Meant To Be - Simplistic Wedding Flowers in Sacramento

I completely agree, it's such a cliche saying.  But, it is funny how some things just work out as if they are meant to be.  Upon completing my final wedding of 2011 (by the way, 2011 was my first wedding season and full year running In Full Bloom by MJL) I decided to do a few craft fairs.  I thought it might be fun to make some items with succulents and tillandsia and I figured, if nothing else, it would be a great way to get my name out and meet new people in the community.  So, I also put together a portfolio of my 2011 work and off I went!

At one of the events I had the pleasure of meeting a delightful woman, Cathi.  Our conversation went something like this:

Cathi thumbed through my photo book and said, "I think I should talk to you about my daughter's wedding."
Me, "I would love to talk to you about your daughter's wedding!  When is she getting married?"
Cathi," December 28th."
A bubble thought cloud popped up over my head as I did some math and realized that was less than four weeks away and said, "Wow, that is coming up!"
Cathi, "Yes, she thinks she is going to do all the flowers herself but I don't know if that's realistic."
Me, "Designing and putting flowers together is a lot of work.  There are aspects of floral design that not everyone thinks about like cleaning and treating them and making sure they look fresh for the event!"

We continued talking for a bit and later that week I heard from Cathi to set up a meeting.  Because Cathi's daughter lives out of the country, I met with the mother/daughter duo upon the daughter's arrival back home.  We were able to meet and discuss the bride's vision just a few weeks prior to the big day and I think the final product turned out quite beautiful!  This young and in love couple is absolutely adorable!  It all worked out so well meeting Cathi by chance right before her daughter's wedding.  I think she felt the pre-wedding crunch and decided  it was best to delegate some of the work!   So, turns out what I thought would be my final wedding of 2011 was, in fact, not and Moses & Joy's wedding was instead!

 Travis Hoehne Photography did an amazing job with these photos!  Many of the pre-wedding shots were taken down by the American River in Carmichael, CA.  It is such a cool setting.  One of my favorite photos is above.... looks like a fashion ad straight out of a magazine!  What a good-looking wedding party!  I think this shot could be a great advertisement for Moses and Joy's start-up company called Make My Suit!  They specialize in tailored suits with a mission to "eradicate ill-fitting suits from society by providing tailored made men's suits at affordable price points."

 I decorated the church altar using burlap, vases filled with water and floating candles, pillar candles and my collection of antique bottles filled with flowers.  The wreaths in the photo above were also my creation as holiday decor for the sanctuary!

The flowers I used for this wedding included the following:
White Import Hydrangea
Monte Casino
Million Star Gypsophelia
Blush Larkspur
Eryngium
Green Hypericum
Lemon Leaf Tips
Sword Fern

Photos by Travis Hoehne Photography
Bridal Dress: La Soie Bridal
Bridesmaid Dresses: Banana Republic
Suits: Make My Suit
Ceremony: Lutheran Church of the Good Shepherd
Cake Pops: Freeport Bakery
Reception: Asian Pearl Restaurant
Make-Up: Suite Serenity Makeup & Skin Care