Contact us for a quote if you consider hiring us abroad. We have several sources and are happy to assist you for your destination wedding in Europe.

Plum - Eggplant: A Very Popular Color for 2011 Wedding Couples

2011-02-20T12:44:00.000-08:00

In the past 2 months I have noticed a very strong color trend for 2011 weddings: the color plum-eggplant-deep purple. It is quite amazing how many of my clients (and prospective clients) will have it as their main color or at least as an accent color. And I fully understand why. It is a color that is rich, lush and simply elegant!
Plum can be combined with many other beautiful colors for striking color combos and it makes a gorgeous accent within any design style. I am looking forward to using plum flowers in several upcoming weddings:
- for Gretchen's sophisticated Northwest-themed wedding in March
- for Callie's modern wedding combined with light pink
- for Katie's grand wedding next month in hues of purples combined with gold accents
- Angie's wedding in October combined with deep orange for a beautiful fall feel
... just to name a few.
And as inspiration for everybody thinking to use plum as a color here just a few pictures from previous wedding:

Photo above: John and Joseph Photography

An Elegant Northwest Wedding

2011-02-07T17:13:00.000-08:00

I am still quite excited about the wedding I am blogging about today - I have very fond memories of the bride, the bride's mom, the groom's family, a fantastic Northwest setting, and a fabulous set of vendors. It is the wedding of super-sweet Amanda and Justin who got married at Suncadia Resort last August. And ... I just love the photographs of their wedding day by one of my Seattle favorites - Stephanie Cristalli.

Since Amanda lived in California at the time, I first met her mom for an initial consultation. Not much was planned at that point, but I understood their general vision, and we had a lot of fun tackling some ideas and design concepts. I loved this project right from the start. And a year and several meetings later, the wedding day turned out to be spectacular!

Their beautiful venue set the underlying tone for the whole wedding day: Suncadia Resort in a gorgeous Northwest setting. We created an event focusing on ferns, garden roses, birch and lichen branches, rocks, mosses, and other lush Northwest greens.

Amanda wanted a not too tailored look for her and her brides maids' bouquets, so we combined soft pink and peach garden roses, ranunculus, and various ferns for an organic feel and natural look.

For the flower girl and ring bearer we created a basket and pillow completely wrapped in moss and accented with ferns and berries - so precious!

Wow, what a gorgeous setting for Amanda and Justin's ceremony in a park by a small lake surrounded by tall conifers and mountains in the back ground.

The wooden wedding arch was embellished with simply a few lush clusters of roses, dahlias, hydrangea, ferns, and amaranth.

Aisle entry arrangements like this one - matching the overall design and color scheme - is a great idea to tie together the whole ceremony setting.

For the reception in the Suncadia main ballroom we created a beautifully elegant Northwest atmosphere - each decor element carefully chosen to go with the lush theme. Walnut brown Chiavari chairs, burlap linens, rattan charger plates, tall 'blooming' birch trees along the perimeter of the room, and a mix of tall lush floral center pieces, and tall hurricane candles made a perfect match.

It was the lighting installation that added a big wow-factor after sunset. The crew and Suncadia installed up-lighting against the walls and pin-spot lights from the ceiling to illuminate the focal points in the room. Simply gorgeous!!

And here the great team of vendors who made this beautiful wedding happen:
Ceremony and Reception Venue - Suncadia Resort
Wedding Coordinator - Janel Schlitt with Occasions
Photography - Stephanie Cristalli
Chair Rental - Pedersen's Party Rentals
Burlap Linens - Mosaic Linens
Charger Plates - Choice Linens

My Friend's Wedding

2011-01-24T11:00:00.000-08:00

Last October I had the pleasure to work on a very special wedding - the wedding of Kaili and Sam. Kaili is a good friend of mine and has also been an assistant at Flora Nova Design for many years. Needless to say - I heart this wedding.

The fact that Kaili has been working in the floral industry for quite a while and that she had put a lot of thought and planning into her wedding day made this a fun project: unusual floral elements, great fall color combination, a fantastic set of vendors - simply fun times!

The decor part of her wedding was divided between several companies and florist helpers: Kevin Bradford Design provided the beautiful center pieces and the stunning Kenyan Lounge; Capri Floral and Event Design created a cool floral tapestry made out of grass and flowers; Flora Nova designed the bouquets and church flowers; and Deborah Ritner and Laurie Gardner provided tireless and exquisite design help.

Kaili's color palette of rich hues of red mixed with deep greens, creams, silver grays, and natural unusual textures made a gorgeous combination - but see for yourself.

A beautiful and happy bride :)

For Kaili's bouquet we mixed ivory garden roses, freesia and mint leaves for scent, red roses and orchids, green hydrangea, Dusty Miller, and fern curls The bride's maids' bouquets repeated the color and textural theme but were lighter in color and slightly smaller

For the ceremony we designed two tall altar pieces featuring hydrangea, grasses, berries, roses, calla lilies, and tall branches to which we attached hanging votive candles

The pew flowers matched the floral designs by the altar - we created clusters of hydrangea and roses mixed with Dusty Miller, smoke bush, and seeded eucalyptus.

The beautiful floral centerpieces were placed into rustic urns and decorated every other reception guest table

Toni Tibbits with Capri designed and created a gorgeous focal point for the ballroom - an 8 foot tall grass tapestry adorned with flowers. So unique!

I loved this idea for decorating the pie/dessert table: the 3 bride's maids bouquets were placed into tall glass cylinders of different heights and grouped together in the table center. A fantastic way to reuse bouquets as decor elements.

And here another great way to double-up: the pew flowers as decoration for the lounge tables

Kevin provided the beautiful setting for the "Kenyan Lounge": leather furniture, tables, silk drapes, tall potted plants, and lots of candles made this a fun place to hang out.

And here the team of florists and designers (from left): Deborah Ritner, Kevin Bradford, Laurie Gardner, Christiane Zweifler, Toni Tibbits, and Daphne Darst

Beautiful photography by Lemondrops Photography

Four Seasons Hotel Wedding - Seattle

2011-01-17T23:05:00.000-08:00

It's time again to blog about another one of our 2010 weddings - this one of the lovely couple Waid and Otway. They celebrated their wedding last Labor Day weekend at the swank Four Seasons Hotel in Seattle. We recently received these photos from fabulous John & Joseph Photography.

******

Waid's trailing bouquet of roses, spray roses, callas, and orchids in shades of creams and peaches was lush and so romantic.

Their silk draped wedding arbor featured massive floral across the top with trailing strands of cymbidium orchids.

The aisle was lined with a thick layer of rose petals, vases with submerged orchids, and floral pomander balls.

A close-up of the pomander balls decorating the ceremony aisle

During the reception, the arbor still remained a focal point right behind the sweet heart table. Tall, lush, and luxurious center pieces decorated every other guest table. For a fund and unexpected twist: white or green pomander balls hovered inside the tall vase .

Their escort cards on a 'bed' of peach colored carnations

The color combo of cream, light green, peach, and burgundy with accents of gold works very well in the Four Season ballroom - it truly complements the existing decor.

The submerged orchid vases paired with pomanders of different size and color - earlier used for the ceremony aisle - made a perfect table centerpiece.

And each combination was slightly different ...

Details, details, details - we used gold wire inside the vase to pick up the gold from the beautiful embroidered overlay linen.

Beautiful Vintage Wedding - Kristi and Tim

2011-01-09T22:24:00.000-08:00

I loved Kristi right from the start: her simple elegance, her natural beauty and down-to-earth character, her sweetness, and kindness ... The day she walked into our studio to tell me more about her wedding plans she did not yet have a clear vision, but together we came up with a decor plan that completely embodied the couple's style and personality.
Kristi and Tim got married last July at the Villa Academy chapel with the reception following at the Arctic Club Hotel in downtown Seattle. With both venues of a more traditional and vintage style, we wanted the decor to compliment the existing feel and style of those spaces: "simple vintage elegance!"

For Kristi's bouquet I used romantic 'old' vintage flowers: David Austin garden roses, lisianthus, hydrangea, Queen Anne's lace, Dusty Miller foliage - such a romantic mix!

Kristi liked the idea of using different flowers for each of her 4 brides maids: we incorporated roses in peach, cream, dusty rose, and white lisianthus.

These photos of the ring bearers and the flower girl are just too adorable!

To the pews at the Villa Academy chapel we attached clusters of hydrangea, garden roses, and astilbe - and connected the pews with long panels of cream silk organza. The altar was simply decorated with tall silver candelabras.

For the reception at the beautiful Dome Room at the Arctic Club Hotel each of the 16 guest tables was decorated slightly differently: each in the style of 'simple elegance', they featured various vintage vessels, candle holders, silver mint julep cups, and glass vases of different height and shape and each filled with different floral elements. Here we used pink astilbe in a silver julep cup.

The blend of different old-world flowers and vintage vessels combined with lots of candles made this a very romantic design.

White astilbe in a silver bud vase

The beautiful 4-tiered cake was embellished with lots of roses, hydrangea, Queen Anne's lace, and ranunculus - stunning!

The fabulous team of vendors:

Wedding Ceremony - Villa Academy Chapel

Wedding Reception - Arctic Club Hotel

Wedding Coordinator - Wendi with Ethereal Events

Photography - Azzura Photography

Thank you Ken and Tania for providing these gorgeous images!!

A Vibrant Summer Wedding

2010-12-27T19:06:00.000-08:00

Hopefully these pictures of a fun summer wedding will brighten your long and dark winter days. When I look at these photos I can't help but smile and think of the absolutely gorgeous warm August day when Diana and Mike got married at Newcastle Golf Club.
Diana wanted to create a fun beach-themed environment for her wedding day and we helped her achieve this goals by incorporating lots of beach/ocean elements in to the decor: turquoise beach glass, manzanita branches, sand, sea shells, shell garlands, orchids, and much more ... The outcome was fun, vibrant, playful yet elegant, and screamed "summer"!
But see for yourself - fabulous pictures from Daniel Usenko Photography.

Holiday Inspriations

2010-12-15T12:21:00.000-08:00

The holidays are upon us and what better time to share just a few glimpses into recent holiday projects. I love the holidays! There are so many nice products with glitter, shimmer and glam! Mixing fresh flowers with gold or silver branches and ornaments is a favorite of mine - it's such a festive combination!

We recently had the pleasure to work on a beautiful corporate holiday party. We created a huge "chandellier" featuring gold branches, large gold ornaments, and crystal strands reaching down from the ceiling. It was then up-lit in blue to incorporate one of the company's colors. So cool! The gorgeous tall center pieces for the guest tables included gold dyed hydrangea, orchids, evergreen, and sparkly branches. It was a super-fun project - I was covered in glitter for days. :)

But you don't need a profesional designer to decorate your home/office for the holidays. You can certainly do it yourself too. Don't be shy mixing and matching products: dried and dyed hydrangea; foliage, evergreens, branches collected from your garden; ornaments in all shapes; dyed branches; and candles galore. And it can even be completely eco-friendly: a center piece we designed for the recent "Eco-Chic Expo" contained all earth-friendly materials. From my yard I picked dried hydrangea (dyed in gold and silver), pine, cedar, and Dusty Miller, and combined it with "ornaments" of recycled white light bulbs. I covered the whole arrangement in silver glitter and - voila! You see, you can go all green for the holidays and still have beautiful decor.

Wishing you all a very Happy Holiday Season and a peaceful, healthy, successful 2011!

Gorgeous September Wedding

2010-12-05T15:02:00.000-08:00

Today I am excited to share the absolutely fabulous photos of Negin and Bashar's wonderful wedding this past September. The couple did not cut any corners when it came to the floral and decor of their wedding ceremony and reception. The outcome was simply stunning.
Negin wanted to create a luxurious feel for her wedding in the color palette cream, peach, coral, burgundy, and accents of gold. Her favorite flower is the peach calla lily so we incorporated those in many different ways (bouquets, center pieces, the wedding cake).
Jim with j.garner studios did a fantastic job capturing the many beautiful moments of the day - below are just a few samples of his work. I am including a few more images of the couple - these images are my favorite :)

For Negin's bouquet we created a soft textured look with all cream and ivory flowers: callas, roses and garden roses, orchids, ranunculus, gardenias and pearl-centered stephanotis blooms. A few white orchids trailing down the front gave it some light movement.

The ceremony took place at the Holy Names Academy Chapel on Capitol Hill in Seattle. Large altar arrangements featuring hydrangea, soft garden roses, and many long stemmed phaleanopsis orchids were propped onto tall stone pillars.

The aisle featured clusters of flowers of similar style and color.

For the car (a beautiful Bently by British Motor Coach) we created a huge heart of all red roses which was attached to the front - just stunning!

The flower girls and ring bearer all received adoring little floral accents made of delicate spray roses in cream and champagne.

Aren't those the cutest kids!!

This beatiful ring bearer pillow was created of all spray roses.

The elegant reception took place at the Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Seattle. Tall center pieces featuring orchids in abundance, anthuriums, roses, hydrangea, calla lilies decorated the guest tables. The inside of the vase contained submerged orchids which were illuminated by an almost invisible up-light.

The tall wedding cake was decorated with hundreds of blooms in shades of peach, coral, light pink, and burgundy.

Thank you j.garner studios for these beautiful images!

Workshop with Hitomi Gilliam

2010-11-22T09:40:00.000-08:00

Last week eleven members of the Greater Seattle Floral Association once again headed north to Vancouver B.C. for another workshop with renowned floral artist Hitomi Gilliam (AIFD). We enjoyed two days together sharing tips and tricks, advise, and also stories from this past busy wedding season. When so much talent and knowledge comes together there is always plenty of great learning and inspiring new insights.

It was a workshop filled with information on mechanics and techniques as well as advise on good business operations and practices. I went away with my head filled with new ideas, inspirations, and tools. Hitomi is a fantastic teacher and mentor!

A large part of the workshop addressed construction of large scale designs without using too much product. The gorgeous designs in the pictures below were between 6 and 8 feet tall (!). Hitomi is famous for building cool structures which become a showy part of her designs. Just stunning!

Real Wedding - Christine and Mark

2010-11-12T15:16:00.000-08:00

Today I am blogging about the super cool wedding of Christine and Mark at the Woodmark Hotel last June.

There were so many fabulous detail shots that I have a hard time choosing which ones I should pick for this post. Jen and Jody were capturing the sweet moments and details perfectly!

The couple's contemporary style allowed a wonderful interpretation of their chosen wedding colors of black and white and red. The decor looked crisp, sophisticated, and hip!

****

Christine chose a bridal bouquet in mostly white/cream with just a few accents of red and black. Her brides maids, wearing black dresses, carried bouquets in mostly red with just slight touches of the white to tie in the white from Christine's dress.

In one of the prior meetings Christine described the girls' shoes to me and wanted me to incorporate a black and white ribbon for their bouquets. Wow, I love those attention to details!

The ceremony featured two tall arrangements in the front and consisted of a mix of mostly white flowers (hydrangea, large peonies, roses, calla lilies) with pops of red flowers and some black foliage. The aisle was lined with red rose petals and tall square hurricanes with floating candles and floating petals. The white chair covers with the black sashes gave the whole setup quite a contemporary touch.

For the reception table center pieces we mixed it all up: some had a low vase with mixed white flowers, some had low red mixed flowers, others had a contemporary center piece in a break-away style with 4 square vases of all different height in either all red or all white flowers. Quite fun!

Each napkin had a red orchid tucked in - always a fun little detail too. I also love this evening shot which shows the tent at night time with glowing sunset and candle light - so romantic.

And finally, the beautiful square cake by always fabulous Creme de la Creme was covered in white and red orchids ...

And here is the fabulous team who contributed to Christine and Mark's wedding:

Venue - Woodmark Hotel in Kirkland
Coordinators - True Colors Events
Photography - Jen and Jody
Chair Covers - L&M

Cake - Creme de la Creme

Real Wedding - Angie & Jeff

2010-10-30T18:34:00.000-07:00

I recently received absolutely fabulous photos from Janet Klinger, who was the photographer for Angie and Jeff's wedding at the Seattle Harbor Club this past Labor Day weekend.

I liked Angie right from the start - what a sweet, gentle and likeble bride! Planning for her wedding was a pleasure - and I loved her elegant style and the fun color combination!

Angie's bouquet featured flowers in shades of deep purple, cream with pops of green: lots of white and purple calla lilies, purple roses, lisianthus and orchids, green berzilia and hydrangea were mixed together to create this beautiful bouquet.

The mother of the bride loved her super elegant gold bracelet corsage with a cream cymbidium orchid!

A gorgeous wedding arch served as backdrop during the wedding ceremony: purple and cream roses, hydrangea, stock, and smilax were combined with trailing orchid garlands and trailing amaranthus for a beautifully romantic display.

The Harbor Club ballroom features gorgeous gold ceiling chandeliers and we complemented its style with gold Chivari chairs and gold embroidered table overlays for the guest tables.
Lots of romantic candle light always adds atmosphere!

The cream organza sashes around the chair backs added a soft touch.

Tall center pieces featuring hydrangea, various roses, stock, orchids, and green trailing amaranthus decorated every 3rd table.

The other tables either had low mixed flower arrangements or a shallow bowl with floating candles and orchids.

Gold wire inside the vase with submerged orchids add special interest to any tall vase design.

The fabulous vendor team:

Ceremony and Reception Venue - Seattle Harbor Club

Photographer - Janet Klinger

Coordinator - Merry Beth Turpin with Aisle of View

Chairs and Linen Rentals - Pedersen's Rentals

Water, Beach, Aqua ... A Summer Wedding!

2010-10-18T17:24:00.000-07:00

For me the color aqua expresses summer, sunshine, beach, water .... It is a great accent color for a summer wedding by the water. And Emily and Jeff picked the perfect venue for their July 10th wedding: the Woodmark Hotel in Kirkland.

Emily was a joy to work with - she had so many fabulous decor ideas and it was so fun to implement them. The flowers were kept in shades of white, cream, and ivory with many pops of chartreuse green. And these light colors worked so well with the many accents of aqua which were incorporated in so many ways: the bride's maids dresses, the napkins, beach glass inside vases, pebbles thrown onto the table linens, ribbons, favors, menue cards, and naturally ... of course, the lake water and the crystal blue summer sky. So cool!!

Thank you Cory Parris for these beautiful images!

Some of the vendors who contributed to Emily and Jeff's wonderful beach party:

Ceremony and Reception Venue - Woodmark Hotel in Kirkland
Photography - Cory Parris

Coordinator - Janel Schlitt with Occasions

SODO Park Wedding

2010-10-02T21:50:00.001-07:00

In June we had the pleasure of working with Heidi and Eric on their wonderful wedding at Herban Feast's SODO Park in Seattle. It was truly a great project for us: an adorable couple, a fun venue, a beautiful theme with a rich color palette, and a great set of vendors. It can't come much better than that :)
Heidi was so super-easy to work with. She was drawn to clean and more contemporary designs with a romantic and lush feel. Besides her color preference and a few favorite flower choices she gave me, Heidi did not give us a lot of further specifications - a great project for letting the creativity wander ...
Heidi's bouquet was a richly textured, rounded, and hand-tied bouquet in hues of purple with pops of ivory and chartreuse green: we used calla lilies, Vanda orchids, roses, hydrangea, freesia, and hypericum berries. I simply love this bouquet!

For the cultural ceremony we created a clean-lined chuppah made of Dupioni silk drapes with large purple flower clusters attached to the top corners.

A combination of candles and large floral arrangements lined the aisle. Large designs of purple and dark pink flower were also placed on either side of the aisle entrance. And a cloth aisle runner and pink and purple rose petals carpeted the long aisle - this spectacular venue with its high cathedral ceilings and large chandeliers offers such a dramatic setting for a larger ceremony.

For the aisle arrangements, that were later also used as guest table center pieces, we combined large pink peonies, purple and green hydrangea, magenta roses and stock, and dark purple kale leaves - trailing amaranthus softened the design and gave it a romantic touch.

Thank you so very much Sheila Addleman for these truly beautiful photos!!

A Successful Wedding Season!

2010-09-27T22:04:00.000-07:00

I consider this past weekend as the "end" of our 2010 wedding season. Not that it really ended this week - no, we still have weddings scheduled almost every weekend until the middle of November. But it was the last very busy 'summer' wedding weekend - and oh, was it busy. Stay tuned for some fabulous pictures from Jim Garner of Negin and Bashar's wedding at the Four Seasons last Saturday. Can't wait to share.
Things have finally slowed down a bit this week. And what better time than to relax a little and look back at what Flora Nova accomplished this year. Part of this "review" was the compilation of some of the praises and comments we received from clients these past months. I just added them to the "Why Flora Nova?" page on our web site.
It sure feels good to read all these letters, notes, and emails again. I know we had a successful year knowing we "exceeded" clients' expectations over and over again. Wow! I feel truly humbled.
It's now time to look ahead and plan for another exciting season - 2011 is already looking fun!

Spring Wedding in Black and White

2010-09-27T18:09:00.000-07:00

This past April Erin and Robin got married at Blessed Sacrament in Seattle. For their hip black & white themed wedding decor they envisioned all white flowers with just a few black accents. Erin loves white tulips so we incorporated those along with white freesias for fragrance, white roses, stock, hydrangea, and black agonis foliage for a feathery, whimsical touch.
The reception guest tables at the Mercer Island Beach Club ( a very cool venue at the southern tip of Mercer Island) were draped with black linens - I just love the sophisticated look of white flowers on a black table. We used square glass vases and votive and candle holders for a more contemporary look. Very chic!

The colaborating team of vendors:

Photography - Hendricks Kim Photography

Day-of Coordinator - Megan Keller with A Kurant Event

Ceremony Location - Blessed Sacrament Seattle

Reception Location - Mercer Island Beach Club

Real Wedding - Stacey & Anthony

2010-09-01T22:09:00.000-07:00

Last May, Stacey and Anthony celebrated their wedding at the Woodmark Hotel in Kirkland - it was a beautiful spring day for a wedding at the shore of Lake Washington.
Stacey chose pink and white for her wedding flowers and wanted us to incorporate feathers in a gentle way throughout the arrangements.
For her wedding ceremony in the tent we attached lush clusters of flowers along the tent ceiling, adorned with lots of trailing wisteria blooms, crystal strands and hanging votives. This beautiful arch remained the focal point during the reception by framing the head table.
Thank you Cory Parris for the beautiful pictures!!

Real Wedding in White and Blue with a Touch of Bling

2010-08-15T15:17:00.000-07:00

It's been forever that I posted anything on the Flora Nova blog - I am so sorry for the delay - t'is the season I guess...
So, today just quickly some pictures I recently received from Olga and Damien's gorgeous and intimate wedding at Hotel 1000 last month. I had never worked with the photographers from Lucid Captures, but I was stunned at Michael's beautiful work capturing the beauty and emotions of the day. Thank you Michael - I love these photos!

Lots more pictures are on Michael's blog - check them out!

Some of the fabulous vendors who contributed to Olga and Damien's wedding:
Venue: Hotel 1000 in Seattle
Photographer: Michael Movsyesov with Lucid Captures
Linens: AA Party Rentals
DJ and beautiful lighting: Austin Beaver

Amazing Real Wedding

2010-07-17T16:55:00.000-07:00

Everything about Nicole and Anthony's wedding last May at the Four Seasons' Hotel in Seattle spelled A.M.A.Z.I.N.G! From the wonderful couple, to the elegant ceremony and reception venue, their fabulous style, and a great team of vendors!
There are so many great pictures from Azzura, that I will just go ahead and post almost all I received - enjoy!

And here some of the fabulous vendors who contributed to Nicole and Anthony's wedding:
Venue: Four Seasons Hotel in Seattle
Coordinators: Merry Beth Turpin with Aisle of View
Photographer: Azzura Photography
Cake: Four Seasons Hotel
Chairs: Pedersen's Party Rental
Lounge Furniture and Draping: Rented Elegance

Best Of 2010 - Award Finalist

2010-06-29T22:49:00.000-07:00

Last night marked another exiting milestone for Flora Nova Design: we were voted as one of the 3 florist finalists in the annual Seattle Bride Magazine's Best of 2010 poll. Though not voted as the winner, we are very proud and humbled to be in second place. It is truly an honor to be considered as one of the best this city has to offer. Wow!
Thank you, thank you to all readers, friends, and vendors who have voted for us!!! And congratulations to all fellow vendors in Seattle who have also been recognized in the poll - I am happy to get to work with so many talented people in this industry.

Phalaenopsis Orchids

2010-06-22T09:34:00.000-07:00

Phalaenopsis orchids (also known as moth orchids) are among the most beautiful and elegant orchids available. Mostly known as a potted orchid, these beauties are also available as cut flowers and turn any arrangement into a gorgeous and deluxe floral design.
We have incorporated phalaenopsis orchids many times into center pieces or bouquets - and they were always guaranteed a big Wow! factor. However, in the past the availability of these orchids could never be guaranteed which was understandably dis-satisfactory.
However, this has now changed: yesterday I learned about a grower from Vietnam, who produces the nicest and largest phalaenopsis orchids around, who has a large supply in a wide range of colors (even yellows and oranges in the winter months!), and can also guarantee the supply year round. Yeah! This orchid grower has now started a supply chain into the Northwest and I can finally plan to use them more regularly and reliably. This high-quality product comes at a price but the result is stunning, sophisticated, and simply beautiful!

Here a close-up of a sample I received from the grower yesterday:

And here some design examples from previous arrangements we did - I hope you can get inspired and consider using phalaenopsis orchids for your wedding or event!

Photography from Azzura and John and Joseph - thank you!!

White Bouquet with Local Peonies

2010-05-26T23:08:00.000-07:00

Just recently I received photos from a wedding we did almost exactly one year ago - it was the wedding ceremony of Laura and Andy at the Holy Names Academy Chapel on Capital Hill in Seattle.
Since it is local peony season currently, there is no better time than to show them off 'in action' again: here we used them in Laura's bouquet and in the arrangements for the altar and pews. Peonies are among my favorite flowers of all - is it obvious ... ?

Peony Season

2010-04-26T14:41:00.000-07:00

Just stumbled across some pictures from a wedding last May which I think I never published here.... Hm, must have slipped through the cracks ... And since it is almost peony season it is the perfect time to show off these beauties in action.
For this bride's bouquet we used cream and light pink peonies mixed with light pink roses and vibrant green viburnum and trachellium. Such a romantic combination! I totally adored Nancy's dress - isn't it fabulous?!!
Thank you so very much Cassy from Redstone Pictures for these beautiful photos!!

I'll be receiving my first local peonies of the season in just a couple of weeks - they will be the Coral Charm variety. Can't wait ...

Real Wedding - Candace and Don

2010-04-18T12:27:00.000-07:00

On a Saturday this past February we had the pleasure working on Candace and Don's wedding at the Palace Ballroom in downtown Seattle. Their wedding ceremony and reception was a beautifully romantic affair with lots of candle light and a touch of bling.

Candace wanted us to create a bouquet of "richly muted texture" and requested to incorporate her favorite flower - peach colored calla lilies. These beauties were unfortunately not in season, but we were able to get enough stems - specially flown-in from Holland - to use in her bridal bouquet. The combination of peach and mauve colored blooms with a touch of plum complimented her dress perfectly.

For the ceremony we created a gorgeous backdrop of orchid garlands, crystal hanging votive candles, and sparkly crystal candelabras, which were propped onto softly draped pedestals. It couldn't have been more romantic than that!
The reception tables were draped in gold embroidered overlays and two variations of table center pieces created visual interest. One centerpiece style was lavish and mixed in a footed glass bowl, the other was a composite design using various glass vessels of different style. We used flowers in mainly peach and ivory mixed with just a few pops of light green. Gold Chivari chairs completed the look and added to the elegant and romantic feel of the reception.

Thank you so much, Stephanie Cristalli for sharing these beautiful photos with us!

And here some of the fabulous vendors who contributed to Candace and Don's wedding:
Venue: Palace Ballroom in Seattle
Coordinators: True Colors Events
Photographer: Stephanie Cristalli
Chair and Linen Rentals: Pedersen's Party Rental and Choice Linens

The Details - Napkin Flowers

2010-04-03T20:49:00.000-07:00

A while ago I started a series on decor details - you might remember the blog entry about Bouquet Wraps. Today I would like to continue this series and draw attention to a small but very effective detail of the table top decor: the napkin treatment.
There are so many ways to add a little something to each guest's napkin - either in form of a single orchid in the chosen wedding color, or a small bunch of flowers positioned on each napkin, a band of satin ribbon to tie-in with the floral centerpiece colors, or even in form of a guest favor: a small vase arrangement for each guest to take home.
Below are some examples to demonstrate the effectiveness and beauty of this often overlooked detail. I hope our readers can get inspired ... :)

Guest Favor - Vase Arrangement with White Orchid

Napkin Treatment of Various Lavender Flowers

... or in Form of a Cluster of Feathers

Guest Favor of Single Rose Vase

Napkin Treatment of Orchid and Ribbon to Pick Up the Centerpiece Colors

Fuchsia Orchid Napkin Flower ...

... or a Red Orchid ...

... or a White Cymbidium ...

... a Purple Vanda Orchid ...

... or a Rust-Brown Cymbidium! Simply Elegant and Beautiful!

Real Wedding - Erica & Michael

2010-03-21T17:56:00.000-07:00

I really like working at Columbia Winery in Woodinville - and especially if it's for a pretty wedding like this one. Erica and Michael got married at Columbia last month - a beautiful winter wedding in shades of pink, plum and lavender with whites.
Lots of white, pink and purple orchids were used for their gorgeous ceremony display. The pink up-lighting and the silk backdrop provided a beautiful screen, and lots of candles, rose petals, and vase arrangements decorated the aisle.
All ceremony decor elements were later transferred to the reception tables and were used as center pieces.

The fabulous team of vendors:
Venue: Columbia Winery
Coordination: Suzanne Linich with Poised Events
Photography: Chris Sollart Photography
Chair Covers: L&M Chair Covers

The Annual Meridian School Auction

2010-03-15T11:20:00.000-07:00

Last week I was involved in a different project: the Meridian School auction at the new Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Seattle. Our daughter attends this elementary school, and as parent of the school community, guess who was again put in charge of the decorations for this event ... :)
The entire theme of the evening "Moonlight Under the Cherry Blossoms" was inspired by "Asia" (which is also this year's global studies topic for all grades at the school) and we tried to reflect this theme in all aspects of the decor. Together with my friend and co-chair of the decorations committee Blair, who is a wizard in all things crafty (check out her amazing blog!), we created designs of tall blooming cherry branches enhanced with pink paper flowers, strands of origami cranes, orchids, rice as vase fillers, and lots of candle light.
It turned out to be a fun evening: women came dressed in Asian attire like kimonos or saris, food stations during the cocktail hour featured shabu-shabu and sushi, and the fabulous Asian dinner by chef Kerry Sear was just to die for. All in all it was a huge success and people were bidding up a storm. It will be our last year at Meridian as we'll be heading for middle school this year - I will sure miss this great community of students, parents, and staff!

One of 3 different center piece styles: tall cherry branches with garlands of cranes, pink paper flowers and rice in the inside of the vase.

The stage featured 2 huge trees embellished with over 1000 paper cranes created by our 2nd grade students - quite the focal point!

The hotel did a fabulous job displaying the 27 cakes for the desert bash - not only did they provide the most creative and amazing cake (implementing the school's logo with paint brush and paint tubes) but the entire presentation with thick plexi-glass risers and cubes was simply beautiful!

Fabulous Black and White Winter Wedding

2010-02-25T20:43:00.000-08:00

At the beginning of January Dana and Allen celebrated their wedding day in great style! Their wedding ceremony at St. Thomas in Medina was followed by a short Persian Ceremony and a grandiose reception at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seattle. I just received these truly beautiful photos from Bradley Hanson Photography and couldn't wait to share - thanks Brad!

The church decor was defined by lots of candle light: we simply used tall aisle hurricane candles which were attached to every other pew and draped with green garlands and small white flower clusters. Additionally, lots of rose petals lined the aisle on both sides of the runner.

Everything about Dana and Allen's celebration was classy and simply gorgeous. The black and white reception decor was enhanced by over 500 hurricane and votive candles and a beautiful lighting installation.
"Understated Elegance" was the underlying style and feel of the event: various designs of high-end flower arrangements decorated each table, blooming orchid trees lined the walls of the ballroom, and a long head table consisting of a gorgeous 'runner' of red flowers created the focal point during the reception.

While the head table was the only table adorned with masses of red flowers, all guest tables were decorated with designs of white flowers and lots of white candles. We used alternating designs of luxurious mixed arrangements, composite style arrangements, and arrangements of all candles in various height.
Tall vases on pedestals containing tall branches blooming with white orchids lined the walls. Each vase was filled with rose petals and illuminated with a colored LED light.

The fabulous team of vendors:
Ceremony: St. Thomas in Medina
Reception: Four Seasons Hotel, Seattle
Coordination: Jesse and Travis with True Colors Events
Photography: Bradley Hanson Photography
Linen and Chair Rental: Pedersen's Event Rentals