Katie and Aaron's ORANGE AND LIME green wedding

A refreshing squeeze of orange and lime cleanses the wedding palette with a fruitful blend of modern simplicity, whimsy and charm. Orange dahlias, ranunculus, and tulips with accents of green hypericum and carefully placed mini persimmon branches added tanginess to the citrus mix.  Pucker up and dare to try this vibrant color scheme for your summer or fall event.

The fun-loving nature of Aaron and Katie are beautifully captured through the clicks of Figlewicz Photography.  Check out more photos from the wedding here.

A Little Piece of Aloha

My husband and I honeymooned in Hawaii. It was our first big trip together and, ever since, it has been our family's favorite destination and a bit of a tradition for us to go every September. The last couple of years, we haven't been, so I miss it.

How fitting that this bouquet reminds me of the LA version of a Hawaiian hand tied...sort of city meets tropical island. What's interesting is despite the heavy ratio of orchids, the bouquet does not scream "tropical flowers," or "summer bouquet." This is due in large part to the color combination. It's not out of the ordinary to pair orchids with roses, but the obvious choice of rose color would have been white, ivory, or a color that has the same degree of vibrancy as the magenta Bombay dendrobium orchids or the blush centers of the cymbidium orchids. Instead, I chose a muddied greenish taupe color that brings a little "city polish" to the mix.

For now, this will have to be my Hawaii [in LA]. Mahalo.

Summer Peach

Living in LA has really spoiled me...at least in terms of weather. Today was our first "hot" day of summer at a whopping 88 degrees! I am going to celebrate our introduction to heat and the fact that my kids' swim lessons will finally not be overcast and chilly in JU-LY, by posting one of the popular color combos of the season. If I had a penny for every time I have been asked in the last couple months about a variation of this color combo, I would be rich...well, like $1 richer =)


I am in love with the roses in this bouquet. This may sound odd, but their color reminds me of a vintage baby drawing. Go on, go ahead and Google Image "vintage baby drawing" and you will see the coloration I am speaking of...SEE! It emits such a pure feel, where the blush center meets the flesh tone, all enveloped by "new growth" green. The rosy cheek color of the hypericum berries and the fresh green of the mini hydrangeas lend beautifully to this rather neutral palette. One would think that yellow tulips with red stripes would overpower the subtlety of the bouquet. I think it is pretty surprising that it not only blends quite nicely, but it adds texture more than it adds color...take a moment to think about that last line.


For the centerpieces, I added a little burnt orange to make it stand out on the table and above it's natural-colored wooden container.


This is me getting carried away with the camera and admiring it from all angles!


Ahhh...welcome summer and all of the the coral, peach colors that it may bring.

The Big Misconception

I haven't met too many brides that do not include peonies as one of their top five flowers. I can't say I can blame them since it is truly a beautiful bloom that is just a notch above most of its counterparts. Such beauty also comes with a hefty price tag, usually 5 to 10 times the price of a rose depending on the season. The size of the flower head and the intricate petal pattern (say that 10 times fast!) offers an ironically simplistic elegance that need not be paired with much more than some hot pink ranunculus and green hydrangeas.

On the flip side, I haven't met too many brides that do not list carnations as one of the flowers they dislike. So today, I'm playing Devil's Advocate of sorts (something my husband has seem to master!). At half the price of a rose, can a carnation really live up to the standard of a peony? Let me let you in on a little secret...the bouquet above has no peonies. Guess what those beautiful ruffly flowers are?

Carnations! Even if you were not fooled, you have to admit that they are quite stunning when they are incorporated correctly into a design. Perhaps its lack of beauty is a bit of a misnomer.

Spring Garden Bliss

I have been sick since Tuesday...actually, I think I've been sick since last Saturday, but my body and mind wouldn't accept it knowing I had a Monday wedding to prepare for. It's funny how the mind works! In order to lift my spirits as I get over the lingering cough, I decided to post a cheerful spring garden bouquet and its matching centerpiece that I had in my portfolio. I find this color combination rather soothing (and a great seg way into the topic of color selection!).

Most brides focus on one or two main colors and repeat them throughout their entire wedding, which is fine. However, many times a color scheme can be enhanced by adding one accent or "bridging" color, as I like to call it.

Let's first explore cases when you probably shouldn't add in another color:

1. You are going after a monochromatic color scheme.
2. Your color palette already has 3 or more colors.
3. You already love your colors the way they are!

So, in what cases do I think another color might be a good idea?

1. You feel like the two colors you have are bland and just blend together. For example, the light pink and lavender in the bouquet above may feel too similar in coloration. By adding the green, the pink and the lavender now have a contrasting color to stand out against.
2. Your current color palette has extreme contrast and you don't like that. For many people, red and white work as a great pair. If you don't personally like this type of contrast, try adding in pink as a "bridging" color. This allows you to visually move up the spectrum from light to medium to dark.
3. You want your color scheme to have more depth. If your wedding color is medium pink, try adding flowers one shade lighter and one shade darker to the bouquet to make it more dynamic.
4. The colors you chose don't exist in flowers. I have seen this alot in a blue color scheme. Very few flowers naturally occur in blue, so what do some florists suggest to their clients? They suggest spray painting them blue! (I might address spray painting flowers on another blog entry, but for now let's leave it at, run the other way if you hear this as the first option!). Greens, purples and whites are excellent options as accent colors for blue.

I was an Art Director of fashion and trends and one of my duties was color prediction. Even with my experience, if one of my brides asks me for my opinion, I still end the conversation with, "Ultimately it's up to you." I can give you options for days, but you have to love it for "your day." The most recent success story I have in terms of color pairing was the Monday wedding I just did (right before I got sick). Geline and Jod were probably the most open-minded couple I've had in terms of color selection. They really wanted magenta and purple to be in their color scheme, but they wanted the flowers to pop against the purple bridesmaids' dresses. So, what did I suggest? Add red. You will see how successful this marriage of colors was (if I can get some photos from their photographer...keep your fingers crossed). Let's just say, it already lifts my spirits reminiscing about it!

A Palette to Fall for

Nothing reminds me more of fall than vivid images of vineyards at sunset and rows of maple trees entrenched by fallen colored leaves. These images alone, full of rich deep colors and an overwhelming sense of serenity, are quite inspiring serving somewhat as a muse for this design. The arrangement of flowers are rather simple, but the impact that the color palette has is self-explanatory.