A bouquet of clematis and lilacs

A bridal bouquet of clematis, lilacs, roses, jasmine and dahlias...

what's new at Bella Fiori..

This week I'm off to an east coast flower bonanza trip! On Thursday and Friday I'll be attending the Philadelphia Flower Show for the first time ever!! Can't believe I've never been to this show before, I hear it is huge and I figure it'll take two full days to see everything..
My mom will be joining me in Philly, along with my friend, Chuck, lead floral designer at Brown Palace Flower Shop in downtown Denver.

Sunday we'll head to NYC! I love spending time in NYC! Sunday thru Thursday will be spent in the city with ~30 other floral designers from across the country and I think a few Canadians. We have 5 days packed full of floral education. One of the parts I am most excited about is taking a class with Ariella Chezar!
Lately I've been on this path of design exploration, trying for a looser & more garden style. Here are a few of my explorations so far:

After the flower fun comes to an end on Thursday I will catch a train up to Massachusetts to spend time with my brother, his kids and our mom for the weekend.
On Friday I will visit with Cathy of Sprout Flowers in Worcester, MA. Looking forward to seeing Cathy again!!
The following Monday will be time to head back to Colorado!
We'll be blogging about our flower filled adventure on the Flirty Fleurs blog.

Winding down of wedding season...

What a season, what a GREAT season this has been - I've had the pleasure of working with the most wonderful brides & mothers of brides!! I have so many lovely images from extremely talented photographers to share with you. I'm getting busy with posting those images in the coming weeks. I do have a handful of weddings to design for in October but I did limit the amount since I have so many projects going on with Flirty Fleurs and my book: Bella Bouquets.

Bella Bouquets updates:
I have a book signing in San Francisco on October 18th at:
Blu Bungalow
2068 Union Street
San Francisco, CA 94123
6:30-9:30pm

Flirty Fleurs updates:
We have a few floral designing classes in the works, including bringing the amazing Francoise Weeks to Denver. Please email us at info@flirtyfleurs.com for more information on classes.

The summer did go by so quickly, didn't it? A few photos I snapped w/ my phone of installations we've done.
These two photos show a display I did at Studio 12 Gallery in Denver. I had just returned from Paris and was inspired by all the displays I had seen there when creating this:



At the beginning of the season I made a deal with myself, I'd take a week off middle of July and go home to California - that's where I refresh & relax best. I had a great time with my family. There's something so perfect about picking peaches off the tree in the backyard and baking a fresh pie! Spending time with this sweetheart and teaching her floral design is beyond words perfect:


A huge arch we installed a client's private home, Mindy is decorating the top with vines and white flowers. To give you an idea of the size - it's 3 sections at 10' wide each and reached about 10' off the ground.. largest arch we've installed!


some of the other beauties that graced our studio this season:





and the parting shot, there are two babies who think they spent way too much time at the studio...

Pictures of .... me.

Ok, I'm going out on a limb here & posting pictures of me. I'm not a fan of having my photo taken, I much prefer having photos of flowers!
However, with the release of Bella Bouquets I needed to have my head shot photo done for the bio page. Luckily, I know quite a few talented people in this industry...
A huge Thank You to Zack of Revert Photo for taking these photos and Janine of Makeup by Janine for doing my makeup.
You two are the best!!

Amsterdam & Paris

I'm back from a fabulous trip to Amsterdam & Paris. It was a great and much needed vacation, perfect for feeling refreshed before wedding season hits!
I'm posting about the daily experiences + lots of photos on the Flirty Fleurs blog.
I'll post a few photos here just to give you an idea of what we saw:

Hydrangea at Aalsmeer flower auction:


Clematis, oh how I love thee:


Tulips, tulips, tulips:


Paris flower shops:


Fields of daffodils in Amsterdam:


If you liked those five photos you'll definitely want to check out the flirty fleurs blog!

Across the pond I go...

Today I'm on a plane headed to a few lovely places.. Amsterdam & Paris!!
I will be out of town April 4-14.

I'm so excited to check out the famous Aalsmeer Flower Auction in Amsterdam:


As you can probably imagine, I will be blogging about the trip when I return.
Until then..
au revoir,
~Alicia

Happy Birthday Bella Fiori

Eight years ago today this journey started, eight years ago!!.. I always like to take this day and think about where I've been and where I'm going. Wow, 8 years.... The first 5 years is all about making it, surviving, proving it'll work. I was told that by many other business owners and boy were they right. The last 3 years came & went, every year seems to pass quicker than the last. I've been thinking about how this all started, just a young girl with a dream. I laugh at my naivete, at the time I started Bella Fiori I probably knew less than 20 people in Denver. Yes, less than 20 people!
Thankfully I am stubborn and that trait is probably why this all worked. Plenty of people told me it wouldn't work. Oh well, I didn't listen. Probably the best business advice I could give someone starting a business based on their dreams - believe in yourself, don't listen to nay-sayers and be stubborn.

This year ahead looks wonderful & exciting, full of new adventures. This Sunday I'm going to NYC to meet up with 17 other floral designers from around the country. We have quite the adventure planned; class w/ David Beahm, visits to NYC flower district, taping of the Martha Stewart show, visit to Ovando flower shop and the list goes on.
In April I'm going to Amsterdam & Paris with my friend, Kaye. Kaye was actually one of the first people I met in this business (caterer). I'm so excited to check out Aalsmeer, the largest flower auction in the world!!
The biggest adventure of the year will be the release of my book. Yes, I'm publishing a book. It's currently in the lay-out phase with the designer. A big thank you to the brides and photographers who have agreed to have their weddings & work in the book. And a huge thank you to my flower friends who have listened to my ideas, looked at the photographs, helped decide which ones should be included. I'm so thankful for my BFFs (best flower friends). It's a huge project and I can hardly wait until it is released. Once we have a better idea of when the book will be released I will be putting that information on this blog. Oh, it is a design book all about bridal and bridesmaids' bouquets...
hmm... that's actually just a sampling of the what's coming this year. There are a few other things in the works, of course, they'll be posted on this blog as they happen.

Most importantly, thank you to all the brides who have let me be part of their day! Thank you to the brides from the last 8 seasons and to the brides of this coming year. Thank you to all the amazing vendors I know, who make me laugh on a daily basis & who keep me amused. Thank you to Chad who definitely keeps me amused. He is doing a wonderful job running Bella Rents and is always helping me with my Bella Fiori projects. Seriously, you should see what he is building for me (huge aspen arch). I have an idea and he builds it, how cool is that??

We are having fun & that's a good thing. ;)

Hello 2011 & Hello Winter

Wow, a month since my last blog entry? I think that's a first in my four year history of blogging. My dear flower friend in Virginia, Holly Chapple , gave me a nudge on the phone yesterday & told me to get back to blogging! Well, the truth is I've been blogging a lot just on a different blog.. for all your flower lovers make sure you are following along on Flirty Fleurs!
Flirty Fleurs is definitely more about the business of flowers. I am thinking I have some catching up to do here on Bella Fiori, lots of beautiful images have arrived from photographers & I look forward to sharing them with you.

What else is happening at Bella Fiori? Well, Chad & I took a vacation to Peru in October once wedding season was over. I love the thrill of visiting a new country & experiencing a different way of life. Plus, seeing Machu Picchu was exhilarating & quite worth the trek!
I will be posting photos from the trip soon on Flirty Fleurs - I have hundreds of photos of the beautiful flowers there.

As for 2011 - what will it hold for us? Sadly, Michelle will be leaving us. She's been my main assistant for 5 years! Wow, 5 years! I will surely miss her and the visits from her cute-as-buttons kids. However, I'm very excited for her and her husband and his new career move!

Oh, in addition to a lot of photographs that I will be blogging about - we've been featured in some magazines lately, I'll post those too!
So get ready - we are about to look at a lot of flowers!

Happy 2011!!

Flower Friday!

something pretty to end your week with:

So you think you know flowers??

So, you think you know flowers? Well, here's a test and if you are correct you can win a prize. What's up for the prize? A $50 flower arrangement from Bella Fiori.

Name the flowers in this hand-tied bouquet:


Here's how it works:
1) Name all the fresh flowers used in this bouquet. You can either post it in a comment or email me directly.
2) You must reside in the Denver Metro area, or be willing to drive to our shop in Lakewood to pick up your arrangement.
3) If you prefer to have the arrangement delivered to a friend as a gift, that's fine by us!
4) If you are a current client that we are working with for an upcoming event you may elect to have the $50 credited towards your final invoice.
5) If you are a florist or wholesaler - well, you are disqualified. sorry! ;)

Any questions? Email me.
Good luck!

Random Photos from the studio

Yes.. yes.. I'm still photo-happy around here. I'm not sure that my Facebook friends are too happy with my new hobby/discovery. However, if you like flowers (and you must if you are reading this blog) well then, you are about to be treated to even more flowers photos. Hold on to your seats, here we go:

The above peonies are about 3 weeks over, seriously! They are beyond amazing.



Dainty and romantic ranunculus are shown above.

I made up two bouquets just for fun:

My new toy..

My new toy arrived on Monday, the UPS man finally came thru for me - my new Canon Camera has arrived! I love it, taking photos of everything today that holds still .. and a shot or two of Johann.
Check out how beautifully this camera captures flowers:

Shop News :: Where did May go??

Ok, I feel a theme coming on this year .. where are the months going and why are they going by so quickly??
May was busy & fun, definitely kicked off the wedding season!
At the shop - Raquel is having a great time at Bella Fiori, she has adjusted quite easily to studio life and isn't missing the life she knew working in walk-in flower shops.
Michelle & Ian welcomed their second child, Charlotte Rose was born on May 22 - the family is doing great! Congratulations to them & might I mention I love the name?? :)
Chad is extremely busy with Bella Rents, you can see him cruising around town with his team in this cool truck:


We participated in the NACE event which took place at Chair Covers & Linens shop at 6265 East Evans Avenue in Denver. I'll be posting all our designs from that event in a separate blog post. Bella Fiori provided all of the floral design, Bella Rents provided the chairs, tables, cab tables and canopies plus chandeliers.

Oh, we secured a new website for Bella Fiori - we now can be found at bellafiori.com (Bella Rents can still be found at bellarents.com )

Two shots from my iPhone of one of the latest weddings.. can't wait to see the professional shots from this wedding - I just adore lilacs, peonies and garden roses!
This gorgeous wedding took place in Silverthorne on Memorial Day weekend, gorgeous weather! In addition to the flowers we provided the chairs for the ceremony by the river. We had a great time working with Ashley from Table 6 Productions.



As for me, I can usually be found at the shop blogging on flirtyfleurs.com and/or designing flowers with the help of Johann:


And right now .. I'm off to the wholesalers to pick up flowers for this weekend's fabulous events!
Love to you all, thanks for supporting Bella Fiori & Bella Rents!

Shop News :: We have a new Website!!

Just released on April 1, 2010 - a shiny, brand new website!

Check it out and let us know what you think!!::
Bella Fiori - bellafiori-events.com

My extremely talented cousin designed the site, you can find out more about her graphic artist services at:
Kimberly Schwede - kimberlyschwede.com

Apparently, artistic & self-employed women run in the Schwede family. :)

~ New on the site - you can now order individual arrangements for delivery throughout the Denver Metro Area! Plus, all new floral galleries!

Shop News :: Where did March go?

Here we are at the end of March and all I can ask myself is.. where did this month go?
Ok, ok so I was busy AND out of town quite a bit. I managed to squeeze in two trips to CA in the past month. The first trip to Orange County - I just really need some sunshine, green grass and the blue ocean, plus time w/ girlfriends is always wonderful:

The next trip was to northern California, a few days w/ my parents, friends AND attending an amazing conference in San Francisco - more about that in a moment. Oh & yes, we worked on a few beautiful weddings this month!

The highlights -

One of our weddings was featured on Style Me Pretty :


Our studio was featured on Brooklyn Bride Blog in February:


I had the privilege of working on a few photoshoots recently - unfortunately, I cannot post those photos just yet.. waiting for them to be revealed in various magazines and blogs. I'll keep ya posted when they appear!!

One of the highlights of March was attending Wedding 360 in San Francisco. I'm so glad I attending this conference where I heard David Beahm of David Beahm Design, Grace Ormonde of Wedding Style Magazine, Sean Low of The Business of Being Creative, Rebecca Grinnals of Engaging Concepts, Todd Fiscus of Todd Events, and Tara Guerard of Soiree by Tara Guerard all speak!
I also got to meet Holly Chapple of Virginia, Holly & I became friends over Twitter. I'm so glad that Wedding 360 brought us together in person & I'm glad Holly got to spend time in my hometown (ok, I'm from San Mateo, but that is just minutes away from San Francisco). Here's a photo of Holly w/ Nicole of Swank Stems & myself:

If you'd like to read more about Wedding 360 be sure to check out Holly's blog, she did an amazing recap.

And tomorrow our newest team member will start, I'm excited to have Raquel join us. She comes to Bella Fiori with many years of floral design experience.
Bella Fiori turned 7 in March and I feel like we've had a great month of celebrations!

Flower Inspiration :: Centerpiece

Recently Joe from Studio JK came by the studio to shoot the breeze and he ended up shooting some pics of one of my centerpieces :) He was teaching me about lighting, it was really funny to see how he played with cool and warm lighting. Check out what he did with this centerpiece:

Hello 2010!!!

Good morning 2010! I look forward to see what you bring us this year!

We start off the new year with a Hot Pink wedding tomorrow - Jan. 2, 2010 - I love the thought of a hot pink wedding to start off the year, so bright & cheery!

What I'm looking forward to in 2010:
~In a few weeks Chad & I head to New Orleans to attend The Special Event . We'll be shopping for new rental equipment for Bella Rents ~ I can hardly wait!
~I'm looking forward to designing fantasy tables for the annual weddings how at ISES! This is our fourth year participating and by far my favorite ISES meeting of the year!
~In March I'll be attending Weddings 360 in San Francisco, CA. The Academy will provide a wide range of in-depth, ‘how-to’ classes, taught by nationally recognized leaders in the wedding industry. I'm excited to learn from the bests in the event industry.

That's just a bit of what we have lined up. I'm excited for the weddings which we have booked for this coming year -- lots of beautiful flowers on the horizon.
We wish everyone a wonderful, prosperous, adventurous and exciting 2010! :)

Good-bye 2009

What a year... what a year. 2009 had the extreme ups & downs that occur from time to time. Let's reflect on some of the highlights of this past year:

~ In January I was awarded a scholarship through ISES to attend The Special Event in San Diego, CA.
~ In January Devon to Harrison's wedding was featured in Premier Bride magazine.
~ In September we were featured with Julie Gambrell of Classic Creations in Bride & Bloom magazine. I love this magazine and being part of it means the world to me!
~ Bella Rents launched in October!
~ In December two of our weddings were featured in The Knot Colorado - Anna & Sam and Iris & Jeff.
~ We are ending the year today with a sultry red wedding, lots of candles, lots of roses, lots of petals. I'm glad to be ending the year with such a beautiful wedding!

I can't put a date on it but, one of the highlights of this year was joining twitter. Yes, twitter! How could a social media website be a highlight of my year? I've met so many amazing people here in Denver and from West Coast to East Coast and Internationally! You can follow me at: bellafiorievent

We had the extreme pleasure of work on many amazing weddings this year - with very amazing brides & grooms. Thank you for letting us be part of your special day!
Here are just a few of my favorites:
Krystal & Ben
Stacey & Chris
Jen & Dan
Kate & Drew

And, well, I don't care to focus on the not so great parts of 2009, so those we'll just let rest. However, I do feel it is important to mention that it is time to bid adieu to Sarah as today marks her last day with Bella Fiori. Sarah has been with us for almost 2 years and it is time for her to spread her wings and move on. We'll miss her terribly. :(

at the studio :: It's wedding season!

Dearest friends of Bella Fiori,
I must admit that we've been busy girls at studio and haven't had quite as much time to update the blog w/ our latest creations.
At the moment we have quite a few fun things happening. In addition to the weddings we are working on this weekend, we are also providing flowers for Intricate Icings open house on Sunday. Rachael is an amazing artist who now has a lovely shop in Erie, Colorado. If you are looking for a wedding cake - call her! Yesterday I worked on the containers for the flowers, came up with some cool looks - can't wait for them to be enjoyed on Sunday.
Also, we are providing flowers for Taste Of The Nation. The event is Sunday, July 19 and tickets are still available. I cannot wait to attend this event.
This past Monday we worked with Julie of Classic Creations, Julie Sandusky of JS Design and Jared Wilson Photography on a photo shoot for Bride & Bloom magazine on location at Villa Parker. I feel really fortunate to have been included in this photo shoot and can't wait for the issue to be released!
Also, look for our fall classes to be posted in August - we'll be offering a few classes in October.
On that note, it is time for me to head to the wholesalers and pick up the last items for the weddings this weekend. We are headed to Devil's Thumb Ranch, Phipps Mansion, Mount Vernon Country Club & Terrace Gardens. Can't wait to deliver flowers to our brides!!

at the studio :: continuing education

I feel one of the most important parts of being a good floral designer is to continue my education with other floral designers. Last month I attended a floral demonstration at our local wholesaler. What made this particular open house very interesting and fun are the ladies who gave the demonstration. I met Lisa Weddel and Kris Colwell about 7 years ago while working at Teal Floral Design. They are amazing friends who have taught me so much. Also, demonstrating at the open house was Crystal of The Perfect Petal, I'm fortunate to have Crystal as a friend - she is so sweet.
The ladies did an amazing job and I learned a few new techniques, particularly with corsages and boutonnieres.
Here are photos of the ladies hard at work!::