Fall is one of my favorite times of the year!  The leaves changing color… the cool weather… boots and leggings!  I also love Fall for the warm color palettes we get to utilize for wedding design and fun decor elements!

Here’s a quick inspirational look I pulled together in the studio this morning to share with you all!  I am LOVING these glass cloches we just added to our inventory.  Anything you place inside them becomes extra special and a focal point.

Here I’ve simply arranged some orange ilex berries, succulents and moss… Aged bronze candlesticks and containers are used for vessels.  These would be perfect for tabletop decor and vintage Fall centerpieces.

I’ve utilized vintage book rentals from Archive Vintage Rentals to add some height and a little “pop” of color with the teal.

I love the look of the book under the glass!

Clusterings of these arrangements and small vignettes would look lovely down the center of a long banquet table.

More books and succulents.  I love using succulents for wedding design.  Your guests and family can take them home and plant them in their garden to keep for years after your wedding.

Hope this post gets you a little in the Fall spirit!  Keep bundled up and check back later this week for more fun ideas!

If your heart goes pitter-patter at the sight of anything vintage… as mine does… then you are going to be so excited to know that Archive Vintage Rentals has finally arrived here in Northern California!  I am thrilled to have been asked to join the team, and will be representing their amazing inventory here in the Northern California region.  From San Luis Obipso to Fresno, to Tahoe, to the San Francisco Bay, and Napa-Sonoma, we have all your vintage wedding needs and styling!  Unique statement furniture pieces such as sofas and settees, seating & table top pieces for up to 300+ guests… what’s a vintage bride not to love?

Here is just a few samples of our inventory, and what we have to offer:

Large furniture pieces for vignettes, vintage dessert tables, cake table accent pieces.

Vintage chandeliers to hang for your ceremony, from a tree, or over a focal table.  I love this one, but we have so many to choose from!

Vintage suitcases for rent and props to add to guest book tables.

Vintage window escort card displays.

Chairs to seat up to 300+ guests.  We love the eclectic look!  We also have church pews for outdoor ceremonies… so beautiful!

From tables, to chairs, to tabletop, we’ve got it all, and doesn’t it look beautiful!

A variety of tin cans, milk glass, silver pieces, & colored glass that can all be used as floral vessels and accent pieces.

And yes, we’ll even rent you an airstream!

If you are interested in discussing how we can help connect you with all of these beauties, give us a ring at 916-673-8650.  Not only will we help you select the perfect pieces, design a cocktail lounge area, but we can also come to your wedding and style it all for you as well!

There are some key differences between escort cards and place cards, and why you might need one or both for your wedding.

Escort Cards are utilized to direct guests to assigned tables.  I always suggest assigning tables for your guests as it alleviates any confusion as guests walk into the reception area, and where they should sit.  You can also pair up couples or singles who might enjoy each others company and make for a more enjoyable experience for your guests.  If you need to keep certain family members on opposing sides of the room, this also comes in handy.  Escort Cards can be created in a few different ways, but there is the tent card or flat card that can be displayed on a table, hanging from a tree, crystals, or placed within a design your guests can pick these up from.

These adorable black, white and red tent escort cards were created by Invitations Ink.

Billy Ball escort Cards placed in a grass tabletop

Another way you can assign tables is to write your guests’ names on a vintage window, chalkboard, or get a custom sign made that you can display on an easel.

Place cards on the other hand assign an actual seat at a particular table.  If you and your fiance have arranged a plated meal, this is necessary, especially when meal choices are an option for guests.  The caterer’s servers can be cued to whom might be eating steak by a rhinestone colored accent on the place cards.

I don’t recommend having place cards serve dual purposes as an escort card as well as place card as these can be easily lost or misplaced.

Another great option would be to have your favor serve as a place card and additional adornment to your table design.

Hopefully this little tip helps you understand the difference between place cards and escort cards.  If you have any wedding related questions you’d like answered, feel free to email me directly, and we can answer your question right here on the blog!  Email me at :  audrey@botanicafloraldesigns.com

I had to share this super cute idea with you all.  One of my wedding friends, Kristy Huston, with Kristy Huston Photography {as seen here on the blog}, recently was married, and we were able to do her wedding flowers!  Yay!

She was looking for a very handmade accent to the floral pieces we created for her, and came to me with a bunch of fabric yo-yo’s that she had made in her colors.  I was thrilled to finish off the stems of her bouquets, boutonnieres and corsages with a few of these fun accents!

Her bouquet featured garden roses, lisianthus, sweet peas, spray roses and godetia.  Green hanging amaranthus also was added.

A simple jute wrapping adds a nice neutral backdrop for the yo-yo’s to be featured.  Since we really couldn’t bring in the blue colors int he flowers, this was the perfect accent place to do so.  We added fun coordinating pins in pinks and blues as well.

What do you think?  Do you love it?  I think it is just perfect for that handmade touch!

Instead of having a traditional guest book that just collects dust on your shelf, why not have a three-dimensional guest book that’s a little more personalized, especially if you are a wine lover!

Save up those wine corks and have your guests write a wish and drop the corks into a stylish apothecary jar you can display in your home.  I love this look, as I had been just collecting corks myself, but thought it might be a fun concept for a wedding.  Hope you do as well, and maybe this will be an extra special touch for your winery wedding!

Today we’ve been featured on Floret Cadet! {a site you are going to love as much as I do} This flower blog features everything and anything on flowers, floral design and inspiration.  A great resource for brides and anyone who simply loves flowers!  Make sure you check it out!

This citrus and succulent inspired table setting is vintage feeling with the old antique books and worn brass vessels.  I paired it along with succulents, light yellow florals and some lovely fresh kumquats to give an earthy feel.

For the bridal bouquet, I chose to use the most gorgeous double paperwhites {which were super fragrant}, eucalyptus pods, kumquats on the vine, and other seasonal botanicals.  We finished off the stems with a jute wrap and simple yellow pearl pins.

I love these brass vessels because they look old and worn, and they don’t match.  I think the pods hanging over the edges along with the bright kumquats are fun and unexpected.

Each place setting featured a succulent which guests could take home and plant in their yards or kitchen windowsill.  If you’ve never tried this, it’s fun! Your succulent will start to grow roots and soon enough, you’ll have a new plant!

I hope you enjoy this little vignette I wanted to share with you all!

And, we’re back again with more details from Melissa and Justin’s wedding.  Today, we’re focusing on the reception!  You can read more about this wedding on Style Me Pretty, where it was recently featured.

As guests entered the reception, we cleverly made these escort cards which were attached to craspedia for each of the guests.  It was a beautiful display and fun!

Dinner was served family-style, so centerpieces were kept simple so that platters of food could be shared.

For the main head table, we lined it with flowers and wine bottle candlesticks provided by the bride.  I love how it all came together!

Table numbers were made by the sister of the bride, and were shingles from the groom’s grandmother’s home.

Napkins served a dual-purpose being favors as well.  Each was mis-matched, and made by the mother of the groom.  Tied off with a piece of jute and a tag made by the brother of the bride, what a lovely reminder of this special day!

The set-up at Scribner Bend Vineyards.

And, they lived happily ever-after!

Congratulations Melissa and Justin!

Get the Look:

Photography: Heidi Huber Photography

Flowers: Botanica Floral Designs

Event Planning:  Mindy Shock

Venue:  Scribner Bend Vineyards

DJ: Mr. DJ

Catering: Mulvaney’s B & L

Dress: Liancarlo from Destiny’s Bridal

Make-Up: Reanna Saddoris

Hair: Salon Cuvee

Band: Golden Cadillacs

I can’t wait to share the professional images from this wedding… these were just a few details I captured of Tiffany and Travis’ Carvahlo Family Winery Wedding!  Both alums of Cal Poly, SLO {Go Mustangs}, Tiffany took many of the same horticulture classes as I, and she also occasionally designs and works with us on weddings.

I’ll wait to go on and on about the details of her wedding, there are many, so I’ll just post a few teasers….

Flower Girl Purse created with live flowers, succulents and decorative touches.

Craspedia boutonnieres paired with green safflower, decorative wiring and a “pop” of orange finishings.

Bridesmaid bouquets created with green spider mums, craspedia, orange safflower, and lilygrass caging.

Tiffany and Travis’ centerpieces were created with an eclectic mix of vintage milk glass.  We added yellow sunflowers, green accents and “pops” of orange to add a fun feel to the reception.

This ring bearer pillow is created from a giant starfish with a clustering of flowers and succulents for the rings to be tied to.  In a challenge to ever-personalize each wedding we do, we think this would be the ideal accessory for an ocean wedding.  I’d love to hear your thoughts, or see if you’ve seen any other interesting sorts of ringbearer pillows!  Please leave a comment!

I thought I’d share a few photos of different styles of boutonnieres to show how you can customize these personal flowers to your wedding decor.  Gone are the days of standard boutonnieres, have a little fun and make them unique!

Kristy Huston Photography

Brown chrysanthemums are backed with brown feathers and a glass accent bead.  The stems are bound with gold decorative wiring.

David Pascolla Photography

A black scabiosa is the focal point and is paired with hot pink sweet William and a few pink spray roses.  The stems are finished off with hot pink bullion wiring and a rhinestone pin.

Pink ranunculus are paired with pink pepperberry and turquoise accents.

Light pink ranunculus are paired with pink pepperberry and pink sweet peas.  The stems are finished off with pink wiring.

The Memory Journalists

This paper boutonniere was created from a vintage postcard.  Green bullion wiring and beading was added to tie in the wedding colors.

Kristy Huston Photography

This peacock feather boutonniere features peacock feathers paired with teal bullion wiring to the stem treatment to compliment the feathers.