be around the light bringers

I read this some where and shamefully say that I have no clue where it came from.  I knew I needed to save it and meditate on it.  This quote leads my life.  

Be around the light bringers,

the magic makers, the world shifters,

the game shakers. 

They challenge you, break you open,

uplift you and expand you.

  They don't let you play small with your life. 

These heartbeats are your people. 

These people are your tribe.

I absolutely adore my creative community.  They energize me, motivate me and drive me to do more than I ever thought was possible.  My competitors keep me on my toes while my vendor friends keeping pushing me to do more.  I need this like I need air to breath.

Their drive is contagious, their vision demands attention. I am severely passionate about my work and love those that feel the same about theirs. 

These images bellow are from Simon Ly Photography. He reached out and asked for a last minute bouquet.  When he calls you answer.  He's a up and coming fine art photographer who is grinding away and creating is own path to success.  He exemplifies the quote above and found it so relevant to share the images he sent over. 

Vendors that were involved:

1) Hair and Makeup: Adorne Artistry

2)Shoes:  Bella Belle Shoes

3) Model: Ava Galindo 

summer colorful flowers - bringing bright colors to your event

These hot Summer days inspire us to bring out the bold, colorful mixes.  In our last post we mentioned how to use colors in your events. In this post we wanted to give another example of how we use these analogous color tones to create a sophisticated color palate.  Adding too many colors can sometimes cheapen the aesthetic, while keeping the colors in the same family can elevate.  

While we stay inside the same color tones we add interest in the textures we use.  This also allows the eyes to see all the textures and keeps the arrangement from looking messy.   

Here's a bouquet and it's sister arrangement we made to help demonstrate this concept.

top 4 ways to add color to your event

Adding color can be tricky.  Particularly with flower colors and availability.  There are so many variables with flowers that adding specific tones is super tricky.  This is the main reason you will see our portfolio covered with white and green flowers. You are guaranteed an abundance of variation and quality being that ordering white flower... you will always get white.

We suggest adding color through a variety of different ways that are guaranteed to be stylish and easy.

1) Fabric: add colorful linens or napkins.  This is where your design can get moody, bright, cheerful and fun. It can go in so many different directions giving you such control of making a unique event

2) Paper: menu, thank you notes, welcome sign etc. Not only can the paper color choices set the tone, but the font of the text can set the atmosphere as well.  Take all these elements into consideration for your day.

3) Candles: taper candles, and pillar candles.  Have to admit I am loving the color tones that we can add with candles.  We are no longer limited by ivory and white candles. Add those tones that are hard to find in flowers through candles.

4) Flowers: stay in a monochromatic color tones. Don't venture to mixing too many tones... Why? Flower colors don't always translate the way we wish... I order hot pink, I might get coral... I have ordered fuchsia and someone translated that to purple. We deal with these type of issues all the time.  Give us a general idea of where you want to be.... Bright tones with orange and hot pink... Muted tones with purples and mauves.  And we will select analogous tones that marry the colors together.

5 common flower mistakes brides make and how to avoid them

Over the past 8 years we have seen some consistent mistakes that we believe are totally avoidable and once explained will completely make sense.  We will outline what the mistakes are but also give easy, practical ways to avoid them and correct them.  So here we go, let's dive in:

Mistake # 1: I can DIY the flowers 

Ok this is an easy one, don't do it. There are so many other times in life you can have fun with flowers. Baby showers, bridal showers, brunch, mother's day... but your wedding day?  I would say is a big fat NO. How to correct this mistake, allow your friends and family to help with other tasks if you need to redirect them.  Create your wedding shower flowers, this will give you an idea of how messy, how much hard work, and how expensive flowers really are. 

Mistake # 2: Not budgeting enough money

How much do you budget?  We suggest that a floral centric event should budget anywhere from $35-$75 a person.  Please note that this is a person that puts flowers as one of their top priorities in their wedding. You are a flower fan and want flowers to be a focus of the event. If you have a budget less than suggested, take a look at Mistake # 4 for solutions to stretch your budget.

Mistake # 3: Expecting a certain flower

We see brides coming in so hopeful that a particular flower will be available for their event.  Peonies are not available all year around, I am sorry.  And even in the middle of their season, all the following issues can arise: delayed shipment, held at customs, flower quality not to par with our standards, flower farmer thought you said red not pink, flower cooler froze over night due to the electrical outage in the building. You guys I could go on and on.  We deal with a perishable item that has many of hundreds of miles to cross and more variables than I can possibly mention in one blog post.  Solution: be flexible, tell your designer what aesthetic you like, find a designer you trust and allow them to find the best blooms the season/farmers have to offer.

Mistake # 4: Putting flowers everywhere

If your budget can't afford it, don't do it.  We guide our clients to make sure we use their budget to the best of our ability.  Let's make some statement pieces, let's have the bridesmaids carry a simple bouquet, remove those ceremony flowers and let's focus on where the party will be for most of the night.  Make simple adjustments that will allow your budget to be focused and purposeful.  We are a purpose driven design company that will make sure your whole budget will be seen and felt through out your event. 

Mistake # 5: Not allowing your designer to take the wheel

This is what we do for a living. We have our 10,000hrs in flowers. We live for this and have found our passion in flowers.  Find that designer that your trust and give them the wheel.  Just like anything in our lives, if we feel micromanaged, we are more likely to feel less valued and honored in any process.  We give up our weekends, birthdays, graduations, and so many special holidays for our clients.  We wouldn't do this if we didn't take severe pride in what we do and promise that we will do our very best to make this the most special moment.  We feel so inspired by our client's trust.

the journey of photographing flowers

I am so endlessly grateful that I love photography.  It has elevated my business and made marketing our work so much easier. But it has been a long bumpy road with many mistakes along the way. 

We have absolutely love our photographers and how many amazing images they get for us on the event days.  But can we have a moment of truth and remember that we are not their client, at least not on someone else's event day. We have to honor the client-vendor relationship they built and not have any expectations for images of our work.

That being said, we need images of our work. We not only showcase this work to our future clients but also take time to look back on our work and make improvements. Photography is the keystone to what makes our business so successful.  It's an element of this business that I had no clue would need so much attention and curating as it needs.  And to be honest I have fallen madly in love with it.

I am not going to lie, I thought it was going to be much easier that it has been.  My gosh, picking out my next camera took me over two years to decide on.  And still wonder if I made the right decision. Finally when needing to choose some lenses I ended up making a rash decision and choosing two super expensive lenses... that I do not regret purchasing. But OUCH! I will be recovering from that one for a while.

Here are some images from a recent arrangement.  These images were taken on a day where I had time to slow down and appreciate the time it takes to learn and make it happen.