I love a good, classic, romantic, garden-style wedding. And you know what else I love about this wedding? That this bride's last name was "Villareal"...seems fitting she would get married at the "Villa Parker." I know, it's probably cheesy, but I love things like that. Anyway, a couple of other things that I love about this wedding:
1. A large bridal bouquet! I have to often remind myself when designing bouquets to not design it too big. With the exception of a few brides that request gigantic bouquets (which we happily oblige!), you have to design a bride's bouquet around her style of gown, her size (a giant bouquet on a petite girl just looks funny!), and the style of wedding. Lucky for us, Natalie is a ballerina. Which means that although she is quite petite, she chose a nice, ballerina-inspired gown with a full-skirt. You know what that means: She could have a nice, large bouquet to help balance the size of her full-skirt! I loved how her bouquet turned out! See below.
2. I love when brides want a flower on each place setting. It is just such a good accent to the decor and sets the tone for the table. Normally we would use an orchid or another smaller flower. But since peonies were in their prime, we decided to keep the ballerina-feel going and place a big, fluffy peony on each napkin and I loved the result. It tied in well with the lush, garden-style centerpieces, and made the entire Villa smell amazing!
3. Anyone who knows me well, knows that I am a sucker for ruffles, rosettes, and tiny print. Which is why I can't get over how perfect these bridesmaid dresses are. I love the color, the rosette detail on the skirt, and the way they are consistent with garden-romance feel of the wedding! Ahhh!!!
4. Working with Natalie's photographer: Gaston Photography. David and I met at one of my very first weddings in California (He, like me, does weddings both in Colorado and California!) and have been friends ever since. This summer, we had the fun opportunity of working with him on three weddings in a row (more fabulousness of which you will see soon!) Not only is he a fantastic and seasoned photographer, but he is fun and genuinely kind. And he takes care of business with photographing my flowers. I am so thankful for him for that!
And now, without further ado, here is the list of weddings pros that pulled this wedding off!
VENDOR LOVE:
Photography: Gaston Photography
Planning/Coordination: Jessica Alder of JA Special Events
Floral Design: Us! Cori Cook Floral Design
Ceremony Venue: Our Lady of Loreto Catholic Church
Reception Venue: Villa Parker Cultural & Event Center
Hair & Makeup: Ahhh Mobile Spa
DJ: ShowTek DJ
P.S. For the flower-enthusiasts out there, I have begun to include a description of the flowers included in our bouquets and arrangements for your reference. If you ever need help identifying a certain variety in one of our arrangements, let us know! We're happy to help! Keep in mind though, that flowers are subject to seasonality and might not always be available. For your reference, this wedding was on May 28, so if you are a peony-lover, you may want to plan your date around their season (:
Bridal Bouquet made of white and pink peonies, white sweet pea, garden roses, sahara roses, candy bianca roses, ivory spray roses, parrot tulips, and my new favorite for adding romance to a bridal bouquet: "Blushing Bride." See it in there right below the candy bianca roses and above the pink peony? Lovely. Just Lovely.
There's those amazing bridesmaid dresses. Love love love. The bridesmaids bouquets had the same varieties of flowers as the bridesmaids, only we added snowball viburnum for more color.
LEFT: We designed two types of centerpiece (one of my favorite things to do if you have a high table count!). The first was a silver platter on which sat three cut-glass vases with varying pink and white arrangements. This one was made of peonies, hyacinth, and sahara roses. RIGHT: The bridal bouquet with a vintage pink brooch attached. We love these details.
Tip for saving without skimping: Reuse your bridal and bridesmaid bouquets as decor for your head table. Because Natalie had 7 bridesmaids, we had 8 bouquets (including hers) to work with. Instead of laying these on a table to wilt, place them in vases that line your head table. It's simple and smart! Then spend a little bit of money for a rose petal runner, votives, and some pillar candles, and this is the result.
Fluffy Peony on each place setting. Centerpieces were designed in silver pedestal bowls. You like? You can rent them from us! Centerpieces were made of pink peonies, sahara roses, spray roses, candy bianca roses, viburnum, sweet pea, parrot tulips, and hanging amaranthus. We also lace wrapped all her votives (look closely to spot them!)
Yellow Flower Girl Pomander made of yellow spray roses, with a lace loop. Ring Bearer is wearing a mini boutonnière that matches the groomsmen boutonnières. 
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
