Mayesh National Floral Design Contest 2012

Join Mayesh in their 2nd Annual National Floral Design contest by voting for your favorite design!  If you've been following us on Facebook and Twitter, you may recall some of the designs I submitted to promote this event with Mayesh.  Here is the design sample I produced a month back from the "exotic box". 

And you can view Mayesh's blog post here.

Designers across the nation submitted their floral art and here are the 15 finalists!  My favorite is the one by Dustin Guidry of Encore Creative in Chandles, AZ.  I love the fluid line movements created with the mini callas and greenery!!  

Best of luck to all the designers! Click here to vote!

Yours truly,

Joanna

New Year's Resolution: Tackling Cake

BAKING and I don't get along.  And I don't get along with its sister: DECORATING baked goodies.  I'm not sure what it is.  I could eat an entire batch of cookies or cupcakes without blinking. But something about the process to create them doesn't mesh well with me and I usually end up with a flat cake. Thank God for Betty Crocker and Duncan Hines because I would be lost without them.  And sure, I design all the time.  But making edible sweets look pretty is a completely different story than making a pretty flower arrangement!  My self control loses and I usually eat it before the frosting comes out to play. 

So, I have decided that 2012 will be the year that I will tackle cake. I plan to bake one and decorate one with all the fanciness a cake deserves. My inspiration? One of my favorite cake designers - Lindsey Sinatra of A Wish and A Whisk Cakes.  Her work is phenomenal!  I've had the pleasure to work with her on a few photoshoots and weddings. Remember that Chanel-inspired photoshoot I designed a while back?  To refresh your memory, this is the cake she made for that shoot:

This is photo of a cake she snapped from a wedding we worked on together:

I will tell you that this doesn't do justice to her amazing work!  Check out her awesomeness on Facebook here. 

I don't plan on making one as elaborate as Lindsey's cakes.  Its obvious her work is WAY beyond my baking/fondant skill level. But I would be happy if I could bake a tasty, simple cake and decorate it well. We shall see.  Wish me luck!

And if my New Year's Resolution doesn't work out for me....well, I just might literally tackle that cake.

Cheers to you and your New Year's Resolutions!

Yours Truly,

Joanna

The Best Christmas Tree Ever

Happy Holidays!!

This is certainly one of my favorite days of the year!  But it wasn't until I had children that I really cared about creating traditions....and ensuring that the base of the tree was packed with presents.  One of the assumptions that I get frequently around this time of year?  "Your Christmas tree must be stunning with gorgeous ornaments and ribboning!" Yes, I do get to decorate plenty of Christmas trees with lots of frill....for our clients.  However, in my house, the family Christmas tree is one of those places that I give complete reign to my kids. 

We make our own popcorn garlands and the garlands are never wrapped around the tree they way they are "supposed" to be. There are usually more candy canes hung on one side of the tree than the other side.  The ornaments tend to make their way to the floor and to different rooms in the house.  The tree is usually crooked.  Sometimes, I find random toys tucked into the tree.

And I LOVE it!  The tree gets to be a true representation of my kids and they get to call it their own.  So, if you ask me, I have the best Christmas tree ever!  And I get it every year!

Best wishes to you and yours this holiday season!

Yours truly,

Joanna 

Dancing Queen

I'll admit that I got caught red-handed a few days ago...totally dancing to the beat of my own music.  Completely free with no reservations, I danced my little heart out.  Until...I found myself face to face with my friendly neighbors staring at me through my wide-open window.  Everything stood still for a moment in time while I stared back at them like a deer in headlights.  My saving grace?  My two little children who stopped dancing only because I had.  "Mommy, come on!  Keep dancing!"

Since when did we decide that someone else's opinion of our free-spirit hinder us to express ourselves?  My boys completely skipped that momentary beat of judgment and checked me back into the dancing world.  I swear, I love my little teachers.  

Although I serve the wedding industry as a designer, I find myself in a counseling role for my brides all the time. A frequent concern?  The RIGHT way to do things, etiquette, structure, gifts, etc.  I find that a huge source of stress lies in what should/shouldn't be done for their own wedding. But who said that we HAD to follow the rules of what someone deemed as "tradition"?  If a wedding is about a union of love between two people, why can't the event completely reflect the couple?  

Remember the JK Wedding Entrance Dance video on You Tube?  If you need a refresher, just click here.  

This makes me smile every single time!  This couple truly embraced a celebration of their marriage that reflected them, throwing the "rules" out the window.  To date, this video has had over 70 million views in addition to parodies featured on TV shows (The Office being one of them) and countless other couples following suit for their own wedding. 

(Photo courtesy of google images)

I'm not sure that they expected such a response but I commend that they took complete freedom to dance to the beat of their own tune.  

The lesson?  Depends on how you take this post.  As for me, I think I'll keep dancing with the windows wide-open like nobody is watching.

Cheers to the beat of your own music!

Yours truly,

Joanna

PS - Have any great ideas on how you make your wedding a reflection of you?  Let's hear it! Send me an email or leave a message below!

Barbie and Ken Get Married

I came across this awesome photoshoot by Beatrice De Guigne of Barbie and Ken's wedding. 

Yeah....pretty damn amazing! I've seen many wedding photos and I take particular interest in the detail shots.  Beatrice took no shortcuts to photographing this wedding! View the rest of her photos here on her blog.

Thanks for rocking my Barbie world!

Yours truly,

Joanna

Ecofficiency.org at Doheny Days

Come join Ecofficiency.org at Doheny Days this weekend.  We are greening it up!

 

Check out the Doheny Days Facebook page for more info on attending.  Hope to see you there!

Yours truly,

Joanna

Mayesh's Inagural National Floral Design Contest

Mayesh, the world's largest wholesale floral supplier, hosted their first national design contest yesterday at each of their locations. With over 200 designers across the USA, each location voted yesterday for the favorite local design. Designers were given a box of pre-selected flowers and were challenged to create their interpretation and vision of Valentine's Day. So naturally, I entered and here's what I came up with.

I named this one "Shut Up and Kiss Me". Appropriate? And moving along the lines of sustainability, I wanted to decorate with as many organic materials as possible. The ribboning is actually created with black ti leaves. The only non-compostable ingredient was floral foam. Yeah, I know...damn that foam.

I'm not sure who won at our Santa Ana location. But the local winner will then go on to compete on a national level via online voting. Kinda fun, eh?

Thanks for stopping by!

Designing with Succulents

I just want everyone to know: I 'heart' succulents.

Yeah, I know, they are super trendy right now. But, what can I say, I am a sucker for trends.

But the funny thing is, this particular design of succulents has been sitting here for many years. Can you guess where this is?





All of the Southern California residents have probably already figured it out by now. Its Disneyland! Right at the heart of the Storybook Land Boat ride lies this beautiful quilt of mini varieties of so many beautiful succulents. Love, love, love!!!

FYI, I also 'heart' living on Southern California. Its okay to be jealous. I understand.

Part 2: A Night at Bella Collina in San Clemente, CA with Jay's Catering

It's 5:30 PM on Wednesday night and it's showtime at Bella Collina, one of the newest venues in Orange County located in the heart of San Clemente, CA! The guests that filtered in were event industry professionals from all over the OC. And we love a great party!

Welcome to a night at Bella Collina with Jay's Catering.


Jay's catering served a scrumptious Bruschetta Bar which was decorated by French Buckets:




I was very excited to see this eco-detail. Thank you Jay's for using sustainable products like these 100% compostable plates and forks!


Fusions Linens provided all the linens for the evening. Lace overlays with satin tablecloths underneath create a beautiful combination.


Here are some snaps of floral arrangements by French Buckets:




Bella Collina's ceremony area is landscaped right onto their property with a magnificent view as the backdrop. The detail of the aisle and each of its rows are stunning.


The circular altar area provides the perfect platform for any ceremony. Here's the Chuppah decor that you saw Sussanna designing in the previous post. It takes your breath away, doesn't it? Great job Sussanna!


Fusion Linen provided these chairs and chair covers. I am a huge fan of chair covers because they add an element of elegance to the ceremony.


Reception floral decor by Elegant by Design with linen/chairs provided by Fusion:


You might notice that each guest table has a different lace overlay. I love details like this!


All catering was provided by Jay's. And of course, the food was delicious! They also served a signature lemon martini for the night which was highly favored by the guests of the evening.




And you know I can't leave an event without showing off the dessert table.








Thank you to Mary Lallande from Jay's Catering for coordinating a beautiful evening!

For a gallery of professional shots of the evening, go to Bobby Brown Photography. His photos are SO beautiful. And he has a comprehensive list of the sponsoring vendors at the end of his post.

Thanks for stopping by!

Sell Your Wedding Dress or Bridesmaid Dress through The Wedding Pantry

Hey ladies! The Wedding Pantry in Tustin, CA is providing an awesome opportunity for you to sell that wedding dress or bridesmaid dress that's been hanging in your closet and you just don't know what to do with. Here's the link with all the details. Just be sure to bring it in to The Wedding Pantry on Saturday September 25, 2010 and/or Sunday September 26, 2010. And they will take care of the rest!

Do It Yourself Party Decorations with Tissue Paper

As promised, I will be starting a Do It Yourself label for anyone interested in DIY projects for your own events in which you don't want to hire in a designer. You might remember a while back in which we dec'd out a boy's birthday party with Cookie Monster fabulousness. The most sought out DIY request was the tissue ball so here it is for you. Keep in mind that you can do any size version of these playful tissue balls. The sample I have for you today is a mini version which can be wired onto anything you want to spice up. If you want to make them bigger, just use larger sheets of tissue paper and a pretty ribbon as the tie to hang.

1: Take any color wrapping tissue paper.


2: Cut into short rectangular pieces and stack. Depending on the desired density, go with 5 to 8 sheets of tissue paper. And the reason we need short rectangles instead of squares is because the length will be shortened by the f0lding and fluffing (you'll see what I'm talking about). This way, you'll get a round ball instead of a football shape.


3: Fold the stack in an accordion-like manner.



4: Fold the accordion in half.


5: Twist a wire at the center fold.


6: Pull apart the ends of the tissue paper and fluff along the way.


7: And viola! The perfect little pouf.


Wire it onto anything you want to decorate. Here's the branch we decorated for the Cookie Monster birthday party.


More DIY posts to come! Happy decorating!

Dior Couture's Floral Inspiration

A friend of mine passed this information along to me and I couldn't help but share this gorgeous Christian Dior couture line by John Galliano inspired by flowers.

Black Magic Rose:


Blue Delphinium:


Bluebell:


Gerber Daisy:


Green Anthurium:


Hydrangeas:


Iris:


Marigold:


Just breathtaking!

In case anyone wants to buy me an early Christmas present, I like the Black Magic Rose, Green Anthurium and Marigold dresses the best.

All images from www.fashionista.com.

Camera Tricks with D. Park Photography

I'll admit. We were bored. So what happens when you have a bored designer and 2 bored photographers with a camera and a flashlight? This:








Yeah, you'll have to contact D. Park Photography about the camera setting and photography lingo if you wanna do this yourself. I got nothing for ya but some fun pictures.