I just gave the last 38 hours of my life to this wedding, with the exception of 3 hours of sleep and a very few moments stolen away to do glamorous things like eat instant oatmeal and pack diaper bags.  I am pretty pleased with how it turned out, and more importantly the bride's mother was thrilled with it.  I just don't want to think about how long it's going to take to get my craft-cave cleaned up and in working order.  The chaos level is unreal.





My friend Jennie Love warned me that centerpieces just about kill you. This was my "take a break" photo session when I was half way done.  The last 4 were painful to complete.  Literally.  My hands are hammered and I cut myself in at least 6 places on my left hand.  And mentally following the whole formula that many times and keeping everything straight and in order was enough to make me a bit batty.  Plus lots and LOTS of stress over peonies that were blush instead of white until they matured a bit, but then were prone to shattering...... and lisianthus with stems too soft to insert into floral foam.  Party in my stress-sensors.

hop skip

No time for coherent sentences, but I'm taking a break from unpacking and settling into our new house to do my last wedding for a while.  I was insane to attempt a wedding within a week of a major move, but I think it's going to be great!  (I, on the other hand, am going to be taking a week-long nap as soon as it's over!)

pinks

In the middle of my crazy weekend of moving I got to do flowers for a sealing.  Pink on pink on pink.  Half of the flowers are from my mother's neighbor's garden.  Another wedding this week and then I collapse in a heap..... or something.

folding paper

This wedding was so much fun, and so much work!



The bride's incredible mother did most of the work by creating a boatload of origami for me to wire and use. It was a lovely personalized touch.





Thanks Andrea for a beautiful day!

sneak peek

goings on in my cave space this week......

origami and pins and needles

A major element in the design for this week's wedding is origami.  My bride's mother is Japanese and a credentialed origami instructor.  She mailed me boxes of the most perfectly folded tiny origami elements to use for the wedding, and I've spent a good portion of the week wiring everything, which has proved about as time consuming as it sounds.  But I'm excited to see it come together.  I'm a huge fan of using origami for event decor, especially as a nod to the bride's heritage.

pinterest (source?)

borrowed and bleu

the crane chandelier project at the wedding co

origami place cards via pinterest (source?)

hanging cranes at the selby

in progress

Mini manzanita trees taking form.  My dear husband deserves cookies for all his help.

featured: manzanita

I'm working on a wedding that is incorporating manzanita branches as mini-trees.  Here's a few examples of this technique:

kaboodle

BZ events

living in the 513

wish special events

LA Botanicals

Elizabeth Ann Designs

Elizabeth Ann Designs

Elizabeth Ann Designs

Amy and Roy Wedding

{ETA: This wedding was featured on Magnifique Photography (hooray!)  See the feature here.}
There was lots of praying for cooperative weather this weekend.  While it didn't exactly deliver, I'm glad my bride stuck to her outdoor venue.  It was beautiful.  And the flowers loved the snow, even if the guests didn't!

lookie!

Check out my work featured in this wedding shoot over at Magnifique photography!
Go me!

glue glue glue

Yesterday and today are work-like-crazy days.
Lots of glue, lots of loose leaves and stems all over the place.



Some kids who are cooperating with my lunacy.



And some very, very cute boutonnieres.



More to come!

This is what I call a WIP

I had to make two trips to the wholesaler today (30 minutes away) because they forgot most of the greens in my order the first time.  This did not do much to increase my overall happiness and creativity.

BUT

we are forging ahead.

Tomorrow I intend to be monstrously productive.

Work in progress

Getting my feet of the ground is slow.
But trust me, I've been working my tail off.
There should be more photos soon, but here's what today has been full of, much to my children's dismay.



I always try to get everything done that I can before I have the live flowers on hand.  If I'm to deliver the freshest product, I need to be able to work fast and not spend any time on projects that could have been completed in advance.