50th Anniversary at Beverly Hills Hotel

A 50th wedding anniversary is a very special, unusual, and beautiful occasion to celebrate. Our celebrating couple, Marlene and Tom, wanted to throw a big, beautiful bash with 350 of their family and friends around them, and that’s exactly what they did.

After a renewal of wedding vows at Loyola Marymount University, the celebration took place in the Crystal Ballroom at the Beverly Hills Hotel. From the food to the band to the special appearance of the “Jersey Boys” as entertainment, every aspect of the party was carefully thought out to ensure the guests had the time of their lives.

Beginning with the “golden” theme representing the traditional 50th wedding anniversary, Marlene chose a beautiful and sophisticated linen of crushed gold as a base for the decor. To add drama and punch, jewel toned arrangements of hydrangea, lisianthus and roses adorned the tables in leaf-lined glass pedestal vases. Gold encrusted votive candles added warmth and ambiance to the tables, as did pin-spotting from above.

Special touches were everywhere; the brooch-tied cocktail linens, the hand-made biscotti favors, the white-glove service. We were so proud and honored to be part of such a special, once-in-a-lifetime celebration!

Spotlight Awards at the Music Center

This year’s Spotlight Awards, held at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion at the Music Center downtown,  was a fun and colorful event.

Focusing on up-and-coming talent in the areas of song, dance, visual arts and instruments, the Spotlight Awards drew 2,315 applicants this year. Of those, sixteen winners and runners up were chosen.

Working with their invitation design of colorful pencils submerged in bubbly water, we created alternating centerpieces in bright primary colors, accented with fun and whimsical “bubbles”!

Half the tables were done with greens, blues and purples, arranged with hydrangea, orchids, silvery Lambs ear and Lisianthus.

The other half of the centerpieces were bright yellows, oranges, and reds, with Gerbera daisies, roses, orchids, tulips and button mums.

A fun fact: Adam Lambert of American Idol fame got his start when he came in second place at the Spotlight Awards in 2000. (He’s better at second than first; he came in second on Idol, too!)

Party for Children’s Health Center at Cedars

Gerber daisies are bright, fun and playful, and great for any kind of children’s party.

For this event at Cedars Sinai Hospital, we worked with their invitation  colors and child’s play theme to create a bright and whimsical floral display.

On alternating tables, there were Gerbers in wheat grass beds, surrounded by satelites of floating daisies. The other sets were candy dishes filled with cavity-inducing treats.

Pretty in Pink

Pink and ivory with crystal and gold; it’s a fairytale wedding!

Our bride was married in the rose garden at the Ritz-Carlton, Marina del Rey, which is a lovely spot for an outdoor wedding. Surrounded by greenery, rose bushes and a waterfall, the rose garden makes a very romantic and picturesque setting.

The bride wanted something very elegant and unique without being busy, so we stayed within a two-tone color palette for all the flowers. Tall taper candles on the centerpieces added a touch of drama to this daytime reception.

The bridesmaids bouquets were also kept simple and elegant. Using massed pink roses with touches of folded Lily grass, we created nosegays for all the girls that had a modern leaf-wrapped collar and black silk ribbon wrap.

The Power of Simplicity – Part Two

I was browsing through a few websites this afternoon (checking out the competition is always a fun endeavor) and realized that so much of what is beautiful in style and design is also very simple.

Consider the calla lilies shown here. Designed to echo the staggered pattern of the candles in the modern chandelier above, they are so much more effective as a single, stunning element than if this had been a mess of texture and color.

Another great way to avoid being “bland” when using a single color and flower type: repetition.

We usually like to keep things in odd numbers, but the dual mirrors above this console needed a counterpoint in flowers below. And — if we include the Buddha head — we really do have five elements on the table!

Another example of good design with restraint: staggered heights and complementary colors.

These glass toughs are filled with masses of fragrant butter yellow Hyacinth, which is a warm complement to the tones in the sofa, floor coverings and coffee table.

Finally, if you are using just a single element in a floral design, use something very unusual to make a statement.

Here we massed fresh green Lotus pods in a glass vase lined with Zebra leaf: only two elements, but the arrangement adds a zing of creative interest to the sleek, contemporary lines of the furnishings.

Absolut Launches New Flavor at Voyeur

To conclude L.A.’s Fashion Week, Absolut launched the newest addition to their flavored vodka line with Absolut Berri Acai, a blend of pomegranate, acai berry and blueberry flavors.

Held at Voyeur Bar and Lounge in West Hollywood, it was a very sexy event with burlesque dancers, feather boas, and L.A.’s hottest fashionistas.

In keeping with the fruit theme, we filled oversized vases with submerged pomegranates and blueberries and placed them at either side of the bar. We also created custom lighted displays for a grouping of mini bottles and a 19″ bottle that added alot of illumination to and color to the matte gold bartop.

The cocktail tables throughout the bar had mini gold bird cages with a feather accent, mirroring Absolut’s ad campaign with Zooey Deschanel swinging in a birdcage.

Click here for more photos from the event, created by GenArt.

Flower Shoes

Can’t get enough shoes? Budget busted by endless purchases of Jimmy Choo’s, Manolo Blahnik’s and Louboutin’s? These little beauties were created for a ladies brunch with a shoe theme, and we think they’re great, although not very practical for wearing out.

This shoe was created by first packing a wire frame with moss, then building on top of the base. The heel is made of yellow button mums, and the rest of the shoe is covered in individual overlapping Mokarra orchid petals, glued on one by one. A tiny piping of mums  outlines the upper.

The shoebox is made of leaves, flowers and ribbon.

This next shoe was made with overlapping layers of silvery Lambs Ear, with fuschia Phaelanopsis orchid blossoms for the heel and toe. It also has a delicate piping of mums outlining the upper.

The shoebox is made of mums with a lid of moss.

New Year’s Razzle Dazzle

New Year’s Eve is our final chance to say goodbye to the old year and ring in the new, and what better way than to throw a party!

This year we worked with Debbie and her team at Hold The Date Events to create a wonderful “Razzle Dazzle” theme complete with zillions of crystals, ostrich feathers and mirrored disco balls.

For the centerpieces, we created a wreath of white roses embedded with crystal and silver sprays along with pure white Ostrich feathers to hug the perimeter of rotating disco balls  – reflections from the overhead spotlights was scattered all around the room, creating a great light show.

The buffet pieces were fun and fabulous, with long Ostrich feathers and fabric covered vases.

We used more fabric treatments for the tall cylinders that lined the red carpet entry to the party; vignettes of varying height vases were accented with crystal trims and lots of razzle dazzle accents and had tall silver pillar candles inside.

The Power of Simplicity

One of the hardest things in design is knowing when to stop. It’s so easy to go overboard, adding too many colors, too many disparate elements — and winding up with a mess.

One of our favorite designs for party work is to take a single flower and use it en masse, as shown here with these Calla lily troughs designed in mirrored boxes.

Set onto a long dining table with votive candles, these arrangements will add a stunning elegance to the ambiance.

Modern and clean, white is always a great choice for centerpieces, but another great choice is yellow!

We designed these centerpieces with only two elements; orchids and roses.  When using bright colors, it’s best to keep the color palette to a max of two, otherwise it can look like a carnival. Imagine this arrangement with another shade (like purple) and you can see what I mean.

Calamigos Equestrian Center Wedding

Red has been the color of choice for so many of our brides this year, in part because the color goes a long way for those on a limited budget; you get a lot of “bang” for your buck with a single, bright color.

The processional aisle was flanked on either side by a scrollwork pattern of red rosepetals, accented throughout with candles of varying size.  Candle light played a big part in the ceremony; there were dozens scattered down the aisle, behind the ceremony area and on the walkway leading to where the ceremony was held.

The ceremony was held outside as the sun was setting under a large pergola covered in a garland of lemon leaf, seeded eucalyptus and fern. Clustered all over the garland were arrangements of roses, hydrangeas and orchids. More ferns were added at the foot of the front two columns to hide uplighting and add a visual base for the design.

We’ll post more photos of the personal flowers and centerpieces when we get them from the photographer!

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