Monday, December 10, 2012

Berry Inspired Shoot & My LOVE of Garden Roses

When I was little, my dad used to go out to the rose bushes planted in front of my bedroom window and bring one to my mom, and then one to me. A rose is probably my first memory of flowers, and my subsequent obsession with garden roses started early. My grandmother (paternal), had the same obsession. She was a painter, as am I. Our house is filled with her watercolors of the garden roses she grew. In fact, my first large scale watercolor painting was a of huge tea rose. I showed it to my grandmother when I was finished, and with her minimal verbal skills (she had suffered many strokes by this time) she broke down just what was wrong with it, where it needed work, how I should use my brush and lighten up on the pigment, here, here, and here… At the time I was about 16, and still very sensitive. I took the critique a little hard, but as an adult, I appreciate her even more for it. She was a badass. A woman full of artistic inspiration who built a life where she could create. I have randomly ended up in a part of CA where she raised her family ~ and grew and babied all her gorgeous rose bushes. I never had a connection here other than my aunt, uncle and cousins lived here, and my parents grew up here. I came kicking and screaming… I did not want to leave where I was, but life is so often out of our control. About a year ago I fully embraced being in Southern CA again. I also embraced the town in which I live. I enjoy being able to drive around these streets and think about my family history. And that brings us back to the roses. It’s hot here… Like surface of the sun hot. And that produces the most beautiful roses. If you’re up around 5am and drive down Euclid Avenue, you might see me walking up and down the center divider, cutting roses. Every time I jay walk across the street, hoping to not be stopped by a cop, I think of my badass grandma. And how she’d do the same thing for her art. The embracing of my surroundings has helped everything. I still miss my old town, but I have a strong appreciation for where I am now. All the roses from this shoot came from that center divider. I picked the grape vines from the acres of vineyards down the street from my house. Another benefit of boiling in the summer… That heat really does produce a lot of beauty ~ and good wine.

These gorgeous, gorgeous photos are from my friend and a wonderful artistic collaborator, Tonya of Tonya Joy Photography. She wanted to do an inspiration shoot after her baby was born and she came up with this stunning fall theme. All she asked were for some “berry” colored florals, so I got out my shears and drove to the next town over. Someday I’ll have my own rose bushes, but until then, I’ll happily help the city gardeners out and do a little pruning here and there. Enjoy these photos, I really do love this series.

1OakandtheOwl_Garden Tea Rose Bridal Bouquet

2OakandtheOwl_Garden Rose Bridal Bouquet

4OakandtheOwl_Garden Roses in Mercury Glass Vase

5OakandtheOwl_Gold Sequined Wedding Dress

6OakandtheOwl_Raven Hair Red Lips Bridal

7OakandtheOwl_Berry Pie at Weddings

8OakandtheOwl_Lush Garden Rose Centerpiece

9OakandtheOwl_French Pastries Wedding

10OakandtheOwl_French Pastries

11OakandtheOwl_Garden Rose Wedding

12OakandtheOwl_Garden Rose Bout

13OakandtheOwl_Pink and Red Garden Roses

14OakandtheOwl_Berry Shrug

Aren’t those pastries incredible?!? Friends, Kelsey Crowder and Kristina Kendig, baked up all the goodies, and they are so pretty. I’m sure they tasted amazing too. From what I’ve been told, Kristina is THE baker. Our models gorgeous hair and make-up was done by Katrina Kirk of Kitsch by Kat. This shoot was also feature on Grey Likes Wedding ~ one of my favorite blogs, so that was a definite treat! And if you’re wondering about the gold sequined dress… Tonya made it from a few separate pieces in her closet. That woman is force, I tell ya. With a little thread, some spray paint, and a camera, she comes up with gold. Love it all.

Cheers! xoxo

Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Real Wedding: Maria & Kevin ~ Burbank, CA

I loved working on this wedding and with this couple! Maria and Kevin have to be two of the sweetest, coolest, most chill couples I’ve yet to meet. And they are so in love… The love radiating from both of them on their wedding day was a constant reminder of why I enjoy my job so much. What could be better than beautifying a day built around romance, love, and commitment? Maria is gorgeous, and a tad shy, while Kevin is a fly dresser who likes to show off a little bit more than his lovely bride. And he gets her, and does what it takes to make her comfortable. During our samples meeting we were discussing with my super talented friend and colleague, Erica España of Twine Events, who coordinated their wedding, about their sweetheart table. Maria didn’t want to be the center of attention and have their table as a focal point. Kevin understood and made it work so his lady was happy. The day of their wedding he kept up that sweet attentiveness towards her feelings, and because of that, by the end of the evening Maria was leading the dance floor, totally the center of everyone's attention ~ and she looked amazing doing it. That’s a big part of what love is, in my opinion. Knowing your partner, what makes them tick, then doing what it takes to bring out the best of them. Maria and Kevin do that for each other, making each other literally shine, and it was wonderful to witness. I wish them the best of luck and many, many, decades of a loving and supportive marriage. (The majority of these beautiful photos were taken by Visual Masterpiece, along with photos taken by myself. I will do my best to clearly line out the ones taken by VM.)

1OakandtheOwl_White Garden Rose Bout

The feel for the flowers and décor of the wedding was so be soft whites, creams, pale pinks, and dusty greens, all in mercury glass containers. Maria and Kevin knew that they wanted pink, but they wanted that to be the background color, and they did not want it to appear “girly” at all. There was a slight vintage feel to the event, but it was subtle, and I thought a great use of the style. The overall look of the event was elegant, but the use of aged silver, handmade table numbers (by the Bride’s father!), paper straws, etc., gave it a bit of a homey and comfortable feel. And I was able to make my flowers as I prefer: lush, organic, and romantic, with an asymmetrical shape and each arrangement slightly different from each other.

2OakandtheOwl_White Garden Rose Bout

Fly, right? Look at that layering of pattern, texture, and subtle tonal changes. And the bout looks pretty good too.  

3OakandtheOwl_Mercury Glass Ceremony Arrangement

4OakandtheOwl_Dark Blue Bridesmaids Dresses

5OakandtheOwl_Dark Blue Bridesmaids Dresses

6OakandtheOwl_Cafe au Lait Dahlia Bridal Bouquet

Isn’t she stunning? Maria fell in love with Café au Lait dahlias and had me incorporate them in her bouquet. That along with ranunculus, White O’Hara garden roses, White Majolika spray roses, and dusty miller made up her flowers. I tied them with a tight handle of white French lace.

8OakandtheOwl_Ceremony Flowers

9OakandtheOwl_Dahlia Aisle Markers

10OakandtheOwl_Tall Mercury Glass Vases

11OakandtheOwl_Pale Pink and White Bridal Bouquet

12OakandtheOwl_Dahlia and Ranunculus Bouquet

All photos above taken by Visual Masterpiece.

13OakandtheOwl_French Lace Tied Bouquet

14OakandtheOwl_Soft Pastel Bouquets

15OakandtheOwl_Bride with Maids

16OakandtheOwl_Paper Cranes

The reception was held at Castaways in Burbank, CA. Maria made hundreds of blue and white paper cranes which Erica and her team hung from the arbor outside the ballrooms. It was striking and beautiful, and a wonderful nod to Kevin’s heritage. Photos above by Visual Masterpiece (except for floral close-ups taken by O & the O).

17OakandtheOwl_Paper Straws

18OakandtheOwl_Cocktail Table Flowers

19OakandtheOwl_Cafe au Lait Dahlias

20OakandtheOwl_Mercury Glass Centerpieces

I did two types of centerpieces for them, half of them were low while the other half were a bit higher to try and fill the vastness of the large ballroom at Castaways. There were 27 guest tables so there’s lot of floral eye candy below.

21OakandtheOwl_White Dinner Plate Dahlias

22OakandtheOwl_Seeded Eucalyptus and Dusty Miller

23OakandtheOwl_White Spray Roses and Hydgrangea Centerpieces

24OakandtheOwl_Soft Pink Wedding Flowers

25OakandtheOwl_Dark Blue Linens

The photos above taken by O & the O.

26OakandtheOwl_Castaways Burbank Wedding

The bottom right photo taken by O & the O. The other 2 taken by Visual Masterpiece.

27OakandtheOwl_Lush and Organic Floral Arrangements

The photos above taken by O & the O.

28OakandtheOwl_Pink Garden Rose Centerpieces

29OakandtheOwl_Dinner Plate Dahlias

OakandtheOwl_Marinaccio (26)

31OakandtheOwl_3 Tiered Wedding Cake

32OakandtheOwl_Paper Cranes and Photo Booth

33OakandtheOwl_Sunset Wedding Photo

The photos above taken by Visual Masterpiece (except for the white floral arrangement paired with Bride and Groom dance).

The last shot is one of my favorites. The light is so beautiful, like their own personal spot light… Ok, that’s it for today! I hope you enjoyed this gorgeous couple and their lovely wedding. I certainly loved being a part of it! Cheers!

Vendor Credits

Photography: Visual Masterpiece

Coordination: Twine Events

Florals & Décor: Oak & the Owl

Hair & Make Up: Theresa Huang

Photo Booth: Photobooth Love

Venue/Caterer/Rentals/Cake/Lighting/Dapery: Castaway Burbank

Church: Holy Redeemer Catholic Church ~ Montrose, CA