10-10-10 Saratoga Wedding

My bride Melissa got married yesterday at the Saratoga Foothill Club....what a fabulous venue! She chose fall sunset colors for her flowers. I used a mixture of Circus, orange, red and yellow roses with red hypericum berries and Italian Ruscus for a little greenery. The bride made her own centerpiece urns...aren't they awesome? Definitely one of the best DIY projects I have ever seen a bride do. Speaking of the bride, she was such a joy to work with. I really liked getting to know her over all these months and I wish the couple all the joy in the world!

Sunflowers!

I had a wedding in Livermore on Saturday and the bride had all sunflowers...I think it was a perfect fit for the location: Rios Lovell Winery. The winery has beautiful grounds and a gorgeous gazebo. I decorated the gazebo with vines and sunflowers, and tied a single sunflower to each chair at the ceremony. We also scattered fall leaves down the aisle, and the flower girls had these for tossing as well. Congratulations L + S! Best wishes to the happy couple!

Cocktail Table Ideas

Here are two ideas I came up with for some recent weddings. Cocktail table decor can be challenging: Should a bride and groom pay for a more expensive "mini" centerpiece here? It depends on your budget. I think that a simple bloom placed just right can look just as nice. I do not think these tables should be left empty, however. If you don't have a lot of money left for cocktail decor, have your florist come up with a simple, yet eye pleasing design that incorporates the feel of your wedding.

Fall is Here!

I did a wedding in Half Moon Bay two weekends ago and I just loved the flowers that the bride chose. Local farm grown dahlias are in full force until the end of this month and to me they represent the beauty of the season. I really loved working with the bride and groom for this wedding, they were so friendly and such a sweet and in love couple! Congrats M+S!!

Berkeley Wedding

On Saturday I was lucky enough to be a part of a fabulous wedding in Berkeley. The bride chose tones of blush, peach and subtle ivory and gold. We chose garden roses and lisianthus for the reception, and used stock, roses and lisianthus for the ceremony. I loved the way the ceremony hooks and mason jars turned out. Perfect for a ceremony in the redwoods. The reception was held at the swanky Hotel Shattuck in downtown Berkeley. Elisheva at A Bride's Best Friend did an amazing job running the entire event. If any of you brides out there are looking for absolute peace of mind - hire Elisheva, she is the best at what she does and ultra friendly - a perfect combo! Congrats to the lovely bride and groom!

White Hydrangea and Roses

Here is a photo of some flowers waiting to be delivered to a wedding in Palo Alto two weekends ago. I worked exclusively with the groom on this wedding which was very cool! He wanted white hydrangeas and white roses. The reception was held at the Garden Court Hotel in Palo Alto, and I have to say that the ballroom there is very classic and beautiful. Check this place out if you are looking for a lovely location for your reception.

Pink Bridal Bouqet

Here is a picture of a bridal bouquet I did this summer...the bride emailed it to me today and let me know that she loved her flowers. It is so nice to hear from a bride after her wedding. When I deliver a bride's bouquet she is usually in the middle of getting her hair done or getting ready for her pictures, which is not really a great time to chat! I put a lot of care and love into my designs and it is nerve-wracking work trying to create something that is the perfect blend of my creativity and her style and vision. It is such an amazing feeling to hear that she loved her flowers! Recently, a few of my brides have called me from the airport on the way to their honeymoons to thank me and this really makes my job all the more worth it and wonderful!

Sharon Neves Photography

Sharon Neves Photography captured these beautiful shots of the flowers I did for a wedding a few weekends ago. It was a beautiful day and the bride was gorgeous! Sharon is an amazingly talented photographer. Check out her blog and website at here.

Flowers for a Sunday Wedding

Here are some shots of flowers waiting to be delivered for a wedding yesterday afternoon. The bride and groom wanted lovely colors of pink, yellow and green. They are donating their centerpieces to a local hospital today which I think is very special. For the boutonnieres I used bright pink spray roses and green hypericum berries. For the bouquets, yellow and pink stock were mixed with yellow roses, green berries and pink spray roses were used to add some bright highlights. The centerpieces were made of stock and astrolmeria which added to the lovely garden wedding theme. I had so much fun with couple and I wish them a lifetime of happiness. Congrats L+G!

Unexpected Floral Containers

I really enjoy using non traditional containers for my floral arrangements. For these orange roses, I used a deep cake plate I found at Crate and Barrel. I collect cake plates of all shapes and sizes and combined my love for cake plates and flowers with this design. I have used candle holders, pitchers, terra cotta pots, wine bottles, and even cigar boxes for flowers. Using these instead of traditional vases seems to add a bit of whimsy and creativity to my designs.

Garden Roses

Garden roses are the ultimate rose...they smell divine, look fabulous and have a very unique texture. Often, I use garden roses in place of peonies when they are out of season. A word to the wise, though: Garden Roses can be very expensive. If a bride is on a tight budget but loves garden roses, I usually suggest that instead of having garden roses everywhere, she uses them in the most important arrangement of the day: the Bridal Bouquet. I just love to differentiate the Bridal Bouquet from other flowers in some special way. Whether it is using garden roses, mini callas, or orchids...if you are in love with these lovelies but do not have the giant budget to use them in every centerpiece, then use them only in the bridal bouquet for a truly memorable look.

Purple Freesia and Lisianthus

Purple seems to be a very popular wedding color this year. I created this bridal bouquet for Connie, a beautiful bride who got married earlier this summer. Originally she had wanted Gerberas mixed in but after making the first version of this bouquet we discussed how the Gerberas looked a bit out of place an big in the bouquet. I think she really loved the final outcome and I am glad she was flexible enough to let me take the reigns on the design process. It is so important for brides to trust their designers enough to do what they do best: create stunning bouquets! For this bouquet I used Freesia, Mini Callas, and a few frilly Lisianthus for texture.

Two Weddings and an Anniversary

I had two weddings last weekend, one on Friday in the golden hills above Morgan Hill, and one in the modern and ultra-chic Hotel Nikko in San Francisco. At one point last week my entire studio was filled to the brim with flowers of every color! My hubby helped me deliver all the flowers for the wedding in San Francisco and then we stayed in the city for a romantic dinner to celebrate our 7 year anniversary. Above is a photo of Willa's bouquet. She was such a fun bride to work with, so full of energy and great ideas. I love when brides are super friendly and excited about getting married. Her colors were fuchsia, chocolate, white and lime green. For her bouquet I used gorgeous fuchsia roses, dahlias, spray roses and white mini calla lily. Thanks to the talented Carlos Cuellar for the photo. I had so much fun working on these weddings. Congratulations to the happy couples!

Purple Wedding in the Redwoods

Last weekend I did a wedding for a really sweet couple in the Santa Cruz Mountains. The setting was so amazing and the day was beautiful. The bride chose purple and I used purple hydrangeas for the ceremony. I hung buckets filled with purple hydrangea from the chairs and made a spray of purple hydrangeas for the arch. Her bouquet was filled with mini callas, lisianthus, hydrangea, and stock.

Bright Pink and Black Wedding

It is always very exciting to see gorgeous peonies in season. There is something so beautiful about the shape and the shades they come in. I paired these deep pink peonies with roses and ranunculus and hydrangeas in the same shades for Yuri, a very beautiful bride who got married recently in San Jose.

Great Bridal Expo

Last weekend I attended the Great Bridal Expo in San Jose at the Fairmont Hotel. It was a beautiful venue and the vendors and displays were top-notch. I really enjoyed seeing all of the different types of wedding vendors out there and it was great to see so many brides in one place. I will have a booth at the next Great Bridal Expo on March 14th. I am planning a pretty special booth that showcases my talent and design capabilities. What excites me most is that I will get to meet so many brides that are in the planning stages of their weddings and we all know how much I love to plan!

Wedding Trend Alert

According to Bride's Northern California Magazine, the next big thing in wedding trends is "bright, colorful heels under the wedding gown". I have seen this look before and I love the idea of a brightly colored shoe that blends seamlessly with the color palette of the bridal bouquet. The look also works with a more traditional bride who carries all white flowers but desires just a pop of color to add an element of fun to her wedding. Imagine how amazing it would be to see a bride carrying a bouquet of all white garden roses, hydrangeas and freesia walking down the aisle and guests catching just a glimpse of color under her dress. Above are some beautiful Christian Laboutins paired with a bouquet I did last summer of fuchsia dahlias and hot pink spray roses. This look is so fun and perfect for an outdoor summer wedding.

Autumn Inspiration

I really enjoy a website called Style Me Pretty. If you are looking for inspiration for your wedding, this is your place. It is full of very stylish photos from the best photographers in the industry and carefully edited as "a chic blog for the style obsessed bride". I love using their inspiration boards to design color palates for weddings and events. Here is my most recent board, let me know what you think. I was inspired by the warm colors of autumn and my favorite time of day- that time of day that the sun casts a warm golden hue on everything.

LJ Floral Design New Website and Blog

I am very excited about my new website www.ljflowers.com. I wanted to showcase my business in a bright and simple format and the new site does just that. I will be adding more pictures to my Gallery soon, so stay tuned. LJ Floral Design is a business that I started after years of working with flowers and doing events. I have a real passion for flowers and I absolutely love designing flowers for weddings. I operate my business out of my home in Campbell, which allows me to pass on great savings to my clients. My philosophy "beautiful and budget savvy" is the basis for my florist business. I believe that beautiful flowers can be had at any budget simply by being creative. I am located in Campbell, CA and service San Jose, Santa Cruz and the entire San Francisco Bay Area.