Thursday, July 8, 2010

Sydney and Ben at the Monte Verde Inn

Last weekend I was at one of my favorite venues, the lovely Monte Verde Inn www.monteverdeinn.net. Jessica from Stout Photography, blog.stoutphoto.com, was their photographer, it was my second week in a row working with Jessica. I just LOVE her!



















Sydney and Ben have been sweethearts since high school, pretty exciting to fianally see their big day.



Pretty posies in a row. My beloved antique roses, bouvardia, astible, and yarrow make up these vintage bouquets.
I ADORE this photo! This is the way a groom should look when he sees his bride walking down the aisle.


Can you say gorgeous! Kelly, the owner of the Inn made the cake.


Monday, July 5, 2010

Our Wedding Magazine shoot...the photos

















A few posts ago I showed you the magazine lay out for the Blooms feature in the Our Weddings Magazine. Today I want to share more of the images taken by Jennifer of http://www.memoryjournalists.com/
The design was created by office mate, Stephanie of /stephaniejdesigns.blogspot.com and myself. We had a lot of fun pulling from our grandmothers linen cupboards, searching antique stores for milk glass and depression glass. The setting was Wilson Vineyards in front of a lovely creek. We set our table under the tree and hung a floral wreath to define our space. Stephanie created all the labels for the soda bottles, champagne bottles etc...To me details make the decor, flower garlands on the backs of the chairs, the old ice chest lid graces with blooms.
I really love how it all came together!


Friday, July 2, 2010

Sean and Michelle at the Citizen Hotel



If you follow my blog you know how much I love the Citizen Hotel.com in downtown Sacramento. I just have this thing for antiques, somehow they seem more authentic, they have stood the test of time. The Citizen has gorgeous restored ceilings with moldings and details we just don't seem to have with new construction. That said, I always get excited when one of my brides is getting married there.
Michelle really wanted a vintage vibe to her wedding, her mom even wore a 50's style dress and jewelry to carry out the theme. My friend and up and coming star, Jessica of Stout photography,
blog.stoutphoto.com was the photographer of the day. I love when Jessica shoots, I know I will get great photos of my work.
So many fun details for Sean and Michelle. Each centerpiece was unique so that no two tables were alike. We also hung fresh flower wreaths from the chandeliers. And the cake! Oh, my the cake. Rebecca from sweetcakesbyrebecca.com, actually hand painted it!


For more photos from the wedding go to Jessica's blog blog.stoutphoto.com




Michelle's bridal bouquet was made with the most amazing peonies, really my fabulous rep, Laura, out did herself with these amazing blooms! I also used my beloved David Austin roses, stephinotis and bridal blush protea. The accents for the bouquet were vintage buttons from the 1950's. The stems were wrapped with lace from Michelle' mothers bridal gown and a rosary. I also tucked a vintage handkerchief in the back of the bouquet.







Tuesday, June 29, 2010

Blooms bride on Sacramento Bride and Groom cover!

Thanks to the fabulous Beth Baugher of
http://truelovephoto.com/blog/
My bride Valarie became the cover model for the latest issue of Sacramento Bride and groom!
I loved Valarie's vintage wedding at the Citizen Hotel, to see more photos just scroll through my blog.

Tuesday, June 22, 2010

Blooms featured in Our Wedding Magazine


The latest issue of Our Wedding Magazine just came out and I am so excited! For this issue Blooms teamed up with Stephanie J Designs, stephaniejdesigns.blogspot.com, to create what has to be one of my favorite shoots ever!
We went completely vintage for the shoot, from the linens to the old ice cooler, thanks grandma, to the depression glass plates and sterling silver flatware. Stephanie even found the old style paper straws, super cute.
We imagined what a bride from the 50's might have done if she was preparing a picnic for her sweetheart and a couple of friends, fresh colors, fresh fruit and of course, soda pop. The table sits overlooking a quiet stream with a floral wreath placed to anchor the setting. A stacked floral arrangement done in vintage milk glass grouping the flowers in a monochromatic scheme.
Each place setting has it's own color, yellow David Austin roses with daffodils, Pink garden roses with ranuculus, green roses and Kermit mums, and blue delphinium. Herbs are mixed in to add a lovely fragrance.
The nosegay is a mix of all the flowers wrapped in an antique linen.
Every occasion is made into a celebration with champagne, with this in mind we gave each of our guests, their own personal bottle, straw included.




The shoot took place at wilsonvineyards.com and was photographed by Jennifer of the http://www.memoryjournalists.com/

Friday, June 11, 2010

The wedding planner.... me!


Jennifer Lopez made a gorgeous wedding planner along with her fabulous eye candy love intrest Matthew Mcconaughey, now I'm not saying I look anything like Jlo, besides the booty, but as I am going to be a wedding planner this weekend I couln't help comparing myself with Jlo, dark hair brown eyes in love with a blondie



I have been a bad blogger, but wow, it's gets tough to keep up during wedding season, with ordering flowers, designing flowers, delivering flowers, setting up the wedding design, whew!

This weekend, instead of floral designer I get to put on the wedding planner hat. A dear friend of mine owns a lovey estate, her friends daughter wanted to get married there, our other friend, my best friend, is a fabulous cook, so of course she offered to do all the food, can you see where this is going? They get knee deep in it and call me....HELP! So This week I have been knee deep in timelines and emails rather than flowers....

So next week, I hope to have some disks of recent weddings to share with you.
xoxoxo Martha

Friday, May 28, 2010

Great wedding planning advice from the Knot

I just had to copy this artical, some great words of wisdom to anyone planning a wedding.

10 Wedding Blunders to Avoid
From blowing your budget on your dress to hiring friends instead of pros, here's a heads up on 10 wedding headaches you can definitely do without.

By Meredith Bodgas

1. Try not to get attached to your flower choices.
When you book your florist a year before your wedding day, he can only guess which blooms will be available for your wedding. If you have to have, say, asters, you could be disappointed. Instead, choose backups to your main blooms and add them to your contract. Think in terms of colors and shapes instead of specific flowers.

2. Think twice before you send save-the-dates to everyone.
Until you mail out invitations, your guest list isn't final. And it shouldn't be: Friends you're close with when you get engaged may be mere acquaintances by the time you get hitched. Reserve save-the-dates only for those guests you know will be invited, like your families.

3. You will regret it if you skip videography.
Photos only take you so far: Videos let you hear your voice tremble as you say your vows and watch your friends tear up the dance floor. With more people documenting your wedding, you'll see things you may have missed on the day.

4. Be careful not to blow your fashion budget on your dress.
Maybe you have $1,500 set aside for your look. That doesn't mean you can buy a $1,500 gown! Tack on tax, and if you're not buying off the rack, you could get charged for shipping. You might need alterations, too. Consider your undergarments, shoes, hair accessories and jewelry when budgeting as well.

5. Avoid micromanaging your vendors.
You're choosing talented pros who understand your vision, so let them do their jobs! We know it's tempting to control every detail so you're guaranteed to love the results, but you won't have the time, and you certainly don't have the experience your vendors do. After your initial meetings, trust the pros to get it right. And, you know what? They almost always will.

6. Think hard before you pick your attendants.
Your bridesmaids should be your closest friends. Period. They can also be your sisters, cousins, aunts and even your mom, but they have to be people you'd trust to be there when you most need them. You don't know new friends well enough yet to be sure they'll support you in tough situations (every bride encounters one at some point), and picking people because a family member demands it or so you and your man will have an even number of attendants are also decisions you'll likely regret.

7. Please restrain yourself from telling everyone your plans.
It's so hard not to talk about your wedding. Try. The more you share, the more opinions you're going to get about your choices, whether or not you ask for them. Plus, part of wowing your guests is surprising them. If they already know that you're changing into a different dress for dancing or sending guests home with a batch of your grandma's cookies, they won't be quite as impressed on your wedding day. If that's not enough to deter you, talking about your plans means opening yourself up to copycats, who may actually be marrying before you do. The last thing you want is your friend stealing your idea for your surprise grand finale.

8. Seriously, stop booking your salon appointments last.
We get it: You want as much beauty sleep as possible, and you don't want your 'do to fall out or your makeup to fade before you walk down the aisle. But guess what: Busy stylists will likely get to you late if you're last in the chair. Schedule your appointments in the middle of your attendants'. It's not a big deal for a bridesmaid to switch to a less complicated (read: quick) hairstyle if she's pressed for time. That's not an option for you.

9. Don't even think about speeding through photos.
Speaking of not having enough time, any less than an hour isn't enough for a portrait session; an hour-and-a-half is closer to ideal because you'll look more relaxed in your pictures (and those first few never come out as well as you hope). Squeezing photos into the first half-hour of your cocktail hour will make you anything but at ease. If you refuse to see your groom before the ceremony, take pictures separately beforehand so the only shots left to take after the ceremony include both of you.

10. Avoid "hiring" a friend instead of a pro.
Sure, your pal was the king of the mix CD back in the day, but that doesn't mean he'll make a great wedding DJ. Same goes for your friend who won't leave home without her Flip — this doesn't make her a videographer! Even on a tight budget, you're much better off paying a vendor with experience to take care of the biggies, like the music and the food. Don't you want your friends to enjoy your wedding instead of having to work through it, anyway?