In honor of Halloween...

I will take you to Ralston Hall Mansion in Belmont. It is a U.S historic landmark and was founded in 1864. It is absolutely stunning inside and out and just "screams" high society. Upon researching this venue I found out it is haunted, or said to be. Some claim it is on the top ten list of the most haunted mansions in Northern California. OOOoooh, scared yet? Well let me tell you, the only spirits I felt that day were happy loving ones, as this was one of the most supportive and tight-knit groups I have ever come across at a wedding. Everyone was joking and friendly and just genuinely happy. A funny story and a total "duh" moment for me...I do a lot of weddings for many different religions, cultures and beliefs. I come across many new and interesting traditions and cultural practices that have opened my eyes to many great things. At this particular wedding as I was pinning the groomsmen boutonnieres on, in between the guys shouting the latest score of the game and fist pumping to every awesome play, I noticed something interesting going on. I saw the ladies in the front row with large jingle bells. They were stringing them and passing them around. I thought to myself, "Hmmm wonder what they will do with those...will they jingle them as the bride walks down, when they are pronounced Husband and Wife or at the end when the couple walks down the aisle?" I never did ask, and I kept thinking about it as I crawled in traffic on my way to the Bay Bridge. I felt like such a dork as it hit me on 80 passing Berkeley. Earlier that week the bride had given me a response card so I could see her colors. Rather than having ______# will attend or _____with regret, this clever bride had as one of her choices, "___will be there with bells on." Duh! They were all there with bells on! Isn't that cute! Here are some pictures of the event...enjoy!!!

Bridal bouquet in shades of white ivory and pinky peach.

Bridesmaid bouquet in mostly peachy pink with touch of ivory

Ceremony urns with curly willow and flowers

Table centerpieces in glass urns

Lush and romantic

Tall trumpet vase centerpieces were on every other table.

Look at that chandelier! WOW!

Very romantic set up.

Coordinator: Bellissima Vita

Photographer: Noah Hawthorne

103 degrees! Oh my!

This past Saturday I was in Brentwood where it was hoT, hOT, HOT! I was decorating the wedding of Amanda and Chris at Shadow Lakes Golf Club. Amanda was a sweetheart of a client and often emails me with funny stories about her little girl, which I love to read. It really helped me learn her personality and develop a sense of design for her dream wedding. The bride and her family did the most beautiful job with fabric, covering the rafters on the ceiling with beautiful champagne colored fabric and lights. They also did their own table coverings and chair sashes that were absolutely stunning. The wedding coordinators from Elegant Soiree were very accommodating and helpful, even made sure my associate and I had cold waters while we worked outside decorating the ceremony site. Did I mention it was hot?! I can't wait for the professional images to come in as I am sure they will have one knock-out of a family photo. Congratulations to all 3 of you!

While the brides bouquet was a statement using almost 4 dozen Black Baccara roses, the bridesmaids had a softer garden look to their orange, ivory and burgundy autumn harvest bouquets.

Some tables had low bowl centerpieces and some had bigger centerpieces with tall curly willow.

The centerpieces were made with orange roses, hydrangea, dark burgundy and golden orange dahlias, black baccara roses, berries, millet sprays and hanging amaranthus. Lots of rich, warm colors and textures.

The toss bouquet added to the decor on the cake table.

Each place setting had a favor and a shutterfly card about sharing photos.

These initials hung above the gift table.


Look at the long head table with the beautiful table coverings.

Even the chandelier was decorated with ribbon, artificial flowers and crystals.

A family friend made the cake. Can you believe that...look at how professional it is. The scroll work was beautiful and it even had shimmering pearls placed here and there. I only added a few roses to the top for color and placed the toss bouquet on the table to accent the beautiful cake.

The ceremony decor looked very romantic.

The warm breeze added to the romantic ambiance of the site.

The pomanders were a rich mix of deep burgundy and golden orange dahlias, burgundy brown berries, off white hydrangea and millet.

Congrats to the Mumfords!!

I NEED YOUR VOTES!!!

The S.F. Gate's "Best of the Bay" list is out and I'm excited to say...I'm on it!!

It is thrilling for me to be on a list with other such talented wedding florists that I have heard about throughout the years.

If you have a chance please register to vote and leave a comment if you're feeling really fancy! Sorry, no surprise running mates or knowledge of foreign policies or oil drilling mumbo jumbo...just wedding flowers!

Click here to vote!

My Mom can't be the only one to vote! What a sweet Mom!

Lucky 8's

Pretty in Pink!

080808 was a record breaker for weddings. I was lucky enough to work with a great couple that got married at the Inn Marin in Novato. The bride's inspiration came from this magazine cover.

She loved the full round bouquet, but wanted all shades of pink, and she was hooked on those great shoes! Fast forward a few weeks and I received this...my inspiration photo.

LOVE, LOVE, LOVE those shoes! I was on a quest to find flowers in this shade of bright pink and every pink shade that would compliment.

Because the bride was going bright with her flowers and wearing a white gown, it was decided to go all white with the bridesmaid's flowers, since they were wearing bright pink dresses. The Bride loves white spider mums, so I showcased those for the girls and complimented them with a few other white flowers. The stems were wrapped in black. Here are a few pictures of the flowers that I took and some that the bride was kind enough to send me. Enjoy!











Great hair!!!





The reception was shaded by a huge magnolia tree that held hanging paper lanterns that blew in the summer breeze.




What a great looking couple!
Here's to happy beginnings you two!