Elegant Dinner Reception

We just recently received some fabulous photos from our friends at RrivreWorks (http://www.rrivreworks.com/). If you are ever looking for fantastic and unique furniture rentals or props - check his stuff out!

This wedding reception was at a private estate in Brentwood, CA. Rrivre's crew transformed the backyard into a magical ballroom which we then adorned with gorgeous florals. Basically, The Hidden Garden was the icing on the already beautiful cake! Enjoy the photos!

Hotel Del Coronado Wedding

As promised, we received some fabulous photos from Stephanie Houge (http://www.hoguephoto.com/) from Priya & Stephan's wedding that was on June 28, 2008.

(coordinator - Julie Pryor http://www.pryorevents.com/)

BBQ Floral Arrangements

It's that time of year....the weekend bbq's where your friends and family come over for a casual afternoon. Just because it's "casual" doesn't mean you shouldn't set the stage for a well thought out event! After all, who better to impress than you closest friends and family. You might have the basic elements for your BBQ affair (food, drinks, music) but don't forget the decor!

The flowers used at a backyard BBQ function don't need to be elaborate but rather much more on the casual side. Consider using one of your water pitchers or galvanized metal pales and fill the vessel with an array of sunflowers. This is an inexpensive option that is will be sure to make your guests feel happy when they walk in. Another great flowers choice this time of year is an array of tulips. Again, this is a simple option and readily available to pick up at any flower shop, grocery store or even farmer's market.

Even though you might be having a casual get together, don't forget the little details that pull it all together - like the flowers!

Seven Degrees Art Gallery Wedding

This past weekend The Hidden Garden designed a colorful wedding for Elizabeth & Paul at Seven Degrees Art Gallery in Laguna Beach. If you haven't been there yet for an event, it's a great space. The upstairs patio is a perfect ceremony and after lounge location and the downstairs venue is an eclectic mix of art pieces within a very modern environment (gray walls, flooring, chairs etc). A really cool dinner reception space.



Julie Pryor from Pryor Events originally brought Elizabeth and Paul to The Hidden Garden to help plan the event decor. What i loved the most about working with Elizabeth....she LOVED color!! The ceremony area was filled with blues, purples, lavenders and celadon greens. The ceremonial structure was adorned with strands of orchids with cylinders of submerged orchids at the base. We embellished the aisle with a deep lavender rose petal designed in a criss cross fashion.



The Reception room was transformed into a colorful hue of reds, hot pinks and oranges. Each of the centerpieces had 5 different vases of flowers each mono chromatically with accents of Moroccan tea glasses for the candle light vessels.

We can't wait to share the photos with you when they become available.

Add Some Pizazz!

Next time you order flowers for a friend of loved one, ask your florist about having the container "fabric wrapped".

Wrapping an ordinary, glass, square vase in a specialty fabric will add some pizazz and a unique element to an already beautiful arrangement.

Many of our orders here at The Hidden Garden go out to our clients with beautifully wrapped fabrics, textures, and ribbons.
I am always advising people to pay a little extra for a special container because then the person who receives it will have a beautiful keepsake and will most likely continue to fill it with flowers or use it in their decor. These pretty fabric wrapped containers add a beautiful accent to the flowers and they rarely end up under the kitchen sink.

Hidden Garden Featured at CelebrityEverything.com

Thanks to Lisa Chase at CelebrityEverything.com for a great piece on flowers with yours truly! Lisa did an absolutely beautiful job of putting together an article about how to create your own floral decor like a pro. Read it here.

Candle Treatments Dress up a Tablescape

Every dinner table can be embellished with flowers but the added accent of a candle element can create an ambiance like no other. If you only have access to basic clear glass votives then it's better than nothing. You can take those clear glass votives and add an accent element to the glass to help tie your "theme" together. For example, maybe you tie a strip of "colorful" ribbon around the base, add a strip of bear grass, wrap the glass with galax or lemon leaves. These all help dress up your basic votive glass.

If you have the ability (financial & time) you can take your candle accents to another level by purchasing colored glass, embellished glass (such as a Moroccan tea glass), colored pillar candles etc.

Sometimes the outdoor elements don't allow for an actual "flame." If that is the case then you might opt for an "electric" candle. Finding a realistic electric candle is not easy. If you are going to purchase them be sure to buy one of great quality so you can simply replace the batteries when needed. They will be worth the investment in the long run - I promise!!

Check out my Outdoor Wedding Tips on Better TV

We filmed this in Central Park on a gorgeous day and right when we wrapped, an actual bride and groom came by:

Hotel Del Coronado Wedding

On Saturday, June 28th the Hidden Garden designed a wedding at Hotel Del Coronado in San Diego. This was actually the first time I have ever worked at the property. It’s a very busy location with tourists but a great vibe.

Priya & Steve invited 250 guests to their wedding. The festivities began with a church ceremony filled with all white flowers and accents of burgundy (in the rose petals, rose cones and bridesmaid’s dresses). The church itself had a “beachy vibe” to it so it was our job to dress it up a bit. We placed floral arrangements at the altar, clusters with flowing chiffon down the aisle, Red rose petals lining the sides of the aisle, rose cones for petal tossing, floral garlands & clusters dressed the outside church railings as guests entered and beautiful floral oval wreaths adorned the church doors.

At the reception, the colors started to become more vibrant. The cocktail hour was adorned in sunset toned linens (by Tabella) and florals. We incorporated the use of orange dahlias, eremerus, roses, hydrangea and amaranthus.

Once we hit the ballroom the colors graduated to all rich deep reds & burgundys incorporating the use of black magic roses, Charlene roses and Forever Young roses. All the containers were in a rich gold tone. Crystals hung from each of the centerpieces to provide a glimmer effect when the light hit them. The room was warmed up by custom built pepper berry trees and hedges lining the front of the stage in gold boxes.

Stephanie Hogue was the photographer and Julie Pryor was the wedding coordinator. As soon as we received the photos we will be sure to share them with you!

A Romantic Tuscan Wedding at the Beverly Hills Hotel

On June 21st The Hidden Garden had the pleasure of creating a magnificent wedding for Danielle & Jonathan at The Beverly Hills Hotel. We were fortunate enough to design this magnificent wedding with Diane & Alyson from Levine Fox Events. They are wedding coordinators in Los Angeles that never let a detail slip by! Just perfection.

The wedding was in the Crystal Ballroom with approximately 250 guests in attendance. Danielle & Jonathan were going for a Tuscan vibe with a very romantic design provided through our floral creations. We created arrangements throughout the cocktails, ceremony & reception area with white roses, white hydrangea, green roses (one of my favorites), lotus pods, orchids, amaranthus, eucalyptus berries, curly willow, magnolia, grapes, artichokes and kiwis (so cute when you slice them open - the green just pops!).

Unique elements throughout the wedding included: Coffee Bean Place Card table, Wine Arbor for Cocktails, Candle Tree in the cocktail foyer, Multiple tuscan urns in the ceremony, Aged Boxes filled with rose bushes....the details were endless.

I can't wait to show you all photos - I will post them once we receive them from John Solano Photography.
Stay tune!

Arrange Store, Deli & Farmer's Market Bought Flowers like a Pro

How do you Gracefully Handle a Wedding Emergency? You Just Do!

Recently, I was able to contribute to an article for WhatHappensNow.com about wedding emergencies and boy did I have a good one!

Read how my amazing Hidden Garden staff and I pulled off a perfect Napa wedding after ALL the wedding flowers froze overnight. And the bride never knew!

Summer Wedding with Shades of the Sunset

Mia & Gabe exchanged vows on the lawn of the Bel Air Bay Club, while their guests peered out to the beautiful ocean. As the sun was setting the guests enjoyed cocktails, which was followed by a night of dinner and dancing. The bride chose a color combination of vibrant orange, yellow, celedone green and pink to mimic the shades of the sunset. A vibrant array of roses, tulips, hydrangea, and orchids created a stunning and eye catching design.
The amazing Vernon T photographed the wedding and caught every amazing shot, take a look at the slideshow to see just how beautiful it was.

Flowers Grow with Passion

I received an email today from a rose grower (Absolute Farms) today that I wanted to share with you. Your "passion" for what you do for a living is very obvious to those around you even though you might not realize it. Thank you, Micheal.

His email.....
My very first day in this industry years ago I was walking through a greenhouse with one of the best know Colombian growers, Juan Carlos Leon, and he said to me, Michael, roses are just like people, they have their unique personalities, they open differently, have different life cycles and die differently. They are so sensitive that if I have a worker who is going through a difficult time - a divorce or some life crisis - then the roses in his section will suffer and not grow well (I thought this was B.S. but I actually saw this happen.) The fact of the matter is we are not in the Rose business, we are in the sentiment business. People give flowers to express how they feel, if you have this in your heart and are passionate about what you do and grow to love roses it will reflect on how you relate to people, they will see and feel it.

Anyways, looking at your website, reading your blog, and some of the articles you have written for different magazines, I felt your passion and love for what you do. In a lot of the other florist websites I have viewed I have never seen or felt the personalized passion that I saw in yours ;)

- Michael Hall Todd

Plan the Perfect Beach Wedding with "Inside Weddings" Summer 2008

Just wanted to make sure you knew that the Summer 2008 Issue of Inside Weddings is out on the stands now!!

As always, there are tons of great wedding ideas for the bride-to-be. You can also check out my new article on page 228 called "Beautiful Blooms for a Beach Wedding."

The Hidden Garden creates a lot of gorgeous outdoor weddings and I compiled some of my favorite ideas for the perfect beach wedding. (A few years ago Inside Weddings featured my own beach wedding in Hawaii.) Hopefully, there will be some inspiring tips for you "Beach Brides-to-Be."

If you have any questions feel free to email me!