Disney Princess Floral Interpretations by Floral Sense

What little girl doesn't want a princess themed birthday party? One princess is usually enough.  But our lucky birthday girl had FIVE princesses to grace her special day!  Linda Ly, lead coordinator of Grand Soirees, called me up with a challenge to create floral interpretations of Cinderella, Mulan, Belle (Beauty and the Beast), Ariel (The Little Mermaid) and Jasmine (Aladdin). The colors I needed to stick to were white, pinks and slivers.  So here is what I came up with!  Let's see if you can match the floral arrangement to the appropriate princess!  Good luck!

Yours Truly,

Joanna

A Taste of Fall - Launch Party for The Positive Plate on 11-11-11

Alright folks!!  Here is the official launch party of The Positive Plate - Orange County's newest, hottest restaurant sustainability program spearheaded by Jesse Baker PhD of Ecofficiency!  We have an amazing line up of food from some of OC's best "green" restaurants in addition to stellar music (including Common Kings, Jacob Luttrell and American Idol's Michael Castro)!  It's all happening this Friday on 11-11-11 at an incredibly unique and fitting venue - The OC Food Bank in Irvine, CA.  Tickets are still available but they are going fast!  You can purchase them here for $60 a pop.  Each ticket includes unlimited food and drinks.

 

Sending a special THANK YOU to our restaurant and beverage sponsors.  AND, we are lucky enough to have Paul Schafer of PS Photo Media as our sponsoring photographer along with Fusion Linens as our linen donor.  Of course, Floral Sense will be there with sustainably designed arrangements decking out the event!  There WILL be a give-away of some arrangements too.  

Can't wait to see you there!!

Yours Truly,

Joanna

Press: Summer Soiree Yacht Party in Riviera Magazine

Yep, we have another event that requires some memory jogging!  The Summer Soiree Fashion Show/Yacht Party in which we sponsored the florals made it into Riviera Magazine!  Loving the spread!

 

I definitely have to hand it to Marilen Coughenour and Marisa Kenson. These ladies know how to put on a party! Thanks for everything ladies! 

Yours truly, Joanna

Press: Floral Sense Paper Flowers Featured in Hostess With The Mostess

Press is always exciting for us to get!  And it seems our past events have made a few blogs and magazines so I'll be showcasing these over the next few blog posts.  Remember the awesome Bat Mitzvah Trapeze Party thrown for Bella in NYC by Lysa Scarselli?  Well, Hostess with the Mostess loved is so much they featured it on their blog!  You can view the blog post here.

Thanks for stopping by!

Yours truly,

Joanna

Even Hungry Hungry Hippos Get Substitutions

Remember the game Hungry Hungry Hippos?  This used to be one of my favorite games as a kid so it was only fitting that I pass on the tradition to my own kids.  The only issue I ran into was the blatant choking hazard of the small white feeding marbles for the hippos' voracious appetite.  So, rather than waiting a few more years to introduce the game, I decided to substitute the little white marbles with cereal (ie. Kix).  This simple substitution works perfectly for my little men!  They get to enjoy the game and eat at the same time!

 

My point?  Yes, I do have one that pertains to the floral world. I know some of you may not want to hear this but there are times that florists will need to use botanical substitutions depending on what Mother Nature decides to offer during that season.  Keep in mind that Mrs. Nature has a mind of her own and no one can control what she will produce and how she will produce it.  For the most part, we can predict what will be in season but sometimes she likes to throw us a curve ball.  So, in the event those precious peonies are not available in exact shade you wanted, your florist should contact you to let you know what the other options are.  And if you end up hiring a GREAT designer, he/she will make your decor look just as stunning (if not better). Let's face it....its not as much about the flowers as it is the designer.  Right?

As a word of advice, I might have a few back-up options in the contract if you have specific varieties in mind for your decor.  My personal preference is to go with a general feel of your decor in seasonal flowers if possible.

Hope that this tid-bit of info helps you in your wedding decor planning!

Yours Truly,

Joanna

Wish Upon A Wedding Southern California Gala: Blissful Wishes Ball

Wish Upon a Wedding Southern California Chapter held its second annual Blissful Wishes Ball at the gorgeous Richard Nixon Library in Yorba Linda last night.  For those of you unfamiliar with WUW, it is "the world's first nonprofit wedding wish granting organization, providing weddings for terminally ill individuals." It truly is an amazing organization!  The guests of honor that evening were Douglas Wang and Lizabeth Tso who were granted a wedding by WUW at Bella Collina in San Clemente.  The wedding was absolutely stunning but even more beautiful is the unwavering love this couple shares for each other and their children.  You can read up more on Douglas and Lizabeth here.  It was pretty emotional seeing the family take the stage and pour out their gratitude to the organization for giving them a wedding they have had to push back over and over again.  They were met with a very well deserved standing ovation!

Just to give you an idea of the caliber of weddings that are granted, I snapped a few images of the gala.  Truly, no detail goes unnoticed nor unaccounted.  Keep in mind, these aren't fabulous professional images but you'll see the love in those details!

Venue: Richard Nixon Library 

Ice Sculpture: Ice Bulb

Florals: French Buckets (AMAZING florist!  Love you Sussanna!)
Linens: Designer Specialty Linens


Catering: White House Catering


Cake and Desserts: A Wish and a Whisk


And some of my favorite people!
Robert Arthur of Invisible Touch Events


Veronica Taylor of Designer Specialty Linens and Hanssie Trainor of Hanssie Trainor Photography


Desiree Patterson of Good Gracious and Lindsey Sinatra of A Wish and A Whisk


Sending a special congrats to the ladies of Utterly Engaged, Henny and Lucia, for winning your Shining Star Award!


Hope to have inspired you a bit this week!

Your truly,
Joanna

Bat Mitzvah Trapeze Party in NYC with Floral Sense Paper Flowers: Professional Photos

You may recall this amazing Bat Mitzvah Trapeze Party for Bella in NYC back in June.  (View original blog post here.) As promised, here are the professional photos of all the details.  And you know me....I LOVE me some details.

Even the aerial decor of the hanging paper lanterns was well executed!

 

Love the personal touch!

 

Mazel Tov Bella!

 

Yours Truly,

Joanna

Summer Soiree: Professional Photos

Professional photos are in from our yacht Summer Soiree event! (View the original sneak-peak blog post here.) There were so many great images that I narrowed it down to my favorites.  Enjoy!

Celebrities:

Beach Bunny Swimwear:

Macy's and Marisa Kenson Fashion:

And of course, Floral Sense florals:

 

Thank you Tony Lattimore and Alexander Avina for the photos!

Summer Soiree Hosted by Peggy Tanous of Real Housewives OC and Taylor Armstrong of Real Housewives BH

Last Thursday, Fashion Destination Group held a high fashion show aboard the Majestic yacht in Newport Harbor.  Floral Sense served as a proud sponsor to the event along with Macy's, Marisa Kenson, Examiner.com, and Casore Magazine!  The event was hosted by the fabulous Peggy Tanous of The Real Housewives of Orange County and Taylor Armstrong of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.

Here's a sneak peak of the florals from this high profile event taken with my iPhone:

Professional photos to come!

Yours truly,
Joanna

*Update*:  In light of recent tragic events surrounding Taylor Armstrong, we extend our condolences.  Our prayers are with you.

Policies, Schmolicies

There's a new rule in my house effective August 10, 2011: 

Chewing gum will not be used to decorate one's face. 

With two boys under the age of 5 in the home, you can only imagine the implications of how this policy came to pass. I can assure you it was one big sticky mess I was left to deal with. I've come to realize is that even with this new rule in place, it doesn't completely prevent the mess from happening again.  It just serves as a reminder in hopes that the mess doesn't happen again....a preventionary (yeah, I know that's not a real word but it is now) measure.

Having said that, I have occasional questions come up regarding Floral Sense policies. So here's a little Q and A of our top competing questions:

Q) How much of a deposit is required to reserve Floral Sense services for my event date?

A) A 25% non-refundable deposit of the total cost is due once an agreement is signed.  This deposit serves to reserve your date so we are committed to your event and all your decor needs surrounding your event.

Q) Why is the final balance due 45 days prior to the event?

A) We rarely purchase products for future events unless we are certain the event will be taking place.  Each event we service is so unique which affects the types of products that need to be purchased. There is no cookie cutter order log.  45 days gives us the time we need to order specifically for your event and receive these items in time for production. This is also why any changes that need to be made are done prior to the 45 day countdown, ensuring we have all the design elements cohesive to your event's look.

Q) Do I really need to sign a revised contract with each change to the decor?

A)  Yes.  The reason? We refer to the most updated version of the contract during ordering and production. Any changes need to be reviewed and approved by you so that you get everything you want for your special day. Unfortunately, if its not in writing in the most updated contract version, the change doesn't exist.  This is also why you will be contacted prior to the 45 day mark to go over the final details of your decor just to make sure everything is in its place.

So there you have it: Floral Sense policies in a nutshell. Some of our policies may change over time as we learn and grow through our experiences.  In the meantime, all of these safety nets are in place so that we don't run into sticky messes on your special day.

Cheers!

Yours truly,
Joanna

Summer Bloomin'!

Summer in Southern California is definitely a favorite of mine. The smell of sunscreen and BBQ grilling signify that school is out and the beach is in. As for us wedding folk, we get the glory of being immersed into the full swing of nuptial season. And with that come some great summer blooms for the floral decor! You may even have the pleasure of coming across these beauties in your own garden. Here are a couple of my top picks for mid-year bloomers.

Lilac


Kangaroo Paw


Cockscomb


Euphorbia


Cosmos


Dahlia


If you're planning a summer wedding for next year, you may want to consider inviting these pretty things to the party. Happy summer lovin'!

Yours truly,
Joanna

All photos courtesy of google images.