Frills and Flourishes

Open House Recap

2010-02-08T01:11:00.000-08:00

Back in September we moved our meeting space to the most wonderful, retrofitted, historic brick building with two of our awesome friends Desi Baytan Photography & Theresa Huang Make-Up Design. We later found out that we shared the building with Caroline Tran, Skybox Event Productions, Muse Makeup Artistry and Two 1 Studios. We were ecstatic to be so close to new friends/talented vendors in the wedding industry!

*pictures of the building during the hunting process

A few months later we decided it was high time to host a collaborative open house. We termed it 'Level Up' because we wanted our guests to flow through the building to see all of our different spaces. You can check out fantastic recaps and amazing pictures on Caroline's Blog & Desi's Blog.

*our Welcome paper bag luminaries, shot by Caroline

*Desi was able to shoot the room before guests arrived

We were expecting to max out at about 200 guests but 300+ showed! Desserts were hosted in our suite and at times, it felt like there were more people crammed in our 430sq ft office than downstairs in the lounge. That being said, we didn't get to fully showcase what our office really looks like, so here are some pictures taken by Desi Baytan!

The concept behind decorating our studio was partly inspired by the whimsy of the Parker Hotel and also creating a comfortable, homey environment. We wanted to challenge ourselves to be green - probably ~10% of the furniture/finds were completely new purchases. After weeks of scouring Goodwill, Salvation Army, thrift stores, our houses and other people's houses, I give you Suite #321:

*our consultation area and the LOVE board we made for the Open House. The chairs were reupholstered with leftover fabric

*our happy corner that's also a coffee bar when not being shot for pictures ;)

*the lounge area that is Netflix ready. Can't beat quirky fun pillows either!

We refurbished a dresser for Theresa, painted it a shockingly happy yellow, and paired it with gray lattice:

*leftover flowers from the Open House. One of our favorite finds during thrifting was this mirror - slightly smoked out, antiqued with Moroccan lines

*a close up of our ribbon board, used to pair colors for our brides during meetings. It also serves as artwork for the large space

For an even more detailed recap of the event, check out this video that Charles Lauren Films surprised us with the very next morning!

Level Up in Pasadena from Charles Lauren Films on Vimeo.

We MUST thank all of the people who so generously made the Open House such a successful event!

Lighting, Ambiance and Electricity - The Music Man Productions

A Never Ending Flow of Delicious Food - Huntington Catering

Diggable Beats - Zuno Productions

Best Macarons I've Ever Eaten and that I could and would eat all day - Joie Patisserie

The Cutest Cake for our Cake Cutting Ceremony - Sweet Addictions

Charming and Delectable desserts - Lotus Culinary Creations

Cakes that are pretty on the outside and AMAZINGLY delicious on the inside - Cakes by the Pound

Sugar Cookies that will make you never eat another kind of sugar cookie - Sabrina's Sweetery

For making sure the event was seamless and organized - Skybox Event Productions

Come visit us soon! :)

Hello!

2010-01-22T15:27:00.001-08:00

Dear Loyal Readers...

Just checking in to let you know the website revamp is coming to an end and we are set to launch REALLY SOON! We are very excited to debut what we've been working on in the last few months. Our web designer, Susie, has been super patient with our schedule, understanding of our crazy requests, and so creative in her concepts. We give her mad props! Please PLEASE check out her work if you're ever looking for a web designer: Zee Studio

Til then, here's a shot taken from Kendra's iphone from a recent wedding we did at the Villa del Sol d'Oro in Sierra Madre:

Utterly Engaged...Round 2!

2009-12-10T14:59:00.001-08:00

We're so sorry that we've been neglecting our blog. I'd like to blame it all on being busy, but sometimes we get lazy too. We admit, we are florists and not writers and appreciate it if you got this far into the paragraph. We thank you for your interest! :D

We have awesome brides and clients and wish we could share their stories with you. And part of the truth is, we are (seriously) (finally) working on our website and we're carefully selecting what we want to present. We've worked with a lot of amazing vendors in the last few months and are excited to share those weddings with you when the website is up and running (end of the month, fingers crossed!).

Today I just really wanted to share the excitement of being part of Utterly Engaged Magazine in their newest issue!

All of the vibrant details were captured by the amazing Ellsworth Photography.

When Eva from Utterly Engaged contacted us about doing some bouquets, she said the theme was rock n' roll, the models would have tattoos, and she left the rest up to us. We interpreted this as lots of rich jewel tones, feathery accents, lots of texture, and pops of black. And here are the bouquets we created:

We cannot wait to see the rest of the images they got during the photo shoot! Please check out the new Utterly Engaged e-zine for ideas, fantastic tips, creative vendors, and eye candy galore!

A "Breakfast at Tiffany's" Inspired Wedding - Utterly Engaged Issue #4

2009-09-29T12:55:00.003-07:00

We've been anxious to revel our featured spread in the most current issue of the newly popular Utterly Engaged e-magazine.

We were so inspired by Holly Golightly's free spirited nature in the movie "Breakfast at Tiffany's" that we created a ceremony and cocktail reception catered towards the DIY bride. We featured simple projects including: custom coffee cup jackets, fabric chiffon flowers, and paper party blowers which transforms the simplest event decor into a personalized affair to remember.

Click on the picture above to see more of our spread in Utterly Engaged.

A Green Composition

2009-08-15T19:23:00.000-07:00

Leftover flowers after a wedding usually means two things:

1.) we get to make someone really happy with an unexpected arrangement or
2.) we get to play and experiment with bouquets and boutonnieres

After last Saturday's wedding, we found ourselves with a few vases of sweet pea, hydrangea, coxcomb, and roses. We set forth with some ideas of an emerald green bridesmaid dress in mind, along with a vintage (but quirky) feel, and incorporating the newest color trend of gray. Here's what we made:

1st row {berzillia on a capiz shell | dresses by jenny yoo | sweet pea pin-on with coxcomb collar}

2nd row {coxcomb & manzanita boutonniere| dogwood with berzillia pods | sweet pea bouquet}
3rd row {hydrangea bouquet | green hydrangea flowergirl posy | table # by www.papeteriestore.com}

Open House with PPE & Steven Lam Photography

2009-07-22T14:00:00.000-07:00

Wow, it's been awhile since we last blogged! In the last month we've been chugging along with planning a fleureticademia schedule, working on our website, meeting brides, designing weddings, and going to industry events (and meeting more awesome people in the wedding industry).

As you might recall, we used to share an office with Kelley Gin of Picture Perfect Events. However, with Kelley's expanding clientele on the Westside, it was an obvious decision to move towards thataway to be closer to her brides. We were so excited for her when she partnered up with Steven Lam Photography and found a loft style office suite with plenty of natural light, big windows, and a roof to chill on. :)

Last week, PPE and Steven Lam Photography hosted their Open House where they invited their friends and family to check out their new studio.

*Justin from Huntington Catering provided good eats like mini quesadillas, pumpkin pie tartlettes, tortilla soup shooters | Kelley's talented brother, DJ Orbit, spun cool mixes throughout the night | Mendy Pound of Cakes by the Pound displayed a cute 'dummy cake' and brought in her heavenly blackout, red velvet, strawberry, and pistachio cakes (on homemade sugar discs) | Theresa Huang from TH Makeup Design beautified all the women at the party with fancy lashes

What's a party without...

*sweet tea was served in personalized mason jars - party favors anyone?

Two of our favorite invitation designers also participated:

*Kim from Papeterie Store made letterpress coasters (very Jonathan Adler-ish) | Tianyi from Tiselle passed out letterpress cards to all the guests (I can't bear to use my 'I'm Sorry' card)

We provided the flowers for the party and added tones of fuchsia, magenta, and grey to the modern airiness of the loft:

Some shots of Kendra and me:

*L-R, CW: kendra getting her lash on | theresa (from thmakeup) and me | kendra, our friend tracy, and me | kendra and her husband art (who had to crouch down to get his 6'7" build into the picture)

*L-R: Emily (thmakeup), Steven + Carmen Lam (super cool couple and super cool photographers), Theresa (thmakeup), Kelley (PPE...we miss you), Tianyi (Tiselle - her cards are going to be sold at Paper Source!), Tracy, me and Kendra

Congratulations to PPE and Steven Lam Photography on an event well hosted! :)

Pasadena Love

2009-06-23T11:07:00.000-07:00

Kristin & Eric said their vows on a blissfully warm, May afternoon at the Los Angeles Arboretum and we were lucky enough to have a small part in it. I love how Caroline Tran (artist behind the lens) framed them within the chaos of the willow sculpture - it's all about taking a moment from the craziness of this world to say "I Love You".

The color scheme was to take key from the plaid kilt that Eric would be wearing, accented with soft yellowy golds and creams.

*Left, bridesmaid's bouquet consisting of lisianthus, 'creme' and 'blizzard' rose, ranunculus, and bupleurum. Right, bridal bouquet with roses, freesia, peonies, bupleurum, accents of red anemones and umbrella fern.

Kristin opted for a wedding that was formal and traditional (honoring Eric's Scottish heritage) yet infusing some 'Californian aesthetic'. Kristin designed the invites herself and neatly tied it all together with the invitations - the rose motif is by a Scottish artist who was part of the Arts & Crafts movement:

*i'm a sucker for detail shots!

The reception was held at the Rococo Room in Pasadena. The centerpieces were mixed arrangements of roses, stock, freesia, alstromeria, hypericum, bupleurum, lisianthus with accents of red spray roses:
.

Kristin and Eric had tiramisu instead of cake which, fyi, Cafe Santorini has the best in Pasadena!

But at the end of it all, there's nothing sweeter than...

Many happy wishes to Kristin & Eric!

Get Schooled in Crafts!

2009-06-19T23:27:00.000-07:00

We are so excited to announce our newest venture :

We've been so blessed to work in a creative environment and while we love flowers as our medium, we also have a penchant for textiles, paper, tools, and food! Someone recently suggested that we host a design class and the ideas of incorporating all of our hobbies started flowing. We wanted to bring people together and encourage them through creativity as well as give them an opportunity to debrief from the conundrums of work. Thus Fleureticademia was birthed, not so much as a class, but more as a creative outlet to learn crafts like scrapbooking, quilling, food decor, vase wrapping, and oh yes, flowers!

Our first session of the summer took place a few days ago and totally rocked. We invited a few of our past brides as well as Theresa (from th makeup design) to test the waters and had a fantastic time chatting, eating, arranging, and decorating.

We love to eat and cook so we provided a few snacks - otherwise, what kind of hosts would we be? We spun playful names for our food because we're corny like that. :)

*egg salad sandwiches, fondue bar, champagne with blueberries, mango shrimp salad, and antipasto skewers

And of course, the sweets (I wanted to add mini donuts to the fondue bar but got vetoed):

*fondue platter featuring marshmallow lollipops, fruit spears, pound cake, a chandelier with cookie cups, the dark chocolate fondue, and a doily cup of cookies to go

Our project of the night was wrapping coffee cans (courtesy of Trader Joe's) with fabric. We provided various patterns of cotton and taught the girls how to wrap the cans using posterboard. Then we let them loose in our ribbon/bead/feather library :
Our sample cans were so simple and elementary compared to the ones they made. They really went all out and expressed their personalities through their vases. We also went over brief pointers on purchasing and arranging flowers and provided lisianthus, roses, and hydrangea for bouquets.

These are so freakin' cool. I'm really proud of them!

If you're looking to host a small bridal shower, wanting to make your own wedding flowers, or looking for a place to chill with your girl friends, we can create a class that caters around your event. We're also going to be doing a series of classes for individuals to sign up as well. If you're a designer wanting to branch out and teach a class, you're welcome to use our space too!

Feel free to contact us with more information if you're interested - fleuretica@gmail.com or 626.797.4759. Come and get schooled (and fed)!

The Comforts of Home

2009-05-20T18:25:00.000-07:00

Welcome to Katie & Bragi's wedding!
From the very beginning, Katie had a vision that her wedding would be 'earthy, rustic, natural and personal'. She chose to have her wedding at her sister's house which made it even more special. On our first site visitation, I was just in awe of the house - it was heavily fortressed by trees and calmed with the soothing sounds of a waterfall that trickled into a stream that ran along the center of the yard. If I didn't know any better, I would have thought I was at some mountain resort - not in the heart of Los Angeles!

The ceremony took place underneath a tree where we strung mason jars filled with floating flowers:

The bridal bouquet consisted of anemones, veronica, daffodil, sweet pea, freesia, wheat stalks, finished with camelia and hosta leaves. We created bridesmaid bouquets of green blooms using helebores, succulents, viburnum, and bits of bupleurum. We wrapped the stems using galax and leather twine.

Katie's nephew served as the ringbearer - his piercing blue eyes and slightly askew bowtie gives this fellow such character! He held a bird's nest with mood moss and a succulent. More leather twine held the (fake) rings.

The boutonnieres were succulents with hypericum, curly willow, silver dollar eucalyptus and dogwood, complete with Bragi's own personal touch:

I find that I can't continue without singing the praises of Lindsey and April from Sweet Monday Photography. They captured everything so well with a quality that is, well...sweet. These two gals are just down to earth and personable & I can see why Katie chose them for her wedding. Their bio states that they once drove to six places looking for pie - something Kendra and I can instantly relate to! :)

Apparently they blogged right before the wedding about wanting to get a picture of moss initials. Coincidentally, we did moss letters with succulents and manzanita branches to greet guests as they entered:

The couple looking blithe and happy. Katie made such a beautiful bride!

Katie wanted the flowers to have a just-gathered-from the garden effect using blooms that weren't formal or rigid. Mason jars lined the center of the table along with vases of candles. Each candle was accented with pine cones, sword fern, wheat stalks, coffee beans or curly willow loops.

The rustic wooden tables are from Classic Party Rentals, along with the chargers and cube salt & pepper shakers. Please note that the following subpar quality pics are NOT from Sweet Monday but from my beloved blackberry phone...tweaked using picnik.com!

*Centerpieces consisted of freesia, mums, Star of Bethlehem, bouvardia, ranunculus, bupleurum, and honeysuckle vines.

The table cards were designed and printed by the bride as she is a talented graphic designer. Check out her site www.beodesigns.com. Throughout the wedding, Katie tied everything together with her personal touches, down to a cake topper of pine cones she found from her engagement at a ski resort!

Katie really understood that when you incorporate these kinds of special details, you guests will only know you better as a couple. That is a true celebration of a wedding! Congratulations to Katie & Bragi :)

Ask & You Shall Receive!

2009-04-24T10:04:00.001-07:00

Tianyi from Tiselle graciously sent us pictures of Trishia & Jason's invites. Aren't they incredible?!

Accept an invitation like this, and expect an event no less!

The details on this box were nothing short of amazing. Tianyi spent hours gluing on those itty bitty crystals:

And the finishing touch:

There's just this charm about everything that Tianyi creates. Her business cards alone are works of art - I have it posted on my wall at home! Now she's going to think I'm creepy. haha

Check out Tianyi's blog to get the latest happenings of Tiselle! She will be heading to the National Stationary Show in New York this year. Did we mention that Tiselle is also eco friendly? Their committment is to "subsidize 75% of the electrical powers at our shop with solar panels thus reducing our carbon footprint. Our products are made with a combination of FSC certified 100% cotton paper sans chlorine bleach or 100% post consumer paper."

If you couldn't already tell, we're big fans and know that you will be too! :)

Wedding Extravaganza at the Westlake Four Seasons

2009-04-22T17:03:00.000-07:00

It was deliciously toasty at the Four Seasons in Westlake Village this weekend. While it was blistering hot outside, you wouldn't have known it from standing in the center of the transformed ballroom (on a round custom dancefloor, no less!). Swagged in panels of chiffon with uplights, the venue was cool, hip, chic, and just all around magical.

(picture courtesy of Joshua Yeh : jcy3@inside.artcenter.edu)

Everyone that helped pull this look together was amazing. While certain details and elements will always stand out, vendors must depend on each other to bring out the best of what we do. Linen needs flowers needs lighting needs photographer needs venue needs bride & groom. And who puts that all together? The coordinator!

Enter: Kelley Gin from Picture Perfect Events. Although Kelley is my very good friend, I'm being objective when I say she is one of the best coordinators around. You wouldn't have guessed all the behind the scenes hurdles that went down but was never seen because Kelley rolled with the punches and pulled it off. Weddings are unpredictable...that's why you need a coordinator!

We also got to work with Ryan Phillips, with whom we've had a secret adoration for ever since seeing his Eucalyptus Lane wedding series. Swoooooooon. We are excited to see when his pictures come in! :D

Wildflower Linens provided luxurious matte satin cashmere linens with a 'Victoria Nude' overlay. We did a variation of high centerpieces:

*hydrangea, lilac, hyacinth, roses, dahlias, tulips, and calla lilies in shades of eggplant, purple, mauve, fuchsia, and deep dark reds with crystal swags

Our low centerpieces were a series of silk wrapped boxes filled the same assortment of flowers and crystal accents. Small glass vases of 'Schwarzwalder' calla lilies surrounded the breakaway set:

G2 Audio and Lighting set the mood with their fantastic lighting and Royal Events was responsible for creating the cool blank canvas with their drapery. When we got there at the end of the night to pick up our rentals, people were still hitting the dance floor to the diggable beats of DJ Orbit.

I wish I had a picture of the letterpress invitations that Tianyi from Tiselle created. You will have to stay tuned for more pictures. It was an awesome day for an awesome couple! Congrats to Trishia and Jason!!

New Galleries!

2009-04-07T00:13:00.000-07:00

We've been selfishly hoarding pictures from weddings we've done in the last 6 months but we have now unleashed them into our smugmug gallery!

Some of the pictures you might recognize from our recent blog posts. The others might give you some fun, new ideas for the event you're planning.

You'll find the galleries:

1. Calamigos Ranch - a fairytale wedding took place under the twinkling willow arch at the venue. Soft blues, lavendar, periwinkle, and accents of brown was the color scheme. We love working with Serena Grace because she always captures all the little details and presents them with such crispness and clarity - yet it's also very feminine.

2. Trump National - a hot pink infused wedding accented with turquoise and gold. It was a romantic wedding on the bluffs overlooking the Pacific ocean. We used peonies, cyclamen, ranunculus, roses, mini calla lilies, orchids in shades of raspberry, magenta, and fuchsia. Victor Sizemore always brings us images with an ethereal feel. Soft yet modern and classic!

3. St. Regis - we were in Dana Point yet again for a whimsical wedding, complete with flowering branches, a three tiered chandelier, and soft panels of fabric. The color palette was green, ivory, and cream. This was our first time working with Dennis Santirinala, who is also a fashion photographer. We also got to work with our good friend, Theresa Huang, who created all the gorgeous looks on the bride.

4. Orange County Museum of Art - playful elements set the tone for this fun and modern wedding at the OCMA. You'll find Lego people, square boxwood topiaries, mini apples, and carved lettering on boxes. John Partridge did an awesome job representing this couple!

5. Casa Del Mar -a relaxed wedding in a grand venue with ivory, cream and accents of blue and green. The ballroom in itself is stately with crystal chandeliers, ornamental moulding, and high ceilings, but Linda Lewis not only managed to capture the warmth of the couple and their awesome family, but also depicted a fresh, hip vibe at the reception.

Hope you enjoy!

Behind the Scenes: Wilshire United Methodist

2009-04-02T20:03:00.000-07:00

On delivery days, a hurricane of stress ripples through our store and everything is in shambles - foliage on the floor, boxes everywhere, and empty vases haphazardly sitting on some ledge. We have a general rule to get to our appointed location 1/2 hour before arrival time, so we pack up our vans as carefully and quickly as possible. There's no looking back!

*Kendra's car

*euri's car

This past weekend was no different as we headed off to the Wilshire United Methodist Church for Esther & Daniel's wedding. We met Esther at our Great Bridal Expo show at the LAX Sheraton Hotel and hit it off instantly. Esther's vision of her wedding involved pink, pink, and more pink with an accent of espresso brown. We brought in branches, coffee beans, candles and crystals. And Hello Kitty :)

Esther and Daniel originally wanted fish in their centerpieces, but as the church didn't allow pets/animals, we had to go in a different direction. We created an ocean themed arrangement for the sign-in arrangement though, complete with sand, coral, and blooms that emulated starfish.

As a kid, I had a slight obsession with dollhouse furniture because of the meticulous detail that went into creating every piece. In the same way, I see boutonnieres as miniature bouquets and have a lot of fun putting them together. If only I could do this with dollhouse furniture. :S

*our pin-ons are always labeled for easy identification

*the groom's boutonniere: mini calla, berzillia berry, and stephanotis with pink swarovski crystal

For the ceremony, we brought in reversible vases with a layered arrangement atop with trailing crystals.:

*sweet clusters of roses, ranunculus spray roses, and bouvardia. The church provided the organza draping on the aisle. Always ask what your venue provides to help you save on budget!

The reception was held at the church's grand hall, where Gothic and Romanesque architecture provided the foundation for a classic reception.

Esther and Daniel had about 30 tables. She couldn't decide between the centerpiece options we provided for her so she chose them all! We recommend this more for large receptions because you get a good amount of variation of each option.

*the manzanita with cymbidium orchid blooms with birds & moss at the base

*the birds up close

*a center vase of coffee beans and pink candles surrounded by small vases of pink flowers

*the opposite of above with an even plane of 'Titanic' pink roses nestled in coffee beans. Surrounded by three cups of candles with submerged hydrangea

*a wooden tray with roses, ranunculus, lisianthus, and stock. Three vases were nestled within with floating candles

There was actually one more centerpiece but we didn't get a picture of it! hehehe

The reception was to be hosted buffet style and I have to say, the selection of food I saw on the table was overwhelming and crazy! Props to the staff at Grace Catering for bringing in such an array of food that smelled so good and looked so tasty. :)

*oh my...and this was just 1/8 of the shot!

And remember how I said we brought in Hello Kitty? Well here she is on the cake top...

*with her Dear Daniel! They're made of foam board, carnations, pipe cleaners and clay

And no Fleuretica excursion is ever complete without a stop at some location that we wouldn't otherwise visit unless we were in the neighborhood. We had some time to kill so we visited Scoops, a little ice cream shop known for their intricate and unique flavors (goat cheese lavendar anyone?). It actually took 30 min to get there from the church, but we blame that on horrible LA traffic!

*kendra's Jim Beam Vanilla & Mocha ice cream cup

And that, in a nutshell, is how we do it. :D

A Few of My Favorite Things

2009-03-23T00:12:00.001-07:00

A few years ago, when Fleuretica had just started, Victoria & David came to us for their wedding flowers. Last week, they came to us again and requested that we design a tablescape for their adorable daughter's birthday brunch! Victoria gave us free reign with the design, with her only stipulation that it was a {Cupcake and Candy} themed party. Not only were we delighted to be working with Vic & David again, but we were excited to put something fun and festive together. If you know Kendra or me, you'll know that this was something we'd probably do for our own kid...or ourselves. :)

The brunch was held at Maison Akira, a french/japanese fusion restaurant in the heart of the Pasadena Playhouse District. I have never eaten there but my brother swears they have the best champagne brunches on Sundays. I guess I have to check it out to see if he's right!

*doesn't it look quaint?

We started from the center of the table and made a cake using spider mums. Most floral supply stores should sell a foam cage on a cake stand, making this project really easy! Just submerge in water and plug in your choice of blooms. We reflexed a rose to emulate the piped whipped cream rosettes. We also added a paper flag garland around the cake stand to give it a whimsical touch (got the idea from Martha). Use any scraps you have lying around, or find cute cardstock or wrapping paper that goes with your color scheme. And don't worry about the patterns or colors not matching - the more the merrier (in this case anyway).

*Z is for Zoe, the birthday girl (that's not a 7....we raised the letter after taking the picture)

We also placed (empty) gift wrapped boxes on the table, adorned with satin bows and tulle.

Then we found little silicone baking cups at Michael's (our finds were pink and yellow flower shaped ones but they also have plain rounded and square ones). We filled them with a little wet foam and made floral cupcakes:

*we used button mums, hydrangea, alstromeria, spray roses and ranunculus. carnations work really well too!

Then we staggered glass vases in various shapes along the center of the table for the candy, using Smarties, Charm Pops, Hershey Chocolate bars, Nestle Crunch eggs, Jelly Beans, and my favorite, PEZ!

*Hello Kitty and My Melody were my absolute favorite growing up!

And putting all the elements together:

If you're feeling adventurous, this is definitely a project you can tackle for a party you're hosting. Most of the decor can be done way ahead of time, which will leave you time to focus on other things. For edible cupcakes (other than real ones) you can spear strawberries or blueberries on toothpicks and use dry foam instead. If you're feeling really resourceful, use greenery or succulents from your backyard to create different textures for the cupcakes. For a really fun touch, add balloons. LOTS of balloons. :)

We always love little projects like this. It was a refresher after a busy, double wedding weekend. We didn't take pictures from the weddings but will leave it to the pros to send us some soon. I'm looking forward to sharing with you a wedding we did at the Pacific Asia Musuem. Please stay tuned!

Jean & Austin

2009-03-16T15:47:00.000-07:00

When Jean first came in for a consultation, my thought was "this girl's stylin'". As we got to talk a bit more, I found out that she went to FIDM, had a great sense of fashion, and she is a budding photographer. I knew right away that her wedding details were going to be no less than chic.

To begin with, here's one of many breathtaking engagement shots of Jean & Austin by Amelia Lyon:

With a shot like that, I knew there were high expectations for their wedding! You can find out the backstory to their engagment shots on Amelia's blog - be prepared to be 'wowed' some more!

Jean and I originally talked over incorporating black accents into the wedding but the idea was later expunged because black is a bad luck color in some chinese weddings (some say white is...it just depends on who you ask!). Jean honored the wishes of her family and we changed up the colors to blushes, medium pink, silver/grays, and ivory. And we snuck in some black accents here and there...sssh!

*Jean looking modelesque with a bouquet of peonies, ranunculus, freesia, edged with dusty miller

Something to note, the weather had been horrendous the days prior to the wedding. Heavy rainfall and cold temperatures do not make for a great wedding day! However, in the hours leading up to the ceremony, the sun made an appearance and it was a beautiful day!

*under magnolia trees at the Langham - Amelia has a great eye. The girls carried simple bouquets of ranunculus, finished with slate gray ribbon

*again, one of the best moments!

*a backdrop of crystal strings, dendrobium orchid strands, and threaded cymbidium orchids at the Branca Patio at Occidental College

*the happy couple

To see more pictures from this wedding, check out their slideshow!

Randoms:
1. We ran into Jean and Austin the next day at our Festival of Bride's Wedding Show (at the Langham). Jean was happy so we were happy!!
2. This was our second time working with gerber daisies, the first time being in January of this year! It's perfect for the pop of black, and like a carnation, can be elegant if used in the right way.

Jean & Austin: thanks for allowing us to be one of many to help you create a beautiful, romantic day! :)

Evolution of a Wedding Show Exhibit

2009-03-04T22:41:00.001-08:00

In the past year, we've done a few wedding shows at various venues. Each time, we changed up the color scheme and concept, while still maintaining key elements. We like to show detailed work (such as boutonnieres and bouquets) because that's something you don't always get to see. We love us some reversible, tall glass vases so we use them when we can. And if we can build a cake in there somewhere, we will do that too! Here are some of our past shows:

*our first show at the Westin Bonaventure. it was a mixture of eggplant, purple, muave, and lavendar with accents of black

*show #2 was at the Cerritos Performing Arts Center, sponsored by Patina. We went in a completely different color direction and picked a fresh color palette to complement the modern and newly renovated room

*our 3rd show at the Sheraton LAX. we purchased a screen to display our bouquets and did a mini photo booth with the brides.

*at the Langham Hotel, where we went with a more antique color scheme, and built 8ft walls as the backdrop.

By the fifth time, we figured we were good on the basics, but wanted to present a focal piece that was really interesting. We also liked the idea of using our finds at our local Salvation Army and mixing that with more modern pieces. After numerous drawings/redraws/doodles/brainstorm sessions, we decided that we wanted to do a "Cake Reception". The final sketch as inspiration:

We were originally going to use a table that Kendra had sitting in her dining room, but upon further hunting, we came across this buffet/console at a consignment shop:
This was the springboard to the color scheme and we pulled in mustard, honey, blush, pewter, teal, persimmon, and cranberry. Sounds like a drink...a very bad one!

I think the best part of being a designer is that the ideas you dream up in your head can be a reality!

Here are some of the details, up close and personal:

*our birds nest, filled with privet berry, kumquats, and berzillia

*floral cupcakes made up of carnations, ranunculus, button mums, roses, and beads

*cake topper of mini cakes of ranunculus and galax leaves

*our boutonniere board

*the cake with button mum and china mum layers. we folded poly satin ribbon for the trim of the cake, and wrapped an octagonal cake stand with honey toned velvet.

*mix of roses, privet/hypericum/berzillia berry, kumquat, cabbage, and leucadendron

*the lone bouquet that held down the fort (we were moved to a corner to accomodate our giant wall and ended up being blocked by a massive pillar)

*the guestbook area on a bed of red carnations in a wooden box with antique knob handle

*1 of 2 main pieces, the floral art frames inspired by Preston Bailey. We purchased the curved corners and moulding from a specialty store, and carefully cut the moulding with a miter saw. Tricky but fun.

*what is a cake reception without the cake - we were placed very near the
Cakes by the Pound table. The pastry tables are usually the most popular at wedding shows (rightly so) so we enjoyed the atmosphere it added to our exhibit! You must call them and order their chocolate BLACKOUT cake.

Hope you enjoyed the show! :)

Biltmore Festival of Brides

2009-03-02T10:26:00.001-08:00

Just a quick "Thank you!" to all of the Brides and Grooms that stopped by our booth at the Festival of Brides hosted at the Milleiunnium Biltmore on Sunday. We had a great time at the show and look forward to meeting with you to discuss your wedding vision!

For information on our "{Chock} full of {Love}" bars Golden ticket giveaway please click here for details.

Lifestyle Shoot

2009-02-20T00:12:00.000-08:00

Look in your closet. Is your wedding dress hanging there, just as neatly as it was when it came home from the cleaners? If so, go free it from it's plastic confines. It's time for a lifestyle shoot with Ja Tecson! You can "rock your dress and rock it in style" for a second time (And you can rock it with a fleuretica bouquet). Here are some amazing shots that Ja sent over:

There are some pretty cool things about wearing your wedding dress for a post wedding shot:
1. you can roll around in the dirt and not care
2. you can go back and get shots that you regret not getting
3. change it up with a magazine/editorial feel
4. you're more relaxed after the wedding and it shows

Ja also did a series up in Mammoth of his lovely wife Bev. We did a more vivid bouquet of spotted phaelanopsis orchids, agonis greenery, and hot pink nerine. Sassy and brave!

And should you decide that after the wedding shoot that you have enough memories with your wedding dress, think about making some space in your closet by donating it to a very good cause: Brides Against Breast Cancer. Your donated dress is resold and the money goes towards granting wishes for cancer patients. Recycling your dress is not just green, but it's also hope!

Festival of Brides Golden Tickets Update

2009-02-10T10:48:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone! There seems to be some confusion around the golden ticket and we're so sorry about that. We just wanted to reiterate the rules to clarify how you can claim the prize listed on your ticket.

1. You must book with Fleuretica for your wedding flowers for the ticket to be valid.

2. To book with fleuretica, we'd first like schedule a consultation with you to discuss your wedding flowers, and offer you a proposal with different design options in different price ranges.

3. If you're happy with the proposal we provide, you can place a deposit with us to hold your wedding date (as we only do 2 weddings per day)

4. Upon booking, your winnings immediately become valid and you can claim your prize.

5. We only allow one winning ticket per bride

6. You must bring in the ticket with you during our first consultation

Again, we apologize for the confusion. Please feel free to call us (6267974759) or email us (fleuretica@gmail.com) if you have any questions. Thanks!

Festival of Brides Golden Tickets -

2009-02-07T02:05:00.000-08:00

If you're reading this entry, chances are you received one of our "{Chock} full of {Love}" bars at the Festival of Brides show and found a winning ticket. Congratulations on your lucky find! Here's a guide to what you've won and how to claim your prize:

Your golden ticket has a reference number like the one seen here...

If your lucky letter indicator is a...
{B} + ending with an even number, you have won a FREE bridal bouquet (worth up to $175)
{B} + ending with an odd number, you have won a FREE bridesmaid bouquet (worth up to $80)
{P} you have won a set of FREE boutonnieres (up to 4 - a $48 value)
{R} you have won a FREE ringbearer pillow (a $30 value)
{F} you have won a FREE flowergirl basket (a $30 value)
{W} you are the lucky winner to receive 10% off your wedding flowers
{G} you are the lucky winner to receive one FREE centerpiece
{C} you have won 2 FREE corsages (a $40 value)

How to claim your prize (updated)

1. You must book with Fleuretica for your wedding flowers for the ticket to be valid.

2. To book with fleuretica, we'd first like schedule a consultation with you to discuss your wedding flowers, and offer you a proposal with different design options in different price ranges.

3. If you're happy with the proposal we provide, you can place a deposit with us to hold your wedding date (as we only do 2 weddings per day)

4. Upon booking, your winnings immediately become valid and you can claim your prize.

5. We only allow one winning ticket per bride

6. You must bring in the ticket with you during our first consultation.

7. ...and most importantly...eat your chocolate! :)

Come and get to know us! We will bombard you with questions to get to know you and we welcome the same for us. We'd love to meet with you to talk about color schemes and floral styles.

Ways to contact us:
email : fleuretica@gmail.com
phone: 626.797.4759
studio: 2119 n. lake ave. altadena, ca 91001

Thanks so much for stopping by!

Picture Update

2009-01-31T11:33:00.000-08:00

I'm making good on a promise! A few weeks ago I posted some pictures sent over to us from Linda Lewis and she generously sent us some more images. I always say i'll post more pictures but the time flies by and I forget. So here's an update on pictures from Jenny & Gayani:

*on the sands of Santa Monica Beach. they look so natural...and you definitely have to feel comfortable with your photographer to get these kind of pics

*a bouquet of hydrangea, mini cymbidium orchids, 'tineke' roses, and blue delphinium accents

* a MUCH better picture than my previous blackberry - manzanita in blue fabric wrapped boxes adorned with white cymbidium orchids

*behind the scenes - arbor wrapped with branches and filled in with hypericum berries, orchids, and delphinium

*we love birds and branches!

Thanks for the awesome shots Linda! :)

Special Event Show 2009

2009-01-29T17:15:00.000-08:00

I recently attended the Special Event Show down in San Diego to check out other vendors in the special events industry. It's a nationwide expo that showcases on the East Coast on alternate years, and people all across the country come together to see the latest trends as well as learn more about running a business. With tough times in the economy, I was curious to see how our industry was being affected and also to see if/how people were changing their products to adapt. People definitely have creative ideas out there!

This is the first time that I have attended this conference and was amazed by everything. Want a private jet for your wedding? Done. Volleyball lover? You can create a sand volleyball court for your guests to enjoy instead of a dance floor!

*women not included

*this is from Velon Designs. This is a good alternative to fabric as it's custom but recyclable and reusable. You can have them print to match your event or use any of their existing patterns (which are plenty and vary in many styles). Use it as fabric backdrops, wrapping vases, tabletop covers, etc.

*Chameleon Chair has one of the most comfortable chairs available for rent. On it's own, the chairs are really chic and sophisticated. Throw on a slip cover like this one : a teal green satin accented with a pleated flower. Throw in some milk glass and pearls for a tea party, or go for orange, gold, and peaches for a fun feel.

*rrivre works, our go-to guy for chandeliers and prop rentals

*inspirational floral decor at the Chameleon Chair booth. A lush arrangement of hawaiian hearts, phalaenopsis orchids, and painted ti leaves. Watch out for this trend, especially if you want black accents!
*a finalist in a table top design contest

*another finalist in the table top design contest from L.A.'s own Fresh Events
*lucite candelabras - expensive but worth it

*i have a weakness for cameos and silhouettes

*custom made acrylic ANYTHING. if you dream it, they will make it. props to the guys at acrylic specialties, inc.

*VERY excited to be working with La Tavola Linen Co. We will be getting swatches soon!

*video game lovers unite...there are people who will come set up video game simulations, ps3 systems, wiis, etc.

I don't have all my pictures but if you have questions about any vendors, feel free to contact us. Side note, if you ever happen to be in San Diego check out Extraordinary Desserts. So good!

A Warm Winter Wedding

2009-01-13T22:15:00.001-08:00

Happy New Year! I know it's a little late for that but we hope you all have been enjoying 2009 so far! :) The year for us started off quickly with prepping for weddings. This Sunday we spent the afternoon setting up for the wedding of Jenny and Gayani at Casa Del Mar, a hotel overlooking the Santa Monica beach. It was great being on the beachside on a hot, winter day!

Jenny was one of the most chill brides that I've ever met. She was so easy going and relaxed during the planning process, and that definitely reflected on how she looked on her wedding day. I had a sideline view of Gayani seeing her for the first time in her dress. I think that's the best moment in a wedding!

Here's the happy couple:

All star team of the day:
Stacy Porras (wedding consulting) : she's warm, attentive, and she gets things done and solved. There's something about her (maybe the fact that she towers over me, even in flats) that makes you feel like if she's on your side, you're on the right side! :) But in all seriousness, she's awesome!

Jack Hou (lighting) : Jack did a great job in the room. Jenny and Gayani went for a cool blue color scheme, in keeping with an elegant beach feel. And this is how Jack pumped it up:
There were gobos, pin spots, and wall washing galore! We appreciate Jack because he is so excited about what he does...and that's always refreshing to see.

Linda Lewis (photography): we didn't get a chance to chat much with Linda, as is the case with most photographers. They're doing their job snapping shots of the couple, and us florists are frantically setting up behind the scenes. As you can see though, her pictures speak for her talent and she definitely captured moments of the day.

I was only given a limited set of pics, so I'll post more as they come. The centerpieces were simple manzanita branches with cymbidium orchids, planted in fabric wrapped boxes. Jenny's color scheme was espresso brown, light blue, and accents of green. Here's a horrible picture of the centerpiece from my trust blackberry:

Although we were working, it was a great way to end the weekend. Congratulations to Jenny and Gayani!

On a side note, I have some great news to share. I'm blogging this piece of news on behalf of Kendra (as she's out for the month). Kendra has a new addition to her family - a cute bundle of joy by the name of Grayson. She delivered right before the new year! I know many of you have come in for consults and have seen her belly...so the next time you see her, you won't be in shock. :) Congrats too to the Ackerman Unit!

On Newsstands Now!

2008-12-17T12:01:00.000-08:00

A few months ago, were excited to find out that a wedding we had done in September '07 was chosen to be a featured wedding in The Knot Magazine.

(previous season's cover)

It's on newsstands now - buy a magazine, or browse to page 60 (Charlize & William). You might recognize the wedding from our St. Regis website gallery.

Charlize definitely had a vision and an eye for detail (and no wonder - she's a professional photographer and photo editor for a fashion & lifestyle magazine) but she allowed us to do what we do as designers.

Our collaboration was not just fun but also valuable. We were definitely challenged with rigging the structure to hang capiz shells and crystals (I've never been on a 20ft ladder til that day). Traipsing to Dana Point in the wee hours of the morning meant careful planning and logistics. And when it was all over, we were able to sigh with relief that we helped celebrate their story with style. Go see for yourself! :)

2008-12-04T00:39:00.000-08:00

As December is here and our wedding season coming to an end (for now), we finally have a chance to take a few moments to reflect on the year and think of ways to better ourselves as people and as a business (something we should do everyday). We're definitely getting our gears going as to what we'll do next year, how our website is (finally) going to be done, and how we're going to use flowers in a different light. We hope you stay tuned to see more of our projects! :)

*our arrangement for the day

Since we've had a some down time, we've also had the chance to get together with some truly talented vendors at a luncheon hosted by Picture Perfect Events at La Mill Coffee. We met Loyd from Red 5 Studios, an innovative wedding cinematographer. There were also a handful of amazing/fantastic/awesome/badass photographers, such as Steven Lam and his wife Carmen, Scott Robert Lim, Francine Yang, Victor Sizemore, and Ja Tecson. If i were to get married, I'd have a hard time picking between all of these photographers. Their work speaks for itself! On hand were also two creative letterpress designers, Mable from Lala Press and Tianyi from Tiselle. We have a secret adoration for letterpress (and i've gone link crazy).

Meeting people in our field as well as talking to creative minds always inspires us to work that much harder. It's a good feeling going into the next year!

Here's a random shot of my food at La Mill. Ja has much better pictures on his blog.

Because we're not the greatest at blogging, this is probably our last post for the year. We hope you have a great season celebrating life with your family! See you in 2009!

Unnecessary Projects 101: Pinecone Flowers

2008-11-19T16:41:00.000-08:00

Admit it! We all love Martha! I picked up the latest edition of Martha Stewart's Holiday issue the other day and found an interesting project using pinecones. Pinecone Flowers! We have a ton of pinecones laying around our studio from the last holiday season, so I thought I'd give the project a whirl. I carefully followed the instructions listed below (opting for the hot glue gun instead of the tacky glue) and with a little bit of patience this was my result.

{forgive the poor photography...photo was taken with my blackberry}

Here are some suggestions on how to incorporate these cute little blossoms in your wedding

1. They instantaneously spice up a nicely wrapped gift or favor box.
2. They make great hair flowers, corsages, and wristlets for the organic bride.
3: Add wonderful shape and texture to floral arrangements.
4: Can embellish place cards, invitations, table settings, ring bearer pillows, flower girl baskets, table numbers, candle holders, cake toppers....oh the possibilities are endless!

Here are Martha's How-to intructions below:

With floral clippers, remove the pincone's base. Starting at the cone's bottom, slip one blade of the clippers behind a scale; snip it off. Continue, working upward until all scales have been removed and only the stem remains. Fill a small bowl with scales. For the work surface, you'll need a cardboard box (at least 4 inches square) with a hinged lid. Snip 4 inches of floral wire; form a small hook on one end. From card stock, cut a disk a bit larger than the desired size of the bloom's center. Secure disk to box top by poking wire through both, letting hook rest in the center so the wire won't fall through. Using tacky glue, affix scales in a flower shape to disk; the hook will become covered with glue. For a fuller blossom, add another layer inside the first, using smaller scales, adding up to five layers for larger blooms. Use tacky glue to attach one or more cloves or tiny plant parts in the center; let dry, and remove bloom from box

Happy Holidays!

-Kendra

St. Regis Monarch

2008-11-10T12:22:00.000-08:00

Christine and Austin got married underneath the main lawn pavilion at the St. Regis Monarch hotel on a cool September morning. We love the endless possibilities that the structure provides and Christine and Austin were open to our ideas.

Here was our initial idea of rigging a chandelier with panels of chiffon:
And here it is in fruition:

We were able to find some pretty cool chandelier options from Rrivre Works, one of the coolest prop places that I've visited. It was like a candy store seeing all of their wonderful backdrops, settings, furniture, etc. Since the morning started off gloomy, the lit chandelier really created a romantic ambiance for the ceremony.

Christine's color palette was cream, white and green with accents of champagne. Here is her bridal bouquet (using roses, lisianthus, stephanotis with crystal accents, cattleya orchids for ruffly texture, and crystal swags):

The ringbearer carried a custom brown, silk dupioni pillow with orchid accent:

A reception teaser:

The cake, created in-house by St. Regis' finest:

It was an honor working this wedding with an all star cast. Melody Walker saw to every detail and was so nice to work with. And, in America's Next Top Model's words, noted fashion photographer Dennis Santirinala was the man on the scene. I really like this shot of Christine:

Theresa Huang, as usual, created some fantastic looks throughout the day. She's really versatile and flexible - go talk to her for all your hair and make up needs!

Being in Dana Point, morning weddings at St. Regis always means loading up at 4:30am, leaving Pasadena by 5:40, and getting there around 6:45 or so. It's not such a bad drive when you get used to it. Nothing that coffee can't cure!

More to post soon!

Great Bridal Expo

2008-11-03T12:05:00.000-08:00

We just wanted to thank everyone who stopped by our booth at the Great Bridal Expo last Saturday. We always like meeting brides and hearing about their vision for one of the biggest days of their lives. It also gives us a chance to hear from real people about their likes and dislikes, and what trends are picking up. Overall, we just like going somewhere and presenting flowers in a different way.

For this show, we displayed different color combinations to help brides decide on color schemes. We made different bouquets with distinct personalities and added our signature "frills and flourishes" to the stem. Whether it was a brooch or a pleated ribbon, we wanted to incorporate character to each bouquet. Each bride is different and the details should really show that. For our booth we used a partition to display the bouquets. We found this particular partition at a consignment store and stripped it of it's hardware (hopefully it wasn't an antique piece!). We then primed and painted it and secured pegboard to the back. To the center we affixed an antique mirror and added clean hardware to hang different accessories. Here are our results:

(picture courtesy of joshua yeh : jcy3@inside.artcenter.edu)

We can't complain about the perks of attending wedding shows. Cake studio was there and allowed us to sample (multiple times) their cakes. And what better than a chocolate chip cookie from the Westin Hotel. :)

I'd also like to announce the winner of our raffle - a free bridal bouquet worth up to $165. The winner is Meredith Moyer. We will be contacting you with more details!

And don't forget, for the brides who took pictures with our bouquets, we will be uploading snapshots in the next few days for you to download. Thanks for having fun at our booth! We hope to meet with you soon.

Villa del Sol d'Oro

2008-10-13T09:00:00.000-07:00

One of our weddings this past summer took place at the Villa del Sol d'Oro. The Villa is a replica of the Villa Collazzi in Florence, but on a much smaller scale. Check out the link to read more about the history of the Alverno Villa. When you step on the grounds its hard not to imagine the rich history.

Diana and Grant, our featured wedding couple, were married outdoors at the Villa overlooking the sunken garden and lily pool. The Italian Cypress trees framed the ceremony and they were fortunate to have a nice breeze on the warm August day.

The color scheme for this wedding was pool blue and red. We threw in hints of pink as well, to keep the look from being patriotic. The fans were given to each guest to keep themselves cool during the ceremony.

(picture courtesy of Kim Fox Photography)

The bridal bouquet consisted of garden roses, tuberose, mokara orchids, fiddlehead fern, spray roses, dusty miller, and peonies. It was the last of the full bloomed peony season, so we lucked out.

(picture courtesy of Kim Fox Photography)

We used a wooden arch to create the backdrop and kept it light and airy with ribbons and crystals. It was a buddhist ceremony, which featured trays of fruit on the table as well as candles which are traditionally lit by the bride and groom's fathers.

(picture courtesy of Kim Fox Photography)

We're going to be posting more pictures when we do our website revamp so I don't want to spoil it with too many pictures. But check back again soon to read about our next featured wedding. :)

Bridal Show!

2008-10-08T17:18:00.001-07:00

Come check us out on November 1st at the Great Bridal Expo. We'll be exhibiting at the Sheraton Gateway Hotel near LAX. Show starts at noon and we'll be showcasing some of our floral work. Even if you're not getting married, come and visit! The benefits of doing a show not only allows us to talk with brides but it also enables us to meet fellow vendors. And of course, sample food and cake!

*here we are at the Cerritos Performing Arts Center, hosted by Patina. We went with a yellow, green, and white theme with black accents. Black...is the new black. Say goodbye to brown. :(

We're also excited to be a part of Festival of Brides, which will be on Sunday, February 8, 2009. The Langham Hotel in Pasadena will host this affair and will feature Mindy Weiss, Mary Dann, and Tobey Dodge. They're the celebrities of the wedding world. :)

More info to come but we'd love to see you there!

We Suck at Blogging

2008-10-06T23:07:00.000-07:00

It's been awhile since we last updated you on our floral adventures. The truth is, we get so caught up with work that free time is for our loved ones. BUT that doesn't mean we haven't been working on some pretty cool weddings in the last few months. We also never have time to take shots of our flowers, so we rely on the trusty photographers. Here are a few samplings:

a bouquet of peonies, vendela roses, tuberose, and pearl accents (picture courtesty of Sae Lee Photography)

A fabric wrapped box with lace accents, filled with 'vendela', 'sweet akito', 'leonidas', and 'crazy one' roses. Accented with white majolika spray roses, dusty miller, and amaryllis. (the 'crazy one' roses are the bicolored, swirled roses - pretty cool) picture courtesty of Sae Lee Photography

This was at the Orange County Museum of Art. We had a blank canvas to start with, so we went for a fresh, organic look - preserved moss runners, orchids, limes, rocks, and branches (picture courtesy of John Partridge Photography)Instead of a floral bouquet, we folded ti leaves and used spider mums as the centers to these "flowers" that adorned the chairs on the aisle. (picture courtesy of John Partridge Photography)

a bouquet of green hydrangea, stephanotis, berzillia, ranunculus, cymbidium orchids, and fiddlehead fern. (picture courtesy of John Partridge Photography)

We will try to keep you updated! If not, write us as fleuretica.designs@gmail.com and tell us that our blog sucks. Nothing will influence us more to keep it up!

Unnecessary Projects 101: Frosting Grapes

2008-06-23T21:18:00.000-07:00

I love google. At the tip of my fingers, I have the goods on anything I’m searching for. When we decided to frost artificial grapes for a wedding we recently designed however, I couldn’t find any helpful tips. Even my most trusted friend, Martha, deserted me in my darkest hour. So we took matters in our own (frugal) hands and frosted grapes experimentally. Of course, we could have purchased pre-frosted artificial grapes, but what fun is that?

The grape motif came about after meeting with Nirbhika and Dinesh, a couple who wanted a Midsummer Night’s Dream wedding combined with a vineyard theme (more to blog later). Dinesh’s family owns and operates a winery, so grapes were obviously a natural accent.

Enter the grapes. Sometimes Kendra gives me strange looks when I decide that I want to do a project. I wouldn’t say it’s a look of scorn…well, maybe it is. It’s like trepidation with hints of doubt. Then I cajole her into riding the bandwagon and we’re convinced we can do it!

Ex. 1: Notice the perfection of frost? That’s because we purchased those from Stats…in the case our experiment didn’t work. We purchased these because we figured artificial grapes would last a whole lot longer in the June heat. Meet Model Grape.

Ex. 2: This was the first sample we created. Armed with a bevy of items, we first watered down some beige paint and bathed the grape in it only to find it to be too milky. Then we sprayed some “Pearly Dew” on it. With a name like Pearly Dew, you’d expect it to have a soft finish and glaze. Instead, we got a metallic, silvery finish. Punks! So to take it down a notch, I looked around the room to find that one thing to give it that dusty, just picked from the vine look. So I rolled it in some plaster. You know…like flour. You’ll notice it got clumpy. The only time I've ever seen a clumpy grape was at the bottom of my fruit drawer in my fridge.

Ex. 3: Sitting around and looking at Model Grape, I noticed that they were grapes of the red variety, and the “frost” I rubbed off of it had a pinkish red cast to it. Though we usually connect frost with a white color, it was really too bright to give it that filmy finish. I wondered if we used a light blue color on our sample grape (which was of a blue/purple variety) if that would work. I hunted around our studio and found some "Wedgewood Blue" spray paint (the kind florists use to tweak colors of flowers). So we found that our techniques may have been right, but we were using the wrong kinds of color.

We ended up watering down the beige paint concoction to give it a filmy, translucent finish when it dried. Then we lightly sprayed on the blue paint. Before it dried, we rubbed off some of the paint to blend it a bit. Maybe it wasn’t exactly the same as our sample, but nobody else could tell...right?

So this could be really obvious to some people, but by trial and error we’ve learned something new. If you want to frost an apple, use a pink spray, pears a white/sage green spray...plums a lavender or bluish spray, and so forth. So if you’ve googled “frosting grapes” or “how to frost artifical grapes” or “frosted grapes” or “frosting a grape but not for cakes” or any of the combination aforementioned, we hope this helped you solve your project dilemna.

Hotel Bel Air

2008-05-24T13:37:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago we had the pleasure of designing a wedding for Barbara and Greg at the Hotel Bel Air. We met Barbara about a year ago through Sae Lee Photography. Barbara's vision was something fun, bright, and modern. Her bridesmaids’ dresses were jubilant tones of hot pink and orange and thus created her color theme throughout, punched up with an accent of green.

- looks can be deceiving...but this is the calm before the storm

- Loading up the cargo van (it began as a dark and gloomy morning)

- Setting up the gazebo (and the sun finally came out!)

- Threading a 25ft long orchid garland for the gazebo columns

- Mission Accomplished

- We wanted to do a floral monogram and used the design from Barbara’s invites as our inspiration. I’m glad Barbara gave us so much creative leeway – this was probably the most fun project of this wedding. We use hot pink ‘Ravel’ roses on the edge, hot pink carnations in the center, and white button mums for lettering. We finished off the whole effect with a burnt orange, diamond pleated fabric that we found in the fabric district.

- Originally, the idea was to do three different types of centerpieces on the tables (as you may have seen on one of our mock up galleries) but Barbara ended up choosing two – I’m glad she did!

- Wish we could have stayed for this!

- After an intermission at In-N-Out, we headed back to the shop (better known as HQ) and prepared for Mother’s Day. That was an adventure in itself.

p.s. thanks Barbara for being so cool!
p.p.s. thanks Jessica for taking these pictures…and letting us drag you around that day! :)

Great Bridal Expo Raffle Winner - Announcement

2008-05-05T18:46:00.000-07:00

The Great Bridal Expo

2008-05-05T16:53:00.000-07:00

Where can you find a couple hundred excited brides all under one roof? The Great Bridal Expo! What a crazy weekend! Fleuretica was at the Great Bridal Expo held at the Westin Bonaventure in downtown Los Angeles. We spent a few days preparing for the event, trying to come up with interesting design concepts to present at our booth. In the end I think we choose a great color scheme as well as some cool designs that represent what Fleuretica is all about! Fresh, unique, feminine, and fun! It got a little hectic in our studio the night before as we literally taped off an 8x10 foot area in our front consulatation area to do a mock-up of our booth. Talk about tight squeeze!

Luckily our craziness paid off and our booth was a great hit! Here are a couple of pictures we snapped before the madness began!

Our carnation cake!

The frills...

and the flourishes...

Hallo!

2008-02-27T17:31:00.000-08:00

Welcome to our blog! There are so many blogs out there that we'll probably just be a conglomerate of what you read everyday...so we'll try our best to make it exciting and interesting. We are planning on having some interesting features on this page that center around flowers, weddings and planning, and our day to day lives as floral designers (yeah, i know i said interesting). In all our eagerness, we hope to post about real proposals, have a floral challenge of the month (for all you moonlighting designers), and have pictures of interesting things that can be useful in your hunt of cool wedding stuff. Please note that some images may be better than others as I can't take pictures for beans. Thanks for understanding.

Euri

2008-02-26T16:08:00.000-08:00

happy valentines day