{summer flowers}

The first few weeks that we were back in downtown Los Angeles, I was itching to take a trip to the flower mart, but it didn't seem worth it to buy fresh flowers when our place was in the utter chaos of moving boxes everywhere.  The weekend before last, we finally had people over as the boxes are gone and our place is almost done so a took a quick morning trip to The Original Flower Mart.

I picked up a bunch of gorgeous pale pink dahlias that were on sale and then proceeded to add a few more organic feeling florals like scabiosa pods and clover.  I also picked up a bunch of inexpensive bright pink spray roses to fill in the arrangement and add a pop of color.   Using floral foam in my favorite trophy vases from Target, I was able to make two super full arrangements from about $30 worth of florals plus a tiny arrangement using the leftover roses (not pictured) for the bathroom.  Really is there anything better than fresh flowers in your home?!?

Green Wedding Shoes even did a great write up on navigating the LA flower mart if its your first time!!

{peony season}

The short lived peony season is now upon us!!!  With a full inventory after Mother's Day, I was able to pick up a few bunches of bright fuchsia peonies on sale at Whole Foods for $8 per 5-stem bunch (I had to stop myself from buying more than 2 bunches which was really an exercise in self control that I shockingly succeeded at.)   These lush fluffy flowers come in an array of colors usually shades of pinks or white and are definitely the one of the darlings of the flower world.  These blooms are generally a bit more pricey than your regular fresh bouquet and will require some special care in order to keep the fresh cut flowers thriving for as long as possible.  After buying my fair share of peony bunches and working alongside some of the most experienced floral companies in the Chicago wedding industry, I've picked up a few tips for elongating the life of these gorgeous flowers that I thought I would share with you today:

{one thing to keep in mind here is that you will want to buy peonies fully closed (see photo below) to last as long as possible.  The blooms will open within a day if you keep them in a warm room.  If you are buying peonies in the afternoon that you wish to be displayed that same evening you may want to select a bunch that has started to open already because your blooms might not open in time.}

{floral guide: thanksgiving table arrangement}

Not having access to the flower mart in downtown LA has been a big adjustment for me, but luckily I was able to find a cute flower shop around the corner from our new place that was able to order some amazing cut flowers for me this Thanksgiving.  Here is the flower guide for the two arrangements I put together for our Thanksgiving table this Thursday.  Note that I did end up adding some craspedia to the arrangements that I already had at the house so it didn't end up getting photographed above.

{our wedding: florals by Hello Gem}

 

Just in case you didn't see it earlier this week, Chelsea of Hello Gem posted all about our wedding florals on Green Wedding Shoes along with some helpful tips for DIY brides.

I am so lucky to not only have Chelsea as a friend, but also as a talented floral and event designer.  I was able to give Chelsea some minimal inspiration images (like this, this & this) which she turned around to perfectly execute exactly what I had envisioned as dream centerpieces and bouquets for our wedding.

One thing I knew for sure was that I wanted pretty and soft bridal/bridesmaid bouquets that absolutely had to include white peonies, succulents and white anemones.  For the centerpieces, I wanted organic feeling arrangements that didnt have too much color besides green and white.  It was also really important to me that we use some of the deep black succulents from my own garden in the centerpieces and it was wonderful to use something I grew myself and they also added a pop to the arrangements.  Chelsea also created the festive flower crowns that two of my bridesmaids and our flower girl wore on the wedding day (seen here).

 Here is Chelsea's breakdown of all the different flowers she used:

{graphics by Hello Gem, images by EPLove}

{flower guide: spring arrangement}

This past Saturday, Chris and I braved the insane pre-Mother's Day crowds at the downtown flower mart to pick up some things to make a fresh arrangement for our place.  If our mothers had been in town, this is the arrangement I would have gifted to them.  This is the first time in a while that I have bought fresh flowers for no other reason than just for the fun of making a big arrangement.  I re-used the long wood containers leftover from our wedding centerpieces (you can buy 12 of them here if you want!). 

{In retrospect- I do not recommend using the purple delphinium. I am not sure 

if I did something wrong, but this flower hated life in this arrangement after about a half a day} 

  {just felt like its been a while since the last Muji picture on here}

{bridal shower floral guide}

 
As promised in the recap from my bridal shower, Heather from Bourbon & Bleu is back today to guest blog with a little bit more information about the beautiful floral arrangements she put together for the event. Take it away Heather.... 

 Making the floral arrangements for Natalie's bridal shower was such a blast!  I met with Kay a few weeks before to discuss the look she was going for - feminine and organic arrangements in pink, white and peach colors.  Based on the table set-up, we decided on 4 main arrangements (1 for each table's centerpiece) and a large floral piece for the mimosa table.  Kay had also been saving up beer bottles and mason jars to add to the centerpieces.  I put single long stems of white and pink ranunculus in the beer bottles and mason jars. I knew that the dessert table would already have a lot going on with Kay's amazing chevron paper background and the various desserts, so I went simple. I purchased two bunches of ivory hydrangea and placed them in white ceramic vases.

{image via Sarah Roach Photography}

 

 

For the table arrangements, I headed down to the LA Flower Mart and picked up the following:

• 2 dozen ivory roses
• 2 dozen peach roses
• 3 bunches white stock
• 2 bunches peach stock
• 1 bunch wax flowers
• 1 bunch sweet william
• 1 bunch flowering spurge

I used green floral foam in the base of the arrangements so that I could more easily structure the arrangements.  I started with the roses - as they were the main focus of the arrangements - and placed about 4 white and 4 peach roses in each arrangements.  Next I added in about 2 white and and 2 peach stems of stock. After this I just added in the remaining wild flowers at different locations and heights to give it an organic look. 

 

 {image via Sarah Roach Photography}

  {image via Sarah Roach Photography}

  {image via Sarah Roach Photography}

Later this week, I'll be back with Kay guest blogging in more detail about some of the DIY projects she created for the bridal shower including some free printable downloads!

{simple late winter floral arrangement}

The past weekend, I headed out to the flower mart to pick up supplies to create a small arrangement to set our table for a dinner party.  My normal go-to flower is white hydrangea since they are so large that you only need one bunch of them to really fill a vase and the look is very classic and fresh.  This time, I really wanted to branch out and create something that felt a little more organic and natural.  I ended up with two bunches of ranunculus in peach and white, blue thistle and some seeded stem to add greenery.  

One of my favorite wedding blogs, The Wedding Chicks,  does a weekly "bouquet recipe" feature that breaks down exactly which flowers make up a certain type of bouquet.  Inspired by these posts, I thought it would be fun to share the arrangement I made and even break down the exact flowers I used...