Are Your Wedding Vendors Hands On?

Being as close as we are to one of the biggest fresh flower markets in the world, it would be a crime to not get into Los Angeles from time to time and get hands on while picking our stock of flowers.  Sure, there are wholesalers that ship gorgeous blooms straight to My Little Flower Shop for our wonderful parties and weddings, but there’s no substitute for getting in there and looking at the riot of color on offer in the Los Angeles Flower District.  So Greg and Al make their way there at least once a week to stay in touch with what’s in season, the latest trends, and the best suppliers.

Greg at the LA Flower mart with a cartload of beautiful arrangements-to-be

When choosing wedding vendors, don’t forget to ask how each one keeps up with industry trends, and makes sure they are in touch with what inspires them.  When it comes to your wedding, you want all the hands you can get – and you want people who are willing to get in there and get ’em dirty. If your designer is doing a lot of gesturing and pointing, but hasn’t laid a hand on anything organic, time to say “hands off my wedding!”

be well, and love well!

-Dinah

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Whistling While We Work: Life As Part Of The Fairy Tale Industrial Complex

Wedding professionals are in the Fairy Tale business.  Brides come to us with plans in their heads, many of which have been growing like Jack’s beanstalk since they were little girls, and have reached way up into the clouds.  They know what they want things to look like from their centerpieces right down to the ribbon swags hung to block off the aisle.  These days, what with television wedding shows and coverage of over the top celebrity weddings, everyone feels pressure to have a “Fairy Tale” wedding regardless of budget.

The Ultimate Fairy Tale Wedding Site (yes we will go with you to Disneyland)!

And so we wedding planners and floral/event designers become responsible for not just a wedding, but for a dream come to life.  We become magical elves, fairy godmothers, and the Wizard of Oz all in one. (He may not have been much of a wizard, but he was one heck of an event designer).

This is a big responsibility, and one we take very seriously at My Little Flower Shop.  We listen to a bride (and/or groom) when they explain their vision, work with them, and their budget to create the most magical wedding possible.  We don’t try to shoehorn anyone into something we have in mind, but instead weave together their resources and our talents to make their dreams come true.

So gotta run…time to wave the wand a little.  Note to self: research the existence of a Fairy Godmother’s Union.

Be well, and love well.

Dinah

 

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Great Minds Think Alike – and appreciate the same GORGEOUS flowers!

The Hollywood Farmer’s Market is a colorful place.  With fruit and vegetable vendors, musicians and, well, Hollywood natives, there’s never a shortage of sights to see.  But this past weekend, one flower stall stopped me in my tracks.

Silverlake Farms' display at the Hollywood Farmer's Market

Silverlake Farms’ ranunculus alone were priceless, but then there were the anemones, and all sorts of other wildflowers so bright and colorful they looked good enough to eat.  Or at least good enough to randomly grab a bunch, tie it up in some ribbon, and send any high-end bride straight down the aisle.

But the best part came when I asked owner/urban farmer Tara Kolla if she sold wholesale.  She asked if I was in the industry, and I explained I worked for a floral design studio in Palm Springs.  “Oh yeah” she replied. “They were here last week.”  Apparently Greg and Al had been at the market during their pre-Oscar delivery,  and had the identical reaction to her deliciously beautiful flowers.  And when I talked to Greg, he told me they would be working out an arrangement to get their hands on some of Tara’s blooms.  “Weren’t those ranunculus amazing?” Greg asked.  Great minds think alike!

White ranunculus. Good enough to eat!

 

Market Watch: An Urban Farmer’s Passion Blooms Again (Latimes.com)

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