Gema & Oscar - 7.4.09

What a fantastic celebration day!  Gema and Oscar were enthusiastically joyful about the celebration of their rich Mexican heritage and at every turn, the details of their beautiful day was a reflection of their love and their family.  Both the San Luis Obispo de Tolosa Mission and Vina Robles Winery supported rustic and historical theme.

Their wonderfully fun and colorful flower palette was a great adventure for us with a lively mix of bright green spider mums, hot pink and orange spray roses, purple lisianthus, calla lilies all set in our tall wrought iron stands or in authentic talavera pottery provided from the bride and groom  on a quick trip south.  Obviously, by choosing to get married on the 4th of July - a party would be important - but I didn't realize just how important until I got to the reception site to find an incredible live Salsa band setting up, Mariachis and the Central Coast's only happen' lady DJ - Melissa from Kramer Entertainment.  There was a little vendor groovin' going on during set up I must admit!  (Hey!  4th of July!)

Ben and Russell from Two Cooks Catering provided a stunning dinner of locally produced seasonal faire.  Kristin from Jour Parfait provided her logistical expertise and planning and of course all photos provided with the talent and generous spirit of Colleen Rosenthal Photography.

Eve & Ben - 8.15.09

Mums the word - green spider that is. I love to see a motif that is consistently carried through a wedding that ties everything together. Sometimes it can go a little too far, but in this case, Eve chose a highly stylized chartreuse (swoon!) spider mum image that was on their invitations and programs. We also chose this fabulous green color as an accent linen for their napkins and chair ties inside the tent out on the lawn at the Cliffs Resort.

Eve's bouquet was an exubrantly fragrant combination of cream English Garden Roses and Lily of the Valley - simply classic. The bridesmaids bouquets, though - we a wonderfully colorful combination of colorful blooms against their navy dresses - and it really popped - celebration in deed. I especially loved working with Ben and Eve on the design of the chouppa we created for them - thanks to Ben and his engineering back ground - it all works beautifully in the breeze that "assists" us on the bluffs overlooking the Pacific.

It is always such a pleasure to work with Anna and her great crew down at the Cliffs Resort - from the bellmen to the servers - we always feel like we are a part of a team when we're working there and we so appreciate that spirit!

These fabulous images - provided by the oh so talented Chloe at Mike Larson Inc. - absolutely love to work with you Chloe!

Mark & David - Happy Anniversary!

A year ago today, two of my very dear friends were married in Ojai on Lake Casitas. It was a very intimate gathering of about 20, uniquely themed around a Renaissance Pirate vibe. My husband Brian and I were honored to be included in the group of very close friends and family members and of course, I provided a few blooms for the occasion. Mark and David have been together as long as Brian and I have been married - 16 years, and that they were officially marrying was a very emotional and triumphant event. It was so beautiful!

Mark, being the fantastic event designer and planner that he is, provided me a color palette and then, surprisingly, let me run with it. I came up with black magic rose balls ensconced in gold gilt stakes accented with deep purple dendrobium orchids, peacock feathers and strands of sapphire jewels. A small gazebo draped in a rich rust velvet burn out fabric, accented with a garland of bay leaves provided a masculine focal point for the touching ceremony. It was such a wonderfully warm afternoon and following all the tears and laughter, we celebrated on the dock with a round of rum shots in old pewter shot glasses. For many reasons, I will never forget the afternoon.

In November 2008, Prop 8 passed in the State of California, banning the legality of same sex marriages going forward. Although, Mark and David are in fact legally married, many other couples do not have the same rights to honor and validate their relationships in the same way that many of us do. What a heart breaking and devastating law of discrimination we have allowed to take hold in our great state.

More Positive Buzz! - Style Me Pretty

What a great way to start the day and week! Style Me Pretty - the be all, end all wedding style blog, has just featured one of our all time favorite weddings on their blog this morning. "I am MADLY in love with the flowers from this affair. The bridesmaids and bridal bouquets are enough to send me clear over the edge. Designed by Corinne Smith of Panacea in San Luis Obispo, they are gorgeousness defined." Be still my heart!

Allyson at Allyson Magda Photography captures the atmosphere, details and emotions of the day in a way that people just can't resist and the industry is taking notice. It is such a complete delight and honor to work with her - and it's like early Christmas morning - to get that precious cd of images from her after the wedding - and in this case, it is the gift that keeps on giving!
Natalie and Carson are now my official poster couple and I am so crazy happy to report that they have both found great jobs, just bought a charming house and are settling in the SLO area. So great to have them in our community long term - I adore them and their beautiful dog Ella.

Check out the images and if you don't already have Style Me Pretty bookmarked - you will after perusing through, Abby Larson is a passionate style guru of all things wedding style. Enjoy!

Jake & Necia - 9.4.09

I have known Jake for the past two years as a fabulous associate photographer of Mike Larson Inc. - one of my partners at Broad Street Event Group. Jake has also done some graphic design work for me, including a redesign of our logo and corp ID. It was an incredible honor to be asked to help Jake and Necia with their flowers. On our first meeting, I could tell - Necia was a creative force all on her own and she definitely had a vision.

Jake and Necia shared my silly penchant for making up new words for different styles or combining two words to become one - my favorite one they came up with was "Frasion" for French with Asian influences - watch for it in the next edition of Websters!

Their wedding though, we decided would be "Anthropologie Chic".

This is a sneak peek from a crazy awesome photographer - Mike at Mike Larson Inc.

Galeet & Alon 9.6.09 - a teasing preview

I remember the night that I was up late and emailing Galeet back and forth about the colors of the bridesmaids dresses last October - she came to the brilliant decision of a dark graphite - mainly because she really wanted the flowers to POP against the back drop of the dresses, against the back drop of the ocean. Months of planning, emails, sketches and decisions ensued.

Yesterday - was THE day!!

David Pascolla was so generous and kind to share this photo of Galeet's bouquet with me as a preview of what is to come. Obviously, I can hardly stand it - the waiting, to see what else he caught in his view finder. He is a masterful artist and probably one of the truly nicest people I have ever met. I shall post more images when they are available.

Congratulations Galeet & Alon! Molzotov!