Soulflower Floral Design: Artistic Floral Design, Sustainable Style and Decor, Eco Events and Green Weddings

Happy Mother’s Day!

soulflower — Sun, 13 May 2012 17:01:41 +0000

It’s not everyday that I get to share my love and passion for flowers with my mother and today, Mother’s Day, it is quite special. By chance my mother, Mary, planned a trip to visit San Francisco from Panama following a work-related trip to the States. Just before her arrival I realized this is the first Mother’s Day we’ll spend together in over 15 years!

What better way to spend Mother’s Day weekend, than walking around the {San Francisco Flower Mart}, introducing her my favorite vendors {& friends} and looking at nature’s bounty of gorgeous blooms and textures. She spent a lot of time admiring all the different flowers and foliage that literally grow in her backyard in the mountains of Panama. We also practiced our spanish-speaking with our friends from {Brannan Street Wholesale Florist}.

What a treat to arrive back to the studio with a little something for mom from them….peonies ‘Para tu Mama.’ How sweet!

Wishing all the mothers and mommies-to-be a wonderful Mother’s Day! And to those who have lost their moms, I think of you as well on this day sending warmth and good thoughts your way.

With love,
Emily

Real Wedding: Christine and Habib

soulflower — Wed, 09 May 2012 21:24:57 +0000

This recent wedding at the {Clift Hotel} was the perfect celebration of modern romance in the springtime. Erika of {Captured by Erika Photography} shared these gorgeous images with us and we simply had to share the love! Warm candlelight quite literally filled the room where the intimate ceremony took place. Thank you Erika for such grand shots of this sweet, simple ceremony!

Soft, romantic blooms and blossoming branches are such a lovely combination and completely reflect the sweet personality of the bride and groom. View more from their wedding day by visiting the {Facebook} album. Congratulations to Christine and Habib!

Cheers,
Lydia

Spring + Citrus

soulflower — Tue, 01 May 2012 20:24:46 +0000

This Spring we are finding inspiration in vibrant citrus hues like tangerine, lemon and lime. We love the combination of zesty colors with soft, blooming branches as a way to bring cheer and romance together. Thank you to the fabulous {Silvana DiFranco} for the always stunning photographs.

How refreshing and romantic! For more real wedding inspiration please visit us on {Facebook}.

Cheers to Spring,
Lydia

Featured: “50 Miles” flowers ~ the local movement reaches the floral industry

soulflower — Tue, 24 Apr 2012 22:36:44 +0000

Check out Soulflower in the {San Jose Mercury News} this week! We definitely recommend reading this article if you are a Bay Area locavore in the wedding planning process as it covers local, sustainable floral businesses from Santa Cruz to Walnut Creek. In their interview with Soulflower’s owner, Emily, she responds to the question at the heart of the matter and offers sound, sustainable advice.

“[I]t’s not a clear-cut choice for eco-conscious consumers. Do they buy flowers grown organically in South America and flown here using polluting jet fuel, or do they buy conventionally grown local flowers? As a way of giving back to the local community when imported flowers are used, she recommends that clients donate their arrangements to charities that can use them after the client’s event is over, or purchase carbon offsets”

Soulflower harvesting hydrangea from Annadel Estate Winery in Sonoma

Visit the {San Jose Mercury News} for more of Emily’s interview and to learn about the local flower movement.

Locally Yours,
Lydia

Real Wedding: Jette and Nic

soulflower — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 21:07:36 +0000

You may remember this dreamy Inverness wedding from the {video} we shared earlier this year. Their love story captivated our hearts from the beginning and we aren’t the only wedding vendor still smitten with this couple. The lovely and talented Kathryn Kalabokes of {Dream A Little Dream Events} designed and coordinated this stunning summer wedding and she shared it recently on her {beautiful blog}. We couldn’t help but share a few of our favorite images with you. Many thanks to {Tinywater} for the incredible photography.

Congratulations to Jette and Nic as they will celebrate their first anniversary this summer. You can read more of Jette and Nic’s love story {here} and have a fabulous day!

Cheers to Love,
Lydia

Featured: Lexy + Yates

soulflower — Tue, 10 Apr 2012 20:40:59 +0000

We are so pleased that {Ceremony Magazine} took note of this stunning wedding we were a part of last year at the {James Leary Flood Mansion}. New on their blog this week is the San Francisco love story of Lexy and Yates from the beginning. Read all about it on {Ceremony Magazine’s Blog}.

Lexy and Yates chose a refined black and white palette with dramatic modern floral decor for color. Black manzanita with hanging globes containing silvery accents and soft rose blooms heightened the mood, lifting the ambiance to unimaginable heights. Special thanks to {Ben Chrisman Photographers} for capturing these exquisite details.

Visit us on {Facebook} for more black and white wedding inspiration.

Cheers,
Lydia

Photography: {Ben Chrisman Photographers}
Venue: {The James Leary Flood Mansion}
Coordinator: {Dream a Little Dream Events}
Linens: {La Tavola}
Rentals: {Hartmann Studios}
Caterer: {Betty Zlatchin Catering}
Cake: {The Cakemaker}
Lighting: {Got Light?}
Hair and Makeup: {Professional Makeup Artistry}

botanical easter eggs for all ages

soulflower — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 18:46:06 +0000

Good news for our fellow eco-friendly Easter enthusiasts! We discovered this all natural method for decorating your Easter eggs with veggies and flowers thanks to California blogger Sonia Bauer from {BigSisLilSis} via {Country Living}.

The process alone is stunning, just look at these eggs waiting to be dyed! Everyday household items are all that is required. You’ll only need to step out to your garden or pantry to collect your ingredients.

The natural colors are so vibrant and to think they came from onions and cabbages! You also might consider using beets to achieve pink and purple hues. Even better, these eggs are safe to eat without fear of ingesting something artificial.

Nature cannot be outdone when it comes to beautiful prints and gorgeous earth tones. Learn this hard to resist method for botanical eggs! Visit Sonia’s blog {BigSisLilSis} for the full tutorial or view more projects like this at {Country Living}.

Happy Easter,
Lydia

Featured: Green Girls’ Day In Rue Magazine

soulflower — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 23:08:20 +0000

This time of year when rain showers may be keeping you indoors, you can get into the spirit of Spring by hosting an eco-themed DIY crafts party for your best girl friends, co-workers or bridal party. What better way to bring a group together than bonding over sweet treats, tea and crafts? This time last year, the fabulous ladies behind our favorite online publication {RUE Magazine} teamed up with {Acme Party Box Company} to create a Green Girls’ Day In.

We chose to bring the outdoors in by harvesting blooming branches that are everywhere this time of year. Locally sourced pink ranunculus and tulips are must haves for green girls. And who can resist the beauty and fragrance of pink peonies? We hope you are inspired by these cheerful images!

To learn more about this sweet Spring event by visiting {Rue Magazine} .

Happy Spring,
Lydia

Bouquets to Art 2012

soulflower — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 22:55:55 +0000

As many of you know, {Bouquets to Art} at the {de Young Museum} is an annual celebration of floral art and we always look forward to participating every year. Each of the 150 participating floral designers are assigned a piece of artwork to interpret through flowers, fauna and foliage. This year we were given Dale Chihuly’s simply stunning ‘Green Leaf Venetian.’ We chose to create a vertical interpretation of his spectacular piece inspired by the movement, texture and sculptural qualities. Our selected materials included a metal frame, woven jute, broad palm leaves, hazelnut branches, succulents, airplants, green anthirium and gold leafing.

Enjoy!

The Special Event: The Road to Tampa

soulflower — Wed, 07 Mar 2012 02:31:11 +0000

We thought you’d appreciate reading Emily’s post from the {ISES Northern California} blog this week. She was asked to reflect on her experience as the winner of a highly sought after scholarship to attend {The Special Event} this year. Enjoy!
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It’s not everyday that you have the opportunity to immerse yourself with the world’s best and brightest event professionals! As the winner of our chapter’s {TSE Scholarship}, I embraced all that {The Special Event Conference} had to offer in January 2012.

Soulflower’s Emily Dreblow with Shannon Murphy from the {de Young Museum} and Dani Lamas from the {Legion of Honor} at TSE Starts Here!

I went in curious about the hype, ready to roll up my sleeves and bring back some new insights and ideas. I hadn’t realized that it would be such an inspiring week. Here are just a few highlights from my experience:

It was a pleasure getting a chance to know members of {ISES chapters} from all over the country and world. ISES is such a strong community even outside the Bay Area, that every time I mentioned interest in doing work in another city or country, the response was often, “Have you contacted local ISES members in that city?” I was so impressed with the level of comraderie and genuine interest in each other and that affirmed why I find our chapter to be such a tremendous asset to my work.

The Special Event brings together all of the various special events trade associations such as ISES, NACE, WIPA and MPI that the experience and expertise ‘in the room’ at The Special Event was of such high caliber. This offered the chance to ask questions and explore ideas that I rarely have the opportunity to ask around operations, financial management, design concepts and innovative marketing ideas.

I also enjoyed getting to spend time with various members from {ISES Northern California} and {ISES Napa-Sonoma} that I wouldn’t have otherwise had the opportunity. Strengthening existing relationships and developing new ones is such an important aspect of doing great work and collaboration. I look forward to more opportunities like this in the Bay Area, perhaps I’ll join the ISES board!

For anyone considering {ISES Eventworld} in August or {The Special Event} next January, I highly recommend it for great networking and learning opportunities as well as to re-ignite yourself in such a dynamic industry!

To view the original post please visit the {ISES Northern California} blog. We hope you enjoyed hearing about her time in Tampa for The Special Event Conference and perhaps we’ll see some of you there next year!

Cheers,
Lydia