May Prom

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

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

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

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

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!!!"