Bella Blooms

I have seen this picture a couple of times in the past week, and it has me thinking about all the possibilities that Gradient Centerpieces can offer. Having the colors going from light to dark pink is just a stunning show stopper, and definitely not what your average wedding guest is going to be expecting.

photo courtesy of Martha Stewart Weddings

As I mentioned, this has me thinking. What if you designed your entire reception ballroom around this concept? Starting on one side of the room with monochromatic bright pink arrangements and gradually going lighter as you crossed to the other side of the room and ended in a very subtle pale pink almost ivory color centerpieces. Oh the possibilities are endless.

Happy Planning!

Bella Blooms

Susan found this great article on the Symbolic Meaning of Wedding Flowers on Real Simple's website and I just had to use it for a Bella Bloom post.

Some of my favorite flowers and their meanings:

Peony - Happiness and Prosperity

Orchid - Love and Beauty

Lilac - First Love

Tulip - True Love

Anemone - Abandonment, Forsakenness, Sincerity, Fragility

Rose (red) - Love and Desire

Rose (white) - Purity and Innocence

What about my favorite of all Hydrangea?? Have to do some more digging on that one!

I even loved their suggestion of giving each bridesmaid a bouquet featuring a signature flower that suits their individual personality...Check out the entire article on Real Simple's Website.

Here are some beautiful flower pics to help you get through the week....

Beautiful bouquets designed by Carissa of JL Designs, using Balsa Wood Flowers, love how she uses different textures and flowers with each event.

photos by Anne McElwain Photography and Gabriel Ryan Photography

Gorgeous wedding featured on Green Wedding Shoes, Florals by Enchanted Florist, photo credit to Natalie Norton Photography.

Happy Planning!

Bella Blooms

I wanted to provide a little summer inspiration for all of our readers. We recently had the pleasure of collaborating with the amazing Gina at Mille Fiori, and she and her team delivered for our clients. Lauren & Stephen got married on July 4th, and Lauren's colors were a watermelon pink with accents of orange & corals. She really wanted to create an amazing summer vibe for her Marina del Rey wedding, and Gina surpassed all of my expectations!

Here are a couple of sneak pics of the gorgeous florals by Gina and her team, courtesy of Laura at Beautiful Day Photography, be sure to stay tuned for the complete wedding post, so many gorgeous shots to chose from will take me a little longer to get the whole wedding together.

What a bright color palette for this beautiful Southern California Monday.

Bella Blooms

I apologize for the lack of Bella Bloom posts the past couple of weeks, in the middle of a very busy May I had to fly back to Texas to be with my family. Working on final wedding plans a couple of time zones away has set me behind just a smidgen...but rest assured, all is back on track as we enter an even busier June!

As I think about my recent trip to Texas I am reminded of the Yellow Rose of Texas. While this post is not about yellow roses, it is a tribute to amazing yellow flowers. We have been seeing yellow all around the wedding world, and can't wait to incorporate it in some of our upcoming summer weddings. Hope these yellow blooms brighten up your Monday morning.

Gorgeous flower market finds courtesy of The Hidden Garden

Bouquets courtesy of Martha Stewart Weddings

Image found on Forget Me Knot Wedding blog photography by Aubrey Trinnaman

Images found on Southern Weddings blog, flowers by Branching Out Events and photography by Kari Crowe

A gorgeous yellow wedding at a private residence courtesy of The Hidden Garden

Bella Blooms

April Showers bring May Flowers, more like May Weddings around here! We are officially well into wedding season, and after last week, I needed something light refreshing and energizing to inspire me. I think that this fresh Orange and Navy wedding found on Junebug Weddings really fit the bill. I just love the bright orange flowers against the bridesmaids navy dresses, gorgeous! Hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Be sure to check out all the other details from this beautiful wedding at Junebug. Photography by One Thousand Words Photography and Florals by Ramonza Floral.

Bella Blooms

Seems that here in Los Angeles the weather keeps trying to fool us about Spring and the upcoming summer wedding season. Last night as we left the birthday celebration of one of our amazing assistants we were blasted with an unseasonably cool night. As I start doing prayers and chants to improve the weather for our upcoming weddings, thought nothing could get me more in the mood than with another iconic Spring flower. Lilac, how I love thee! I just wish I had a great place to plant you so that I could enjoy you in my own personal floral haven, and wish you lasted longer than a few short weeks!

Lilac bouquet courtesy of Martha Stewart Weddings

Lilac images courtesy of Hidden Gardens


Bouquet image courtesy of Brenda's Wedding Planning Blog

Be sure to check out some great tips on enjoying lilac to it's fullest from Tik Tock Couture Flower blog here.

Check out Amy from the Hidden Garden's behind the scenes visit to a local lilac farm on her blog here.

Bella Blooms

Last week we were excited to share the Bride & Bloom celebrity feature for Victoria & Brian Cook's wedding...this week we are going to be blogging more of the amazing details that Jasmine Star captured.

For today's Bella Blooms there was no doubt that it would be an opportunity to showcase the amazing talent of floral designer Carissa of JL Designs. We were so excited when Vicki fell in love with Carissa's enthusiasm and design ideas, and so thankful to have collaborated with her to bring to life Brian & Vicki's vision for their perfect wedding.

Stay tuned for additional blog posts throughout the week.

Bella Blooms

Susan and I spend a lot of our time working with our clients on creating a budget for their weddings...and we spend even more time helping clients stay within their budget. I thought today's Bella Blooms would be a good opportunity to discuss setting your floral budget.

You should expect to spend on average 10% of your overall wedding budget on flowers, however the sky is really the limit when it comes to flowers and overall decor. And I really mean the sky is the limit!! This budget amount should include your personal flowers, which are your bride and bridesmaids bouquets, groom and groomsmen boutonniere, as well as flowers for mom, dad, grandparents, and other honored guests. Ceremony decor would include arrangements at the altar, pieces on your aisle and an aisle treatment such as rose petals. Reception decor could include your table centerpieces, napkin treatments for each place setting, and cake table flowers. There are endless possibilities when thinking about ways to incorporate flowers in to your wedding.

As a huge fan of all things floral, it is really easy for me to get lost in the beauty of the flowers and really want to have flowers at each and every turn. I always try to work with our couples to get the most bang for your buck, given the budget I always suggest using a larger percentage of the money available on the reception decor, as this is where guests will spend up to 4 or 5 hours, rather than just an hour at the ceremony.

I leave you with one of my favorite photos, hope you love it as much as I do.

Photo courtesy of Evoke Photography, Floral designed by Carissa of JL Designs

There are a number of ways that you can watch your budget while still maintaining the elegance and beauty of your wedding. We will discuss ways that you can save money on flowers in a future Bella Blooms post.

Happy Planning

Bella Blooms

Growing up, I always remembered Easter as being the official start of Spring. As we all welcome Spring (per the Brown family traditions) with celebrations of Easter and Passover, there is nothing that symbolizes renewal to me than Cherry Blossoms.

When I saw this spread in Martha Stewart Weddings I just fell in love. How oh how can we plan a reception with all these amazing cherry blossom trees in full bloom? Just loved the details down to the flower girls with their cherry blossom wands.

Above images from Martha Stewart Weddings

Cherry Blossom Centerpiece from GetMarried.com

Image found on Cousins Photo Blog

I can remember my first visit to Washington DC to see the cherry blossoms, which were given to the United States in 1912 as a gift symbolizing the growing friendship between Japan and the US. Seemed that all the visitors walking through the rows and rows of trees were falling out of their deep winter slumbers, such an amazing symbol of renewal and rebirth. If you are lucky enough to have planned your wedding in the 2 week window that cherry blossoms are blooming, late March to early April, how will you plan to incorporate them? Hope you find this as inspirational as I do.

Cherry Blossoms in Washington DC

Image found on Wikipedia, Cherry Blossoms in Newark, NJ