Poppy's Petalworks

2012 Wedding Faire & Symposium

2012-01-07T23:52:00.000-08:00

Happy New Year to you all! I started my new year with a wonderful project being the featured designer for Preston Bailey's book signing at the 2012 Wedding Faire & Symposium at the Santa Clara Convention Center, which goes from 1/6-1/8.

Preston Bailey is an extremely successful celebrity event & wedding designer whose specialized in transforming spaces into spectular party scenes that's beyond imagination. He is one of my most admired American event designers. So you can imagine how excited I felt when I was asked to design an arrangement for his book signing. I chose to re-create one of his most famous signature art piece as my salute to the "flower god" of my heart - the floral peacock.

Below is my interpretation of the floral peacock. I had much fun making it, hope you all like it.

Style Me Pretty wedding feature

2011-07-01T01:00:00.000-07:00

Check out the Style Me Pretty blog today and you will find pictures from a recent wedding we did at the Ritz Carlton Half Moon Bay. It was our great honor working with best of the best vendors in the bay area:
Wedding Planner - Charmed Events Group
Photographer - Lisa Leigh
Videographer - Joe Simon Wedding Films
Party Rentals - Especially Yours Chair Covers & Napa Valley Linens
Flowers & Decor - Poppy's Petalworks

San Francisco Chronicle feature

2011-05-13T22:19:00.001-07:00

I am thrilled and excited to be notified that a recent wedding we did at the Julia Morgan Ballroom will be featured in the New Wedding Section of the San Francisco Chronicle on Sunday, May 22, 2011.

When you stop by the newsstand on Sunday, remember to check us out in the paper! Here are a few images from the wedding that will be featured, beautiful images taken by Kristina from Vrai Photo:

Style Me Pretty feature

2011-03-28T15:01:00.000-07:00

If you don't know already, we are actually a vendor member of Style Me Pretty's Little Black Book. And our work have been featured a couple times on the Style Me Pretty blog. Today, I received an email from the beautiful New York bride, Kaibin, whom I had the honor to work with last year. She notified me that her wedding is being featured on Style Me Pretty's blog today and we are being listed as one of the vendors. Special thanks to photographer Yvonne Wong for the amazing pictures. And the gorgeous bride, Kaibin, was defintely a great pleasure to work with. Here are a few images pulled from the blog post today. For more images, please visit the Style Me Pretty blog.

March Promotion

2011-03-01T22:30:00.000-08:00

We have a special treat for you! We are partnering with talented photographers from Bllew Photography - for clients meeting with us in the month of March and booking our service by April 15th, a complimentary engagement session will be offered. Please feel free to contact us for more information.

Here are some gorgeous sample engagement photos by Bllew Photography -

BHLDN!

2011-02-18T10:52:00.001-08:00

Anthropologie is launching its wedding line?! Can anything be more exciting than this?!! Yes, the word is out! Brides & Anthropologie fans, hold your breath and check out the brand new BHLDN website which just launched on February 14, 2011!

Everything is soooo pretty! Ah...I want to get married again!!!

Here are some of my favorites from the BHLDN website...love it!

Eye Candy - A Rainbow Wedding

2011-02-14T01:06:00.000-08:00

Having a hard time deciding the color for your wedding? How about a rainbow color scheme?

Alexis & Matthrew had a fun rainbow color wedding at the Berkeley City Club and I created floral purses for the girls to match with their rainbow dresses. Each groomsman had a different succulent boutonniere that goes with the girls' floral purses. The bride and groom were in traditional white. It was certainly one of the most interesting weddings I have done.

Special thanks to photographer Marla Aufmuth for sharing these beautiful images with us.

Sugar & Champagne Soiree at the Verite Studio

2011-02-14T00:06:00.000-08:00

Hi Everyone, please come join us at the Sugar & Champagne Soiree on February 17, 2011, Thursday evening! Meet some top notch event professionals and get inspired with many of our unique decor ideas!

By the way, happy Valentine's Day!

Allied Arts Guild Wedding

2010-09-20T15:00:00.000-07:00

Here's another beautiful outdoor wedding we did recently at Allied Arts Guild in Menlo Park. Enjoy!

May Wedding

2010-06-01T14:58:00.000-07:00

I would like to share with you a wedding we did in May. It was shortly after I delivered the baby and I had so much fun arranging flowers again. Yes, I am a super workaholic mama! haha.

We have started our Spring 2011 booking already. If you are planning your wedding next year, contact us early to ensure availability.

Poppy's Petalworks New Website

2010-04-08T23:02:00.001-07:00

Shortly after I delivered a baby few days ago (yes! He's finally here!), we launched our new website. Check out Poppy's new look!

Vote for Us Today!

2010-04-02T15:41:00.001-07:00

We are running for Best Wedding Flowers in the 2010 Best of the Bay List. Please cast your vote for us today!

Poppy's Updates

2010-03-22T23:28:00.000-07:00

I hope everyone is enjoying the beautiful weather...I love Spring! This is a very special time for me as I will be a mom for the second time soon. This is not something new to many clients who met with me in the past months (you saw how my belly grew bigger and bigger). But I am excited to announce this news to our blog and Facebook fans. I hope I can be excused of not updating both sites for so long...I've been busy preparing for the upcoming arrival of my new bundle of joy. Nevertheless, I have also worked hard gathering wedding images from photographers and trying to wrap up with the new website project which I have been working on for a long time! I hope to get it done before baby's arrival.

I sincerely thank many friends and clients kind wishes and continuing support. I will keep you posted once my baby is here and when the new website's ready. Feel free to drop me a line or two via email if you have questions about Poppy's service. I will be as responsive as always with my email correspondence. And I wish all of you will have a wonderful time enjoying the Spring. Stay happy, everyone!

Poppy's Petalworks Holiday Promotion

2009-11-30T23:59:00.000-08:00

Recent Weddings

2009-11-10T18:43:00.000-08:00

I apologize for not updating my blog with recent wedding pictures for so long. I've been saving pictures for the upcoming new website and I wish to surprise you all with new images of many beautiful events we had this summer. But demands are so high that many brides want to know what we are up to and wish to see some of the weddings we did recently. So, here's a sneak peek of several weddings I will be including in the new website. There will be many more to come, stay tuned and I will keep you posted when the website's ready.

Long Time No Blog!!

2009-08-17T16:46:00.000-07:00

Hello hello! I apologize for not posting for so long. Many brides asked for my updates and wanted to see more recent wedding images.

This summer has been a very exciting time for me. Other than all the beautiful summer weddings, I attended the American Institute of Floral Designers (AIFD) national symposium in Kansas City in July, again got myself soaked in all the inspirational educational programs, and met new flower friends from all over the world. AIFD is "the floral industry's leading non-profit organization dedicated to establishing, maintaining and recognizing the highest standard of professional floral design." It is a place where a group of floral professionals gather in the effort of "advancement of the the professional floral design through education and leadership." There were many talented floral artists, all best of the best international designers from the floral industry.

Another special thing I did during my visit to Kansas City was that I took the AIFD Accreditation Evaluation Session (AES) hoping to become an accredited AIFD member. So I had been practicing the entire June (yes, on top of my busy weekly wedding schedule!) because I knew AIFD has very high standards. There were two parts of the evaluation process. We first had to pass a written exam, then a floral design exam which was 4 hours long. Within those 4 hours, each candidate got the exact same amount of flowers and materials to create 5 designs in different categories - sympathy design, wedding, arrangement, flowers to wear and designer's choice. We didn't know what exactly we would be asked to make for each category until 2 hours before the actual exam during orientation. For this year's AES, we needed to make a casket spray for sympathy design, a bride's bouquet for wedding, an art gallery opening design for arrangement, a groom's boutonniere for flowers to wear and we could do anything for designer's choice. On average, we had approximately 48 minutes per design. It was not as easy as it sounds because a candidate needs to obtain at least 20 out of 25 points in order to be approved for the AIFD accreditation, with no single category below 3.75 points. The highest score for each category is 5 points, the lowest score is 1 point. There were 7 judges from different parts of the country so each judge may have a different eye for good designs. And they were certainly not looking for anything ordinary or sellable, but designs that demonstrated solid design principles and extraordinary creativity. To be honest, I've been stressed out all summer - before the exam, practicing every week and studying all the design principles based on which the judges would evaluate; and after the exam, awaiting the results, wondering how I did.

It was truthfully a great relief last Saturday when I received the evaluation results. I am thrilled that I am approved for the AIFD accreditation, and I also obtained my Certified Floral Designer certificate!

I shared my thoughts with some of you during this process but did not write about this in the blog because I wasn't sure how things would turn out. I sincerely thank my family, friends and clients for all the kind encouragement and affirmation. Your support gave me much courage to carry on pursuing my goal and dream to become a floral artist. Thank you very much!

Here's my table.
My Art Gallery Opening Arrangement on the left - horsetail bamboo "cage' with flowers interlocking. My intension was to create a constrained form for an abstract splash of colorful flowers, just like paints on a canvas. My bridal "bouquet"which is a floral purse on the right.My Designer's Choice design which is a floral hair piece on the left & my boutonniere design on the right. Me wearing the Designer's Choice floral hair piece & the sympathy casket spray (an inspiration from Yin-Yang opposites).
Note: Starting 2010, AIFD is transitioning its accreditation process to PFDE (Professional Floral Design Evaluation) which is similar to AES. If you are a floral designer and wish to obtain your accreditation or to become a certified floral designer, please visit AIFD's website for more details.

May Prom

2009-05-26T18:27:00.000-07:00

May is the Prom season. This year I had so much fun designing Lowell High School's senior prom table centerpieces. I love working with their student committee, they were so open to all of my ideas. I intended for the centerpieces to look elegant and fun with whimsical touches that bring out their "When You Wish Upon a Star" Fantasy theme. The ostrich feather design is my personal favorite.

Venue: Intercontinental Mark Hopkins, San Francisco

Client: Lowell High School, San Francisco

Colors: Purple, silver

Theme: "When You Wish Upon a Star"

Chair Covers: Especially Yours Chair Covers

Client's Comments: "It was really nice working with you, the centerpieces were amazing! So many people gave us compliments about them. I'm really happy with prom...A lot of the students wanted to take the centerpieces with them, so we decided "sure, why not." Who is going to blame them for wanting to bring home a piece of prom? Thank you so much and I will definitely recommend you to next year's senior prom committee. Thank you!"

Luncheon at the University Club

2009-05-18T22:52:00.000-07:00

Today I had the opportunity to meet with several other A-list wedding vendors for lunch at the University Club in San Francisco. There were Beverly from Especially Yours Chaircovers, Jubilee from Jubilee Lau Events, Gloria From Gloria Wong Design, Barbara from University Club San Francisco, Nancy from Nancy Liu Chin Designs, Nicole from Nicole Ha Floral & Event Design, Annie from Annie Siu Floral & Events and me. It was a fun gathering with delicious food, thanks to the University Club chef and Sonya from Butterfly Cakes! Each of us shared a little bit about our background and how we got into the wedding industry. Some of us have very similar experience starting off with our own wedding or by helping family & friends' weddings. After gaining more experience and building on a strong portfolio, we ventured into the path to start our own business. I really enjoyed listening to everyone's story and getting to know the personal side of these vendor friends. After our lunch, Barbara gave us a tour inside the club. University Club is very unique venue at a prime location (Nob Hill). And the best part is, their facility rental fee is unbelivably affordable - starts from $1,000! We all thought it must be one of San Franicsco best kept secrets.

Here are a couple snaps from our luncheon. From left to right: Beverly, Nicole, me, Barbara, Jubilee, Gloria, Nancy, Annie & our special guest of the day - Annie's cutie Eason!
Delicious cake by Sonya from Butterfly Cakes.

May Wedding

2009-05-16T14:04:00.000-07:00

I can't wait to share with you a beautiful May wedding we just did. I love the fantastic view of the church surrounding as well as the breezy garden near the water where the reception took place.

Venue: Old St. Hillary's Wildflower Preserve, Tiburon/Landmarks Art & Garden Center, Tiburon

Style: natural

Colors: green & white, with accents of baby blue

Bride's Comments: "Thank you so much for your sweet email and for the amazing decor!! You were fantastic. I still can't get over how beautiful everything was. We will definitely refer you to anyone we know who is planning to get married..."

Power of Facebook

2009-05-05T00:46:00.000-07:00

It took me a long time to decide to start a Facebook account for Poppy's. I know it's a powerful networking tool to help me stay connected with the world. But I feel that I have a full plate already and I am afraid I won't be able to stay on top of it (like I am always behind on my blog updates...) But recently I see something about Facebook that I never thought of. I reactivated my personal Facebook account after a long deactivation (more than a year!). I was clicking through my personal Facebook account friends list and I realized several of my past clients had new additions to their families! I am so excited for them. I disappeared from the virtual world for a while, and when I am back, voila! Everyone's having babies. It is a strange yet amazing feeling to see how our relationships change from time to time - at first we were strangers, then we were floral designer & clients, now we become friends. I feel that I was part of an important milestone of their life and now witnessing their family growth puts a big smile on my face.

So I have decided to sign up for a Facebook account for Poppy's. I wish to connect to more past, current and future clients. Share with me your updates! I love to hear baby news, new jobs, recent travel experiences...etc. Sometimes I imagine twenty or thirty years later, will some of my clients come back to me and say "oh Laura, my daughter is getting married and I'd love to have you design her wedding flowers". Wouldn't that be interesting?

Congratulations to Ying & Jay, Michelle & Solomon, Amy & Tony, Wendy & Victor, Wendy & Wesley, Teresa & Terence, for your respective new family additions!

Check out Poppy's Facebook page today and sign up to become a fan!

April Weddings

2009-05-05T00:19:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple fun weddings to share...and thanks to our April brides & grooms sending me these kind words and thank you gifts after the wedding. Thank you for letting my team and I be part of your wedding, it was my great honor!

Venue: Brazilian Room, Berkeley

Style: modern chic

Colors: pink, brown

Bride's Comments: "Thank you so much for being our wedding florist! The flowers were absolutely beautiful. I especially loved the flowers for the ceremony. I thought the cherry blossoms really brought out the natural beauty of the place, and I loved the way the altar arrangements looked...Everything was so amazing! We will be sure to refer you to our friends!"

Venues: St. John's Presbyterian Church, San Francisco/Cliff House, San Francisco

Style: simple & understated

Color: orange

Bride's Comments: "...All the flowers were just beautiful! I loved that you used the two different types of tulips for the evening. And we received SO many compliments on the reception arrangements, especially the fishbowls. I'm glad we bought the vases, because many guests took the arrangements home since they liked them so much! One of my aunts even said she didn't realize orange could be such a pretty color until she saw your tulips. The tulip & lemon slice design for the welcome table was my personal favorite. Your designs were clean and modern, and a little whimsical -- which was exactly what I wanted!!I've already given your information to one bride...my mother and I will definitely refer you to any other brides we know in San Jose and Sacramento. Thank you so much for being part of our day!!!"

My Poppy's Life

2009-04-03T10:05:00.000-07:00

I am trying to be a better blogger and post messages more frequently, but my busy schedule is hindering me...I know you must think, yeah whatever, excuses.

So this morning I want to tell you a little bit about my life and things I've been working on.

If you read the about section of my website(by the way, I've been working on a new website, it's been months since last December, again I was busy so it won't be ready until a bit later...), you know a little about my background. But let me elaborate more here.

Being an only child in the family, my mom invested alot of money and time helping me to define my interest at a young age. She sent me to private art courses since I was little and I learnt oil painting, watercolor, pastels, charcoals, pencil sketching, sculpture, and Chinese brush painting. When I was in elementary school I won some drawing awards; and my high school student work was once displayed at the old de Young Museum and the Dublin Gallery. At that point, I thought I would become an artist for life. My high school art teacher encouraged me to move forward and challenged me with more competitions and I began taking some courses at Academy of Art and California College of Arts & Craft (today's CCA). But my Dad had a traditional thinking that it is difficult for full time artist to make a living, so he "redirected" me to the field of architecture. To be honest, it was not my first choice but I wanted to please my Dad and with a 3 year scholarship from the American Architectural Foundation, I went to Berkeley majoring in architecture.

When I was at Cal, I studied abroad to France. I stayed with a French family and studied architecture in Lyon for 6 months. Immediately after graduation, I worked at a prominent architectural firm in San Francisco, building hospitals. My first assignment was the replacement project of the Laguna Honda Hospital. Soon after I started this job, I knew it was not what I wanted to do for life. In 2003, I discovered another interest outside of architecture. My best friend asked me to do her wedding flowers and decor. It awakened my resting creative genes! I had so much fun and had decided to explore more about this new hobby. I began taking floral design classes at the City College of San Francisco and interned under other local floral designers. Meanwhile, more friends and family asked me to help out at weddings with floral decor. I started building a floral portfolio and by all means, it was much more interesting than my architectural portfolio!

Then I got married and had my first child in 2006. During my maternity leave, my boss urged me to get back to work, that's when I made a very important decision of my life - I quitted and decided to launch a floral design business of my own. It was not an easy decision but with all the encourgement from my husband and friends, assuring that I will do well in this field with my passion and sense for creative designs. And that was the official launching of Poppy's Petalworks. My husband picked this name for my business because Icelandtic poppy is my all time favorite blossom. I love its papery texture as well as its vibrant colors. Have you seen how an Icelandtic poppy bursts out of its shell within a short period of time? And just like the Forrest Gump chocolate theory, you never know what (Poppy color) you are going to get. That's what life and Poppy's Petalworks is about - come unexpected, filled with colorful surprises.

You think it wraps the story? Not yet. In 2008, I attended the American Institute of Floral Designers' (AIFD) national symposium in Chicago for the first time and it was truly an amazing experience. Came back fully inspired, I had a much clearer direction of what I want to become - a floral artist! I am a big adirmer of international floral masters such as Moniek Vanden Berghe, Geert Pattyn, Daniel Ost & Elly Lin. This may be the farthest dream, but they are my career goal. One day I want to have a floral gallery of my own with weekly exhibitions, host some workshops and teach some lectures.

With this well defined goal, I am working hard to follow my dream. This year, I will challenge myself to pursue the AIFD floral design accreditation in July. Meanwhile I am working on submission of my floral art work to an international floral art publication in September. I am also interested in participating at the inspiring Bouquets to Art again next year. Of course, I will continue to keep up with the latest American and international wedding trends as well as my floral design skills so I can provide my clients the best quality of service.

Personal life wise, I am a full time mom (well, when there are no weddings) so my 3 year old keeps me busy most of the time. He will be starting preschool this fall and we may move back to the city for convenience. Once my little one starts school, I will have more time in my hands and I will try to write more blog posts and share more exciting news with you all. For now, stay tune for our new website image which should launch soon. Hopefully. haha.

de Young Museum's Bouquets to Art Opening Gala 3/16

2009-03-19T20:57:00.000-07:00

I had a wonderful time at de Young Museum's Bouquets to Art Opening Night Gala on Monday. I bumped into many great friends - my former floral instructors, old pals from school and friends from the industry.

At the Opening Night Gala, there were approximately 20+ floral gowns made to reflect the current Yves Saint Laurent's fashion exhibition at de Young.

I made a floral dress inspired by an evening gown from the YSL couture collection. The original was a black lace dress. I crafted mine with hard glue embellished with natural skeleton leaves to create the look of transparency(for the presentation, my model wore a silk underdress). The floral gown was finished with white phalaenopsis orchids, wax flowers, and a pair of red rose petal bows on the side. I purposely reversed my dress to white because I want my gown to be an inspirational piece not a straight replica. I want to translate the YSL fashion style into a petal language. To my surprise, together with matching headpiece and glove, my floral dress turned out very much like a wedding gown!

A matching headpiece

Me and my model Susanna

I really like the glove I made to match the dress. This can be a nice floral accessory for brides to wear.

There were many other dresses I like by other talented designers. Unfortunately the museum was too packed without enough room for mannequins...it is a pity that we can't show off our floral costumes during the Bouquets to Art week. So I can only show you pictures of what were presented at the Opening Night Gala.

Models at the backstage -

Of course you can still visit the museum for its current exhibtion of floral art. Bouquets to Art ends this Saturday at 5:15pm, don't miss it!

Have a peak at some extraordinary designs from Bouquets to Art...

The gorgeous bark dress on the right is by my friend Leila Simms. You can see how it relates to the painting behind.

My floral design instructor, Jenny Tabarracci, created the beautiful succulent urn on the right.

Bouquets to Art 2009

2009-03-14T18:18:00.000-07:00

de Young Museum's annual Bouquets to Art week is going to be next week (March 17th-21st)!!! I am very excited about this special floral event - this year is their 25th anniversary and there will be 150 floral designers from all over the bay area, each will create a floral art piece to complement an assigned painting or sculpture. The museum will be turned into a heaven of flowers!

I am creating a floral dress for the opening night gala. Unfortunately the museum will be too packed with too many floral pieces and will not have enough space for extra mannequins for the rest of the week. You won't be able to see my floral couture dress unless you are coming to the gala. But for sure I'll take pictures and share with you all what I have been working on for weeks!!

See you at de Young!

March Wedding

2009-03-12T23:31:00.000-07:00

It's definitely a blog day for me! I got another wedding to share:

Venue: Cliff Hotel, San Francisco

Style: French

Colors: Black, white, silver

Classic Party Rentals Open House

2009-03-12T21:58:00.000-07:00

Classic Party Rentals had an open house event on Tuesday, March 10th. I was invited to provide arrangements for two of the tables. There were approximately 800-1,000 wedding professionals from all over the bay area gathering at Classic's Burlingame warehouse to check out their fabulous collection of linens, china & furniture. It was a wonderful night catching up with old pals and meeting new friends in the industry.

Image of my tables taken by Orange Photography
Images by photographer Augie Chang
There were so many talented local floral designers at the open house. Here are some of my favorite tables:

February Wedding

2009-03-12T19:52:00.000-07:00

Ceremony: Greek Orthodox Cathedral of the Ascension, Oakland
Reception: Palace Hotel, San Francisco
Style: Classic, romantic, elegant
Colors: White, green, bronze

Spring 2009

2009-03-04T22:42:00.000-08:00

It's been a while since last time I blog! I had a terrific holiday season and I hope you did too! We are entering Spring and it is definitely my favorite floral season! Many of my favorite flowers are or will soon be available in Spring - icelandic poppies, peonies, ranunculus, lilac, cherry blossoms, dogwoods, sweet peas...ah, it puts a smile on my face just to think about all these beautiful Spring blossoms.

Our Spring & Summer schedule had filled up quickly with several weekends left. If you are planning your summer wedding for this year, contact us soon to check our availability. We are now booking for Fall & Winter 2009 as well as weddings for 2010. Generally brides contact us 6-12 months ahead to reserve the date and it is always nice to plan early.

March is an exciting month for me. I am working on a couple incredibly fun projects. I will upload pictures and keep you posted when the time comes! I have a beautiful February wedding soon to upload, but I am still working on sorting out the pictures, I'll do that soon (after this week's wedding, I promise)! Here's a sneak peak of a ring cushion I did for that wedding (by now, you probably know custom designed ring cushion is one of my floral design signatures). I was so in love with it and I almost didn't want to give it away!

I hope you like it as much as I do.

Got Inspirations?

2008-12-05T01:22:00.000-08:00

A centerpiece does not have to be a traditional arrangement in a vase. How about a floral chandelier hung from the ceiling? A floral stand with pearls & crystals? Or delicious floral cupcakes and ice cream like pomanders atop trumpet glasses? Have fun with your imagination and let it fly outside of the box.

November Weddings

2008-11-22T18:04:00.000-08:00

I would like to share a couple November weddings with you here.

Katie & Matthrew's earthy and natural style wedding at the Claremont Country Club had lots of moss accents. It was full of whimsical details.

Yeni & Franciscus chose peony as their theme flower that created a dramatic impact at Casa Real in Pleasanton. It was definitely the best choice for their modern Asian theme wedding.

October Wedding

2008-11-16T18:53:00.000-08:00

Vanessa & Matias' Mexican Mayan wedding at Salute E Vita were complemented with simple red and white floral decor. The bride walked down the aisle with a white Tibet rose bouquet accented with red clovers. A special rosary was added in remembrance of Vanessa's late grandmother.

September Wedding

2008-10-03T22:21:00.000-07:00

For September, I pick Tara and Curt's wedding to share with you all. There were some new design concepts I tried out, I like the way things turned out, I hope you do too!

August Weddings Part II

2008-09-29T23:55:00.000-07:00

I know this August Weddings part II post is long over due and we are entering October already. So here it is, we have some very fun and interesting floral accessories in this collection. Enjoy.

Blogs to share

2008-09-25T01:57:00.000-07:00

It's a busy season for us and I've been trying to find time to sit down and sort out images from our recent weddings to share with you all. Before then, enjoy these beautiful photos taken by photographer Geoff White from one of the weddings we did in August:

Joann & Dennis are married on Treasure Island by Geoff White

We are also on Here Comes the Guide's latest blog. You can read a little bit about us and I am so happy to see one of my favorite works (the bird's nest!) was posted.

I'll have more pictures to share later this week (more August weddings and September events!).

August Weddings - Part I

2008-09-02T17:30:00.000-07:00

We had a very busy schedule in August and I hardly find time to upload images of all the wonderful weddings we did until just now. Here are a couple of our August events, I will upload more later. Enjoy.

Kitty & Wesley's Ocean theme wedding at Spinnaker, Sausalito:

Michelle & Geoff's modern classic wedding at the beautiful Julia Morgan's Room, San Francisco:

Poppy's Latest Feature in Today's Bride

2008-08-11T17:37:00.000-07:00

We are thrilled to be featured in the latest Summer and Winter issues of Today's Bride. There are a handful images of our past work in their Idea Gallery. Pick up a copy for yourself from one of these locations today.

Here Comes Poppy's Petalworks!

2008-08-06T00:12:00.000-07:00

After a rigorous reference check with 30-40 wedding professionals and recent brides, we are invited into Here Comes the Guide! It is our big honor as Here Comes the Guide is one of the most respectful wedding source representing the best event professionals in the industry.

We look forward to working with the Guide in a long term partnership to bring Poppy's Petalworks to the next level.

Look out for this Certified by The Guide logo for the best vendors in your area.

A Green Wedding

2008-08-03T23:54:00.000-07:00

I am very excited about our recent feature on Real Green Weddings with Joann & Christ's wedding we did last year.

Recently I got an email from Kate, author and web host of The Green Bride Guide, asking about the Rustic Charm wedding we feature on Poppy's website. It was a very eco-friendly wedding that took place at a beautiful private vineyard in the wine country. We use natural materials such as twigs, moss and branches in additions to seasonal blooms to reflect the rustic vintage style the couple was setting for their special day. The outcome was amazing, therefore attracted a couple press reports, The Real Green Weddings is one of them.

I know green building is a big hit in the architectural industry these days. And I can totally see green weddings to be the next "it" in the event business.

July Weddings

2008-07-27T01:00:00.000-07:00

We had several fun weddings in July. My favorite one is Nichole & Richard's at Sir Francis Drake in San Francisco. The wedding was sweet, romantic, modern and refreshing. We designed these manzanita branch centerpieces with button mum pomanders for the tables; they were great fun to look at and a nice gift for guests to take home.

June Weddings

2008-07-10T10:35:00.000-07:00

Here are some images of weddings we did in June. I hope they give you inspirations and ideas.

Above Image: courtesy of www.Mlamphotography.com

In Love with Floral Art

2008-07-08T10:13:00.000-07:00

I just got back from the AIFD (American Institute of Floral Designers) National Symposium in Chicago, where hundreds of floral designers & artists from around the world gathered to share ideas, trade secrets, new trends and inspirations. It was certainly a life changing experience to me! Now I have a different perspective for what I should be doing in the next ten, twenty, and perhaps thirty years. I am constantly searching within myself trying to find my own nitch in life. And I think I have just found it! I want to merge my passions together - architecture, fine arts and floral arts.

Above: Trump Tower & John Hancock building.

There were many talented best-of-the-best designers from Europe, Asia and the US at the Symposium and the shows they put together were simply phenomenal! Each show had a specific theme intergrating culture, fashion, architecture, fine arts and cinema with floral art. I was stunned by their talents and passion for floral design. And I had the greatest opportunity to work with prominent Belgian designers Ivan Poelman and Moniek Vanden Berghe to prepare for their shows and demonstration workshops. The experience was extremely valuable and I got to see how the art pieces were put together before they went on stage.

Japanese Canadian Floral designer, lecturer & author, Hitomi Gilliam AIFD, was there at the Symposium too. Here's Koko and I with Hitomi.

Ivan Poelman's show was about fashion and floral art. Here are some images from the show. I helped with the orchid shawl on the right directly below and the rose hat. Holly, my mentor and adviser, was wearing the shawl we made at the fashion show. :)

Here are some beautiful floral art pieces by Japanese Floral Master Yutaka Jimbo AIFD. Patterns on the traditional kimono (Japanese dress) were all petalworks!!

I also got 60 pounds of books! Fabulous books by European designers that I simply could not resist!!! I hope these wonderful designs will lead me to more inspirations that will eventually benefit my clients.

Highlight of the Symposium is that I was also there with several other former floral design schoolmates to join for the SAIFD design competition. I won a small award for my Napkin Ring Decor. But I am thrilled and extremely proud of my dear friend and roommate Kokoro Akaya, for she won the 1st place for the overall competition!! Go Koko!!

Here's my table. The one on the left below is my Bridal Bouquet design, the one on the right is my Sweet Heart Table design.

My friends and I had the time to squeeze in some site-seeing. Here we were at the Taste Chicago Food Festival at the Buckingham Fountain.

Overall this Symposium was a remarkable and unforgettable experience to me. I am sure it was to all of us there. Everyone was so eager to learn and to share ideas. The goal of the AIFD committee was to provide educational programs to floral design professionals in the industry so that we are not just good, but be the best in what we are doing. Special thanks to those who make this Symposium possible!

Below is my favoriate show of all, by David Marsteller AIFD. He did a magnificient job intergrating architecture & sculpture with floral art.

Lastly, I would like to share with you two quotes I picked up from the Symposium -

Newly awarded Fellow of AIFD, Richard Salvaggio AIFD, said at the award ceremony, "An idea is no good if you don't teach it to someone else."

and Mark Twain wrote,

"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails."

How to Keep Flowers Fresh Longer

2008-05-29T22:38:00.000-07:00

Clients and friends ask me how to keep cut flowers fresh longer...there are some "secrets":

Clean the vase/container very well before putting in flower. Bacteria is the number one killer that shortens flower life.
Angle cut stems.
Dip flowers in florist alum quickly before putting in water. It allows flowers to absorb more water. Alum works for most flowers.
Add flower food or floral preservative in clean water.
Keep flowers away from ripening fruits, which generate ethylene gas. Flowers are extremely sensitive to ethylene gas, which will cause decay to happen much faster!
Keep flowers away from heat.
Change water frequently.

Repeat these steps everytime you change water for the flowers, and they will last longer for you!

Give Today

2008-05-25T23:49:00.000-07:00

I think most of us should have heard about the disastrous earthquake happened in Sze Chuan, China on May 12, 2008. I am deeply moved by what I have seen and heard from the media. My heart is crushed when I see children losing their parents; parents losing their precious only child; death roll rises pass 50,000; five million left homeless...I can not find the right word to describe my feelings. Sze Chuan is very far away from where we live, but I believe every one of us can still give a helping hand. Give today.

World Vision
UNICEF
American Red Cross

May Weddings

2008-05-24T22:43:00.000-07:00

As we are entering the busy summer wedding season, I would like to share with you some of the fun late Spring weddings we did in May.

I will try to pick out several real weddings to share with Poppy's Blog readers every month. Check back often!

A New Direction

2008-04-18T23:37:00.001-07:00

Poppy's Petalworks had relaunched our website for about six months. It is our pride and greatest pleasure to have Hybrid Workshop design this new image for us. When we relaunched our website, I wanted to included a blog just so that brides may check out our latest works and get updates about Poppy's Petalworks. But as time goes, I am defining a clearer direction and mission for Poppy's Blog. I want this blog to be a base ground where we can not only to share Poppy's latest projects and news, I also want it to be a home where I can share with readers my passion for floral design.

I fall in love with this at-first-a-hobby, now-a-career, about six years ago (to know more about my journey in floral design, please read Poppy's About section). I have been continuously advancing my techniques and expanding my horizon by taking floral design courses and attending conferences and workshops. Recently I am developing a new passion in competition and exhibition work. So, what have I been up to? Other than Poppy's weddings and floral design workshops I am teaching for CCHC, I have been practicing and here are some of my recent works.