Living Succulent Centerpieces- Mill Valley Outdoor Art Club

I wanted to share a few more images from our October wedding at the Mill Valley Outdoor Art Club.  There were just so many sweet details about this wedding, it couldn't be contained to one post.

This bride wanted to combine all types of living succulents (that could be taken home by guests and later re-potted) with lush, romantic flowers. Such a dreamy combination, and environmentally friendly solution!

Upon booking this job last May we got to work potting up several pots of echevaria in our own backyard. Over the course of months we propagated many new blooms, all of which made it to the wedding in October. The roots on the plants were kept intact when designing these lovely centerpieces to make the adjustment back into soil as easy on the plant as possible. 

We recently heard from the bride and many of these succulents are happily living on after their cameo appearance at the wedding- some in her apartment in San Francisco, and others with guests who live all over California, from Camarillo to Sacramento to Sea Ranch.

Groovy Favor Idea

Here's a fun idea for your favors. This site allows you to make custom bags at an affordable price. I've never ordered anything from them, so I can't speak to the quality of the products, but what a great idea, huh?! 

You can create a design that has some of the graphics and colors from your wedding day with whatever fun text you want to add. This gift is one that everyone can use. Grocery shopping. Beachy things. Gym stuff. I mean really.....who doesn't use a tote bag? Only crazy people don't use tote bags. And you're not going to have crazy people at your wedding. Hence the perfect gift, AND it promotes using a cloth bag to grocery shop. 

You can add text as well, I just couldn't figure out how to get it on the demo I made here. If you do this, let me know; I'd love to see the results.

Vintage Wedding Containers

I love the vintage look. It goes perfectly with our style which is very soft and sweet and textured. A roundy moundy just wouldn't look so very hot in these containers. Flowers that are suitable and used here are garden roses, dahlias, peonies, sweet peas, and lavender. 

The arrangements below were for a wedding at the Olema Inn in Inverness, CA. The containers were hand- painted quite some years ago by the bride's Grandmother. Double Sweetness. The white vintage containers  are from my personal collection. 

If you plan your wedding early you can start collecting pieces like these on ebay, etsy,at flea markets, thrift stores, and yard sales. It's another way to go a little green. Every new thing we DON'T buy is one less dollar toward consumption and pollution. AND, it's a distinctive and sweet look. Start collecting now, then call me to do your wedding flowers. 

A Vintage Style Wedding - Silver Containers

Taking a break from the rustic theme, and moving on to some options for vintage!

There are lots of fun versions of vintage, but one we've done a few times, is this mixed silver look. In all cases, the bride collected a variety of silver, and we mixed and matched them for the centerpieces. I think it's a very a sweet look. A nice eco-friendly option as well!

 Loop Event Arts, LMD Floral

 Loop Event Arts, Country Living

Summer Flowers - Celebrating the Seasons

The best way to green up your wedding is to go local, and therefore seasonal, with your flowers. Here are some fabulous arrangements with summer flowers.

Top : cafe au lait dahlias, scabiosa, sweet peas, quince, jasmine, honeysuckle, garden roses, hydrangea

Middle: garden roses, lysimachia, plum branches, sweet peas, chesnut, nandina

Bottom: dahlia, spray roses, thistle, safflower, tweedia, azalea