Los Angeles Wedding Planning Tips & Ideas Blog

Friday Flowers: Beyond The Centerpiece

Friday, January 28th, 2011

When planning your wedding flowers, you’ll hire your florist to create personal flowers, ceremony flowers, as well as centerpieces for your cocktail hour and reception tables. But have you considered those extra little floral details that will truly set your wedding a part from the rest?

Here is an image from one of my client’s weddings, which took place at Trinity Episcopal Church in Santa Barbara . Their ceremony was absolutely stunning, complete with large rose, viburnum, hydrangea and peony alter arrangements and pew flowers. The decor was elegant and dream like, yet in no way overdone or fussy. It looked a wedding straight from the movies.

Trinity Episcopal Church Wedding Ceremony, Photo by Raya Carlisle

Trinity Episcopal Church Wedding Ceremony, Photo by Raya Carlisle

To add their own flair to their celebration, this couple chose to take their venue’s plain red doors and add some personality ye hanging their initials on each of the front doors. The flowers were inexpensive carnations, but the added touch, increased the charm factor by three fold.

Church Door Flowers, Photo by Raya Carlisle

How will you infuse you’re own personalities into your big day?

Have a wonderful weekend!

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Friday Flowers: Cottage Gardens

Friday, January 14th, 2011

Right now the weather is gorgeous here in Southern California, but according to the news, there’s snow on the ground of 49 states. Burrr!

To warm the spirits of those of you in colder climates, I wanted to make today’s post as sweet and cheery as possible.

Here are a few darling English style cottage gardens that I just adore. Cue the sun….

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Affordable Designer Bridesmaids’ Dresses

Tuesday, January 11th, 2011

Once upon a time, bridesmaids’ dresses were all made to look the same in order to confuse evil spirits so they didn’t harm the bride. Fast forward a few thousand years and while the reasoning had changed, they still all looked the same. Bridesmaids for a hundred years or more have endured having their attire being matched precisely to the wedding nail polish, lipstick, shoes, decor and possibly the table linens. While this may have confused some of the groomsmen, brides of late are pondering all sorts of questions about bridesmaids’ attire. The top on this list is “Where can I find stylish and considerate dress that my fashion (and budget) conscious friends and I love for my wedding?”

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Friday Flowers: Fuchsia Cattleya Orchids

Friday, January 7th, 2011

When people think of Ariel Yve Design, they often associate the brand with soft, pretty, feminine colors and weddings (and rightfully so). Our logo is light pink, and my designs often feature pastel palettes, but I also adore saturated jewel tones as well.

This upcoming season, I’m working a lot with reds, purples and hot pinks. In fact, for an upcoming industry event within the next two weeks, I’ve designed a color palette using purple, orange, fuchsia and gold. It’s going to be bright and oh so lovely.

When I saw this arrangement created by Preston Bailey, I just had to share. It’s so representative of my current mindset and passion for color.

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It’s all Relative…Part II

Monday, January 3rd, 2011

In my last post, I highlighted some great moments that seem to happen organically around weddings – and some downfalls. So here are a few quick tips to get you down the aisle with a minimum of trips to your local bartender/therapist/E.R.:

1. Keep a sense of humor. Yes, it is your wedding day and something could possibly go awry, but that’s what you’ve hired all of those lovely professional people to help you with. I have yet to see a case where a couple could not get married due to some emergency – including extreme wind, pouring rain, fires, and the run-of-the-mill bridesmaid fainting/groom forgetting the wedding rings at the jewelers type mishaps. So the florist accidentally added green ribbon, instead of green flowers, to your bouquet? Annoying, yes, but in one, or five or ten years, you should be celebrating your anniversary and wishing you could still fit into your bridal attire -and all the things that seemed like a big deal at the time will be in the rear-view mirror.

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2010 Wrap Up (Master Bridal Consultant, Gratitude and Animals)

Friday, December 31st, 2010

As 2010 draws to a close, I sit here in my cozy home thinking about how grateful I am for everything in my life.

With that said, this year was by not means easy. For me, 2010 started off with the loss of the love of my life (Corky), and a crushed event industry due the global economic crisis. Fewer couples are getting married and even fewer companies are having parties. However, I believe change is the catalyst for greatness, and many great things filled my life this year. If you’re one of my Facebook fans, you probably know that I was recently named the YOUNGEST MASTER BRIDAL CONSULTANT in the WORLD!!!!!

Planners from all over the world presented for their Masters designation this year, most of whom didn’t make it (including a number of esteemed TV wedding planners). It feels go good to achieve my goal after so many years of hard work.

The week before I flew to Phoenix to present for my Masters, I had the distinct honor of meeting the worlds greatest racehorse, Zenyatta. Her calm, statuesque presence was a sight to behold…so cute!

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Friday Flowers: Green Wedding Favors

Friday, December 31st, 2010

I came across this idea on MarthaStewartWeddings.com and just fell in love with it.

If you’d like to go green while saving a bit of green, let your lush floral centerpiece blooms double as favors by providing your guests with waterproof bags to take flowers home in.

Have cellophane bags custom-printed with a message asking guests to pick a few flowers (foryourparty.com made ours).

During the cake cutting have your coordinator set out small stacks of your bags with twist ties on each of the guest table. At the party’s end your guests can carry on (and carry off) a bit of the celebration.

Cute, economical and eliminates the dilemma of what to do with all of the beautiful flowers at the end of the night.

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It’s all Relative…Part I

Thursday, December 30th, 2010

Relationships. You might ask what they have to do with a wedding blog; the answer? Everything!

As an event coordination company, we sometimes find ourselves walking a delicate tightrope between keeping our clients happy and maintaining good relationships with our trusted vendors. I believe 100% in going the “extra mile” and asking our vendors if they are vegetarian, so that in the few minutes we have to grab a bite while, they don’t end up with just a salad on a workday that often lasts 8 or more hours. I also trust that if vendors have very specific dietary needs, they are professional enough to bring their own snacks. We planners try very hard to balance between our own preferences (I would personally love it if there were a rule that no bar or drink station be more than 50 feet from the CENTER of the dance floor) and our clients’ specific requests.

In my career, I’ve successfully handled many sticky wedding-related situations from acrimoniously divorced moms and dads (and the dates they bring to the wedding functions), in-laws on the outs, squabbling siblings and goofy groomsmen who thought a few (more) pre-wedding cocktails wouldn’t make any difference…much to their dismay when they got up to give their toasts. From well-meaning parents who ‘surprised’ their children with a large live band (in addition to the live band their children had already carefully selected) to entertainment who refused to stop the music so the couple could cut the cake, to maids of honor who forgot the wedding was about the bride and groom, not their own recent nuptials, I’ve been privileged to watch of all sorts of relationships blossom and unfold in the time leading up to and including the one day that a wedding actually lasts.

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E-Session: Marcella and Sergio

Wednesday, December 22nd, 2010

As 2010 winds down, I’m starting to look forward to all of the inspiring and beautiful wedding’s I get to be a part of in 2011.

The first of which will be that of Marcella and Sergio’s….their over-the-top February wedding will take place in one of LA’s most exquisite Churches and Ballrooms. Marcella’s colors are deep red and gold with touches of black.

Besides the vows, I’m most excited to see all of the wedding flowers. We’ve designed a rich red reception featuring long feasting tables topped with 6′ tall red rose topiaries. I can hardly wait!!!!!!!!!!

Here are a few images from the happy couple’s engagement session with their fabulous wedding photographer, Barbara Alessandra.

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Sitting Pretty, Event Chairs

Thursday, December 16th, 2010

One of the simplest ways to transform an event space is by changing the seating from the standard ‘wedding chairs,’ to seating that truly enhances the décor.

Some fun examples that have been catching my eye lately;

These Louis “Ghost” chairs create a perfect modern-meets-antique look and allow for endless customization with cushions, name cards – but are stunning on their own. Make sure that linens reach the floor or go all-out mod with Lucite tables and bright pops of color to really wow guests.

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