Hello!

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!

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

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

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

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

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!

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)!