Fresh or Artificial Floral?

It has has been alot of fun to write for The Spectrum every month as a free-lance writer about weddings. So I thought I would start posting a little piece of them every month.

This article was about artificial or fresh floral. Latley brides have been leaning towards artifical floral... I still don't know how I feel about it. I am a fresh flower girl myself, but I will say I have seen some really pretty artifical floral arrangements lately.

I'm torn!! Which do you think is best?
Photo from Orchids and Company of a fresh and
artifical bouquet. Can you tell which is which?

Dusty, coarse, frayed edges and great-aunt Gertrude all come to mind when thinking of those taboo words in wedding floral: fake flowers. Many reception venues even state in their contracts that artificial flowers are not allowed to cross their thresholds.

Fake floral has received a bad name for not being used correctly, being poor in quality and being just plain outdated. Fortunately artificial flowers have come along way in the past decade.

"The sad muted flowers with frayed edges and weird leaf centers are not the only choices available for event designs anymore," said Lindsey Madsen, owner of Orchids and Company. "By using a variety of fabrics, fibers, specialty dyes, UV coating, hand painting and numerous other techniques have made it beautiful and easy to incorporate artificial flowers. So the dreaded fake flowers have become fabulous fauxs."

A question a bride needs to ask herself when deciding to go artificial or fresh floral is which will fit her look and event best. Professional floral designers can help you know which works best for you.

If the florist is asking numerous questions, almost to the point that you feel like a guest on a game show, then take a deep breath, that is actually a good sign," Madsen said.Getting to know the nature of the event, where the flowers are being used, the timeline of events, and if children or pets are in the bridal party, will help determine which look will work best for your event.

A misunderstanding about artificial floral is that it is more cost effective than using the real thing....

To read the rest of the article go here!

Rustic Wedding Ideas

So, We've had a request for a rustic wedding down in Las Vegas. I've taken some of the pictures the Bride has sent and added a few touches to make the idea complete. She really likes globe lights, Chinese lanterns and subtle fall colors. I'm thinking we also might want to add chandeliers outdoors, mason jars, long guest tables, wooden benches and lots and lots of candle light since it is out doors.

Cali-For-Nia

California!! Me, Kaulin, Jeff and Mr. Bentley went down to Oceanside Fourth of July for a little "Working Vacatoin" with Andee and Steve.

For anyone that doesn't know, my dad and some investors, have some vacation rentals down in San Diego in Oceanside on the beach and my whole family is working at remodeling them. They're called "A Strand of Paradise" because the addres is 412 south the Strand.

Andee, Steve & Ethan are living down there during the remodel managing and doing alot of the work. They should be all up and rentals this fall. I'm so excited! They are so much fun.

Mr. B-stain is great on road trips! He gets into his bag and passes out! Plus he loves the beach, so we don't leave him behind. :) Have we ever left him behind anywhere? i don't think so...

Eeee and Heffe on the pier. Ruby's resuraunt is right on the end of the pier walking distance from us. It was a rocky ride for little E.

At Ruby's. haha, I love this picture of little E.

This unit, on the top, over looks all the other units and the ocean (9 in all). Its so nice to wake up in the morning to cool breazes from the ocean and bright sunshine at 6am from the rising sun.

This is what it look like from our place down the strand.

Mr. Hinton.

There in a surf school in town that has asked to use our place to store their boards. So in return we are allowed to use their surf boards and they will give free lessons to anyone staying there with us.

Steven David

Heffe was a pro.

These beach cruisers on the beach are SO much fun! Andee and Steve bought their own to have down there. No better way to get around. There is a one way road right infront of the strand where everyone rides bikes, jogs, walks dogs etc. Andee with Mr. B on the cruiser.

Nanny and baby Eeeee!

Ruppert!

Addicted to Addiction

So I am a big fan of So You Think You Can Dance. I also make Kaulin watch it with me. Poor guy.

Well every now and again there comes a dance that I fall in love with that just give me the chills and this is one! Its about addiction and how she can't stay away from him although hes bad for her. Its crazy amazing! Of course choreographed by Mia Michaels who is twistedly good. Check it out.

Nanny, this is the only one you would have been missing out on in Cali. :) But now you won't have too.

Let Them Eat Cake: Lots of Fallin Cake!

All apart of the job! right?

Last weekend when I got done with an event in Cedar City I stopped by one of our events to drop off some napkins that were forgotten. Luckily I had my camera to capture what happens when you have a friend pick up your special cake on a hot day which is a heavy 4 tier three leche cake by someone who doesn't make cakes often. The layers toppled off during the car ride over and was all over the poor friend bringing in the cake. It was delicious though!!!!!

Maddie and Rosie from Forevermore Events.

So jo-jo with Forevermore Events went to work trying to fix the cake chaos before the family arrived any minute.

Smoothing...

Ta Da!! haha.

15 minutes and a few dozen roses later they had a small cake now.

So sad! But Rosie, Maddie and Jo did AWESOME with what was given. Just part of the job. You just gotta roll with whats given.

And I had alot of fun being there to watch. :D hehe

AJM Help Needed

I'm looking for three more chairpersons to help this year with Southern Utah's Junior Miss. You can see details of the organization here: American Junior Miss. This is a non-profit organization that helps high school senior aged girls recieve scholarships to college. The competition will take place sometime the first two weeks of september. I am looking for three more chairpersons who are fun, enthusiatic and are organized.

Just leave you email in the comments if you are interested and I can send you more information. I could really use the help. :)

Thanks!

Beach Party in Zions

This wedding was a major labor of love. I came home bruised, dirty, sun burnt and couldn't fully move for a few days after. Luckily, I had two hard workers by my side (bless their hearts, we pulled a 17 hour day and they didn't even get to eat lunch) and a crew of men at the end to help take it all down. Without them none of this would have gotten done.

Looking back on the pictures though, it was all worth it!
The end product makes every bruise, farmers tan and sore muscle worth it. :)

Custom bamboo canopies were constructed over the banquet tables with glowing capiz shell chandeliers. The wind and light rain made it a chore to keep them from blowing over all day, but when the reception started it was calm and perfect. Man, I loved these chandeliers. I am tempted to order my own for my house.

The couples first dance was to "Your Eyes Divide Me" sung live by Kalai. They're adorable right? They just fit each other so well!

Kalai was truly great to work with. I was amazing at how humble and laid back he was. He didn't want any special treatment and insisted on not having any introduction so it wouldn't take away from the bride and groom. He was there right on time and was so gratious. Now EVERYONE go download one of his songs. He is the type of person I want to support any little way i can.

They catered to the children at their reception by having a kids table with suckers, jelly beans, jump ropes, hulla hoops, bracelet making and coloring. It was a mess of kids all night. The brides mom came up with all these cute little things for the kids to do that the kids LOVED! It was a hit.

Cake by Heidi Smith with Icing. She is just always smiling and so nice whenever I see her.
I love being around people like that.

This was my first time working with Nick and Signe Adams. I'm not gonna lie...I was nervous. But I am here to tell you they were amazing. Signe is adorable. She has been so easy to work with, they are so professional and have a true passion for what they do. I would recommend them to everyone.

Bloomers did the floral for the events. When Bloomers is on the job I look at it as one less thing to worry about. Kathy just has the eye for design. Her floral is always full, fresh and flawless.

Always have, Always will love brides colored shoes!

Sparkler send off at the end of the night. Sparkler send offs are a little over done but boy, do they make adorable pictures and memories!

The bride and grooom where adorable BTW. So much fun to work with and so willing to do fun things! :) I love it when I get to do fun details! I'm just grateful they took a chance on me and my ideas. The whole Debenham family I met was great.