Picture this: You're engaged, planning your own wedding. You've got the perfect Pinterest board that shows exactly what you want for your big day. You've set up a meeting with your florist and you're prepared with photos to show him or her the exact flowers you want. You feel great about your meeting and you're excited that everything is coming together....until you see the quote. It's out of your budget! 
Real talk, weddings are expensive, as we know. Not every bride has the luxury of being able to afford every bloom their heart desires. Luckily, in the world of flowers, the possibilities and quite literally endless! Here are four examples of substituting those expensive blooms with some more affordable ones. 
​Ex 1. Peonies

So let's rewind back to our original scenario. Your floral quote is a little beyond what you were hoping to spend. Don't stress out! Work with your florist and see what less expensive alternatives you can come up with. You don't even have to give up the vision you're going for! Did you know there are almost 1/2 a million different types of flowers in the world? Chances are you can find a suitable substitution ;)

Happy planning!! 

*All photos came from one of my favorite Wholesalers, Red Mountain Utah. You can check out their instagram for some floral inspiration @redmutah

In late April, we took a family trip to Utah for my sister's college graduation. It was so great to see all our friends and family and it was really exciting to do a wedding while I was there! Fun story, I've known Lance since we were in 1st grade! So it was super fun to be there for his big day. 

When coordinating with Sara to get a feel for her vision, it was clear that she had a good idea on what she wanted and it was so fun to be able to bring that vision to life! Take a look...

I just loved the bold colors of this Spring wedding!! Congrats again, Adamson's!! <3

Oh man, the last couple weeks have been such a blur for my family! I had a few weddings and traveled to some fun places...so I gotta catch you all up on what I've been up too!! 
First, this fun wedding happened a few weeks ago. Let me just tell you, that when a bride requests peonies and garden roses, you know I'm gonna be on board! Throw a little ranunculus in and...well...these are a few of my favorite things....

I love that Cristianna was all about those classic, garden-y, spring flowers but wasn't afraid to add a pop of texture with some large succulents and even a few scabiosa pods. She also went for a lighter palette for her bridesmaids while making her bouquet stand out with corals and pinks. 

And of course I have to include some of my favorite shots by DeGroot Film Co. Heart eyes, heart eyes heart eyes!!

Thank you so much for the photos, Katie and Devin!! It was seriously so fun to do wedding party florals for Cristianna and Kevin! Congratulations to the newly weds!! 

When Jazmine Rubio contacted me to put some florals together for a styled shoot, I had no idea what I was in for. Not until I showed up the day of the shoot did I realize that I was about to be a part of something that so fully embodies the reason I love the creative community here in New Mexico. Jazmine, along with Brittany Miller, Diana Alvarado, and Laura Viramontes are all photographers in Las Cruces, New Mexico. As photographers, and friends, in the photography community here, they put together a styled shoot, that functioned as a "wedding workshop" and invited a handful of photographers to come and learn about the process of shooting a wedding from start to finish. Participants were able to ask questions about everything from help with posing their couples to business practices and get answers from some of the pros :) It was seriously the epitome of #communityovercompetition and I was so honored to be, not only a witness, but a part of it! 

First up, the bouquet! (insert heart eyes here!!) I love how each of the photographers captured it differently! 

Next is this gorgeous backdrop!! Perfect for an exchanging of vows :)

We also had an amazing sweetheart's table set up. Most of the decor was from the homes of the hostesses. It was definitely a collaborative effort if I've even seen one :D

Last, but not least...I mean, no wedding set up is complete without a cake...was this little scrumptious thing. And believe me when I say scrumptious!! 

Everyone did such an amazing job with this shoot!! Styled shoots are always so much fun to do because of all the coordinating involved with each vendor. I love being able to meet each vendor and see the creative process from all angles. It definitely makes you appreciate more the coordinating involved in big events!! 
Before signing off, I had a few more favorites from this shoot that I'm just gonna put here :) I hope you enjoyed going through these as much as I did! Maybe you got a little inspiration for a spring wedding?? Happy planning!! 

Vendors
Hostesses: Jazmine Rubio Photo + Film , FB @jazminerubiophotography, IG @jaminerubiophotoandfilm
                         Brittany Miller Photography, FB and IG @brittanymillerphotography, 
                         Laura's Photography LC,  FB @laurasphotographylascruces, IG @laurasphotographylc
                         Diana Alvarado Photography, FB and IG @dianaalvaradophotography
Dress: Renee's Bridal, FB and IG @reneesbridalnm, 
HMUA: Makeup by Brenda, FB @artistrybybrenda, IG @tarangobrenda
Stationary: Letters and Such, FB @lettersandsuch, IG @letters_and_such
Cake: Busy Bs Custom Cakes, FB and IG @busybscustomcakes
Video: American Faces, IG @american_faces
Models: Justine Fogle & Arturo Casillas

If you've been following along for the past couple years, you know that I can't get enough of the southwest vibes. The unique history, the culture, the scenery, the *food* (sopapillas anyone?) It's safe to say that I've fallen in love with everything New Mexico has to offer and that's why I've been so excited to share this shoot since it was just emerging as an idea. 

I have to give a huge shout out to Rose & Co Studios. When Rose first reached out to me about doing a styled shoot with her, I asked her what she had in mind and she basically said it was up to me! Ha, that had never truly happened before, since usually photographers come to me with a vision already in mind. While I love being able to bring someone's vision to life, I had a lot of fun doing my own thing :) 

My mind immediately went to a southwest-boho theme. With cactus, skulls, macrame, and lots of flowers. I found an amazing macrame artist, Chelsea, from Albuquerque and asked if she would be interested in being part of this project. I was ecstatic when she agreed and showed her excitement to be involved. I mean...look at the amazing detail on this piece she whipped up!! Seriously perfect. 

It all fell into place as Rose & Co Studios found some models, a hair and makeup artist, and a venue and the rest is history! What do you think?? 

Participating Vendors --

Venue - Magnolia House Event Venue IG @magnoliahousevenue
Photographer - Rose & Co IG @rosecostudio
HMUA - Katy Crooks IG @katydidhair
Models - Laura Rae IG @_laura.rae_
                  - Jorge Gonzalez IG @jorge_fsu
Macrame artist - Nyxon Creations IG @nyxoncreations
Skull Painter - Spiced Ink IG @spiced_ink

Happy New Year! Holy cow, 2017 went by way to fast! But how excited are you for 2018?? I'll tell you, this is such a fun time of year with all the newly engaged couples ready to plan the wedding of their dreams! 

I'm positive that a rustic wedding will never go out of style. Being in the Southwest, the outdoorsy, rural, simple, even a little bit country is less of a "trend" than it is a way of life. So here we are, with a post dedicated to planning the perfect Rustic Wedding! 

King Ranch provides the perfect place to start with this checklist! As we all know, the magic is in the details so I'm adding some inspiration for your own rustic touches. 

First up, venue! Your venue can add so much to the ambience of your rustic wedding! One of my favorite rustic weddings I did was at this amazing barn! This barn was actually converted from housing livestock to an event venue, so I'm not sure you could find a more perfect place ;) But if you don't have access to a barn, there are some fun local venues that will definitely do your wedding justice, the New Mexico Farm and Ranch Museum being one such venue that comes to mind! 

The next item on the checklist that will add a lot to your theme, is obviously, flowers and decor!! 

Burlap, lace, mason jars, and babies breath always seem to come to mind when the word "rustic" is brought up. But there is a way to add to the rustic theme and still be unique! This wedding was one of my favorites with all the antlers that we incorporated! The bride's dad had quite the collection and it was really cool to be able to include such a meaningful element.  This wedding was a fun one because it was centered around succulents and pinecones...not a very traditional pair and it turned out so awesome! And this wedding had some seriously sweet rustic touches, including incorporating their own brand! 

What kind of rustic wedding would it be without some cowboy boots?? I loved this post on knotsvilla and all their Bridal Boot shots. King Ranch has some amazing options for rustic wedding footwear for you and your man! 

Haha, okay so that title might sound a little dramatic, but it was my reality! This story has a happy ending, but it's a good example of events that can go on behind the scenes and sometimes it's just out of your florist's control!

So this story begins in July, when the sweetest bride sent me an inquiry on doing florals for her October wedding. The first question she asked was whether I could get burgundy dahlias and if they were in season. I told her yes! Of course they're in season and I can get them and it was going to be so pretty! I remember her saying another florist had said they would be out of season and thinking how weird because they are definitely in season and it would be no problem.

Fast forward to the week of the wedding and the day my flowers were being shipped out, my rep called me to say that all the burgundy dahlias that had come in were moldy and mushy and I was getting 0/the 60 dahlias I had ordered! No panicking yet though, because there's actually a farm about an hour and a half from me that had some gorgeous burgundy dahlias. So I get off the phone and call them and was told they were using all their burgundy that weekend but another farm up north might have some. So I waited to hear back from the second farm and was told they just sold out of all their burgundy dahlias! So then I began to panick haha. I immediately started reaching out to my floral contacts across the country. I called farms and wholesalers in CA, AZ, UT, NM, CO, TX, OH, FL, NY...all in the hopes of finding someone who could overnight me some burgundy dahlias! You guys, before I even asked if they had them, I started getting the response, 'Let me guess, you're looking for burgundy dahlias?' Haha, are you kidding me?? The world was out! Haha or at least the country. The demand was WAY above supply for the week and I had the short end of the stick. Finally, I decided I would go down to the nearby farm and see what they had. Amazingly, they had a few stems of burgundy dahlias but I ended up being able to get some white and purple dahlias.

What I planned to do next, I do not recommend!! But as a last resort, and in a pinch, there is some fresh floral spray paint that can be used to make flowers the color you want them. So, on my way home, I went to a few stores looking for this paint. Well, surprise! It can't be found! I even had stores looking up other stores in New Mexico and it was out of stock everywhere! I had to get home to take care of the flowers that WERE coming in but as soon as I got home, I found a store online, about 1 1/2 hours away, that carried this paint. I was able to get some the next day and spent the day painting flowers :)

Photos courtesy of Lisa's Design Studio

The fact that I'm currently sitting in my home with the AC turned off, the doors and windows open, feeling the calmest breeze means Fall *might* have finally arrived in Southern New Mexico! I mean, we've been pretending for the last few weeks by plugging in the fall scentsy, but 90 degree weather was a little hard to ignore, haha! The forecast says it may be coming back but I'm allowed to live in denial wearing leggings, boots, and a cardigan for a day or two, right??

Haha maybe the weather won't let me fully embrace this beautiful time of year, but with the Fall wedding season in full swing, I'm still able to get my fix! There's just something about the deep, romantic tones of Fall that make me so giddy and translate so well into a gorgeous wedding color scheme! And with the color trends this year, you can't go wrong! I have got you covered when it comes to bringing your dream Fall wedding to life with the most perfect fall color schemes through flowers and wedding fashion!

First up, orange and beige. I don't know what screams Fall more than the color orange! And beige is the perfect neutral compliment by subtly bringing out those rich tones. And it's super easy to incorporate these colors in a classy way! First of all, a man just looks good in a beige suit, amiright??  What I love about this color scheme is that you still get the greens and oranges of fall without looking like a freshly picked pumpkin ;) Although, using pumpkins in wedding decor is a super cute way to add to your fall theme!

If you're wondering how to incorporate that beautiful orange color without looking like Halloween, these are some gorgeous blooms that will add the perfect touch. From left to right, we have scabiosa pods (some of my favorite to use for that awesome texture!), Quicksand roses - the perfect beige color, Cappuccino roses (aren't they beautiful??), airplants - very cool for texture and to get that sage green color, orange dahlias, and pincushion protea, a very cool tropical flower. 

Next up, plum and grey. I love this color scheme trend because using grey as a compliment to the deep plum color just makes it pop like nothing else can! There are so many way to incorporate the color grey and the thing about a grey suit is that it looks good on every guy! Grey ribbon for your bouquet is another great way to just tie it all in! (See what I did there ;)

Here are a few examples of some beautiful blooms to go along with this color scheme. From left to right, we have some pretty pink astilbe, gorgeous "fuchsia" carnations, burgundy anemones, some lacey or broadleaf dusty miller - which adds amazing textures and a pretty greyish color, some fun Silver Brunia, and the most amazing white protea!

Last, but certainly not least, we bring you navy and marsala. This may be my favorite color trend this year! Navy is becoming huge in wedding color trends and I am obsessed! Fun fact: at my wedding, using navy as a color was a little unheard of. We requested navy table runners and they had to be special ordered because none of the local linen companies carried such a thing! The venue has since told us that they show pictures of our wedding​ as an example of why all linen companies *should* carry navy :) 

Watch for an upcoming blog post on just how big marsala and burgundy is right now. I'll give you a hint: it's about me literally searching the country for a specific color of flower and not being able to find ANY because every place was all sold out!! It has a happy ending, but it seems that growers and vendors alike severely underestimated the understandable popularity of this gorgeousness! 

An obvious way to bring out the navy is with some navy suits. (Insert all the heart eyed emojis). I don't know what it is, but something about that dark navy just makes me swoon. The dark navy is such a good neutral because it's not as harsh as black but it still brings that bold look. Paired with some gorgeous deeps reds and marsala...it brings the perfect transition from summer to fall and even from fall to winter! Here are some examples of some gorgeous flowers that will pack that punch. From left to right we have a gorgeous garden rose, some red amaranthus - with amazing texture, of course the burgundy dahlia that is so hot right now, some incredible cymbidum blooms, viburnum berries - to get that blue in there, and some eucalyptus pods

Oh how I love a wedding in fall! Don't be afraid to mix and match but these are some hot color trends that can get you started. Shoutout to Red Mountain for being my favorite and for taking amazing pictures of their product for me to borrow :) One of the many things I enjoy is introducing brides to flowers they may not know are available or even know they even exist! The examples listed are just a tiny percentage of what's out there, so if you are looking for more ideas, don't be afraid to ask your florist! 

Thanks for reading and, as always, happy wedding planning!
​

I can't even believe that I've been  married for 6 years this month! It sees like such a short time, but so much has happened since that day! As much of a whirlwind as that day was, I remember it like it was yesterday and what a great day it was! Having planned and coordinated everything by myself, I remember it fondly and am pretty proud with how it turned out! I was the ultimate DIY bride and I love to share what I did to save money and have a beautiful wedding without skimping ;) So here it is! 3 ways I saved money on my own DIY wedding:

#1: I had so many ideas on what I wanted for a cake. After talking with the caterer and my cake decorator, I thought it would be fun to have a cake bar instead of a tiered wedding cake. That way, I could have multiple flavors, designs, and basically 5 "tiers" of cake for a fraction of the cost of a tiered wedding cake! 
#1a: I also made my own cake stands. (Chargers+candle sticks in different heights from Hobby Lobby) + a little E6000  = a pretty cute cake spread if I do say so myself. 

#2: In lieu of a rehearsal dinner, we opted for a luncheon after the ceremony with our closest family and friends. It was held at the same venue as our evening reception so we didn't have to rent a different room, and we could use all the same centerpieces for the reception in the evening. It worked out well as we took pictures with family and around the venue during the turn around time between the two events. 
#2a: These simple centerpieces were so easy to do! While I did buy some vintage bottles from antique shops and ebay, most were actually wine and other alcohol bottles collected for free at a recylery and a restaurant that my sister worked at at the time. Shoutout to my sister for grabbing those for me :* The mason jar centerpieces were easy as well. The jars were borrowed from family and neighbors who do their own canning :)

#3: If you have family or friends that want to help out, take advantage!! Since we had a big luncheon and fed our family and friends, we had a variety of "appetizers" served for the reception - which should probably be considered tip #3a ;) My aunts and my grandmas asked me how they could help with the big day. They were assigned to make a couple batches of their favorite cookies which were displayed on the buffet table in these awesome hurricane vases! It worked out so perfectly for those wanting something sweet without having to wait until the wedding cake was served ;)
#3a (or b? ;) : These hurricanes were owned by the venue and we were able to use them at no extra cost. If you have a decor idea but don't want to buy vases or other supplies, it's worth checking out what the venue already has available!

These are just some other details that were super cheap! These jam jars were super cost effective in bulk and I made the tags myself! The frames for our picture table were so fun to gather by shopping at thrift stores and have made a fun addition to our home decor as we switch out the photos as our family grows :) ​

You can see the blog post on my wedding here. Do you have your own tips or questions about anything else we did? Let me know in the comments! Happy planning!

I remember when I first heard about Pinterest. I was in the middle of planning my own wedding and had no clue what it was and why I could only join if someone invited me! Somehow I pulled off planning my whole wedding without the ease of typing key words into that Pinterest search bar. But not long after, a bride asked me to look at her Pinterest board to see what she had in mind for flowers and I couldn't stop!

You guys, Pinterest is amazing, and I'm totally obsessed! Seriously, for me, the perfect Sunday activity is scrolling through finding new recipes, crafts, funny or inspirational sayings...From educational ideas to keep my toddler busy to planning my next vacation, Pinterest is my new Google! And yes, while I've already planned and executed my own wedding, you can bet that I have a "wedding" Pinterest board, along with a board specific to wedding flowers ;) 

There's no doubt that Pinterest is an amazing tool when planning your wedding! So many ideas from all over the place that you can pin to your virtual inspiration board and easily access it whenever you want! But believe it or not, it has some major downfalls for the modern bride. I'm here to tell you what they are and how to avoid them!

#1. Trying to Replicate Inspiration
One of the first questions I ask all my brides is if they have inspiration pictures to show me so I can understand more fully what they are looking for. Obviously, finding inspiration on Pinterest is not a bad thing! I do it all the time, but what a bride should know is that it's nearly impossible to re-create an image exactly. Especially when working with flowers! This is because no two flowers are the same, just as no two floral designers design exactly the same way! Some good advice is to focus less on replicating a photo exactly and instead be open - and comfortable - with the fact that inspiration photos are meant to be used as a starting point for a new interpretation. Remember that your floral design is an artist that wants to create something unique and special just for you!