I recently came across this beautiful post by Alice Mourou and had to share. Feeling inspired to muster up some serious patience and matriculate attention to detail and try my hand at floral type. Click here to see the post.
Floral Type
Best Friends and Flowers (Congrats Megan & Levi!)
We've fallen far behind this season on our updates. We've been busy with weddings and best friends getting married. I couldn't be happier for my very best friend Megan to tie the knot with the incredible Levi. The venue was amazing! Teepees, lawn game, Redwood groves, it was a wedding venue fairy land. All in our stomping grounds of San Gregorio. Megan, Levi, and I all grew up in Half Moon Bay and some how had remained oblivious to the hidden gem that is OVY Camp until this summer. If you've never heard of it and are looking for an amazing venue where friends & family can gather for the whole weekend I highly recommend you check this place out. But be warned, it is rustic. It's a kids summer camp after all. So if teepees, bonfire, tiny cabins aren't your thing then.... then your crazy.
Any how, between all the prep and catching up with friends I only had a chance to sneak a few photos, so here they are.
Corners
Design and flowers are my passion. Today, if I could do anything, I would have some of the Mother's Day arrangements I made transcribed into wallpaper. Yes, I'm being self indulgent and a bit egotistical, but would you say no to either of these as a wallpaper?
A girl can dream. And if you happen to be a wallpaper manufacturer and are reading this, I will trade you free flowers for life in exchange of 4 rolls of these two images. Thank you in advance.
Mother's Day Is This Sunday!
Mother's Day is coming up, and Willi Wildflower is stocking up on gorgeous seasonal blooms that she is guaranteed to love! Deliveries start at $75. Please place orders by Thursday night!
Sometimes It's Hard To Let Go.....
For the most part I can honestly say I am thrilled when I deliver an arrangement to its enthusiastic recipient. But last week I had a moment when I didn't want to let go.... It was an arrangement for a party. It just got to me. Dogwood (heart flutter). Foxgloves from my garden that I watched grow back this year with delight. A few of my own Icelandic Poppies to add to the robust one's from the Flower Market (seriously there's are tall, strong, beautiful specimens; like the Michael Jordan's of poppies). Anyways, long story short, I brought this arrangement into my living room and just fell madly in love with it, enjoying the last few hours I had with it before it had to get carted away. Even the pup seemed to enjoy it.
The recipients were thrilled and appreciated it as much as I did. But leaving the venue I felt like a parent leaving their child on the first day of preschool. I missed it so much driving home with an empty van. It was ridiculous. Then I realized I was being ridiculous. Then I went and sat in my garden and looked at the few Foxgloves that remained and silently planned my ambush for the next arrangement that would be just mine. Cause sometimes you just have to treat yourself.
Spring has Sprung
Today's birthday delivery to Marie.
The sun is out, the bees are buzzing, and the garden is blooming!! Narcissus, Daffodils, Clematis, and Poppies (just to name a few) are showing up in abundance. We are thrilled to be working with a growing selection of local, seasonal flowers. Our first wedding of 2014 is right around the corner. Willi Wildflower is excited to welcome Spring, her blooms, and all the love that she in store for us this season.
Fun DYI Gold Leaf Vase Tutorial
Wedding season is flirting around the calendar corner and we're falling in love all over again. Before it's standing us in the face we're scavenging around and boosting our booty of unique and beautiful vessels. We found this awesome tutorial from Say Yes on DIY gold leaf vases. Try it out and let us know what you think. Happy crafting!
We're On Style Me Pretty!!
It's true, we got very busy during wedding season last year and amidst the chaos we lapsed in covering some of our stellar events via our blog. Lucky for us there's a little (read enormous, popular, big league) blog out there called Style Me Pretty that picked up our loose ends. So check out the enchanting love story of Michael & Iona here.
A huge thank you to the incredibly talented Caroline Frost for her gorgeous photography, to Style Me Pretty for featuring us (we are thrilled and honored!!), but mostly to Michael and Iona for inspiring the entire event!
VALENTINE'S DAY
Free delivery for all orders received by 2/11
I've been sitting here for a bit trying to think of what to write for Valentine's Day. This should be my jam: free expressions of love, tear jerking quotes, romantic inspirations.... The truth is, Valentine's Day can be a sensitive holiday. Some people love it, others loath it. I, for one, LOVE it. I know that some of you may see it as a straight kick to shin for all the singletons out there. But I don't see it that way.
I don't know why Valentine's Day has such correlation to romantic love. One of my favorite things on V-Day is receiving an annual anonymous Valentine in the mail. Some of you may think that's creepy, I am married after all, but to me it's endearing. Every year since I can remember, the letter would come. The "i" on Julie dotted with a heart. My hands would get clammy, my heart would race. I would think "Who could it be? And what 11 year old mails their Valentine? Must be a true romantic who is very mature." I would carefully inspect the Snoopy cartoon on the front of the card. I didn't want to over look any possible encrypted messages. I would nervously open it and read the Hallmark written love note only to be signed with a huge red heart and a question mark. A question mark??!?! You got to be kidding me! Can you imagine my suspicions when going to class the next day? I could be any given classmates crush. Oh the thrill! The anticipation! The excitement!
It only took me until about the 8th grade to realize this anonymous admirer was my grandmother. And I smiled. And I laughed. For a long time. She got me. And 20 years later I still get that Valentine in the mail.
To me Valentine's Day is about love. Period. Acknowledging the people you love in your life; whether that be your wife, your boyfriend, your mother, your grand daughter, your neighbor, or your best friend. My friend Marisa loves Valentine's Day. It's her favorite. She throws a big party every year. She takes her Valentine card making very seriously. It is a true labor of love. This year she is hosting a camp out up north with a formal sit down dinner among the stars. Not just for her boyfriend, but for everyone that she loves. That's what I'm talking about people.
So reach out to those you love this Valentine's Day. Let them know their special. And if you'd like to tell them with a gorgeous bouquet, we'd be happy to do that for you:)
We are offering complimentary delivery throughout most the bay area for all orders placed by TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 11TH.
Most importantly, we'd love for you to enjoy the day and find reason to celebrate love!
Lots of love,
Willi Wildflower
A Busy Few Weeks
We've been real busy at Willi Wildflower wrapping up the tail end of wedding season. Saying goodbye to summer and embracing fall with it's beautiful colors and rich palettes. We are loving the new bouquets with dark, rich, deep hues.
A few weeks ago we had the pleasure to work with Lacy & Brian Hyland for their incredible mountain top wedding in Tahoe, Ca. Her bouquet fit the scenery perfectly! We promise to post more photos of this GORGEOUS wedding when we get them. A huge congratulations to Mr. & Mrs. Hyland!
The following week we had the pleasure of working on two weddings. One of which showcased a deep, rich palette with deep purples and chocolates with a woodsy feel; which we love and can't get enough off!!
The other wedding sat on the opposite end of the spectrum boasting soft pastels through delicate Dahlias and wispy wild grasses and touches of succulents. Perfected suited for this country wedding that took place in La Honda which I'm pretty sure had it's best weather of the year that day.
So congratulations on all the newly weds! Thanks for including us for your special day! We have a few more weddings on the calender until we wrap it up for winter and start planning for next years love celebrations!!!
Meghan & Matthew
We're so excited about Meghan & Matthew's wedding at Nestldown that we wanted to give you a sneak peak! It was so much fun working with Meghan to create a design that complemented the incredibly beautiful natural surroundings of this wonderful Santa Cruz mountains redwood haven! Below are some quick snapshots of some of the florals. We promise to post some gorgeous professional shots as soon as we get them.
A huge congratulations to the lovely Meghan & Matthew!
Centerpieces were design in reclaimed wood boxes and filled with seasonal flowers and berries and ferns from the woods.
The groom's boutonniere.
Willi Gets Wed!!
After years of meticulous wedding planning and attention to detail I finally got to put my passion to work for my very own wedding. Lucky for me I married the greatest (and smartest) man on earth who gave me complete reign of design and concept. I must admit it kind of felt like cheating since our picture perfect venue pretty much set the scene for a day of beauty and amazement all on its own.
Chalk Hill Ranch, Healdsburg, CA.
I have the greatest grandma in the world who lives in one of my all time favorite places: Chalk Hill Ranch in Healdsburg, California. You couldn’t dream up a more ideal location to get married. And with a garden booming with blooms, we were able to harvest many of the flowers straight from the property, including enough tiny treasures to make all the boutonnieres!
Boutonnieres from the garden.
Burro Bartender
As a person who loves to create, this became the ultimate DIY event. From the flowers to the furniture everything was hand crafted. We built the tables from salvaged wood doors, arranged the flowers in collected silver, and the ceremony chairs assembled their way together from a variety of friends and families living rooms. It was, in my opinion, the greatest day ever. I may be bias but I have a handful of people to attest. We even had a miniature donkey as a burrista! For more luscious flower details take a gander at the gallery below. I would like to send a huge shout out to all the friends and family who made this possible, and a great big thank you to ever talented Molly Watson for her amazing photographs (www.mollywatsonphotography.com) . I am so grateful for all of you!
We're Featured on the Wedding Channel!!
Hooray! Willi Wildflower has been featured on the ever famous The Knot's Wedding Channel!
This is a gorgeous wedding I did a few years back for Katie and Nick at the Legion of Honor. I've attached a few photos below in case the you were chomping at the bit for more beautifullness (that is officially a word as of now).
All centerpieces were displayed in a collection of the Bride's family silver. The result was elegant, romantic, and all around amazing. A seasonal mix of Dahlias, garden roses, Hydrangea, and a mix of flowering vines in the perfect palette of soft pinks, blush, and creams.....
Jason and Nicole
Jason & Nicole had the quintessential wedding: garden bohemian chic, DYI, romantic and seemingly effortless.
A beautiful combination of garden roses, succulents, David Austin Juliet roses, stock, peonies, and seasonal field flowers made for romantic garden style centerpieces; placed in complimenting antique blue mason jars collected by the bride herself.
Masters of DYI Jason & Nicole added personal touches to their table decor including these gorgeous table cards all with different drawings and names.
Nicole's bouquet turned out gorgeous! Almost as gorgeous as her.
A huge congratulations to beautiful and creative Nicole and Jason! Hope you survived the heat wave and have an incredible happy ever after!
Xo~ Willi Wildflower
Jenny & Darren
From the very first time I met with Jenny, I knew this wedding was going to be amazing. Her personality was the perfect reflection of the overall feel of the wedding: laid back, romantic, effortlessly put together.
Bouquet photos courtesy of the very talented Jamie Grenough of http://jamiegrenoughphotography.com/
Bright and cheery boutonnieres with passion vine tendrils.
These bright and lush centerpieces were arranged in rustic wood boxes. The end result was beautiful, romantic, laid back, and natural.
The details, color, and texture played a key role in Jenny and Darren's wedding. I love the vibrant colors and unexpected texture in the boutonnieres.
A New Start
Willi Wildflower has moved! We are thrilled to be located in the hot and sunny land of Santa Cruz Ca. We now have a small garden to grow unique and unusual plants for your special event!
The seeds have been planted and we are impatiently waiting for the blooms. We will keep you posted on how (and what) are garden grows.
We are also happy to say that Julie is learning how to navigate the treacherous seas of "blogging". Her typewriter ribbon officially ran out of ink forcing her to spend more time with her computer. Now smitten with Instagram, Pinterest and the likes Julie is happily (most of the time) exploring how to use social media. We are very excited to bring you updates and photos on all our new projects. In the meantime you can always follow her on Instagram @WILLIWILDFLOWER
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