Destination: Santa Barbara

A few weeks ago, I traveled to Santa Barbara to attend my niece's wedding, where I also was asked to design the bouquets for her big day.

Traveling and working on flowers in an unfamiliar place is not ideal, but Santa Barbara proved to be a perfect location. Many of the growers who supply the east coast are based in the Santa Barbara area, as it has ideal growing conditions (70 degrees year round, sunny days, cool nights, low to no humidity). It was so much fun to visit a grower and see the flowers cut and boxed on-site. The flowers were amazing  - waves of sweet pea, lavish dahlias (some as large as my hand), masses of garden roses. 

My niece's colors were hot pink, bright green, and navy blue and I carried this theme through not just the bouquets, but the luncheon I hosted earlier in the week as well. She got married on the beach, and I wanted the flowers to evoke the relaxed, beachy, beautiful feel of Santa Barbara. 

For her bouquet in particular, I was especially pleased to have the most stunning astilbe and scabiosa  - they both looked sort of coral- or sea urchin-esque and I loved how the finished bouquet looked against the lace bodice of her dress.

What a lovely wedding, what a wonderful week, and what a beautiful bride! 

Materials pictured include: blue, pink, and green hydrangea, trick dianthus, hot lady roses, sweet pea, bupleurum, garden roses, tibet roses, scabiosa, astilbe, ranunculus, and ivy.

Replicating my workroom in our rental property

Garden roses

Scabiosa

Luncheon table

Bridesmaid's bouquet

Old, borrowed, and blue - Mother of the Bride's bracelet

The wedding party

My beautiful niece

Summer Garden Blooms

I used to have a rather extensive cutting garden where I grew the flowers one would find at the farmer's market or a roadside stand - zinnias (always), sunflowers, salvia, tithonia, euphorbia, just to name a few. I experimented a lot over the years and I loved being able to go outside and just cut a bunch of flowers for the kitchen table.

This wedding was reminiscent of one of those bunches I would gather on a hot summer day. With the main colors of red, yellow, and orange, I mixed in some greens, purples, and white to soften.

The bride, who hails from Germany, especially loved gladiolus, as she grew up next to a flower grower and acres and acres of gladiolus fields.  The simple and bright lines of the flowers were in perfect contrast to the plain light wood of the altar.

Materials pictured include: sunflowers, zinnias, stock, buplorum, gladiolus, larkspur, white hydrangea, gerbera daisies, freesia, orange roses, solidaster, yellow roses, ivy, salal.

Refreshing

On a warm summer day, there is nothing as cooling as the color blue. Blue calms and soothes, it is the color of oceans and lakes, shadows, and night skies. Blue refreshes the eye - think of how the retailers introduce all blue clothing after the Christmas holidays - we are instantly awoken and fresh after the incessant red and green.

As I have said before, it is one of the rarer colors in nature in terms of flowers, so finding hardy blue flowers to withstand summer heat can be a bit tricky. Delphinium is not traditionally a strong flower, but I got lucky for this summer wedding and I had bunches of the most brilliant (and hardy) delphinium.

My bride wanted all blue and whites and silvers - blue is both a favorite color and a salute to her groom who serves in the US Navy. The colors looked great against the grey stone and flagstone of the terrace and structure of Greystone Hall. On a clear summer day, the vista from the terrace to the ceremony site was simply lovely.

Flowers pictured include: blue and white hydrangea, blue delphinium, vivian spray roses, tibet white roses, casablanca lilies, white snapdragon, peonies, white alstroemeria, freesia, Israeli ruscus, salal, seeded eucalyptus, pittosporum, and silver branches.

Wedding arch with Mother of the Bride's veil 

Centerpiece for wall was placed just before ceremony to avoid sun

Centerpiece for wall, waiting to be placed

Bridesmaid's bouquet

Bridal bouquet