Happy New Year! With just a couple of days left before the January 2, 2009 entry deadline for the Say ‘I Do’ with a Big ‘Do Contest, we have some exciting developments.

• The contest entry deadline has been extended to January 30, 2009
• We have some exciting new sponsors to add to the prize package, including photography, linens, wedding dress, and more! Stay tuned for details.
• Brides Against Breast Cancer has confirmed their dress sale for Anaheim on February 27-28, 2009 at the Marriott Suites Anaheim, 12015 Harbor Blvd Garden Grove, CA. This is where we will be announcing the contest winner!
• Contest sponsor Abby Aguilera will be appearing on NBC Telemundo TONIGHT December 31, 2008, and has all of the contest information available on her website in Spanish

2008 has been a fabulous year, and 2009 promises to be even better! Stay tuned for lots of new updates, and a look back at the highlights of 2008. Like they always say after winning a big game, “I’m going to Disneyland!” Yes I will be ringing in the new year with my husband, some friends, and the entire Disney family. Please have a happy and safe new year and see you in 2009!

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Angel and Jonathan were married this summer at quite the unique venue – the Houdini Estate in the Hollywood Hills. The wedding was coordinated by Echo Jenqs of Pink by Echo, and she was a pleasure to work with! The colors were pink, blue, and yellow. The bride and groom wanted clean lines and though we were using tulips, hydrangea, and mini callas, we were avoiding a garden-y (is that a word?) look.

For the centerpieces, we opted for a trio of graduated-height tall glass vases with alternating pink and yellow color schemes per table. Each table featured a stem of cymbidium orchids, calla lilies, and tulips. The brides bouquet was full of VeriFlora Certified pink tulips and mini callas, and each of the bridesmaids had a different coordinating variety in blues and yellows.

This venue is nestled on a hill in Laurel Canyon and while its beautiful and unique, there are definitely logistical challenges to working there. Here is some insight into our behind-the-scenes setup situation so that if you do an event there, you can be prepared too! One driveway leads in and out, so it was constantly blocked by parked cars and there were a few times we had to hike stuff up the hill because we couldn’t drive all of the way up. There are several little nooks and plateaus that are connected by narrow and winding staircases, so no carts will work here, everything is hand carried! Since we were filling up tall vases with water on-site, the only water source other than the shower in the bathroom was a hose spigot (sans hose), so we filled up buckets and transferred the water to the vases. All of these things add time to the setup, so we had four of us on site to get the job done in the time we had. We even had a few minutes extra at the end of our setup to explore the grounds a bit, definitely a cool place!

All photos are courtesy of the fabulous Evoke Photography, thanks Emi and Michael!

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So the long awaited much anticipated issue is out now – the Architectural Digest Emmy Greenroom feature! These pictures are SOOOO much better than mine, and the Hearts On Fire diamond chandelier is just gorgeous! Enjoy.

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Hello everyone! I have been on a bit of a hiatus. On Monday of last week, Darrell decided at the last minute to fly to Atlanta to be with his parents and sister for the Thanksgiving holiday. I was already committed to a project over the weekend and wasn’t going to be able to go, and I planned to spend Thanksgiving with my family in San Diego. Well, on Tuesday morning my project for the weekend got cancelled and all of a sudden I was free to go to Atlanta! We left early Wednesday morning and stayed until Tuesday of this week.

Yes, six days of sleeping 15 hours a night, eating home-cooked meals (though it was the same Thanksgiving meal over and over and over…), taking naps, shopping, reading (The Audacity of Hope by Barack Obama and The Pagan Stone by Nora Roberts – I’ve been waiting months for that one!), and did I mention I took a lot of naps?

Since I basically slept through the last week, it wasn’t until I got home Wednesday that I realized there had been this whole situation going on in Thailand. Have you heard about it? Check out some of the stories from today here and here. I checked in with my orchid supplier this morning when I was at the flower market, and that confirmed what I had figured… the cooler was EMPTY and they hadn’t been receiving their regular shipments of dendrobium, aranda, and oncidium orchids from Thailand. They were able to receive about half their regular shipments for standing orders, but they had to be driven 16 hours by truck to a different airport in Thailand, and they were a little worse for the wear.

This is a perfect example of how flowers are truly a global trade and disruptions in other parts of the world can affect us here. Since most florists know that situations like this are a remote possibility, brides will often find a clause in their contracts like the one in mine -

“Every effort will be made to secure the exact items as described. However, if a specified item is not available at the time of the event, the Florist may make a comparable substitution in value and substance.”

This situation in Thailand is case in point of the meaning of this clause, so please understand that sometimes things happen that are completely out of our control! A takeover of an airport and ousting of a prime minister is an extreme situation, but sometimes factors such as weather, transportation, high demand (like the time I went to the market and just about every pink rose in existence on this planet were bought for some huge crazy event – I’d love to find the pictures of that one!) can disrupt flower supply and we have to find an appropriate substitution.

In September of 2004, Miami was hit with consecutive hurricanes for 4 weeks and the airport was shut down, and Miami is the hub of the floral trade from South America. I had ordered 40 bunches of red roses – 1,000 stems – for a wedding and didn’t get ANY of them. After I picked myself up off of the floor, I walked to the wholesaler next door and they had EXACTLY 40 bunches of local red roses. I was SO LUCKY to get those given the situation.

So what about the green dendrobium orchids I wanted for Sunday’s wedding? Well, there were no green dendrobiums ANYWHERE, so we are using the pink dendrobiums I tracked down at the market early this morning, which look smashing in the centerpieces and chair decorations. Its late Friday night and all of the flowers are done and in the cooler, ready to go for Sunday. The wedding is in San Diego bright and early Sunday morning, I’ll be sure to share some pictures when all is said and done! In the meantime here are a few pics from a wedding a few years ago that featured green and white dendrobium orchids. Have a great weekend!

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