Sola / Tapioca / Balsa Wood Wedding Flowers / Truckee Lake Tahoe Sacramento Wedding Flowers Florist

Sola wood (aka balsa wood or tapioca wood) and cotton boll alternative wedding bouquet with metallic and icy details, and a custom etched copper bouquet charm

I had the pleasure of working with Elizabeth for a year on wedding flowers for her March 3, 2012 Truckee winter wedding.  She came to me with the vision of sola wood flowers (also known as tapioca wood or balsa wood flowers) and cotton bolls (because they reminded her of snow), with some metallic bling to reflect her winter wedding.  I took that idea farther, including pine cones embellished with crushed glass (like snow!) and as a nod to her Sierra wedding.  I hung a faceted glass (not acrylic!) crystal ball dangle that gives the idea of an icicle. Metallic touches included silver ting ting, gold skeleton leaves, a copperish rose element, and silver cord handle wrap (over rustic burlap). I finished off the bouquet with hand-shaped couture muslin leaves that were veined with silver and that I formed with antique french tools.  To finish off the metallic accents, I hand-etched and metalsmithed a copper bouquet charm with her initial.  This charm can be removed and worn as a necklace pendant, if she likes. I also included gorgeous, beautifully preserved cream sweetheart roses, as she wanted texture in her bouquet.

For her bridesmaid, I made a bouquet with sola wood flowers and simple muslin leaves and a burlap handle that complemented Elizabeth's bouquet. The bouts complemented both bouquets.

Elizabeth had two flower girls, and I made each a halo head wreath of sola wood flowers.  I included some bling, copper wire and copper ribbon, to match the theme.

The ceremony included a chuppah of birch poles and cloth.  I designed four pole dangles of sola wood flowers that included a faceted glass crystal ball dangle on each to catch the light as the chuppah was carried, and that matched Elizabeth's bouquet.

All of this was done  in advance of the wedding; Elizabeth and her fiancee picked up everything a few weeks before the wedding on their way home from a Lake Tahoe trip.  These are all items that can be done in advance, and in fact, can be mailed anywhere in the world!

Many thanks to Jessa Wilber for the photography.

Hand metalsmithed copper bouquet charm by A Special Day Designs, Shingle Springs, California

Sola wood and cotton boll wedding bouquet, Placerville, California

Balsa wood and cotton boll wedding bouquet with winter elements for a Truckee wedding.

Tapioca wood simple petite bouquet

Balsa wood bouquet with burlap and bling

Simple and elegant sola wood bouquet

Sola wood and cotton boll boutonniere

Balsa wood bout with couture french millinery leaf

Sola wood flower girl halo head wreath

Balsa wood flower flowergirl halo head wreath

Sola wood flower chuppah pole wedding decor

I've Been Blogged - Wood Flowers Wedding Bouquet / Lake Tahoe Wedding Flowers Florist

Here is a photo montage from the lovely Sienna Wedding Blog, featuring my floral designs for Danielle & Kris' Lake Tahoe wedding, and Scott Andrew's EPIC photography!

Photos:  Scott Andrew, via Sienna Wedding Blog
Flowers: A Special Day Designs, Shingle Springs, California 

Lake Tahoe Wedding! A Little More...

Just a quick note before I go get some sleep....I caught a 2-hour catnap last night after putting together Danielle & Kris' wedding flowers for today's Lake Tahoe ceremony.  Danielle was gorgeous, looking very vintage-glam in her ivory dress and birdcage veil.  Her bridesmaids were all in black dresses and shoes of their choice.  Kris and his guys were so dapper, all in black, with felt fedoras and black/gray Vans deck shoes.  They got married on a pier on Lake Tahoe, and the weather was wonderful up there today, which was fortunate considering there was a snow storm last week (Tahoe couples - be prepared for any kind of weather, even in the summer - there are often thunderstorms!).

For the ceremony, she had friends hang up pinecones on the aisle chairs, the pinecones of which she had gathered during snowboarding trips to Big Bear in Southern California, which she tied together with a silver ribbon.

For her reception, she had a beach-meets-the-forest eco kind of decor, which I loved.  Her centerpieces were break-away centerpieces, made of several elements. Tall dried grasses and straight willow in heavy and thick glass cylinders, with polished pebbles, made me feel like I was at the beach, surrounded by Mason jars with moss and a candle inside (forest), and a succulent on the table (like iceplant at the beach!).  When I got to the reception, her friends had put interesting wood doo-dads on the tables...you'll see photos soon (yes, I'm old school and have a 35mm film camera!  The pics above are shots with my lil do-nothing digi).

Danielle's bouquet was so unique!  I was thrilled to have a chance to design something so fashion-forward, yet vintage and glam, too. I love love love the wood flowers and skeleton leaves in her bouquet. The stachys (lamb's ear) gives a softness to it, the pearl-like baubles give some vintage bling, and the dried lavender looks like preserved flowers from a romantic, remembered occasion.

The bridesmaids' bouquets were designer's choice.  That means that Danielle gave me her vision, I made some suggestions as to what might be in it, but ultimately I had to go with the flowers that were available.  Stellata pods were not available; nor were the great black and green kangaroo paws from a couple of weeks ago.  My wholesale flower rep subbed some "weedy brambly things" (lol Laura, is that an official latin species name??) for the pods that worked out great in these eco-chic bouquets.  Seriously, I can't tell you what they are....her buyer bought them from a non-English speaking farmer at a farmer's market!  But they were a great base for the bridesmaids' bouquets, acting just like a hydrangea base, giving me a base to place the other interesting flowers and foliage into.  I love the dog-eyed euphorbia!  It looks similar to the edible plant we have in the Sierra foothills commonly called Miner's Lettuce.  And the brake fern gives it that Art Nouveau feel that I love.

Both bouquets had handles wrapped in burlap, fastened with clear diamonte pins, and luxe satin ribbon bows (love that yin/yang feel - burlap, and satin).

The moral of the story, my dear wedding couples, is not to put such a stranglehold on your florist that you want to know that there will be exactly 24 Cherry Brandy roses in your bouquet, for example.  Sometimes because of weather (or volcanoes!  The recent eruption disrupted floral shipping around the world!) we can't get exactly what you want.  But we, and our vendors, will do our best to get something very similar that will give the same look and feel. Give your floral designer your vision, tell him/her your colors, and let them choose seasonal flowers.  Sometimes my vendors find great things, or might have a special that week on some premium flowers.  Let us and our vendors use our design talents and instincts to make you something that will wow you!

I'm looking forward to seeing the pro photos by Scott Andrew from the wedding.  I just looked at the photographer's blog and he just tweeted, 

• Twitter Update... This photo may cause envy. Today's wedding is straight up amazingtron! http://twitpic.com/1khkeg 
  
   Click on the twitpic link to see the pier that Danielle & Kris got married on!  This photographer does amazing work...and Danielle has such style....I can't wait to see the photos!