michael & wendy

This past week-end was the wedding of my friends Michael & Wendy. They had their ceremony at their little church and then the reception back at their house under a tent. I was their event coordinator and floral/decor designer. So much fun! Here are some pictures from the days leading up to the wedding, and the actual wedding day. 

Here are some pictures of me taking over my parents house with flowers. Thanks mom & dad!

This was a piece I did for their fireplace mantel.

Brides bouquet up close.

Altar arrangements...the big ones. 

The big ones up close...

I did 2 smaller arrangements at the beginning of the aisle.

The smaller ones up close...

The ceremony. Wendy looked so pretty!!!! Michael looked very handsome too. :)

The happy newly married couple. 

The flower girl with her flower ball...awwww. 

One of the most popular spots at the reception. 

Not the greatest picture of the tent, but you get the idea. It really looked so pretty!

Dance floor on the deck Mike built.

At night...

i love fall...

Pretty host gift for some of my favorite people.

40th wedding anniversary...WOW.

On September 6th it was my parents 40th wedding anniversary. Pretty amazing right!!? They decided to go into Ottawa for a romantic dinner at the best restaurant in town - Restaurant 18 (where my brother is the Executive Chef). For their table I made them this little number and bought the flowers from More Flowers in the market. The orchids were to die for. The seedum was from the garden. 

This was the left overs...

carp market

A couple of week-ends ago I took my baby girl, Chloe to the Carp Market and of course I checked out the flower stands. So pretty that I had to take some pictures.

I bought some beautiful amaranthus and snap dragon...such rich colours.

playing with succulents

I have been dying to do a wedding or an event with succulents as the theme. So, rather than waiting I just did it to show everyone how pretty they can be. So much fun. 

pics of work from Design358

Back in the Spring I wanted to learn different techniques in floral design that I don't always get to use - so I took an intensive 3 week design course with Design358 created by Hitomi Gilliam. We did everything from hand tied bouquets (the proper way!) to funeral work to Ikebana and different Asian and European styles. I loved every minute of it and I believe strongly that we all need to continue to learn new things to be the best we can be at what we do.

So, here are only some of the pics of the work I did throughout the course.

These 2 pics were of our final project where we were to develop a table centrepiece for a special event...right up my alley. 

Another project we were tested on was to develop a line of wearable florals. LOVED IT!!! Hitomi is big with using wire in her work - so we had to use wire and florals together. I went a little crazy and made about 20 pieces and my concept was NATURE. Here is a pic of one of 3 pairs of earrings I made. 

These were 3 rings I made for a spin on wrist corsages for wedding or prom wear.

I also made a few head pieces in white. 

These were all hair pieces made with my favorite orchids and feathers. 

This was a wrist corsage I made with wire and fresh orchids. So pretty. I am doing a wedding in the Spring where the couple is super cool and wants a few of these made for family members - YEAH!

This is a picture of what my overall table display looked like. As you can see - I love mixing fresh beautiful flowers, with natural woods and branches and adding crisp white to make it all pop!

Here is a funeral spray arrangement.  

And another...

This was part of our final exam where we had to do a table centrepiece. 

Ikebana style.

European linear style.

back in ottawa

After 10 years away, my beautiful baby girl Chloe and I have moved back to the Ottawa area to be close to all of our family here. After a month of chilling at the cottage, I am ready to finally launch my new special event floral design company - Full Bloom. 

In Vancouver I worked from home and was able to put out huge event florals - my last wedding was 35 table arrangements ++++ and it was all amazing. I will work from home until I find the perfect retail space in the perfect area...have my eye on a few. 

So, this blog will be where I put my most recent work and fill you in on the floral world as I know it.