For the ceremony I knew I wanted to focus on organic elements. I used white marble rocks to line the aisle, with pillar candles tucked in and then I rented simple white square pillars from my florist. Set a top the columns, my lovely florist found the perfect large white bowls to tuck mood moss and large succulents in. My inspiration came from a wedding I saw in Martha Stewart where small bowls of moss were used for tabletop decor.

I also used ribbon to mark off the front row as reserved seating and placed packets of tissue on each seat (I know my family, they’re criers all right!). I also used ribbon to block off the aisle way from guests so my rocks would stay straight. Finally, I draped some simple sheer green fabric over the tree branch to create a modified a-line huppa. The green fabric was held down with 2′ x 4′s and then covered with more rocks which echoed the aisle decor. I originally was going to hang a capiz shell chandelier from the tree, but it was so windy I decided to nix it. In the end, I think it looked better without it. Enjoy!

Originally, I was just going to do solid green runners, but I liked how the two fabrics looked together so I added the damask as a border. I love how the white square plates popped against the black and white flock.

To make the linens I used stitch witchery. In all I made, 4 18′ long runners, 8 damask pieces for the buffet, DJ table etc, and 2 solid green runners for the place card table and buffet. It was a lot of work, but the effect was exactly what I wanted and the overall cost was pretty darn reasonable. Plus, now I have some linens in house that I can use for my clients!

I brought my florist, Kim from Collage, from LA because I had worked with her for the past three years and her arrangements are always stunning, she truly has a talent for blending colors and shapes. I told her I wanted succulents, orchids, black calla lilies and hydrangea.

I really wanted to highlight the contrast between the masculine succulents and the dainty hydrangea. Likewise, Kim added pods and roses which had the same effect.

For my bouquet, Kim wired in mini succulents and the groom wore one for his boutonnière. I loved my bouquet, it was the perfect size and it was just stunning against my dress. Enjoy!

For my wedding I knew I wanted a look that was simple, organic, elegant, and modern. My original colors were brown, chartreuse, coral, and white. But as time went by I got more and more sick of brown, so I started to play with the idea of classic black and white. I ended up with several shades of green, a rich, Kelly green (no pun intended), a celadon green and crisp black and white.

My design concept quickly formulated itself into the idea of “Zen Glamour.” Hence I tried to combine organic elements (like the bear grass tied on the napkins) with glamorous elements like the chrome reflective vases that I bought, where else, but downtown LA.

I also found the perfect green silk and black and white damask flock in downtown LA. I made 18′ runners from scratch– it took me about 4 hours per runner (not including the time it took to cut the fabric) since I had to pin everything straight and then iron in the stitch witchery. It’s a good thing I started and finished these in January!

I also hand-cut all of the “leaf” place and escort cards. I used different colors to denote which table guests were seated at rather than the traditional table numbers. This way I didn’t have to use ugly table number signs (which always stand out in pictures). There are a lot more details to come so stay tuned.