La Belle Fleur.. & Welcome to 2011!!

Dawn & Brian desired the sweetest ceremony, with all the trimmings and details of homegrown love like theirs...

Dawn's childhood best friend and wedding planner helped her find a venue right in their own neighborhood- the ever classic Mille Fleurs restaurant in Rancho Santa Fe.

The palette of sky blues, marine navy and all hues in between popped with sunshine of yellow ranunculus, chamomile, and eucalyptus wrapped in vintage ribbon.

For the men, fetching handkerchiefs monogrammed with their initials on yellow gingham...

Nestled right inside the Mille Fleurs courtyard is this expansive tree- bedecked with playful ribbon streamers and dangling jars of blooms, it became the au natural backdrop the couple yearned for.

After the ceremony for cocktails, it was a free for all with croquet and picture taking!

The french countryside aesthetic came through the floral design with lush arrangements of tall white hybrid delphinium, acacia branches, yellow and white ranunculus, and icy daffodils in shimmering silver vessels.

Dawn & her mom made jam for all the guests as favors, topped with soft muslin fabric and a twine tie.

Dawn & I share a penchant for fancy vintage ribbons, so when she wanted something truly unique on her bouquet, it was easy to oblige! Apricot and grey embroidery of petite blooms wrap the stems of ranuculus and freesia, feverfew and scented garden roses.

Little egg cups and budvases toppled with blooms of every sort, including fresh lavender that gave the entire patio a relaxing fragrance.

More vintage ribbon to be found everywhere you looked, here tied around a vase adorning the table of family photos and the traditional Guestbook.

Rare cigar boxes provide housing for some fluffy china mums and ranunculus, acacia and yellow misty peek out the corners...

& the dessert display!

Ranunculus, and garden spray roses surround the cute cutouts of Dawn & Brian for their cake topper, while craspedia billy balls dot the cupcakes below.

Aahh... sweet love xo. Congratulations D & B ;)

Coordination by Tracey Beal, To0-a-T Events

Photography of Jill Thomas, Jill Thomas Photography

Happy Halloween!!

By the power of Greyskull! or pinkskull, lavenderskull, greenskull..

Rae Florae wishes you a spook-takular-ly sunny Halloween!

Recently I went to visit my friend Suzanne Hansen of She Wanders Photography and just inside the front door I spied this amazing chair!! Covered from top to bottom in hot pink soft fuzzy yarn by the talented girls of Sitting in a Tree..

my imagination immediately started running with the funky festive banner of boneheads!

I wanted to take that hot shade of pink and twist it around - black and red.. the colors of a scary halloween movie, but rate it PG-13 with young feminine flowers, and a kick of hot sauce..

Just in for the season, shiny hot chili peppers with their perfect points of tonal black and red..

In direct contrast, Pink Mink Proteas wrapping it up like a feather boa costume, super soft and fluffy you could use it as a make-up pouf for your sparkle dust.

Love that tiny tip of black on each protea petal picking up on the black chili!

Flames of magenta celosia and coral red coxcomb complete the fiery bouquet.

& for your He-Man, a boutonniere of celosia and chili peppers in black satin- just tell him it's a flower version of Cholula meets Dracula ;)

Funky monkey says be nice with the tricks, kitty bitty says brush your teeth after your treats..

I say thanks to Suzanne for indulging my whim of halloween fun!

Boo!

Punky Protea

This is what happy looks like!!

I love the mini orchid blooms trailing in Michelle's hair, so whimsical and romantic.

Michelle loves bright, fun colors- her dream of ranunculus in every rainbow shade came true for the vibrant bouquets!

Gotta love a good group of girlfriends!

Michelle's Bridal Bouquet of ranunculus, sweet smelling freesia, feverfew buttons, and young scabiosa, wrapped up in sunny yellow satin ribbon.

Shaun's boutonniere choice for himself and his crew were clean, simple and to the point- stacked Kermit mums wrapped in papaya orange ribbon to stand out on the classic black.

Another gorgeous day in Point Loma...

For dinner and dancing, we bent a bit of wire for a party vibe. Submerged proteas in different varieties- some sunny yellow with hot pink tips, others with curled tangerine orange feelers.

Wheatgrass set the stage- literally, glass bowls of floating daisies and sunken protea nestle in the grass..

Every open nook was a place to tuck just a bit more grass and another kind of protea- fuzzy white with yellow feelers and orange insides!

Bouquets doing double duty, decorating the front of the Sweetheart Table..

Oh Sweetness! Hula to my heart :)

Thank you Melissa McClure for the fantastic photographs &

Brenda Swann of Swann Soirees for a seamless, funtastic day!

Sunny Yellow to Amber Gold

I loved planning with Catherine and Walter because they were so considerate of each other and conscious of wanting their celebration to represent them equally.. This is how we came upon the bright sunny yellows, being Catherine's favorite color.. mixed with the hints of blue, Walter's favorite!

Catherine's sister's Maid of Honor bouquet composed of yellow roses, white sweet peas, and sweet chamomile buttons.

Flower girl extraordinaire! Pale buttery tulips and fragrant stock flower in a bouquet just her size :)

Catherine's bouquet- a soft blend of white sweet peas, yellow roses, tulips, cymbidium orchids, daisy mum chamomile.

The ceremony took place in the historic Presidio Park of San Diego, and we decked out the columns leading to the altar with yellow ribbons, wreaths of fresh green leaves and yellow roses, with a scatter of petals... it was transforming!

Garden fresh baskets lined the aisle...

..& each chair was adorned with a special swag of miniature yellow cymbidium orchids and white alstroemeria- their guests loved them!

The fresh greens and bright yellows begin to transition toward a romantic glow of amber as the night wears on...

Welcome to dinner! Tall calla lilies with a cuff of white china mums and green hydrangea..

Walter's family creates the dishes of Solare Ristorante Italiano, so it was an obvious and fabulous choice for their dinner reception! (Fun fyi, the Point Loma-Liberty Station location of Solare can be seen in the movie Top Gun!)

We decked out the long feast tables with more golden rose petals than you could imagine and nestled votives all along the way.

Floating candles and clean white stones in fresh water filled vases- oversize squares and rectangles- fit the shape and tone perfectly.

The intimate dinner, in the family restaurant... such a sweet finish and beginning ;)

Thank you Tim Otto for the beautiful photos!