sneak peak of photo shoot with stephanie williams

i have worked with stephanie williams numerous times on various photo shoots...and her work consistently BLOWS ME AWAY...but i have never been behind her lense...until now!

last week we had a photo shoot and she took new head shots for me (which i have been desperately needing)...below is a tiny sneak peak of whats to come...

and YES, that coral charm peony is real ;)

thanks steph! can't wait to see the rest! xoxo

JL DESIGNS featured in latest edition of southern weddings magazine!

i am SUPER excited to announce that 5 of my bouquets are being featured in the 2010 annual issue of southern weddings magazine! this is the second year in a row my work has been featured by them and i am so honored that my florals are gracing their pages!

a special thank you to lara and the rest of the southern weddings team! and CONGRATS on the beautiful new mag! can't wait to see the full thing when it hits news stands!

i also have to give it up for my girl, stephanie williams, who took the amazing photos of my work and who i wish i could hire as my full time LIFE photographer - for business AND personal! :)

middle row (1st four shots): white veronice bouquet, pomander ball of yellow mums, peach garden rose bouquet, white balsa wood flower and dusty miller bouquet

bottom row (2nd shot): peach ranunculas, scabiosa pods and blushing bride bouquet

thanks ladies!!!! xoxo, c

JL DESIGNS featured on hostess with the mostess!!!

hostess with the mostess featured our "anthropologie style, owl baby shower"!!!

this is a big deal! this blog inspires readers daily to get their creative on and become a home entertainer! it's so cool to inspire people in ways other than weddings! click here to read the feature...

thanks to jen over at HWTM for the awesome feature!!! we are blushing over here :)

tastemaker's dinner for tres LA

every year, the upscale catering company, tres LA, hosts a "tastemaker's dinner" for some of LA's best and brightest wedding and event professionals. it's basically a chance for them to stretch their creative muscles and showcase some of their finest food. at the same time, it's a chance for them to collaborate with other creative vendors...like me! ;)

this year they brought in the lovely kristin banta to design and coordinate the evening, which was held at boulevard 3 in hollywood. i did all of the florals and decor elements, fete accompliprovided the KILLER mirrored tables and white louis chairs, wildflower linens designed the ultra luxe faux suede runners, mimio papers created the gorgeous silver boxed menus andvictor sizemore captured the vibe of the event beautifully! what a dream team for me to work with!

when kristin told me what rentals and linens she had chosen, i knew this would be a perfect fit for all my "mod baroque" props and decor pieces...

mercury glass and white ceramic artichokes dotted the tablescape...

the white candlesticks were collected from various homegoods, z galleries and floral suppliers in my area...

and tall white ostrich plumes sprouted from silver trumpet vases...

we suspended 3 of my white ornate frames from the second story on back side of the room to give the illusion they were floating...

raspberry theme florals were arranged in small white containers and placed on top of the flat candlesticks for added drama...

kristin chose the layered silver and fuschia charger plates and collaborated with desiree at wildflower linens on the geometric, graphic runners and white pique napkins...

florals consisted of fuschia and raspberry roses, tulips, coxcomb and hanging amaranthus...we added white ostrich feathers to the taller pieces to coordinate with the tall white ostrich plumes in the center of the table...

mercury glass candlesticks and silver bulbed vases added a great reflection against the mirrored tabletops...

white finials added more texture and style to the overall look...

i LOVE how kristin alternated the white backed louis chairs with clear backed ones...genius! and can we talk about how amazing the mirrored tables are?!?! even if a client can't afford to use them for all the dinner tables, what about just using one for a desserts table, placecard table, etc? its all about strategic placement :)

the gorgeous silver boxed menus from mimio...

an overall room shot...

meanwhile, the cocktail hour was held outside in the courtyard...we just did simple little white vases holding all fuschia tulips or raspberry coxcomb...

i accented the fireplace mantle with a bunch of white empty frames and flickering candles...

as dusk approached, it made for quite the ambiance!

just a glimpse of the AMAZING food we devoured that night!

this was a surprise for all when two girls performed aerial arts by dangling from a huge metal cube! i admit, i shrieked with fear quite a few times...those girls be crazy!

what a night! thank you to all who played a part in making it so spectacular! how on earth will we top this next year?! ;)

JL DESIGNS featured on style me pretty!

how exciting that just one day after the vintage halloween bash, i got news that style me pretty was going to be picking it up and blogging it the day before halloween! what a treat! (yes, pun intended)...post 1 can be viewed here and post 2 can be viewed here...

thanks abby for sharing the event with the rest of the wedding world! :)

a very vintage halloween bash, beverly hills

when yelena johnson of the stylish soiree and i decided we wanted to throw a fun halloween party for about 40-50 people it started off very small scale...but once we started tweeting it, the guest count quickly grew to over 150 people! and we just figured the more the better! let them come... :)

the initial design concept was kind of a playful vintage but as we got closer to the event and we kept finding new inspirations, it definitely morphed into something a bit more gothic, a bit more victorian and a bit darker...for the florals and decor pieces, i knew i wanted to go with all muted, lifeless colors...nothing bright or vibrant...and almost all of the vessels, candlesticks, platters, gravy boats, frames, mirrors, etc. were thrifted in order to keep an authentic, vintage feel...

i REALLY loved how everything turned out and just hours before the party began, the clouds rolled in, the wind got CRAZY (hello blackouts!) and it made for a perfect, eerie halloween setting...

yelena borrowed this black vintage typewriter from a friend...

i hit the jackpot with this filligree framed mirror...$4.00 at the goodwill!

another killer find was this footed silver container...i packed it full of white hydrangea, black dahlias (yes there really is such a thing), gray reindeer moss and scabiosa pods (which kinda look dead but when mixed with the right florals, they are gorgeous!)...

two more of my favorites from the night were this silver gravy boat holding gray reindeer moss, scabiosa pods and gray succulents...

as well as this brass candelabra...i couldn't believe the things i scored at goodwill! and i am not telling which one it is because i am going to hoard all their stuff just for me :)

i got this 5 piece set of petite brass footed goblets for $2.00! and ps. i KILL for black and white anemones...like hands off, those are mine...KILL! :)

yelena brought these fab black lanterns to hang in the trees and my dear friend jesi haack brought some of her own for us to use too!

yelena crafted this huge spiderweb the night before and hung it from some of the trees near the courtyard! she put so much work into it and i don't know if everyone saw it once it got dark so i am super glad meg got a photo of it! and doesn't that sky just look CREEPY?!

we created a little "vintage vignette", using an eclectic mix of furniture...yelena brought this cute black nightstand from home...

both of the green chairs were another donation from jesi haack...

and the rest was stuff i thrifted just days before the party...including this studded, velvet wingback chair for $10.00 and the coffee table for $6.00! the flocked damask pillows were custom made by my team...

glass votives were given a brushed gold paint treatment to continue the muted look...

and in case you're wondering, i didn't do anything to the pumpkins...you can buy them that way...my vendor calls them "lumpy" pumpkins...i think he is being generous with that adjective...because what they really are is moldy and decrepid...but perfect for halloween!

katrina did a fantastic job with the calligraphy for the programs, bar menus, dessert tags, etc. it fit the vibe perfectly - and i love the white writing on black paper!

a cute little clock from yelena...

i fell in love with the black net linens overlaid with the gray matte satin linens that wildflower provided...it added such a cool texture!

ahhhh...the dessert table from sweet and saucy...i accented the back of it with 4 tall black candlesticks and set a "lumpy" pumpkin on top of each one...i then added a few more mercury glass candlesticks, each holding a mini white pumpkin...but let's be honest, people were not flocking to that table because of anything i created ;)

red velvet cake pops, pumpkin cheesecakes, chocolate mousse shots and mini pumkin cupcakes drizzled in salted caramel...i miss you...

and there are no words for this cake...

adorable custom "boo" tags yelena created for the cupcakes...

yelena and i collaborated on these cool black frames holding naturalist drawings of bats, eagles, butterflies, antelopes, etc. because let's be honest, naturalist drawings are kinda creepy :)

the night was SUCH a success and we have gotten amazing feedback from people letting us know how fun and fab it was! it could NOT have happened without my fellow sponsors and hosts:

the stylish soiree

contemporary catering

franklin canyon park

meg perotti photography

sweet and saucy shop

wildflower linens

classic party rentals

town and country event rentals

calligraphy katrina

mint photo lounge

crash dj

is vodka

thank you to everyone who braved the dark, narrow roads and crazy winds to show up...and an additional thank you to all of you who came in costume (about 90%)!!! it was so fun to party with you! we deserve it! :)

HAPPY HALLOWEEN EVERYONE!!!

JL DESIGNS featured on oh hello friend

another awesome blogger featured me...click here for the post...thanks dani!!! what a treat! :)

JL DESIGNS featured on oh joy! blog

after the oh joy! launch party at urbanic, joy blogged a couple posts worth of pictures...you can see my work in part 2 here...it was such an honor to have been involved with the event and so cool to be featured on the oh joy! blog...it gets SO many visitors per day so it's extremely flattering to be on it! :)

oh joy! party - urbanic boutique, venice

in case you have been living under a rock and don't know who joy cho is...GET.TO.KNOW.HER...

her blog, oh joy!, gets crazy thousands of hits per day and her designs have been sold in urban outfitters and target (swell/cynthia rowley) - hello?!?! she is legit...

when she threw a party to launch her latest line of notebooks, folders and paper products, i was beyond thrilled to design the flowers for the event...hosted by urbanic paper boutique, photos by max wanger, treats by frosted cupcakery and fun times with photobooth love made it a fantastic night!

miss joy herself...i love this shot...so cute!

i stuck with clean, modern all white vessels and filled them with puffy white china mums or green succulents...

i don't know if the pom-pom garlands were made by joy or if they were made by audrey at urbanic but either way, they were adorable!

some of joy's recent creations...see something you like? go here to purchase them!

it was such a fun night and so great to see familiar faces as well as meet new ones - especially a lot of my twitter buddies that i feel like i know but have never met! it was so nice to finally put a face with a name!

thanks joy and audrey for letting me be a part of it and thanks to max for sharing his gorgeous photos and point of view!

mary and brian - waterfront resort, huntington beach

mary and brian were special to me from the start because the groom's name is brian (like my hubs!) and they got engaged at the surf and sand resort in laguna beach (where MY brian proposed too!)...so needless to say, we had a connection :)

the bridal bouquet was made entirely of creamy "sweet eskimo" roses, finished in white lace and a rhinestone/pearl brooch...

the flower girl dresses were so cute! like little ballerinas!

mary looked so gorgeous thanks to carina from flawless faces!

the ballroom at the hilton, huntington beach, was transformed into an ultra clean and modern environment with all white draping, a white seamless dancefloor, white chairs, white linens and white napkins...but to add a sense of femininity and romance, we did arrangements made entirely of antique pink roses, set on top of footed glass vases, alternating with low glass vases full of more antique pink roses...

all of the florals were set on top of custom made blush runners from bbj linens (thanks kimberly!)...

there is something so soft and classic about all white rentals (fabric draping, linens, napkins, chairs, dancefloor)...the florals, runners and lighting were the only "color" in the room...super chic!

the cake was set on top of my custom acrylic cake podium, which we decked out with hanging crystal strands inside...mary is a girly-girl so we had to have a bit of bling involved! :)

a special thanks to jim kennedy for the photos!!

design challenge for bride and bloom magazine

a couple months ago, i was asked to participate in the "design challenge" for bride and bloom magazine...the concept is to take a real couple who is in the beginning of their wedding planning process and allow 3 floral designers to create a bouquet, boutonniere and 2 different tablescapes based off of the couple's color scheme, venue and design style.

here was the mood board the client created to give us an idea of what she liked:

the couple's wedding venue is "craftsteak" inside of the mgm in las vegas. so the photo shoot took place at one of the sister restaurants, "craft" in los angeles...the vibes were pretty similar - masculine and modern with warm tones...so even though the client liked a vintage, feminine feel, we also had to stay somewhat true to the venue as well...

overall, here is what we came up with!

bridal bouquet of eggplant mini cala lilies, lavender parrot tulips, dark purple tulips and plum hyacinth...

stems were wrapped in eggplant satin, pum lace and a band of aubergine velvet...3 mini purple rhinestone brooches finished the "vintage modern" look...

eggplant mini cala boutonniere wrapped in black satin, a band of aubergine velvet and black rhinestone trim...

for the tall centerpiece option, we created monobotanical arrangements of eggplant dahlias, dark purple mini cala lilies, green vibernum and green dutch hydrangea...tall glass candlesticks from crate and barrel, purple vases and short glass candlesticks from z gallerie...

the couple was going to be using all the existing furniture inside of craftsteak, including the chairs and rectangular tables...but we were encouraged to bring in our own runners and napkins, so i decided on the green "russian linen" from wildflower linens...

for the low centerpiece option, fabric wrapped boxes were packed full of dutch green hydrangea, eggplant dahlias, lavender parrot tulips, dark purple mini cala lilies and plum toned tulips and hyacinth...

the couple threw out the idea of lace, so i utilized a plum lace trim around each of the boxes, layered with an aubergine velvet for added texture...

to see the full spread and what the other designers came up with, check out the latest issue of bride and bloom, on newstands now! thanks so much to carol poon and leila khalil for involving me! and to lauren hillary for her awesome images!

JL DESIGNS featured on green weddings shoes blog!

even though her blog has only been around for about a year, jen from green wedding shoes has captured the attention of brides and vendors alike...truly her blog is one of the only blogs i can honestly say i check EVERY day...and it never disappoints! she posts such a great variety of real weddings, products, trends, etc and i am so inspired by her design eye...

not only that, but i have had the pleasure of getting to know her on a personal level over the past 6 months and she is SUCH a sweet person! combine that with great taste and style and you have one fabulous girl! i feel so blessed to have been featured by jen numerous times over the last couple of months and honored that she finds beauty in my work :) here are a few of my recent appearances on green weddings shoes:

jen created an entire inspiration board based off of the vintage, organic bouquet i created for the jasmine star workshop

and she did a full post on my eco-forest tablescape

she featured my collaboration with stephanie williams and the talented ladies of utterly engaged for their issue 002

and another fab shoot on "alternative bridesmaids" for utterly engaged issue 003

thanks so much jen for your support, creative energy and friendship! can't wait to see how green wedding shoes grows this next year! so many fab things in store for you!! xoxo

an eclectic, "anthropologie-inspired" baby shower - with owls!

okay....please forgive me for this exceptionally long post...but i COULD.NOT.HELP.IT...it's detail city and i don't care who knows it! :)

when my sweet friends carlie and gabriel told me they were having a baby shower for their baby-in-waiting, lincoln roe, i jumped at the chance to be involved...especially with my other sweet friends jesi haack and melody of my sweet and saucy on board...i knew this baby shower was going to be ridic...

let's start with this adorable, hand made invite designed and created by the mommy-to-be, carlie...when i got mine in the mail, i couldn't bring myself to untie the twine, it was THAT cute! in fact, it's still assembled perfectly on my dining room table and i can't bare the thought of throwing it away...

a cute little sign-in station was created out of a wood table and chair set belonging to carlie and gabriel, where guests were asked to write "love notes" to lincoln...

and omg the lemonade station! jesi made the most insanely cute stir sticks out of cardboard and can you tell they are imprinted with an owl stamp?! i could not get over these...

the table and chairs here were provided by the lovely megan over at classic party rentals...the "part thrifted, part anthropologie" mixture of vases were on loan from one of carlie's past brides...

brian and i hung long panels of white fabric over the grassy area to create some shade...pops of rustic burlap were added for a layered effect and to "manly" it up :)

and clothesline held lincoln's name made out of newspaper, along with photos of carlie and gabriel as children...

carlie made these fans, which i would not go home without...in fact i had to scour gabriel's car at the end of the party to find an extra one because i HAD to have one :) made from cardboard and covered in raw-edged fabric, i am sure they took forever to make but they were worth it!

the florals i used were a mix of flowers i thought looked "vintage, hippie and happy"...white china mums, white/yellow aster, white lisianthus, yellow billy balls and ivory dahlias...the vases had so much color already, we stuck to mainly white florals with tiny touches of yellow for an added pop!

okay...so let's talk about the most adorable dessert display ever shall we?! the turquoise dresser is actually carlie and gabriel's tv stand...the tissue poms were created out of yellow pages (genius jesi!) and cream colored tissue with burned edges (made by a friend of carlie's)...

why yes...yes i did eat about 4 of these that day...

the ceramic owl cookie jar and brass twig cupcake holder were two of my favorite finds that jesi brought...

melody from sweet and saucy created all of the desserts, along with these bright, happy owl printed sugar cookies!

one last shot from the day...and one of my favorites!

all photos and furniture schlepping by the super talented gabriel ryan :)

jesi haack, you are SOOO creative and fun and i LOVE working with you! you got mad style!

melody, your sweets are the highlight of every event i do with you...especially when i come back to strike and there's leftovers - YES!

carlie, are you sure you are in the right profession? cause i swear you would make an amazing event designer! and i KNOW you are going to make an amazing momma! CONGRATS! lots of love to you, gabriel and baby lincoln...can't wait to meet him!

shelley and tony - private residence, arroyo trabuco

even though i showed a sneak peak of this wedding back in june, i wanted to follow up with more images since amy and maurice over at theorie did such a great job photographing it and there were so many shots to choose from!

shelley's family made this sign and her dad actually BUILT that bridge just for the wedding day!

still LOVING this vintage wallpaper...what a killer shot!

bridesmaids' bouquet of pale pink peonies, roses and tulips...

dying for the random pair of antlers over this garage door!!!

bridal bouquet of creamy garden roses and ivory double tulips, finished in lace to match shelley's dress...

an easy peasy DIY project? upholster a couple styrofoam boards with a fabric of your choice and use floral pins to attach the placecards - thanks to alicia of in the now for working it out on this one!

a couple of white ikea vases each held one large, fluffy pink peony bloom...sometimes its the idea of repetition, using less florals, that really makes a statement vs. one large arrangement...

runners were made out of the black/white/yellow funky, mod theme fabric and placed down the center of the table...

i made the cake base out of styrofoam, wrapped it in theme fabric and added tulips around the base for something a little different...

tablescapes were composed of 7 white ikea vases, each filled with just 3-5 stems of pale pink tulips...again, repetition (using the same flower) can make a BIG statement! and it doesn't have to cost a fortune...

the couple made these adorable "cootie" catcher" menus, which were set at each place setting...

i gotta give a shout to alicia and amanda of in the now weddings and events for being SUCH sweet and fun girls to work with! i just really, really like them :)

also to amy and maurice over at theorie for the killer photos! and to grace at sweet gems for letting me work my magic on her clean, simple cake...she is a doll!

chelsy and greg - fountain valley

this wedding was so fun to work on since i was collaborating with two of my favorite girls - courtney of joyful weddings and events & melody of sweet and saucy shop!

with a vibrant color combo of hot pink, lime green and tangerine, you couldn't help but smile when you walked into the reception! paired with polka dots, wheatgrass and ruffles - it was a fun, fresh and whimsical party!

i just adore dahlia season...enough said :)

courtney did such a fab job of coordinating all the printing - from water bottles, to the sweets table, to the candy station - the list goes on!

all of the runners were sewn by the bride's mom!

i lined the bottom of wheat grass flats with a bit of orange/fuschia polka dot ribbons and added bright orange tulips to create the feel that they were "growing" out from the grass...

green kermit mum pomander balls alternated with orange and pink lanterns over the candy station...

cute little candy favor boxes made by courtney's team...notice the lime green accents on every push-pin - no detail goes unnoticed by the joyful weddings girls!

courtney created this amazing polka dot backdrop for the cake! that girl can make anything using her cricut!

for the cake i created a wheat grass base, lined at the bottom with fuschia/orange polka dot ribbons and "growing" orange tulip accents.

i loved all those polka dot accents on the cake! melody did such a killer job!

thanks again to courtney and melody for being so fantastic, as well as megan from classic party rentals (orange county) for coming through on everything! and to the super sweet melissa kelsey for taking so many fab photos! i love me some detail shots ;)