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!!

Grace Ormonde Wedding Style Website

I'm thrilled to pieces that Colleen & John's wedding is on Grace Ormonde Wedding Style Website under tabletop inspiration. Such an honor to have this awesome wedding included! It took place recently at the Westin Tabor Center with Autumn Burke Photography & Weddings By Norie.

Shop News :: What's Happening at Bella Fiori

Hello my dear friends!
I hope you have enjoyed your summer and are now looking forward to fall. I love fall! It's amazing in Colorado how on September 1st it's as if someone flicks a weather switch here. We suddenly go from 90+ days for the past two months to more comfortable temps in the 70s & 80s and every morning greets us with a crispness in the air. Although, I know the first snow is looming... I hope it takes its sweet time arriving.

As for Bella Fiori & Bella Rents it has been a busy summer and looks to be a busy fall.

A few highlights:
We designed the flowers for The Knot event. I will be posting beautiful photos from Jensen Sutta. Meanwhile, you can see a recap on the StudioWed Blog.

We've been invited onto the preferred vendor list for the brand new Four Seasons Hotel in downtown Denver. It's a beautiful property which will open in October.

I've been surfing the net, with the help of Google Alerts, to find any write ups including photographs of our work. I came across these:
A Realistic Wedding
Alisa Benay - Wedding Dress Photoshoot
Jensen Sutta - 10 Mile Station
Jensen Sutta - Crooked Willow Farm
Weddings By Tanya
Polyvore

That's just a few tid-bits for now. I have quite a few photos from weddings to post and will be doing that in the coming weeks.
Wishing you a fabulous weekend!

Wedding Inspiration :: Vail Cascade

Thought you might like to see the candy bar we designed for Jaime & Mack at the Vail Cascade Hotel & Spa:



The cute Chinese take out box:


Candy shop sign:


Closeup of the Hammond's lollipops:

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!

Favorite Websites :: Flirty Fleurs

Introducing a new blog all about florists & flowers, it's called Flirty Fleurs. My friend Andrea of AK Haydon Floral Design & myself are the editors of this new blog. We'd love it if you read the submissions page & contribute to Flirty Fleurs! Be sure to follow us on Twitter @flirtyfleurs

Shop News :: Style Me Pretty feature

Bella Fiori, Dramatic Events & Jenna Walker Photography were featured on Style Me Pretty!

Check it out:
Marissa & Jed's wedding at Dunton Hot Springs

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!

COUTUREcolorado

There's a new blog on the scene .. a blog who's purpose is to assist Colorado brides in their wedding planning. I'm thrilled to be one of the floral designers listed on the site and look forward to participating.
Be sure to bookmark the blog and visit it often:

COUTUREcolorado

Brides Colorado Magazine - Carrie & Jeff

I just got the newest copy of Brides Colorado magazine and am quite pleased to see Carrie & Jeff's wedding featured in an article called:
Real Planning Timeline
I had the pleasure of working on this wedding with Julie Gambrell of Classic Creations & Jared Wilson Photography.

Bella Rents :: White Dance Floor

Just In! A brand new white dance floor available to rent for your special occasion. It looks sharp on its own but looks even better with a gobo light shining on it. For more information on sizes and prices click here

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! :)

The Knot Magazine - Iris & Jeff

Michelle & I were surprised to see Iris & Jeff's wedding in the latest issue of The Knot. As I mentioned yesterday, I knew that Anna & Sam were going to be featured, I had no idea Iris & Jeff's wedding would also be shown! Michelle was the lead designer on Iris & Jeff's wedding and she was tickled pink when she saw this spread.
Here's the article:


For more photos from this wedding click here.

The Knot Magazine - Anna & Sam

I've known for awhile now that Anna & Sam's wedding would be featured in The Knot. Nonetheless, I couldn't wait for the issue to be released so that I could see it! Here it is:

I loved this wedding and had the great pleasure of working with Heather of Calluna Events and Jamee Photography.
Here are a few other links showing more photos from Anna's wedding:
Bella Fiori's blog
Style Me Pretty
Calluna Events

holiday offerings

Time for the HOLIDAYS! Woo-hoo!

Check out some of these lovely arrangements! We offer deliveries of these in the Denver Metro area. Minimum for delivery is $35, plus delivery fee.
Let us help you with your holiday event, please call for details on how to select centerpieces and decor for your party.
We do offer full holiday decor setup in your home or office, too.

Here are a few arrangements to peruse:
We offer cyclamen, poinsettia and Christmas cactus plants. Price ranges from $12.00 for a small plant & goes up to $50.00 plus, depending on the size.

This is one of our popular party arrangements. Three cylinders filled with ornaments, orchids and candles. $35.00.

A full, lush floral arrangement. $65.00.

Tulips wrapped with leaves and wire. $45.00.

A traditional, lush wreath with a candle in the center. $125-150.00.

Our other new offering is an adorable Christmas tree that stands about 18-20" tall and is decorated with miniature ornaments & ribbon and placed in a festive holiday container. $35.00

Another popular party centerpiece. $18.50.

We are offering gift baskets.
Prices are: $85 - 100 - 125 - 150
The baskets are decorated with festive flowers and ribbon. The baskets are filled with chips, chocolates, candies, teas, cookies, fruits and a candle.

What's New :: Tables

Bella Rents is now offering tables - banquet tables, round tables, cabaret tables, bar top tables ... yes, lots & lots of tables! For pricing be sure to check directly on Bella Rents website.