Michael & Marleen's SF City Hall Wedding

This was a special event for Bay Blossoms, the bride is my Grandmother!

 

Because this was a small affair of 14 people with no bridal party other than the bride and groom and a couple of 'flower girls', there was a relaxed vibe when it came to choosing the flowers. I met with the bride two days before the wedding to see her dress and the grooms suit and tie, after taking a mental picture I was off to the San Francisco Flower Mart.

The wedding took place at San Francisco City Hall on Thursday, October 18, 2012.

 

 

 

The bouquet was wrapped in lace that belonged to the brides mother, this acted as her something old and was a sweet way to include a special person who was unable to be with her on her special day.

 

 

 

 

This was the entirety of the wedding guests (well, except for me...I'm behind the lens)

 

I did my very best to match all of the flowers to the grooms tie
as a way to pull the entire look together in a cohesive way

 

 

Past.Present.Future

Congratulations Grandma and Mike!

 

 

 

Wedding Flowers by Season

I thought it was time to write am informational post to assist those of you reading this who may feel overwhelmed about selecting the flowers for your wedding.
 
When choosing the flowers to achieve the look you and your fiance are envisioning for your big day it is important to consider which flowers are readily available in the season you have set the date in. This can be a daunting task considering the seemingly endless amount of flower varieties you see while flipping through your stack of bridal magazines or scrolling through theknot.com; however there are certain flowers that are prevalent in each season which usually means the cost per stem is less, and considering how expensive weddings can be it is nice to have the knowledge that will help save some money without compromising quality.
 
Stepping into the S.F Flower Mart at any given season I am greeted with hundreds of flower species, a thousand different colors and a huge variety of textures; so please keep this in mind when viewing the list that I have compiled. This is in no way the only flowers available in each season, but it is a baseline to consider when beginning to choose the overall look of your wedding flowers.
 
 

Some Winter Flowers to Consider:

 

 Anemone (purple, red, pink and white)

 Amaryllis (white, pink, red, orange and purple)

Calla Lily (white)

Camellia (pink and white)

Forget-Me-Not (blue)

Holly (green with red berries)

Ivy (various greens in color)

Jasmine (available in multiple colors)

Orchid (pink, white, and purple)

Poinsettia (red, white, and pink)

Tulip (available in many colors)

 

 

Some Spring Flowers to Consider:

 

Anemone (available in many colors)

Apple Blossom (white)

Calla Lily (available in many colors)

Cherry Blossoms (white and light pink)

Daffodil (yellow)

Dogwoods (white and pink)

Forsythia (yellow)

Geranium (red and pink)

Hyacinth (white, purple, or pink)

Iris (many colors available)

Jonquil (pale yellow)

Lilac (violet or white)

Lillies (available in many colors)

Lily of the Valley (white)

Larkspur (blue, pink, white and purple)

Magnolia (white)

Narcissus (white)

Orange Blossom (white)

Pansies (available in many colors)

Peonies (white, pink and red)

Sweet Peas (available in many colors)

Tulip (available in many colors)

Violetrichly (purple)

 

 

Some Summer Flowers to Consider:

Aster (available in white, pink, and rose)

Calla Lily (available in several colors)

Dahlias (available in many colors) 

Delphinium (blue, white, purple and pink)

Forget-Me-Not (blue)

Geraniums (available in many colors)

Hydrangea (available in a variety of colors)

Iris (purple with yellow)

Jacobs Ladder (lavender, pink, purple and white)

Larkspur (blue, pink, white and purple)

Peony (available in pink, magenta, or white)

Queen Anne’s Lace (white)

Shasta Daisies (White with a yellow center)

Stock (available in a variety of colors)

Sunflower (yellow)

Sweet Pea (available in many colors)

Zinnia (red, orange, or pink)

 

 

Some Fall Flowers to Consider:

 

Aster (white, pink, or rose)

Chrysanthemum (red, gold, or white)

Dahlia (available in many colors)

Gerbera Daisies (available in many colors)

Marigold (gold and red)

Sunflower (yellow)

Zinnia (red, orange, or pink)

 

 

Some Year Round Flowers to Consider:

 

Baby's Breath (white)

Bachelor's Button (white, pink, red, or blue)

Carnation (available in any color)

Gardenia (white)

Gladiolus (countless colors)

Lily of the Valley (white and pink)

Orchid (pink, purple, and white)

Rose (available in any color)

Stephanotis (white)

I sincerely hope that this list helps you feel confident
when going forward with your floral decor decisions.

Livermore Valley Wine Country Bridal Faire 2012

We attended our first bridal faire last month, it was so fun to share the room with so many excited brides! I wanted to create a display that showed a variety of different wedding looks so I began by choosing four vibrant colors and imagined four separate wedding locations to go with each color. We made a centerpiece and matching bridal bouquet to go with each look and sought to make the display interactive by encouraging the brides to pick up the bouquets in order to get a feel of what they'll get on their big day if they go with Bay Blossoms.

 

Take a peek!

 

"Ravenswood"



 

"Destination Yosemite"

 

 

 

"Poppy Ridge"

 

 

"Wente"

 

Some extra details:

 

 

 

Danny & Jessie's Rustic Wedding

Jessie and Danny were married at the Martinelli Event Center in the late afternoon of August 18, 2012. The event center is tucked in the rolling vineyard hills of Livermore Valley wine country and offered the couple the combination of seclusion and sophistication that the they were looking for on their big day.

When we began discussing what they envisioned for the reception decor words such as rustic, polished, casual, high-end, burlap and lace continuously came up; and through brainstorming I was able to marry these seemingly opposite descriptive visions into a final product that captured exactly what the bride and groom wanted.

We decided to use flowers typically seen in very expensive looking centerpieces, like hydrangeas and Calla Lillie's, mixed with stems that looked as though they were hand picked out of a field of wild flowers. The bride wrapped two mason jars with burlap and a spray of lavender attached to every jar with lace ribbon for each of her eighteen tables. Additionally, each guest was greeted at their seat by a small spray of lavender; so to continue this subtle touch I incorporated dried lavender into all of the arrangements that were used throughout the venue.

Take a look!

 The beautiful and unique centerpieces:

The toss bouquet:

Jessie asked me to make an flower arrangement for the cake table and mentioned that she had misplaced her silver monogrammed cake topper and gave the creative freedom to turn her raw craft materials into a replacement. I took a wooden "M" and wrapped and secured jute around it. In the end it if in perfectly with all of the elements that Jessie had planned for.

The cocktail hour centerpieces were a mix of several

different types of flower combinations and vases:

The aisle was lined with hanging mason jars filled with hydrangea and baby's breath:

My absolute favorite decor item that was put together for this wedding was on the fireplace.

I have noticed that it has become somewhat of a trademark for me to make my couples a monogram of their initial and there was no exception at this affair. I flanked the couples monogram with two matching vases, the bases were filled with dried lavender and the top was a bouquet of baby's breath hand tied with jute. I was quite happy with the very unique look that it added to the cocktail hour.

Here's to Danny and Jessie! Wishing you a lifetime of happiness!