This was such a beautiful wedding starring our lovely bride Kim. With long tables, a touch of burlap, wood elements and of course mason jars, she managed to make Darlington House just a little bit brighter. Adding to the enchanting scents of blossoms and branches was the amazing Coast Catering with their unbelievable delights served family style. Thank you again to the team at Classic Party Rentals and of course Emilie and Lisa at the Darlington House.

Enjoy!

Her beautifully scented bouquet!

A few pods for her groom.

Rows of mason jars.

Close up.

Love the gift escort cards!

And the table numbers.

Love the touch of apple blossom.

Variegated ranunculus!

Chocolate cosmos on a chocolate cake, love it!

Stunning cake by Twiggs.

What a stunning wedding. From the lovely settings of USD’s Immaculata to Estancia’s La Jolla Ballroom, this wedding started off with stunning beauty, which was only enhanced by our gorgeous couple and their wonderful team. Enter Susanne of Crown Weddings, with all of her style and elegance. She put together an amazing look including luxurious linens by La Tavola, stylish rentals and dance floor by Chiavari Chair Rentals, a knock out band by Wayne Foster Entertainment and exquisite florals smothered with orchids, anemones and garden roses. The enchanted evening ended sweetly with an over the top cake by Michel Coulon Dessertier and there to capture it all was the amazing Joshua  of Joshua Aull Photography. Here are his amazing images along with a few of our own.

Our first glimpse of the beautiful couple, photo by Joshua Aull Photography

Loved her bouquet, photo by Joshua Aull Photography.

A little love for him, photo by Joshua Aull Photography.

The stunning Immaculata, photo by Joshua Aull Photography.

In a sea of orchids, photo by Joshua Aull Photography.

Sheldon, their custom tree, makes his debut.

Detail of trunk and base.

Moss flows out towards the cards.

Phaleanopsis orchids grown from his branches.

Since the bride’s father was a jockey, the tables were named after race horses.

Cocktail florals.

Dripping phaleanopsis orchids, photo by Joshua Aull Photography.

Goblets emerging from the low centerpieces.

Tilted manzanita centerpieces.

Detail of crystals on branch, photo by Joshua Aull Photography.

Detail of phaleanopsis orchids, photo by Joshua Aull Photography.

Sweetheart table, photo by Joshua Aull Photography.

A well decked cake, photo by Joshua Aull Photography.

A custom cake stand.

We love the sound of that!! Especially when it’s on the amazing Bride Suite Blog! Click here or on the picture to check out this month’s installment of Sharon’s blog feature on Exquisite Wedding’s premier wedding blog! This month, Sharon covers some issues regarding seasonal availability and cost saving substitutions. Look for this and other monthly installments to learn more about all things wedding florals!

Last week we had the unbelievable honor of producing the florals for Estancia’s Reintroduction Party. To celebrate the purchase of the property by PHG, Estancia threw a blow out party, with a guest list quickly moving from 400 to 650 guests!! Needless to say we are so excited to have been a part of this very special night along with Concepts Event Design and Trinitas Winery!

A sneak peek during the production week.

One of the three gardens guests had to mingle.

Delicate vignettes.

Estancia La Jolla in moss of course!

Another set garden.

The fireplace at mustangs.

Grapewood, suspended bowls and bricks, oh my!

M&B feasting table!

A fun eclectic mix.

Another angle.

Detail shot.

Love this ranunculus!

…and our amber vase.

Mimosa blooms dance in the background.

The sliders station and wine tasting.

Cocktail table arrangement.

A floral scene with wine bottles pouring red orchids.

And, of course, a gobo to light the night as theirs. It absolutely was.

I love this wedding, partly because I just love this family! About three years ago I first met this wonderful family when we were hired to produce the florals for Melissa’s sister, Tara. She, and her mom, were such an absolute pleasure, and I’ll never forget her sister Melissa’s heartfelt words when seeing the ballroom before the bride “It’s so beautiful, Tara’s going to be so happy!”. How can anyone not be overjoyed to have the opportunity to do the same for such an amazing sister??

Here are some of our fun pics from Melissa and Kerry’s big day, can’t wait to see the professional ones by Carrie McCluskey! Special thanks to Victoria of Theory Weddings and Events, Concepts Event Design, Culinary Concepts, Culy Warehouse and our outstanding team that made this wedding just right for them, and for me.

Melissa’s bouquet.

Bride’s maid’s bouquet.

Ring bearer box.

Escort card table.

Cocktails, peonies in January.

Room shot.

Elevated centerpieces.

Vignette centerpiece.

Menus by Theory.

The head table awaiting the bouquets.

Cakes!

A custom guestbook table made of our tilted manzanitas!

Notes were written to the couple…

…and placed in special globes for them to find.

Detail shot.

Looking through.

Peaking down.

Overall and good night.

Recently I purchased my daughter a play register, she loves collecting our change to put in her register. She started to go through some of my old purses to add to her collection (her purse and change collections) and in the process has shown me two things. She started churning up my old business cards which she puts in her register too and every time she hands me one she put it in my hand along with a quarter. One, I thought that was an interesting network tactic to consider for future networking. Two, she started handing me what soon became the evolution of my years of business card creation which I had totally forgotten about. Each one of them has a story behind it, something I thought would be fun to share.

Enjoy!

Sharon

Oh, and here is my first. This was made at a Kinkos on La Brea Blvd in Los Angeles the night before my first wedding in December of 2000. I didn’t fully launch the business till 2005 but I had been working under the name since 2000. The wedding went great and the evolution of cards took off.

This was the next card, made in 2003 after doing my friend’s wedding. This was the year that I realized that perhaps listing the address which I shared with my three roommates (with the one car garage I started the business out of) was, perhaps, a bad idea. Through trial and error I had figured out the right size for a business card as a file (I’m sure there were programs for that but recipes are not my thing) so I managed, with what now seems like all the time in the world, to create pages of these which I printed out and then hand cut. This card was the first, and last, of this home made version.

Number three, circa 2005 or so, the first one created online using an actual program. I hated that the corners weren’t rounded but it was such an improvement from the last ones that I quickly let that go. I finally matched the website, that alone kept me happy for years.

The current card, I finally got my rounded corners. I loved the matte finish and the subdued espresso, overall the card works. It’s come time for a changes, I’m in the process of figuring out what that is, but looking back at cards or years past, I think I’m doing alright.

One of my absolute favorite things about going to Europe, besides the food of course, is the absolute unleashed beauty of architecture and design. Everywhere you look you can find echos of history, some make you think, some make you cry, but they all affect you. One of the highlights of my trip was a trip to the Virta Museum in Weil, Germany. A small city with a huge gem, an exhibit of design by such artists and Rudolph Steiner housed in a Frank Gehry building, needless to say I fell in love! Here is a link to the exhibit to catch a gimps, and maybe a flight, of these amazing displays!!

Enjoy!

Sharon

Basel, Switzerland

Color Therapy

A building at Virta

We’re so excited to present to you our new store window! These outdoor installations are what we have adopted as our living, breathing store window display. This representation of “Outdoor Living” encompasses everything from draught tollerent and native plants to a vintage laundry facility to a getting ready area to a place to “brunch”. Soon to be installed are framed lariat terrariums from the macadamia nut tree. As the largest installation of it’s class, this has become our feature presentation in the “Life After People” design series.

Enjoy!!

Welcome.

A place to get ready.

Mason jars taken over by succulents.

Mirror details.

Living section.

Along with a Tiffany Trunk.

Time for brunch.

A place to rest your feet.

… and take it in

…set near our locks and tools

Laundry basin and washboard.

Clipped on succulents.

Succulents overflow.

One last look.

No room for milk.

But a place I’d call home.

The holidays are just so much fun, especially when you get to do something that’s different and oh so sweet! Here is a little shoot that we did with a group of girls! It’s styled by Jen of Jen Likes and shot by Suzanne of SheWanders! Check out the album on our Facebook Page or by clicking on the picture below. Enjoy!

I love this wedding!! This amazingly fun couple, Maya and Adam, decided to have a super cool steampunk wedding at the always lovely Loggia Room at The Prado. They collected really cool gears for us to use throughout the wedding, the same ones they used on their escort cards, guestbook and more!! Special thanks to the always wonderful Suzanne of BB Weddings, Concepts Event Design and the always fantastic staff at The Prado. Here are some fun elements that helped their day be so unique!!

Fun bouquet with textural elements!

Corset wrap with da Vinci buttons and Moulin Rouge trim

A lush vine decked arch with embedded dahlia blooms “growing”.

Neat lantern accents.

Neat escort card table.

Succulent, grain and gear fun!

Neat gears on the escort cards.

Guestbook set up with gears!

“Pouring” centerpiece with tilted “mad scientist” stacked vases, with, of course, gears.

Love this cake topper!

Love this cake! Shot by Helene Cornell.