A June Chileno Valley Ranch wedding

I knew from my time interning there that the owners of Chileno Valley Ranch, Mike and Sally Gale, are very selective about who they welcome to be married at their very beautiful (and very hard-working) beef and apple ranch. So when I heard from D&A I already knew they were probably pretty awesome people. They were, and their wedding was, too. Congratulations, D&A, and thank you for letting me be a part of your celebration at such a special place!

A rainy Spring wedding

About this time last year, S&J were married on a beautiful Spring day just freshened by a light rain and brightened by clean sunshine from the cloud dotted sky, tulips and roses from Petaluma, snapdragons, ranunculus, and sweet william from Half Moon Bay, olive and photinia from Napa, and carnations from Watsonville. Happy almost anniversary, S&J! It was an honor and a pleasure to be a part of your wedding!

A St. Helena Spring wedding

Ironically, 2014 brought some of my most satisfying and lovely wedding wedding work, but no time to capture or share it! I'll be doing my best to correct this problem in 2015 (which is booking up to look like a beautiful season) and to share what few celebrations I managed to gather photographs from last year, as well.

To this end, here are a few images from J&D nuptials last spring.  J&D are both talented winemakers, so not surprisingly food and wine played a central role in their celebration. They also wanted the flowers to complement the season and local landscape, and it was my pleasure to comply with freesia from Pescadero, scabiosa from Pacifica, clivia, poppies, mums, and cymbidiums from Watsonville, 'Clair de Lune' roses and calla lilies from Petaluma, and pussywillow, ficus, and olive from Napa.

The ceremony was held at the beautiful St. Helena Church followed by dinner and dancing at the Culinary Institute of America's historic Greystone Campus (incidentally one of my very favorite venues).

Thank you, J&D for the opportunity to be a part of your beautiful celebration!

A Good Time Was Had By All!

It was great to see so many people at the Napa Farmer's Market yesterday!

In case you still want to stock up on produce for the winter (apples! squashes! nuts!) there will be one more Tuesday market on October 30th. I'll be there buying, not selling : ). So if you'd like to order any cards, acorn ornaments, garlands, wreaths, or flowers for the holidays, feel free to contact me directly to schedule a delivery.

Thank you, everyone, for a wonderful season!

A Hawaiian Chuppah Wedding

S&J were married in a beautiful ceremony incorporating traditions from their Hawaiian and Jewish backgrounds, receptively. The chuppah was decorated with hundreds of paper cranes lovingly folded by the bride's family (hundreds more adorned the reception, for a total of the traditional 1,001 cranes), and instead of bouquets, the bridesmaids wore leis composed of locally grown flowers and herbs, a nod to the couple's shared love of the culinary arts. Calla lilies, a favorite flower from the bride's childhood gardens in Hawaii, were also prominent throughout the flower arrangements. It was an honor to be a part of such a beautiful and heartfelt celebration. Congratulations, S&J!