Favorite Websites :: uBloom.com

What a fun day, I attended a flower show at Michael's Wholesale where J Schwanke did a presentation on wedding bouquets and centerpieces. He introduced us to a fairly new website:
uBloom
"the source for everything flowers"
There appears to be all types of information available, including videos to learn floral design. I just started to delve into it, looks like quite a few internet hours can be spent on this site!
So if you are a flower enthusiast be sure to check it out.
Other than learning of a new flower site, J did show/tell us all kinds of facts about flower care. He designed more arrangements than I could keep track of.
And a special mention - lunch was provided by one of my favorite caterers in Denver - Footers. Had a nice chat with Jimmy - a fellow flower lover!

Bridal Star Hairstyles Magazine

The Bridal Star Hairstyles Magazine issue #56 just hit the newstands. On pages 22-27 is the article "Love In Bloom". Leslie Snyder of Leslie's Arts coordinated the entire shoot which took place at Phipps Mansion. She did all the style work with dresses, makeup and most importantly hair. I provided all the flowers for the photo shoot. John Hudetz snapped the wonderful photographs. The spread turned out fantastic. Now I'm just hoping to receive it in PDF form - which will promptly be posted on the website. Enjoy!

Grace Ormonde Wedding Style magazine

Last Tuesday, March 11, was the photo shoot for Grace Ormonde Wedding Style Magazine at the St. Regis in Aspen, Colorado. What a whirlwind trip to Aspen! I pulled out of Denver on Monday - after waiting for FedEx to show up with the linens shipped in from Los Angeles. Arrived in Aspen and crashed with some friends for the night, up bright and early on Tuesday morning and off to the St. Regis hotel. What a day - pulling together all the aspects of Bella Fiori's tablescape, plus designing two bouquets and two boutonnieres for the shoot.
First off, a special thank-you to Wildflower Linens of Buena Park, California for helping me to design the linen look. Young Song sent over a phenomenal lily pad table linen in moss green. I absolutely loved it, as did everyone else that saw it. On the chivari chairs we draped a sage chiffon chair cover and adorned it with a yellow pincushion protea flowers. At each place setting was a dupioni silk citron napkin.

All the rentals for the tablescape were provided by Event Rents of Denver: including the charger, plates, glasses and silverware. At each place setting the napkin has a pocket fold and holds a menu designed by Michelle Gillette of Dramatic Events. Michelle also designed the place cards which I placed in our cut logs. Also, each napkin is adorned with a yellow cymbidium orchid. At the base of the arrangement is green sheet moss, yellow cymbidium orchids, green votive holders and green balls of different textures.
The arrangement itself was designed on a 36" vase that I wrapped with bark and twigs. A manzanita branch sat on top of the vase where I wove yellow kangaroo paws, yellow dendrobriums and yellow mokara orchids into the branches. For some added flare and interest I wired individual yellow mokara orchids with gold wire and had them dangle from the manzanita branches.

Looks like I didn't get any shots of the bouquets with my camera, ooopppsss. One bouquet was handtied with a cluster of yellow pincushion flowers surrounded by rolled croton leaves. Around the leaves I wired yellow callas so they'd form a circle around the leaves. The second bouquet was also handtied and contained yellow spray roses clustered in the center and had dangling yellow mokara orchids wired in.
The boutonnieres I did get shots of.
The first boutonniere was of yellow kangaroo paws and three billy balls and yellow gems on the base.
The second boutonniere had a yellow cymbidium orchid with rolled croton leaves and lily grass, also adorned with yellow gems.

Happy Birthday Bella Fiori

Hard to believe that today marks the 5th birthday for Bella Fiori. Seems like just yesterday that I was given the keys to the studio and walked in for the first time. Walking in with all kinds of ideas and dreams! 5 years later, still feel alive with ideas for the future of Bella Fiori. :)
A lot has changed in 5 years, I've meet so many wonderful people in the event industry, worked with tons of wonderful brides & grooms - and enjoyed providing flowers for their special day, have had some great worker bees come through the doors (and happy that Michelle will soon mark her two year anniversary here), traveled throughout much of Colorado - all for weddings, learned many Denver city streets - for deliveries!, have had the opportunity to continue my education in the floral industry - here in Denver and in other cities, participated in quite a few magazine articles - Grace Ormonde photo shoot is coming up in two weeks! Attended more networking events than I can remember - each one is a party in itself, this list could go on for awhile....

Some highlights & things I'm thankful for:
1) opening the doors for business March 1, 2003
2) having dinner with Preston Bailey, November 2006
3) television appearances, 2006
4) “The Knot 2007 Best of Weddings Pick” - May 2007
5) Selected by Elegant Bride as one of the top floral designers for weddings in the country - 2005
6) being accepted into bbrooks, June 2003
7) meeting Lisa Weddel AIFD, who has introduced me to AIFD symposiums and Rose Parade
8) Michelle starting work here, May 2006
9) being next door to Lifestyles Catering, Kaye and I have such a bond - our afternoon meetings outside so the dogs can play and we can talk about business. For the countless times I borrow their vans, their staff helps me and for all the wonderful food I have sampled. :)
10) Jessie who used to work here but moved to Hawaii - yet, still sends her friends here for flowers :)
11) all the florist friends that I have here in Denver

Things I am looking forward to:
1) Grace Ormonde Wedding Style photo shoot
2) Class with Paula Pryke in London
3) Applying for AAF through Society of American Florists
4) Becoming involved with Warren Tech floristry program, we will be providing job shadows for students.
5) Working on a book of wedding flowers

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -- Mark Twain

black out dates

I found this on The Knot. If you are working with a tight budget, these are dates to avoid in 2008 & 2009 if you can help it. Also, lock in your date with vendors asap as they'll be tons of brides out their vying for yours!

Holiday Weekends
Martin Luther King, Jr. Day (always a Monday)
January 21, 2008
January 19, 2009

President's Day (always a Monday)
February 18, 2008
February 16, 2009

Memorial Day (always a Monday)
May 26, 2008
May 25, 2009

Independence Day
Friday, July 4, 2008
Saturday, July 4, 2009

Labor Day (always a Monday)
September 1, 2008
September 7, 2009

Columbus Day (always a Monday)
October 13, 2008
October 12, 2009

Thanksgiving (always a Thursday)
November 27, 2008
November 26, 2009

New Year's Eve
Wednesday, December 31, 2009
Thursday, December 31, 2009

Religious Holidays
Palm Sunday
March 16, 2008
April 5, 2009

Easter Sunday
March 23, 2008
April 12, 2009

Passover (begins at sunset the night before)
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Thursday, April 9, 2009

Rosh Hashanah
In 2008, begins at sunset on Monday, September 29, and lasts until nightfall on Wednesday, October 1
In 2009, begins at sunset on Saturday, September 19, and lasts until nightfall on Sunday, September 20

Yom Kippur (begins at sunset the night before)
Thursday, October 9, 2008
Monday, September 28, 2009

Hanukkah (begins at sunset the night before)
Monday, December 22, 2008
Saturday, December 12, 2009

Christmas
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Friday, December 25, 2009

Kwanzaa
Begins Friday, December 26, 2008
Begins Saturday, December 26, 2009 through Friday, January 1, 2010

Notable Holidays
April Fool's Day
If you and your fiance are jokesters at heart, this could be the perfect wedding day for you. If not, choose another day.
Tuesday, April 1, 2008
Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Mother's Day
Make sure your mom is okay with sharing this weekend with your wedding -- but it could be the perfect opportunity to honor her. If you do choose it, at your day-after brunch make a toast to all the mothers in the room.
Also, as far as flowers go, this is a very busy weekend. More than likely the flowers you choose will be more expensive this weekend.
May 11, 2008
May 10, 2009

Father's Day
Ditto for dad.
June 15, 2008
June 21, 2009

Halloween
Avoid it if you're terrified that someone might actually show up in costume.
Friday, October, 31, 2008
Saturday, October 31, 2009

Days of Remembrance
Historically significant days may cause a conflict of interest for some guests.
September 11: Falls on a Thursday in 2008 and a Friday in 2009
December 7, Pearl Harbor Remembrance Day: In 2008 it's on a Sunday, and falls on a Monday in 2009

Super Bowl
If you don't live in Tampa, and are marrying on the Saturday rather than the Sunday of Super Bowl weekend, then the big game shouldn't affect your wedding too much -- unless you and your hubby are die hard fans and can't bear to miss the big game for your honeymoon. If in doubt, steer clear of this date:
Sunday, February 1, 2009, Tampa, FL

Final Four/March Madness
Everyone loves the excitement of college b-ball (and betting on it!). Keep your sports fans at bay by avoiding these dates:
Saturday, April 5 and Tuesday, April 7, 2008, San Antonio, TX
Saturday, April 4, 2009 and Monday, April 6, 2009, Detroit, MI

Quirky Dates
8/8/08: Although it lands on a Friday, numerological significance and the novelty of marrying on a date that occurs once in a lifetime make 8/8/08 an attractive wedding date.
03/06/09 falls on a Friday
09/09/09 falls on a Wednesday

Expensive Holidays
Valentines Day & New Years Eve

Fabulous Florists :: Scott Corridan and Company Design

I've been doing some research this morning, always fun to check out other floral designers websites. Today I've been enjoying Scott Corridan and Company Design website. The man has great taste! Not to mention, he went to University of California, Santa Barbara, my alma mater. I see that Scott has made quite a few television appearances and has a few of the videos on his website. Plus, tons of his work has been featured in Inside Weddings, a great publication showcasing lush southern California weddings. For any flower lovers, this is a website not to be missed!

Favorite Websites :: wedding planning website