Yep, that's me! One of The Knot's picks for the best of 2011. I know I'm a good florist, but it's still always nice to get a little recognition for it. Yay me!
Click here for a full list of the 2011 winners for the Orange County area.
Friday, January 28, 2011
The Knot's Best of 2011.
Yep, that's me! One of The Knot's picks for the best of 2011. I know I'm a good florist, but it's still always nice to get a little recognition for it. Yay me!
Click here for a full list of the 2011 winners for the Orange County area.
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Registering. It's pretty fun. (Plus a give-away!)
Like many couples getting married, Tony and I registered a few weeks ago. It was pretty fun, exhausting, but fun. We went into a couple of stores, which was a great way to see items up close, but afterwards learned about registering online. Genious! Just as much fun, and it can be done from your couch. CSN is one of many online registry options, they offer everything from cutlery to bathroom fixtures to modern office furniture. And, they've been kind enough to offer $25 to spend with them through this GIVE-AWAY! Here's how you enter to win: go to the website, take a look around, and then come back and leave a comment letting me know which item you would put on your registry first, along with your email address (for notification - I promise you won't get anything unsolicited from me). A random winner will be chosen on Friday, February 4th.
Happy shopping!
Hint: The link is in "Modern Office Furniture", written above.
*2/5/11 Update: Congratulations to Leah for winning!
Monday, January 24, 2011
My Vendors. Part 2.
Wow. FOUR MONTHS have gone by since my first post about the vendors for my our upcoming September wedding. Time flies. It really does. They say it will be here before you know it, and now I can attest to that. It seems like yesterday that our wedding was 15 months away. We've been slow and steady with picking out our vendors, and have probably picked out our vendors in the wrong order (i.e. booking a videographer long before even starting to think about a caterer), but who cares. It's my wedding and I'll do what I want!
But first, can I just address this whole my wedding vs. our wedding thing? I certainly recognize that I have been imagining and planning this day for a hell of a lot longer than T, but I would like to point out that, like most (some?) grooms in the planning process, my fiance has opinions. He cares about [certain] aspects of the wedding. And while he arrives at said opinions about four months after I have, he arrives nonetheless and I want to respect those opinions. But, many of those around us are reinforcing the stereotype and telling him to just succumb to the "fact" that this is my day, not his, and that he just needs to learn to nod like an idiot and repeat the phrase, "yes, dear" whenever something is asked of him relating to the wedding. I don't know what my point is for sharing this, I guess I'm hoping that it will make me try to be a better listener about what he wants, despite the many voices telling me not to worry about it.
Vendors...
The next one we've figured out is our invitations (exactly what info we need to put on them has yet to be determined), but we've found the ones we like! This is a big deal for me. Initially, I wanted to send evites. No joke. I find paper to be a waste of resources, both green and otherwise. What are people supposed to do with them once they've gotten the necessary information? They certainly don't keep them. We've got around 200 invites going out, and with all of the different pieces necessary in a "suite", it's really easy to get upwards of $2,000.00. For paper. That people throw away. But, I've since changed my point of view and understand that this is the first aspect of the wedding that our guests will be experiencing, and I want it to represent our day accordingly.
Enter MaeMae Paperie. Megan at MaeMae is awesome. Not only does she have beautiful designs (and can do custom work), but she will sell just the art file, so that we can take the design and have it printed by anyone of our choosing, including just printing at home ourselves. We've found a very reasonable letterpress printer in Georgia we will likely be going with, but how awesome is the option to just print them yourselves? You pay a flat fee for the design, and then can print as many as you need, an awesome option for anyone with a large guest list. Here are some of my favorites from her blog:
My particular suite is not one of the above, since I'm keeping my choices mum for our guests to see first.
Next up, cake:
Our decision to go with Sweet Catastrophe was an easy one. I met Olivia in 2007 on a trip to South Africa. We traveled with TOMS shoes giving out pairs to children in need of them from Johannesburg, to Port Elizabeth, to Durban and all of the settlements in between. Food 4 Africa, the non-profit that guided the TOMS crew, is an amazing organization the brings basic nutrients and water to the improverished children and families of South Africa. The people who run it are truly amazing, one man even mortgaged is home THREE TIMES to help keep the organization alive. Needless to say, all of us on the trip were affected by the level of poverty we witnessed, however Olivia decided to do something about it. Olivia, being a baker at heart, found a way to contribute via Sweet Catastrophe. For every cake that she creates and sells, a portion of the profits goes to Food 4 Africa. Here's the sketch she drew up for us for our cake, and some photos of her playful creations.
Clearly, she's talented. And not only do we get to support a great cause by going with her, her cakes are delicious! If anyone is in need of a cake, or just wants to make a donation, I strongly recommend getting in touch with Olivia.
More to come.
-Chandra
But first, can I just address this whole my wedding vs. our wedding thing? I certainly recognize that I have been imagining and planning this day for a hell of a lot longer than T, but I would like to point out that, like most (some?) grooms in the planning process, my fiance has opinions. He cares about [certain] aspects of the wedding. And while he arrives at said opinions about four months after I have, he arrives nonetheless and I want to respect those opinions. But, many of those around us are reinforcing the stereotype and telling him to just succumb to the "fact" that this is my day, not his, and that he just needs to learn to nod like an idiot and repeat the phrase, "yes, dear" whenever something is asked of him relating to the wedding. I don't know what my point is for sharing this, I guess I'm hoping that it will make me try to be a better listener about what he wants, despite the many voices telling me not to worry about it.
Vendors...
The next one we've figured out is our invitations (exactly what info we need to put on them has yet to be determined), but we've found the ones we like! This is a big deal for me. Initially, I wanted to send evites. No joke. I find paper to be a waste of resources, both green and otherwise. What are people supposed to do with them once they've gotten the necessary information? They certainly don't keep them. We've got around 200 invites going out, and with all of the different pieces necessary in a "suite", it's really easy to get upwards of $2,000.00. For paper. That people throw away. But, I've since changed my point of view and understand that this is the first aspect of the wedding that our guests will be experiencing, and I want it to represent our day accordingly.
Enter MaeMae Paperie. Megan at MaeMae is awesome. Not only does she have beautiful designs (and can do custom work), but she will sell just the art file, so that we can take the design and have it printed by anyone of our choosing, including just printing at home ourselves. We've found a very reasonable letterpress printer in Georgia we will likely be going with, but how awesome is the option to just print them yourselves? You pay a flat fee for the design, and then can print as many as you need, an awesome option for anyone with a large guest list. Here are some of my favorites from her blog:
My particular suite is not one of the above, since I'm keeping my choices mum for our guests to see first.
Next up, cake:
Our decision to go with Sweet Catastrophe was an easy one. I met Olivia in 2007 on a trip to South Africa. We traveled with TOMS shoes giving out pairs to children in need of them from Johannesburg, to Port Elizabeth, to Durban and all of the settlements in between. Food 4 Africa, the non-profit that guided the TOMS crew, is an amazing organization the brings basic nutrients and water to the improverished children and families of South Africa. The people who run it are truly amazing, one man even mortgaged is home THREE TIMES to help keep the organization alive. Needless to say, all of us on the trip were affected by the level of poverty we witnessed, however Olivia decided to do something about it. Olivia, being a baker at heart, found a way to contribute via Sweet Catastrophe. For every cake that she creates and sells, a portion of the profits goes to Food 4 Africa. Here's the sketch she drew up for us for our cake, and some photos of her playful creations.
Clearly, she's talented. And not only do we get to support a great cause by going with her, her cakes are delicious! If anyone is in need of a cake, or just wants to make a donation, I strongly recommend getting in touch with Olivia.
More to come.
-Chandra
Friday, January 14, 2011
White Amaryllis
Amaryllis is one of my FAVORITE winter flowers; these blooms are left over from last Saturday's wedding and are still holding strong. I love the way the petals shimmer once they've opened up (the red ones do this more than the white). Here's an arrangement where they stand alone, and then with a little gardenia greenery. I have a preference, but which do you like better?
Saturday, January 8, 2011
Happy 2011!
To those of you getting married this year: Congratulations! You're getting married this year!
(Me too! Woo hoo!)
I had my first bride of the year today, and good grief, was she the sweetest. I met with her in October to go over her flowers, and she was so warm and easy-going. Today when I delivered her personal flowers, she started to cry when she opened the bouquet box. I LOVE it when that happens. It makes me grin from ear to ear for the rest of the day. It's not just that it lets me know that she likes what I've done for her, it's a big moment for the bride. It's one of the first holy-sh*t moments where she fully realizes that today is her wedding day, and emotion takes over. I feel so lucky to be privy to that moment. It's an authentic little glimpse into that person on one of the most important days of her life, and it's those moments that make me SO happy that this is what I get to do for a living. Just to be clear, I'm not saying I want to see brides start bawling and have their mascara start running down their face; but it's that snapshot of honest emotion that makes my job so fulfilling. Here's the box that she opened and what was inside:
Happy New Year!
(Me too! Woo hoo!)
I had my first bride of the year today, and good grief, was she the sweetest. I met with her in October to go over her flowers, and she was so warm and easy-going. Today when I delivered her personal flowers, she started to cry when she opened the bouquet box. I LOVE it when that happens. It makes me grin from ear to ear for the rest of the day. It's not just that it lets me know that she likes what I've done for her, it's a big moment for the bride. It's one of the first holy-sh*t moments where she fully realizes that today is her wedding day, and emotion takes over. I feel so lucky to be privy to that moment. It's an authentic little glimpse into that person on one of the most important days of her life, and it's those moments that make me SO happy that this is what I get to do for a living. Just to be clear, I'm not saying I want to see brides start bawling and have their mascara start running down their face; but it's that snapshot of honest emotion that makes my job so fulfilling. Here's the box that she opened and what was inside:
Happy New Year!
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