mary and brian - waterfront resort, huntington beach

mary and brian were special to me from the start because the groom's name is brian (like my hubs!) and they got engaged at the surf and sand resort in laguna beach (where MY brian proposed too!)...so needless to say, we had a connection :)

the bridal bouquet was made entirely of creamy "sweet eskimo" roses, finished in white lace and a rhinestone/pearl brooch...

the flower girl dresses were so cute! like little ballerinas!

mary looked so gorgeous thanks to carina from flawless faces!

the ballroom at the hilton, huntington beach, was transformed into an ultra clean and modern environment with all white draping, a white seamless dancefloor, white chairs, white linens and white napkins...but to add a sense of femininity and romance, we did arrangements made entirely of antique pink roses, set on top of footed glass vases, alternating with low glass vases full of more antique pink roses...

all of the florals were set on top of custom made blush runners from bbj linens (thanks kimberly!)...

there is something so soft and classic about all white rentals (fabric draping, linens, napkins, chairs, dancefloor)...the florals, runners and lighting were the only "color" in the room...super chic!

the cake was set on top of my custom acrylic cake podium, which we decked out with hanging crystal strands inside...mary is a girly-girl so we had to have a bit of bling involved! :)

a special thanks to jim kennedy for the photos!!

design challenge for bride and bloom magazine

a couple months ago, i was asked to participate in the "design challenge" for bride and bloom magazine...the concept is to take a real couple who is in the beginning of their wedding planning process and allow 3 floral designers to create a bouquet, boutonniere and 2 different tablescapes based off of the couple's color scheme, venue and design style.

here was the mood board the client created to give us an idea of what she liked:

the couple's wedding venue is "craftsteak" inside of the mgm in las vegas. so the photo shoot took place at one of the sister restaurants, "craft" in los angeles...the vibes were pretty similar - masculine and modern with warm tones...so even though the client liked a vintage, feminine feel, we also had to stay somewhat true to the venue as well...

overall, here is what we came up with!

bridal bouquet of eggplant mini cala lilies, lavender parrot tulips, dark purple tulips and plum hyacinth...

stems were wrapped in eggplant satin, pum lace and a band of aubergine velvet...3 mini purple rhinestone brooches finished the "vintage modern" look...

eggplant mini cala boutonniere wrapped in black satin, a band of aubergine velvet and black rhinestone trim...

for the tall centerpiece option, we created monobotanical arrangements of eggplant dahlias, dark purple mini cala lilies, green vibernum and green dutch hydrangea...tall glass candlesticks from crate and barrel, purple vases and short glass candlesticks from z gallerie...

the couple was going to be using all the existing furniture inside of craftsteak, including the chairs and rectangular tables...but we were encouraged to bring in our own runners and napkins, so i decided on the green "russian linen" from wildflower linens...

for the low centerpiece option, fabric wrapped boxes were packed full of dutch green hydrangea, eggplant dahlias, lavender parrot tulips, dark purple mini cala lilies and plum toned tulips and hyacinth...

the couple threw out the idea of lace, so i utilized a plum lace trim around each of the boxes, layered with an aubergine velvet for added texture...

to see the full spread and what the other designers came up with, check out the latest issue of bride and bloom, on newstands now! thanks so much to carol poon and leila khalil for involving me! and to lauren hillary for her awesome images!

JL DESIGNS featured on green weddings shoes blog!

even though her blog has only been around for about a year, jen from green wedding shoes has captured the attention of brides and vendors alike...truly her blog is one of the only blogs i can honestly say i check EVERY day...and it never disappoints! she posts such a great variety of real weddings, products, trends, etc and i am so inspired by her design eye...

not only that, but i have had the pleasure of getting to know her on a personal level over the past 6 months and she is SUCH a sweet person! combine that with great taste and style and you have one fabulous girl! i feel so blessed to have been featured by jen numerous times over the last couple of months and honored that she finds beauty in my work :) here are a few of my recent appearances on green weddings shoes:

jen created an entire inspiration board based off of the vintage, organic bouquet i created for the jasmine star workshop

and she did a full post on my eco-forest tablescape

she featured my collaboration with stephanie williams and the talented ladies of utterly engaged for their issue 002

and another fab shoot on "alternative bridesmaids" for utterly engaged issue 003

thanks so much jen for your support, creative energy and friendship! can't wait to see how green wedding shoes grows this next year! so many fab things in store for you!! xoxo

an eclectic, "anthropologie-inspired" baby shower - with owls!

okay....please forgive me for this exceptionally long post...but i COULD.NOT.HELP.IT...it's detail city and i don't care who knows it! :)

when my sweet friends carlie and gabriel told me they were having a baby shower for their baby-in-waiting, lincoln roe, i jumped at the chance to be involved...especially with my other sweet friends jesi haack and melody of my sweet and saucy on board...i knew this baby shower was going to be ridic...

let's start with this adorable, hand made invite designed and created by the mommy-to-be, carlie...when i got mine in the mail, i couldn't bring myself to untie the twine, it was THAT cute! in fact, it's still assembled perfectly on my dining room table and i can't bare the thought of throwing it away...

a cute little sign-in station was created out of a wood table and chair set belonging to carlie and gabriel, where guests were asked to write "love notes" to lincoln...

and omg the lemonade station! jesi made the most insanely cute stir sticks out of cardboard and can you tell they are imprinted with an owl stamp?! i could not get over these...

the table and chairs here were provided by the lovely megan over at classic party rentals...the "part thrifted, part anthropologie" mixture of vases were on loan from one of carlie's past brides...

brian and i hung long panels of white fabric over the grassy area to create some shade...pops of rustic burlap were added for a layered effect and to "manly" it up :)

and clothesline held lincoln's name made out of newspaper, along with photos of carlie and gabriel as children...

carlie made these fans, which i would not go home without...in fact i had to scour gabriel's car at the end of the party to find an extra one because i HAD to have one :) made from cardboard and covered in raw-edged fabric, i am sure they took forever to make but they were worth it!

the florals i used were a mix of flowers i thought looked "vintage, hippie and happy"...white china mums, white/yellow aster, white lisianthus, yellow billy balls and ivory dahlias...the vases had so much color already, we stuck to mainly white florals with tiny touches of yellow for an added pop!

okay...so let's talk about the most adorable dessert display ever shall we?! the turquoise dresser is actually carlie and gabriel's tv stand...the tissue poms were created out of yellow pages (genius jesi!) and cream colored tissue with burned edges (made by a friend of carlie's)...

why yes...yes i did eat about 4 of these that day...

the ceramic owl cookie jar and brass twig cupcake holder were two of my favorite finds that jesi brought...

melody from sweet and saucy created all of the desserts, along with these bright, happy owl printed sugar cookies!

one last shot from the day...and one of my favorites!

all photos and furniture schlepping by the super talented gabriel ryan :)

jesi haack, you are SOOO creative and fun and i LOVE working with you! you got mad style!

melody, your sweets are the highlight of every event i do with you...especially when i come back to strike and there's leftovers - YES!

carlie, are you sure you are in the right profession? cause i swear you would make an amazing event designer! and i KNOW you are going to make an amazing momma! CONGRATS! lots of love to you, gabriel and baby lincoln...can't wait to meet him!