Francesca + Jeremiah were such a joy to work with! Their love for each other was so authentic and inspiring - it was truly an honor to witness their marriage.  They wanted a bright, fun, authentic, and unique wedding experience for all of their guests, complete with lots of DIY details, bright local blooms, an incredible culinary experience, and a Latin Band!

As guests arrived, transported on school busses with customized marquees, they were greeted with welcome beverages and invited to feed the animals on the farm.  They were then transported to a romantic bluff overlooking a private beach for the ceremony.  Francesca + Jeremiah's vows were heartfelt and emotional - not one eye was dry!  

After they were pronounced husband and wife, guests enjoyed an evening of merriment, including an incredible culinary experience from Omni Catering (featuring unique food stations with South American-inspired food).  Guests danced the night away with Susie Hansen's Latin Band under a beautiful eclectic mix of moroccan lanterns.  Perhaps my favorite detail of the night was the Photo Booth, featuring a "campsite" created by the bride and groom, featuring their favorite car!  It was truly a memorable evening.  

Hidden Oaks Ranch is a new venue on the Santa Barbara Scene - I am so excited for the beautiful weddings that will be created at this stunning property!  I especially love the beautiful kitchen space - the brick walls, the mountain views, and rustic details...I would have brunch here any day.  Pass the Bubbly!

With Pantone’s official color of 2017, it only seems appropriate to feature Mia + Drew’s Wedding on the blog this January.  I absolutely loved working with Mia + Drew to create an organic, fun, laid-back celebration of their love and commitment to each other.   Mia is a professional dancer and Drew is a professional skier, and they wanted their wedding day to encapsulate their love of the outdoors and love for each other.  Their joy and their love for each other permeated through the entire weekend of festivities – I was honored to be a part of this celebration!
 
Mia + Drew were married at a Private Greenhouse on the Gaviota Coast.  Several of the guests camped out on the property for the weekend and enjoyed surfing along the beautiful Santa Barbara coastline. 
 
For their ceremony overlooking the ocean, we used reclaimed wood benches, lush green plants, driftwood, and created an arch using textured greenery and air plants.  After they said their vows, guests enjoyed a beautiful reception in the large greenhouse, featuring lots of organic textures, varieties of greenery, and varying shades of wood.  Mia’s family brought in lots of quintessential Santa Barbara favors, including retro Santa Barbara postcards and confetti eggs for guests to enjoy.  During dinner, guests were entertained by a flamenco dance troupe, and there was a surprise flash mob later in the evening, featuring confetti canons and several professional dancers!  It was definitely an evening I will never forget.

I was thrilled to see an image from a styled shoot I did in collaboration with James + Jess Photography and Della Curva/Lili Bridals featured on The Knot's Instagram today (it was also featured on the Essence of Australia page as well)!  

When James and Jess approached me about hosting a styled shoot in my greenhouse featuring Essence of Australia Gowns from Lili Bridal's sister store, Della Curva, I was so excited to jump on board.   I love the mission of Della Curva - to provide beautiful gowns for curvy brides, making EVERY bride feel beautiful.  Lisa and her team are incredible - we had so much fun working together.

Here are a few of my favorite images from the day...

To end a super fun (and busy!) 2016 event season, I had the privilege of designing and producing a holiday event for a local corporation at the Carrillo Ballroom in downtown Santa Barbara.  They wanted a rockin' party with 80's flare - it was a blast!  Not the typical event that me and my team design and produce, but it was fun to design something outside-the-box.  Our main focus was the lighting - we created a simple event design with whites, neutrals, and some tropical foliage, and then went all-out on the lighting design, complete with an amazing disco ball structure over the dance floor.  And...we built the whole thing in 4 hours!  It was a busy afternoon, but a super fun evening.   

Kristi and Justin were married at a Private Estate in Santa Barbara. When Kristi talked to me about designing her wedding, she told me about how she wanted a Christmas-themed wedding, complete with Frank Sinatra holiday music in the background, rich holiday colors with black and charcoal accents, and lots of Christmas trees. As a Christmas lover myself, I had so much fun brainstorming with her and Katelin (from Katelin Event Productions) to come up with a memorable design for the big day!

I created a rich bridal bouquet with New Zealand Peonies and holiday greenery, contrasted with beautiful baby's breath bouquets for the bridesmaids. In the ceremony space, 5 Christmas trees surrounded Kristi and Justin as they said their vows, with a hanging greenery arch and beautiful candle lanterns with richly colored blooms. In the reception tent, I created hanging floral chandeliers, suspended over green garlands with brass candlesticks and black taper candles. With the Christmas holiday right around the corner, designing this wedding was a great way to get in the holiday spirit!

As we enter the week of Christmas, images from this wedding keep popping into my mind - the rich colors, the elegant setting, and the bride's incredible style...so I am excited to share these images!
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Veronica and Tommy were married at the beautiful Belmond El Encanto in Santa Barbara, California. Veronica's bridal style was amazing: she wore a stunning Lazaro gown (with awesome Jimmy Choo shoes) . I had so much fun working with her to design her wedding flowers - we used lots of vibrant blooms to create textured, free arrangements. I especially loved creating the hanging ceremony arch - a large arrangement with hanging orchids (to give the illusion of white wisteria), bright blooms, and small hanging vases. After a heartfelt ceremony, guests dined and danced the night away in the beautiful ballroom. Definitely one of my most memorable events of 2016!

Kristen + Josh were married at Circle Bar B this past fall.  I loved how they juxtaposed their formal, black-tie wedding in such a fun, rustic venue - the result was incredible!  They hosted an entire weekend of festivities  with almost all of their guests staying at the ranch.  Kristen wanted an elegant, luxury wedding with a black, white, and blush color palette and lots of crystal accents.  

​We used beautiful garden roses, panda anemones, bright white hydrangea, and dusty miller to create soft, romantic, traditional floral arrangements in mercury glass compotes.    Several chandeliers with floral and crystal accents were arranged over the head tables, with dozens of mercury glass candle lanterns hung in the greenery overhead. Each table had both champagne silk and white sequin fabric to create a formal, luxe look, with lots of metallic and crystal accents!  Also, since Kristen loves all things Disney, we threw in a few Disney-inspired elements.  I love when clients add-in those personal touches - makes the day so much more memorable!

This summer, for my wife's birthday, we went on a Sunset Cruise with Santa Barbara Sailing Center.  It was an amazing evening - beautiful sunset, incredible views of Santa Barbara, a bottle of local wine, and my favorite date. That evening, I dreamed up a styled shoot...and then we made it come to life in collaboration with an awesome team.  We featured a beautiful silver/gray gown by Watters (from Lili Bridals) on a sailboat traveling along the Santa Barbara Coast.  Watters even featured an image from this shoot on their instagram - always such an honor to be featured!  I had so much fun creating a bouquet with Japanese Poppies and Protea blossoms, as well as a tablescape with bronze accents, nautical maps, and colorful macaroons.  David Mendoza III captured everything beautifully...enjoy!