Kelly and Jasson were married on November 15, 2008, the day the fires raged all over Southern California!  A cloud of smoke and ash in Long Beach didn’t detract from a beautiful day for them as they began their lives together. The wedding was coordinated by the fabulous Amanda Auer from In The Now Weddings and Events. Check out her blog for more photos! The reception was at Club V20 in Long Beach. The bride and groom were searching for a suitable reception spot that was a club/restaurant and changed their venue and date a couple of times as things weren’t working out very well early in the planning. I had referred them to On Broadway in San Diego as an example, and it turns out that the same people that own On Broadway also own Club V20. I’m glad it worked out!

Here are a collection of images from the reception, that Darrell and Esther teamed up on and rocked the setup while I tried to get home ahead of the fires. This is exactly why its so important to have such a great team, and to book a florist who has such a team working for them! They totally had it under control, great job guys!

Kelly also sent me a wonderful note after the wedding, she said:

Christine,

I can’t thank you enough for the BEAUTIFUL job you did at our wedding. Our centerpieces were jaw- dropping! They were the all the rage that nite, everyone was talking about how amazing the room looked. I never thought my wedding could’ve looked so magical. From the cake to the place cards, it was perfection! Thank you so much for all your hard work and talent. You truly are an artist!

Thank you,

Kelly & Jasson Gilmore

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Thank you again everyone who has checked in with us. Finally things are back to normal. Shown above is a picture of a spot right off of Weir Canyon and Santa Ana Canyon in Anaheim Hills, down the street from my house about a mile. Last year I took head shots in the brush alongside Weir Canyon, and the fire burned right up to it! I think that is the closest it got to us.

My mom had pnemonia and was kept in the hospital for 4 days to recover, and she was released yesterday. She is feeling much better! The upsides are that she got an all expenses paid vacation for 4 days while being waited on hand and foot, and since she was up here in the hospital, I had my dad at the studio for a couple more days to do some projects.

Our latest project is a walk in cooler! We are so excited to have even more space to keep flowers cool. It can get really hot in the studio, so we are always running flowers up to the air conditioning in the consultation area and stashing them in the reach in. Now we will have a lot more cool space! When the staff heard that we were getting a cooler like this, they asked if we could just put the work stations in there.

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Hello everyone! Just wanted to thank everyone that has contacted me today about the fires still burning out of control near my home in Anaheim Hills. Today has been a crazy day!

Ours started at 3:30am, my parents are up in Anaheim visiting from San Diego for the weekend so my dad can do some work at the studio to install a walk-in cooler (yay!). My mom woke us up because she was having back pain, fever, and cough. The paramedics were at our house at 4am, she was generally OK but my dad took her to the ER, where they admitted her and she is staying at least overnight and is undergoing all kinds of tests.

I checked in with them at the hospital at 9:30a before swinging by the flower market to pick up flowers for Monday’s orders. By the time I got back to the studio at 10:30am, there was a huge fire burning to the east, which is now the Freeway Complex fire, and directly to the north of the studio, which is the Brea fire. With fires burning all around us, Darrell and I packed up the car for the wedding and took off for the setup in Long Beach at 11:30am. By the time the ceremony was set up at 2pm, I was getting calls from my family in San Diego that my neighborhood was being evacuated, the fire had jumped the 91 freeway to the southwest and was going into Anaheim Hills. Homes and apartments were burning within 2 miles of our house and we were in the path of the winds.

Since everything was under control at the wedding setup, I left Darrell and Esther, my all star crew, to finish the reception set up while I tried to make it home to grab whatever I could. Well, I never made it because they closed the freeway off ramp just a few cars ahead of me, and I was stuck for about an hour off of Lakeview and the 91. I finally got off the freeway but all of the surface streets towards my house were closed. Since I couldn’t go home, I went back to the studio to pack up my computer, files and stuff. My friend met up with me there to help with whatever he could, and we ended up eating dinner in Yorba Linda and there were fire trucks and police going back and forth in convoys, it was crazy!

I was on the phone with Darrell checking in on the set up the whole time, and everything was coming together they had finished and were taking pictures. Big thanks to Amanda Auer from In The Now and her crew for being such a great team with us today to get the job done for our fabulous couple Kelly and Jasson. I got reports back that everyone thought the brides bouquet was “bangin’” so that was good… I can’t wait to see the pictures and will post them here when I can. Darrell took a ton today but my computer is packed in the car in case of evacuation (I’m on Darrell’s laptop) so I’ll have to upload later.

Once the wedding was all done, Darrell met up with me at the hospital to check in on my mom, who is doing OK but just waiting for test results tomorrow to determine whats wrong. We decided to try to get home, and finally got back in at 9pm. Even though I am exhausted and Darrell is passed out on the couch next to me, both of us in our Spiraled Stem uniforms that reek of smoke, I am glued to the TV and checking the internet for current fire info. Right now, we are sandwiched between two evacuation areas, though we aren’t currently under evacuation orders.

We are going to try to get some rest, please pray for all of the people who are evacuated and have lost their homes in the fires burning all around Southern California. There are two wedding industry friends that I know of that I’m pretty sure live in the evacuation area in Anaheim Hills, Jill from Jill Parkin Designs and Young from Wildflower Linens. I hope that they are doing OK too. I’m sorry I don’t have any pictures of either the fire or the wedding to share, its been quite the day and I just wanted to share the experience and again thank everyone for checking in. You can see coverage of the fires at www.ocregister.com I will try to do an update again tomorrow!

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“Brides who have lost their hair to breast cancer treatment have the opportunity to win a wedding day prize package worth over $10,000. The grand prize includes human hair extensions and a customized lingerie set so she can walk down the aisle with hair under her veil and cleavage in her gown. Brides can enter the contest from November 1, 2008 to January 2, 2009 by visiting www.thespiraledstem.com. As a bonus, the first ten qualified entrants will automatically win a Foot Petals Runaway Bride Gift Set.

The grand prize winner will receive: human hair extensions and wedding day hairstyling by Celebrity Hairstylist Abby Aguilera, valued at $5,000; florals for the wedding from the e collection – featuring VeriFlora Certified Sustainably Grown Flowers - by The Spiraled Stem Floral Design, valued at $2,000; a day-of wedding coordination package from Simply Mumtaz Events, valued at $3,500; a personalized bra fitting and wedding day lingerie set by The Sculpted Silhouette, including the Bra Pocket, valued at $100; Foot Petals Runaway Bride Gift Set, valued at $44.95.

To be eligible to enter, entrants must be engaged prior to the application closing date on January 2, 2009, plan to marry in Southern California by December 31, 2010, have lost their hair due to breast cancer treatment, and anticipate at least 2 ½ inches of post-treatment hair re-growth by the wedding. Visit http://www.thespiraledstem.com/welcome/sayidocontest for complete eligibility criteria and to enter.

Christine Saunders is the President/CEO of The Spiraled Stem Floral Design, which specializes in environmentally sustainable floral design and offers Green Flowers. Available in Every Color. Christine is presenting the Say ‘I Do’ With a Big ‘Do Contest in honor of her aunt Anne, whom she lost to breast cancer in 1998. Learn more about The Spiraled Stem Floral Design at www.thespiraledstem.com. “

 

Please help promote the Say ‘I Do’ With a Big ‘Do Contest to breast cancer survivors who are brides – they can win a  $10,000+ prize package that will take care of her from head to toe on her wedding day.

 

Here’s how you can help:

• Download and distribute the Say 'I Do' With a Big 'Do Contest Flyer through breast cancer support group meetings, in doctor’s offices, or breast cancer related events

• Post flyer on message boards, bulletin boards, local coffee shops and businesses, etc.

• Copy and paste above quoted text into your company/organization e-newsletter and/or blog

• Link to www.thespiraledstem.com/welcome/sayidocontest from your website

• Forward this post to your contacts

• Notify press with the Say 'I Do' With a Big 'Do Contest Press Release 

For additional information and to enter visit: www.thespiraledstem.com/welcome/sayidocontest

 

Please email sayidocontest@thespiraledstem.com with any questions, comments, and to let us know how you’ve spread the word!

 

Thank you for helping to find the lucky bride/breast cancer survivor who will win this contest.

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