ADORATIONS FASHIONS BHLDN BRIDAL EVENT

“We are in it for the love and devotion” ~ Adorations Botanical Artistry

Brides-to-be sought their style A-game at a special BHLDN pop up shop and wedding fair at UTC’s Anthropologie location in La Jolla. As an adoring fan of anything “Anthro,” we were beyond excited to be one of their featured vendors onsite during this special bridal event, showcasing a new collection of BHLDN bridal gowns and accessories.

Teaming up with our good friend, the always fashionable Lauren Rennie of Sweet Cheeks Baking Company, we styled a lusciously delicious farm table in the heart of the store with beautiful blooms and the tastiest treats. Lauren’s expertise in dessert styling placed Sweet Cheek’s BHLDN-inspired cake, monogrammed cookies and citrus cupcakes with lemon butter cream amongst our bounty of bohemian-inspired centerpieces and arrangements full of the season’s favorite: coral-charm & Sarah Bernhardt peonies, dinner-plate dahlias, anemones, and David Austen garden roses. A eucalyptus garland meandered across the entire table, adding an abundance of natural greens that lent so perfectly with the Anthropologie style.

Ladies perused the collection of stunning BHLDN gowns in romantic, bohemian and modern styles while sipping on the most adorable Sophia Mini cans of champagne. With so many gorgeous gowns to choose from, the fitting room was a flutter of brides-to-be dressed for their special day. To help them “complete the look” we had our signature Adorations bouquets on hand for them to feel as they may in that anticipated moment.

As a special token of love, Dear Darling, a San Diego-based calligrapher created the most darling name cards for every lady to take home from the evening’s gathering.

While this bridal event was one-night only, the pop-up shop for BHLDN, Anthropologie’s wedding collection, stayed in the store for the entire weekend. Of course, our bouquets and a few arrangements remained for the festivities and the green garland found its home (thanks to our Leo) draped above the entryway to the fitting room in absolutely perfect Anthro fashion.

We’d love to especially thank Paula Luna of lunaphoto for joining us to capture this incredible style event! Want to see more? BHLDN BRIDAL EVENT

VENDOR LOVE
Photography: lunaphoto. Gowns: BHLDN. Floral Design & Bouquets: Adorations Botanical Artistry. Cakes & Sweets: Sweet Cheeks Baking Company. Calligraphy & Wedding Stationery: Dear Darling. Location: Anthropologie, UTC La Jolla. 

Awesome Blossom, A Floral Design Encounter

Who:

You, Your Friends, Colleagues co-create with the Creative Director and Principle Designer of Adorations Botanical Artistry.  

Micro Bio: LaVonne is unabashedly a wife and mother, an artist, a coach, and a warrior for positive change, all for which she wears her heart on her sleeve. She created Adorations Botanical Artistry as a response to her calling as a designer and supporter of self-expression. Over its 15-year history, Adorations has served as the benchmark for excellence in floral and event design in Southern California. LaVonne translates the love stories of her brides and grooms, the accomplishment of a company, the affection a person feels for another with means rooted in nature, always well beyond expectation, always stunning visually. Her mastery of the craft has been acknowledged in publications worldwide, and by some of this country’s most prestigious event planners and venues.

What:

Awesome Blossom  
A Floral Design Encounter

When:

Wednesday, April 6, 2016l6:30 to 8:30 PM

Where:

‘The bash! Boutique’
3821 32nd St, San Diego, CA 92104

Intention: 

This workshop will stimulate your imagination, compare the results of your talent and ambition, increase your creative energy, reduce self judgment and reinvent your relationship to your own creative self as you experience the joy of creative pressure.

Creative Director, LaVonne Crawford, leads this 2-hour creative floral encounter. Seasonal floral products and botanical elements are hand selected in preparation for an inspiring workshop that raises each participant’s personal view of their creativity quotient. Each table is set with primary blooms, secondary elements and finishing touches along with the necessary tools and inspiration to bring the project to life. LaVonne Crawford of Adorations Botanical Artistry will engage the guests with information about the project’s materials, demonstrate specific techniques for the design, as well as review composition and various techniques used in the floral community. ©

This all-inclusive floral encounter is created with special attention given to the selection of flowers, botanical elements and the overall aesthetic of the final presentation. This includes all floral and hard-good materials, tools and supplies, talent, and modest refreshments. Booking must not be less than **2 weeks prior to the projected date to ensure the procurement of all assigned elements. 

Featuring exceptional photography by Paula Luna for lunaphoto - capturing your creativity at work.

Elle Fashion Show at The W Bridal Luncheon

“Beauty begins the moment you decide to be yourself” – Coco Chanel

Coco Chanel said it best. And isn’t it just the truth! We adore working with brides who want to show their true selves on their wedding day! It was so much fun to celebrate real bridal beauty at the Elle Fashion Show at W Hotel’s Bridal Luncheon. Ladies-in-waiting to say I DO dined in a gilded celebration before heading upstairs to the chic hotel rooftop for fashion inspiration on the runway.

Adorations was thrilled to be one of the floral designers featured at the Elle Fashion Show, which was hosted in part by our friends at the Lofty Wedding Collection – Elle Bridal Boutique, Garrett Richardson Photography and Posh Paperie. Krystel Tien and the girls at Couture Events coordinated this fabulous show incorporating the works of four San Diego fleurists. Leaf it to Lexi created the stunning runway backdrop that was designed with ombre pink roses making the perfect entrance for the models, while Compass Florals did an amazing job decorating the tabletops for the ladies luncheon. Along with our fellow florists and The Dainty Lion, we contributed two bouquets for the fashion show; both of course, in our signature texturized style.

Our first bouquet was fairytale-inspired and woodsy in charm with branches, scabiosa, peonies, patience garden rose, coneflower, dusty miller, kiwi vine and anemones.  Bouquet number two, romantic in nature, comprised of blush and white peonies, protea, dahlias and white o’hara garden roses.

It was just so exciting to see our fleurs working the runway in the hands of the beautiful bride models….especially with the paddle signs aligning the first row. Guests were able to flash a little  “Love,” “Yes, Please” and “FAB!” as the complete looks hit the catwalk.

Thanks so much to the wonderful team of vendors who worked together to make this one ELLE of a show!!!

VENDOR LOVE

Coordinator: Couture Events. Venue: The W Hotel San Diego. Photography: Garrett Richardson. Invitations: Posh Paperie. Bridal Gowns: Elle Bridal Boutique. Cinema: Anthology Films. Florals: Leaf It To Lexi. Florals: The Dainty Lion. Florals: Compass Florals. Florals: Adorations Botanical Artistry. Rentals: Classic Party Rentals. Linens: Concepts Event Design. Sponsor: Exquisite Wedding Magazine.

ADORATIONS CELEBRATES THE HOLIDAYS IN JULY!

Summer is officially here! And while we relax and vacation with family and friends, it is never too early to start planning for your holiday or festive get-togethers happening later this year! Adorations can’t help but think ahead at all the amazing dates still in store for us in 2015 – from winter weddings to Thanksgiving feasts, Christmas parties and of course, ringing in the New Year. This is actually our very favorite season, when we can celebrate those celebrations to come!

For the entire month of July, Adorations is gifting a special offer just for you! When you book during the month of July receive 15% off your total order for any social or corporate gathering taking place between September 1 - December 31, 2015! And as an added bonus present, client orders over $2,500 will receive a complimentary holiday arrangement of their choice to be delivered anywhere in San Diego county within the 2016 year.

We just LOVE celebrating in July! Contact us today to discuss your upcoming corporate event, anniversary party, or holiday merriment! Adorations Botanical Artistry is your go-to floral and event design studio for all of your very special occasions! 

Call or email us today!

SPARKS of Inspiration: New San Diego Local Art GALLERY

It SPARKS with an idea…

Sonya Sparks always knew she wanted to be involved in the arts and remembers drawing, painting and taking photographs at a very young age. By college, she studied Art at the University of San Diego but decided to major in Business Administration instead, as the art scene in SD wasn’t very open to new hires. After eight years at an international business, Sonya felt it was time to start something new.

“I was frustrated that there were not a lot of art galleries showing local work in a range of pricing,“ recalls Sonya, “so I decided to combine my interest in art with my business background to start a gallery that focused on the local art scene.”

 And so it began that this young lady (and former Adorations’ bride) started a namesake gallery right in the heart of downtown San Diego.

 The Sparks Gallery is home for contemporary artwork from artists living in San Diego and encourages patronage of local artists, while supporting San Diego's growth as a strong art community. Located in the historic Sterling Hardware Building on Sixth Avenue between Island and Market in the Gaslamp Quarter, the historic focus of the building aims to pair old San Diego with new contemporary visions. 

I was thrilled to provide flowers for the opening night of the Sparks Gallery for their debut group show, ONE ON ONE.  Being that Sonya is one of my past brides, I was in complete awe to see her passion come to life in such a gorgeous and unique space. The opening was buzzing with an energetic crowd of hipsters, art enthusiasts, patrons, featured artists and fellow creators hoping to see their work showcased at Sparks Gallery one day.

For me, I also felt like I was on display as our signature Adorations floral arrangement of seasonal blooms was part of the bar setup with smaller garden centerpieces set amongst the lounge tables. We choose flowers in various bright colors for the POP ART effect of our palette.  

As a wedding industry professional, I fell in love with the grandeur of the historic Sterling Hardware building and the amount of work that went into restoring such an amazing space. The original floors and brick walls were restored by hand to create an elegant balance between industrial and handcrafted detail work, and they designed the space so the fixtures, knobs, paint colors, and other details are all vintage (from 1924 or earlier) to fit with the era of the historic building. Apparently this building’s past included a vaudeville theater with a trapeze lady, carriage repair shop and a hardware store, while its inevitable that its future home will include many stunning events, as Sparks Gallery is available for wedding and event rentals.

Sonya explained that they recently added industrial steel columns and seismic bracing to their building, so our capacity limit was raised from 50 people in 2012 (before renovations to the space) to 348 people this year. They’ve also added a whole new upper level mezzanine and interior structure with a kitchen, restrooms, office, and elevator lift to the second floor.

 While the main focus of Sparks Gallery will always remain to exhibit local San Diego artists, it’s possible they may consider expanding to national or global artists in the future but with several group and solo shows coming up this year along with the creation of a guest curatorial program for local curators, Sparks Gallery is already flourishing with a new show going up every month. They are also looking forward to hosting occasional seminars and other performance-based events, such as music or spoken word. Announcements for all these shows will be posted via social media and through their email newsletter.

 As for Adorations, we are so excited to have the Sparks Gallery just walking distance from our studio for inspiration as well as having the opportunity to contribute flowers for their upcoming events.

“I didn’t even need to see what LaVonne was making ahead of time,” remarks Sonya about the opening night florals. “I knew it would be wonderful because her artistic eye for arrangement is amazing, and the quality and freshness of her flowers is perfect every time.”

Sparks Gallery is located at 530 6th Avenue in downtown San Diego, CA. For more information visit SparksGallery.com or call 619.696.1416

 Photography provided by Sparks Gallery. Cocktails: Snake Oil Cocktails.
Architect: Hanna Gabriel Wells. Restoration Contractor: Wilson Construction.

US GRANT LUXURY WEDDING SHOW & LUNCHEON

Photography by Garrett Richardson Photography

A few Sundays ago, the US GRANT Hotel showcased their annual Luxury Wedding Show and Luncheon for brides-to-be to experience four ballrooms brimming with styled vignettes from Southern California’s elite wedding specialists.

Adorations was so honored to create SEVEN of these amazing décor setups. And yes, you did hear right. SEVEN. We think that’s a lucky number.

It all began when Thomas Bui Lifestyles and Wynn Austin Events asked me to work with them on tabletop designs for the Grand Ballroom, which would be where the Luncheon and M Bride Couture Fashion Show would be held. I so adore working with both Thomas and Wynn that I said YES. When the US Grant also asked us to style Palm Court as well – you can guess it – I said YES as well.

While that may sound like three vignettes, both Thomas and Wynn were responsible for three tables EACH! Upon meeting with both of them to discuss the designs, Thomas decided to go for three completely unique tabletops while Wynn wanted to connect hers quite literally with a gorgeous ribbon of translucent gold magnolia leaves draped from each high centerpiece. Her lovely color palette of blush, cream and gold, which remains to be many bride-to-be’s favorite, was luxury at its finest with garden White O’ Hara roses, palest blush Quicksand roses, with pieres japonica and trailing jasmine vine woven throughout.

Thomas was thankfully placed right beside Wynn, front and center of the stage, with his three tables. My team joked a bit that the space in-between the two rows of tabletops was the “Adoration’s Alley” since we all had worked so hard to make these grand floral pieces for such a luxury show.

Thomas’s first tabletop design was “The Blossoming Tree,” fairytale in style, with floral groupings seeming to grow organically out of the base of a true birch trunk. The tree was blossoming with purple lilac, lavender sweet pea and purple clematis with rising white and lavender hydrangea, camellia leaves, sweet peas and roses in various stages of bloom. White and lavender clematis weaved ethereally throughout while the crown of the tree trunk featured branches of white cherry blossoms and blooming magnolia.

 The “Marsala Masculinity” was Thomas’s 2nd tabletop that we took a modern yet whimsical approach to highlight the Pantone color of the year with several shades of sultry red, bronzed copper and pops of peach. The crescent-shaped centerpiece cascaded with French tulips tight clusters of Tess and Piano garden roses, deep red amaryllis, coffee break roses in a copper hue, red and peach ranunculus, Juliet roses, and dark spray roses were infused with anemones, poppies and dahlias. The design was made complete with mercury votives in a distinctive regal pattern, gold chalices, golden charger plates, rich linens and floating candles for a debonair styling. 

“The Golden Halo” was the third in our series with Thomas, rising 4 ft above the tabletop with a golden halo ring atop a vessel of vibrant blooms. As one looked up, they saw the flowers reflecting through glass globes in this artfully designed installation. The dramatic yet romantic ring grew in size from 36 to 48 inches in diameter with the lush display of fleurs, featuring the famous David Austen roses, Juliet garden roses, Phoebe roses, clematis, hellebore with antique green hydrangea suspended with pepper berries and dripping with jasmine vine and purple clematis creating a visually stunning art piece. 

Our final installation was in the Palm Court, right off the lobby at the US Grant that boasts a grand piano in the very center of the room. We wanted to highlight not only the stunning musical instrument, but also the musician himself. As one entered the room the piano was set in a floral frame with bunches of mono-floral bouquets angled with movement to direct the eye towards the piano. We set a vibrant centerpiece on the piano tall with blooming magnolia blossom branches, antique hydrangea, purple lilac and cascading purple phalaenopsis orchids, reminiscent of the floral groupings from our poised bouquets. It was such a stunning visual impact as quests entered into this beautiful space at the US Grant Hotel.

I’d love to give such a special thanks to my entire TEAM at Adorations Botanical Artistry. We not only had an actual wedding that weekend but worked around the clock to make these show installations so over-the-top! THANK YOU from the bottom of my heart!!

And of course to the US Grant, Thomas Bui and Wynn Austin – we are truly blessed to not only work with the very best wedding professionals, but also consider you friends! Thank you for all that you do for Adorations Botanical Artistry! We look forward to many more grand events!

Brian Malarkey’s GREEN ACRE Restaurant Featured with ADORATIONS BOTANICAL ARTISTY in Ceremony Magazine San Diego 2015

Top Chef extraordinaire Brian Malarkey is clearly a household name. Especially in San Diego, our palettes have had the pleasure of experiencing Malarkey’s “Fabric of Social Dining” in his award-winning haute spot restaurants, Searsucker and Herringbone, while foodie fans across the country have fallen in love with Bravo’s happy-go-lucky reality star. Malarkey seems to be finding more and more success in his restaurant brands, which have expanded into Austin, Texas; West Hollywood, and soon-to-be in Las Vegas; but his most recent SD venue and restaurant Green Acre is adored by us, here at Adorations.

Obviously, in case you haven’t seen the latest 2015 edition of Ceremony Magazine, Adorations is thrilled to see our incredible king-sized “Garden to Table” photoshoot featured in a 4-page editorial spread!

Last year, we were blessed to work with the wonderful Tim Altbaum Productions (now Vario Productions) for his annual industry event, hosted at Green Acre and found such inspiration in the “campus-life” that this organic eatery boasts. Unlike any restaurant dining experience we’ve ever seen, Green Acre is the epitome of farm-to-table dining, as each of the two life science campus locations has its own sustainable garden where much of their produce is harvested. Offering breakfast and lunch “brain food” for neighboring colleagues and researchers, the Campus Pointe location can also double as a venue space for special events. Since we were already twirling flowers for Tim’s elaborate celebration, we decided to repurpose our florals into a Ceremony Magazine photoshoot the very next day.  It only seemed fitting, keeping with the green, sustainable lifestyle assumed by Green Acre, that reusing our gorgeous flowers was a must! For more TAP party pictures.

Our shoot was a play on the “farm-to-table” restaurant concept as translated to the “Garden-to-Table” styling (and name). Since Green Acre boasts a private dining space with a grand 20-person tabletop made of reclaimed wood, accompanied by leather chairs and bookshelves adorned to the walls, we thought this was the perfect location to set our tablescape.  The flower palette comprised of Juliette and Campanella garden roses, pincushion protea, anemones, sweet peas, and ranunculus in sorbet inspired shades of pinks and oranges elevated with greens, which livened up the masculine den-like space.

Because this was such an important shoot for Adorations, we were fortunate to work with two amazing photographers to capture the essence of our “Garden to Table” editorial. As featured in the Ceremony Magazine spread, Alex Hurtado Photography shot the table and details, as did our friend Garrett Richardson for Clove & Kin Photography, who was featured in Ceremony for the cabbage patch bouquet. Our incredible team of vendors also included coordination by Jessica Gillon of Events by Design, Hostess Haven for rentals; linens by Concepts Event Design and stationery pieces by Love Paper Paint.

Thank you to our talented vendors and Ceremony Magazine for this wonderful published feature and of course, to the inspiring Brian Malarkey who just keeps growing his delicious brand of goodness! Want to see more Garden-to-Table.

Editorial Shoot Credits
Photography: Alex Hurtado Photography. Photography: Clove & Kin Photography. Floral Design: Adorations Botanical Artistry. Coordination: Events by Design. Rentals: Hostess Haven. Linens: Concepts Event Design. Stationery: Love Paper Paint. Food & Venue: Green Acre.

Christmas in July: Holiday Party Offer

For the entire month of JULY, pre-book your holiday party or event with Adorations Botanical Artistry and receive 15% off the cost of your décor and receive a gorgeous gift arrangement for you or someone you love, FREE OF CHARGE!!! Time to cross that one of your wish list! 

There’s nothing better than celebrating a bit of the holiday season while we are in the midst of SUMMER!!! While the BBQs and the bathing suits of the 4th will come and go, Adorations is already preparing for our Fall/Winter months with this VERY SPECIAL offer just for you!! 

In anticipation of Thanksgiving, Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, and the New Year, Adorations is your go-to floral & event designer for all your celebrated festivities! We’ve created some incredible holiday décor, as seen here on our site, like Thomas Bui’s Annual Holiday Party and our extravagant tabletop styling! If you are looking for someone to decorate your Thanksgiving dinner table for a family of 4 (or the whole 40+ entourage) or are planning to host a corporate holiday party or a New Year’s Eve cocktail countdown with your closest friends, we’ve got you covered!

This festive discount will only last through the month, so contact us today! We can accommodate any holiday or winter celebration and will customize the décor to fit your needs.

Santa and his elves are already jealous… 

See more pictures from Thomas Bui’s Annual Holiday Party and Magical Christmas at the Hotel Del.