{About Nancy: The Good Life}

Since I'm often working on the weekends and traveling, I have to leave my family. It's equally hard when both KC and I have to leave town. A week ago we had to leave Chin Chin with some friends. While KC is a lot better at relaxing while we are away, I am the constant worry wort wondering if my baby, Chin Chin is alright. He has always been such the best dog, never complaining when we have to go to work, so I feel sad when I leave him on trips.

Hayley, KC's wonderful assistant, and her husband, Matt were gracious enough to watch Chin Chin this last trip. Hayley is a terrific artist. During Chin Chin's short visit, she captured Chin Chin and Olive(Hayley's little baby) playing. When Hayley sent me a few images of what Chin Chin and her baby, Olive were doing, it melted my heart. I hope you will indulge me by letting me share this adorable image.

Now, at least, I know I don't have to worry, Chin Chin is living the Good Life.

{Ask Nancy: What flowers are good substitutes...}

Dear Nancy, what flowers stand up to heat well? What flowers are good substitutes for things peonies or calla lilies (ex. feathery "girlie" flowers vs structured flowers). Also, what have been the most recent flower trends you've been seeing?

Those are three good questions. I'll try to tackle the first one. The question is "what flowers stand up to the heat well?". That's easy. Tropicals. What are tropicals....you know what they look like...birds of paradise, orchids*, ginger, ti leaves, heliconia, and on and on. These flowers are grown in warm temperatures so they actually like the heat. When I was in Thailand last year, I went to an orchid farm and I saw how orchids were grown. The greenhouse must have been over 90 degrees. It was so humid and hot. The orchids were hung from wires and they grow hanging. It's the weirdest thing. *note that some orchids are very delicate and might not be great in direct sunlight like Phalaenopsis but are still better than other flowers.

My Good in Heat List includes sunflowers, yarrow, thistle, statice, carnations, protea, marigolds, craspedia, Viking mums, button mums, celosia, mini callas, cattail, chinese lanterns, cornflowers pods, curly willow, branch materials, hypericum, montbretia, peonies, safflower, viburnum berry, berzilia pods, peres, agapanthus, allium, amaranthus, anthuriums, kale, crocosmia, gomphrena, sedum, skimmia, trachelium, nigella, bells of Ireland...

My Fair in Heat List includes stock, lilies, gerberas, godetia, hyacinth, ranunculus, zinnia, delphiniums, snapdragons, queen anne's lace, kangaroo paws, asters, astible, freesia, gladiolus, lysimachia, ornithogalum, lilac, irises, veronica, snowberries, fall antique hydrangeas, tight green hydrangea, baby's breath*......
*Never used Baby's breath in any of my arrangements so I don't have any experience with them during intense heat but I imagine they should be ok.

My Jury is still out in Heat List includes chocolate cosmos, cosmos, bouvardia, daffoldis, nerines, muscari, , hydro garden roses*, viburnum, phlox**
*These are new and I've yet to try them in very intense heat.
**Never tried them in hot hot weather.

My Doesn't Do Well in Heat List includes sweet peas(they droop), dahlias(they shatter), garden roses(they limp), gardenias(they brown), hydrangeas(they wilt), geranium(they sag), tulips(they open too fast), lisianthus(the also wilt), scabiosa(they brown), solidago(they droop and shed), italian ruscus(they fall apart),

Most flowers aren't good in intense heat. As long as a reception is indoors with some A/C, you will be fine. It's direct heat that cooks flowers! When in doubt, branches, foliage!

Once again, thanks for the questions. I'm thinking about the other two questions and will get back to you!

Photography by Tara Arrowood

{Ask Nancy: Pomander}

Claudia asks...I love love love these tutorials! Here’s my question: what’s the trick to making a sturdy fresh pomander? I tried making one of my own and completely failed! (water was dripping from my foam, stems kept breaking as I pushed them into the foam, etc). Would you mind sharing your expert tips and advice?

I personally have a love/hate relationship with kissing balls(aka pomanders). I love making them but they aren't as easy as they appear. Even though we've made over a 200 kissing balls over the course of our business, it's still one of those pieces that we continue to finesse. For me, the trick with kissing balls is using the right flower. Many people don't realize that there aren't many flowers that work but yet they try to make a kissing ball with them. I once saw someone use a French Tulip. Sorry, but that's the absolutely worse thing you could do. First of all, the beauty of the French Tulip is its gorgeously long stem. What a shame to waste that stem on a kissing ball. Also out of water in oasis, tulips aren't very "happy".

Bottom line: choose a sturdy, flat, round, mass flower like my two favorites:

-Mini Carnations
- Pom Pom(button) mums

We use two different methods when making a kissing ball. For mums, we like to use a Styrofoam ball. For the carnations, we use an Oasis ball. It's a matter of personal preference and ease for us so you don't have to follow this. Most people use Oasis balls because it will hydrate the flowers. We have a professional cooler. We can keep kissing balls in our refrigerator for several days so we can use the Styrofoam method. For a non-professional, use the Oasis.

Pom Pom Kissing ball:

1 3 or 4 inch Styrofoam Ball
1 Bundle of Pom Pom Mums
1 box of pearl pins or straight pins
Assorted Ribbon
Several straight pins
Mister of Water
Large Freezer Zip Bag or Clear bag(no holes)
Bag ties
Floral Shears

Cut individual mums from their stem. Make sure that all stem are removed.
Fasten ribbon to the Styrofoam securely with straight pins.
Starting with one side, secure mums to Styrofoam using pearl or straight pins.
Poke the pin through the center of the mums.
Continue until the entire ball is covered with mums.
Mist with water
Taking a bag, blow hot air into the bag.
Place kissing ball into the bag.
Secure tightly.

With a mini carnation, You do the same thing but instead of Styrofoam, use an oasis ball. Make sure that you let the Oasis foam stand until water stops dripping. Secure your ribbon onto the ball with straight pins. Instead of cutting all the stems off the mini carnations, cut them to 2 inches. Insert stems into the ball. No need for the pins. You can also add some spray roses and little green buds into the balls like this pink kissing ball.

Please share your results!

Good luck!

{Ask Nancy: What kind of advice...}

Dear Brown Baggers, I made a few more additions to this article so I'm reposting. Thank you for your patience on this. It's such an explosive subject that I felt it necessary to add a few more details and highlight key phrases and words.


StartingOut recently asked, "What kind of advice would you give to someone who is just starting out in this business? I just started my floral business about 5 months ago so I am still very new to all this. I am having a difficult time attracting the right clientele. "

Wow, that's a whopper of a question. Where to begin? Keep in mind this is the ramblings of one person so don't think this is the final word.

First and foremost, anyone who is thinking about starting a floral business needs to love working with people, love flowers, love juggling projects and much more. You can't do it for the money. If you do it for the money, you are in for a shocking surprise and you probably won't enjoy it after a few years. The margins are low. The days are long. The competition is fierce.

Why is the competition fierce, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, in 2006, there were 87,000 registered floral designers of which 1/3 owned their own business. That means, there are roughly 29,000 floral businesses in this country. That's quite a lot. In order to be perceived as one of the better designers, it's an uphill battle because there are so many floral designers who own their own business.

The key is doing consistently good work. To do good work, you need to stand out and have a strong and unique position. Ask yourself, what do you do that no other floral designer can do? What sets you apart? What is your passion? What is your marketing position? What do you stand for?

Believe it or not, I entered this business because I had a hard time finding a floral designer who did modern, American classic floral design. I found many traditional florists. I found many creative florists but I wanted flowers that were timeless, elegant, refreshing modern. Back when I got married, no floral designer in my price range showed a particular look that could be called Martha Stewart meets In Style. Many were overwhelming layered, over designed, and full of contrasting colors. It inspired me to want to create something a bit different from the others.

Today, we have so many designers who offer not only the timeless style that I love but have also created new viewpoints and new techniques including Ariella Chezar, Livia Cetti of the Green Vase, Michael George of Michael George Hybrid, and Nico de Swert. In order to standout, a new business needs to find a niche, an untapped market, you must ask yourself, "what do you stand for?".

New floral designers tend to want to replicate what is out there. I applaud those that are trail blazers, foral designers like Natasha of Waterlily Pond, Neil of Hunt Littlefield, Spiral Hand, R. Jack Baltazar. These designers have very strong, unique point of views that show in their work, their brand, and ultimately, their business.

Ask yourself, what is your unique marketing position? If you cannot set yourself apart from the others, if you can't find what is your unique style, how can you expect a client to understand you.

Foremost, you have got to build a great, concise, beautiful portfolio that people can find. Remember, people must be able to find you, so you must have a website in this day and age. Once you understand what unique opportunities you have, you have got to infuse some personality into your business through building a brand. Advertising is a good start and needed for newer businesses where clients don't know your brand However, advertising is costly if you do it randomly. In order to maximize your advertising, you must understand who your client is and what is she reading.

My gosh, I think I can go on and on about this but I think this is a good start.

Best wishes to your future!

Bottom line: You have got to build a unique identity and personality to your business. Don't replicate. Find your personality.
Technorati Profile

{Inside My Floral Studio #2: For the Little Ones}

We love doing stuff for little children. These green pom pom mums are great for doing pave designs like this ring bearer pillow with peacock/aqua ribbon and a row of dainty flowers.

Ring Bearer Pillow

To make this ringbearer pillow you will need:

1 bundle of green pom pom mums
1 brick of green Oasis form
Assorted ribbon
Assorted dainty flowers
A box of Straight pins
Long corsage pins

First you take a piece of green Oasis. Do not soak it in water. Cut the brick in half vertically not horizontal. Take one of the half pieces and cut horizontally so that you have a brick which is approximately 1.5 inch in height by 3.5 by 3.5 inches. Soak this small piece in water. Remove from water when it is completely soaked and then make sure it dry enough to use. Cut green pom pom mums so that they have at least a 3/4 inch stem and cover the entire brick of wet foam with mums. You can use straight pins to help you secure(optional). Take ribbon and wrap around the center.

When finished with the pillow, add some accessories. We finished this one with two small dainty mums and one single white ranunculus. We fastened them to the pillow with long corsage pins in Aqua to make the decor of the wedding.

The flower girl has to have something really special and we love doing these pom pom covered basket. We finish with streamers in peacock/aqua. To make this basket, all you need are mums, ribbons, and a glue gun. Glue away!


Enjoy!

{Ask Nancy: Do you have any thoughts or....?}

Dear Nancy: I'm excited to do my own wedding flowers. I am hoping to use home grown hydrangea in the centerpieces but since mid-September is possibly a bit after their best blooms (in the Northeast) I'm contemplating drying them or ordering some supplemental blooms online. I know they need to be hydrated through the shipping process, and I've heard from others that hydrangea die quickly in bouquets, how many days could I get them in advance of the wedding for them to still be in "wedding condition"? Do you have any thoughts or experience on the dry v. live hydrangea? I love the deep color of late season dried hydreangea a lot. Thanks! Slicey19

Great question!

I've posted a photo of a centerpiece that I am doing for my July bride, Lindsey, who so happens to have exceptional tastes. Her wedding is almost entire all Hydrangeas in these lovely white/creamy hues. I wanted to show you that Hydrangeas are not just one of the showiest blooms around but one of the true great value for it's shape and size. These hydrangeas were flown in from South America. They reached my studio on Wednesday and I did the arrangement just a few minutes ago. I also mixed into this arrangement a few that I had from my Monday delivery. Hydrangeas when properly treated can last two weeks. You must must must keep them in a cool piece, preferably a walk in cooler set at 35 to 40 degrees which my refrigerator is set at. The ones that we order come packed with a small tube of water so that they have a water source which is key to the survival of hydrangeas. Make sure you let the Hydrangea drink an entire day. Let them sit overnight(fill your buckets with plenty of water!)

I don't know much about the Northeast so I apologize if my information is a bit skewed for the West Coast. I do know this much, I get imported hydrangeas from South America year round. They are available in two colors white(creamy) and light blue. The ones from Holland are equally as beautiful but 2.5times more expensive. I believe you can order the deep blue and purples as well as the light green with light reddish blush hues.

Local Hydrangeas grown mostly in our foggy Half Moon Bay are available as early as May and can last to December. The fall Hydrangeas are my favorite. They come in hues of reddish brown and specks of hot pink or red. The deep purple with green is also lovely. These fall varieties of Hydrangeas tend to dry better but the look of dry Hydrangeas are very different from the fresh because the outer edges tend to be brown. What we do sometimes is use the dry and "hand tint" them. It works quite well and many people can't tell that they are dried. However, the stems are very dried looking so if you are using them in a centerpiece, make sure your guests can't see the stems. If you don't want things to wilt, hand tinting them is a good idea. You can of course go silk! That's an option especially if you want them in your bouquet. In direct sun, Hydrangeas poop poop out. Because dried is readily available, I would caution you to try to dry them yourselves.

You can of course work with a floral designer. If you do, have them order West Coast Hydrangeas from Half Moon Bay's Figone(I love Louie) or Torchio Nursery. Torchio Nursery will ship across the nation. However, they do not work only with floral designer so find yourself a floral designer if you want them from a wholesaler broker or direct grower.

Good luck as always!

{Inspirations: Style Me San Francisco}

It thrills me to no end that San Francisco is getting their own Style Unveiled.

I'm so glad to see an online wedding magazine and blog that focuses on glamour, wedding fashion, luxurious style and all those things that made us wedding obsessed in the first place.

To be honest, the DIY posts are getting tired to me. Of course they are very useful and needed but every now and again, a girl like me needs something a bit more splashy. Join me in welcoming San Francisco Style Unveiled!

{Inside My Floral Studio #1: Rustic Elegance

Now that wedding season is upon us, I'm back to working in the studio coming up with creative ideas. It excites me to no end when I can touch flowers.

In honor of the start of wedding season, I'm also launching a new series, it's a case study of inspiring pieces that I'm working on, aptly named Inside My Floral Studio. I have to thank my bride, Nicole for inspiring me. For her late summer wedding, she wants something unusual with elements of natural textures in hues of butter yellow, creams, soft ivory with lovely droopy flowers and foliage like amaranthus. Though I created this centerpiece for someone else, I have to do a shout out to Nicole for giving me a design challenge that I'm lovin'. It's clients like her that make me think. Usually in the shower, the inspiration will hit me like it did this morning.

I hope you enjoy being Inside my Floral Studio.


To create this piece,
-Use a hollowed out birch log as your foundation.
-Fill the log with wet oasis and secure with moss and rocks.
-Make slits to the top of the birch.
-Add flowers through the slit and adhere to oasis.
-Fill sides with moss so that you cover your "mechanics".

Recipe:
-(4 - 5) stems of white French Tulips,
-(5) stems of viburnum
-(1) bunch of green amaranthus
-(5 - 6) stems of Reflexed 'Creme de la Creme' imported roses
-(3) stems of white imported Mop Head Hydrangeas
-(1) stem of Nasturium vine(from an abandoned warehouse)
-(2 -3)stems of tree foliage

This arrangement at retail could be anywhere between $100 to $200 depending on the amount of flowers. The hollowed out birch was found at the floral market at Coast Dried Flowers(for those who are interested in purchasing them!)

{Ask Nancy: Do you have a Tip for....}

This question came in today from reader swt. Swt asks: I love the look of taping orchids or other flowers onto curly branches. Do you have a tip for keeping them in good shape. How early can I do this so they don't wilt?

Well swt, I absolutely love orchids attached to branches. See the orchid tree that we did for our couple's wedding. Great idea. Very special. Truly stunning. You can also hang votives, crystals, and attached garlands of flowers to branches. So many ideas!

When we build our trees(which I usually use manzanita because it's strong) we attach the orchids(usually Cymbidiums) on the trees prior to the event. We don't do these in advance because the transportation is very difficult. Can you imagine how tall our trees are? Plus, most of our trees won't fit into our minivans or even the cargo vans because they are so tall. And to be honest, when we put a tree in our vans, we can't fit anything else...just a little florist humor here!

If you have to make them in advance, you can tube the orchids and attach the tubes to the branches with decorative wire. Decorative wire can be found at many craft stores but I have to say I use inexpensive wire that I find at hardware stores(they love me at Ace hardware which is down the street from my studio).

Cymbidiums are tough. My team once did a tree at about noon. When I went back at 1am, it looked amazing. When I got back to my office after the strike, I left a couple branches with the orchids left on them. Two days later, I came back and they didn't look that bad which was a surprise to me. Of course, I don't want to go out on the limb to say that they should hold up for 48 hours but it's safe to say that hardy cymbidiums should last several hours. However, Phaleanopsis is very soft. I don't advise to use them. Dendrobiums are fairly good.

Thanks for your question.

Photography by Sherman Chu

{Ask Nancy: Why do some flowers cost so much?}

I'm thrilled to announce a new series that I'm doing called "Ask Nancy!". You could say it's the Dear Abby column with a wedding floral spin. Please keep your questions coming(and remember there's no silly questions!). Send your questions to weddings@nancyliuchin.com and I'll be sure to answer them.

We start with a question from a groom, who we will call Inviting600(yes, the couple are inviting 600 guests to their wedding ). Inviting600 asks: "why do some flowers cost so much?" and "what flowers should I avoid if I am trying to save money?".

Though I've answered this from time to time. I think I should address this again. And I'm sure I'll keep addressing this cost from time to time given our economic times.

The answer is pretty straight forward. Cost of flowers reflect
1) Supply v. Demand.
2) Availability.
3) Overhead costs of suppliers.
4) Shipping.
5) Source.
6) Geography.
7) Seasonality or time of the year.

And a few other things.

Avoid flowers that are
1) High Maintenance
2) Out of Season and must be imported from Europe
3) Low in Supply but High in Demand.
4) Rare and hard to find.
5) Tight buds, doesn't open well.
6) Wilts or bruise quickly.

Let's give you an example. This morning for around $50(at wholesale not retail), you could take home 5 stems of white Peonies, 10 stems of locally grown Garden roses, and 5 stems of imported South American creamy Hydrangea from one of the best wholesalers in the Bay Area, Torchio Nursery. (see image below)

Before I go on, this is not a joke, this is what $50 at wholesale costs(repeat - not retail). If you were to buy this from a floral shop, I would assume that it would be 2 to 3 times as much depending on the area. If the flowers were old and the shop needed to sale them, you might find a better deal but for our example, let's see this from the floral designer/florist shop standpoint.

I, a boutique floral designer studio, paid $5.00 a stem of peonies, roughly $2.50 for one stem of hydrangea and $1.50 for one small stem of garden roses of which many probably won't open by this weekend. Note, since these are garden roses and not a hothouse variety, not all of them will open at the same time. Some are already open others remain tight.

Keep in mind, the cost of a designed arrangement also needs to factor in all sorts of other costs including the time to select flowers, clean flowers, delivery flowers, vase, overhead, labor charges. This is why it's possible that 5 peonies, 10 garden roses, foliage, 5 cream hydrangea could easily be $100 to $200(think NYC) in today's market.




If you factor that these are for a wedding, then you also have to add more overhead and design costs. On top of the other factors, wedding flowers should include a designer's time, creativity of designer, proposal writing skills, and the overall delivery and setup costs. One factor that is rarely mentioned is the cost of the "used" flowers. Many floral designer(not floral shops) buy flowers for a specific event. If the flowers do not open, the floral designer has to overbuy to ensure that they have flowers in "wedding" condition.

As you can see from the picture available, not all 5 stems of those peonies are perfect or large and open enough to be presented in a bouquet. Because we cannot deliver tight buds, we had to overbuy this particular flowers by 3 times. That means that we actually paid for 3 times as many peonies that we needed so that the one bouquet would be in great condition, I call it delivery wedding condition. Thus, experienced wedding professionals will anticipate this and budget accordingly.

In terms of the garden roses, these locally sourced garden roses are not very plentiful. I don't know how technically difficult it is to grow them but I imagine that there's isn't enough land to grow them in abundance like the hot house roses that we find in corner markets, grocery stores and at the floral market. If you take into account the labor costs to maintain them plus the costs of land in the Bay Area, it doesn't sound unusual for them to cost $1.50 to $2.50 a stem which means that for a customer it is easily $3.00 to $7.50 a stem...if not more.

Note also the size. This bunch of ten stemmed garden roses looks about the size of one hydrangea head. Size is important. It would five times as many garden roses to fill a small vase as it would 6 to 7 stems of hydrangea. Even though hydrangeas can cost more per stem, the size means that you wouldn't need as many total stems. When it comes to flowers, stem count is crucial. As a comparison, many brides want garden roses instead of their inferior cousin, the hot house long stemmed roses. But if it's money are you trying to save, note that even South American imported roses are cost at wholesale a fraction of the cost of a locally grown high maintenance garden rose.

Several years ago, imported hydrangea would cost me $3.00 a stem. Because many of the farms in South American jumped into the market, the cost of hydrangea has dropped over the years since I started buying them. As their availability has increased, there are more hydrangeas in the market place and thus the cost have decreased. More vendors in the market are carrying them, I get a better price. So ask, what is the availability?

In two weeks, Torchio nursery says that peonies will drop in price. However, the ones this morning were still imported from Europe. Shipping and importing from countries in Europe and Australia is also a factor in why flowers can cost a lot. In the fall when my favorite mini callas are available, it's typically to pay $5.00 for a stem of mini callas. Why is it so much, they are coming from Australia or New Zealand and you better believe that what you are paying for is the shipping not necessarily the flower itself. Another reason why peonies are currently so expensive is that not many vendors in the market are tempted to carry them. I could only find them with two resources. Keep in mind these two resources at the flower market service the entire Bay Area. Because of that, white peonies were especially hard to find. The demand might be high but the availability from a buyer's stand point was minimal and thus my nursery knew that I would pay top dollar for them.

Bottom line: You want to save on flowers for your wedding, find the floral designer who has the best experience, who's body of work that you trust. Because if you trust them, ask them to buy what is best that week in the market. When you have to have something, you might also have to pay a premium. If you have to have a pricey flower, use it where you will get the most impact.

{About Nancy: Twit Twit}

I ask myself this all the time.  What have I gotten myself into?

Several weeks back I announced that I finally jumped on Facebook (after some pressure)well today I got my Twitter on thanks to Annie and Michael Muramoto(should I really be thanking you?)  Find me at Nancyliuchin.

Oh dear!  

As a near 40 year old woman I realize that if I don't keep up with social networking and technology I will never be able to understand my clients, who are our first priority.  So followers, readers, fans, I look forward to our new experiences on Twitter(President Barack Obama is following me - I think that's cool.  And I did write Oprah a short message today - go O)

{Vendors: Spring Invitational}

A couple days ago I highlighted that crisp, spring table from the Classic Party Rentals Open House, however I didn't get a chance to show you the close up details of the menus, table numbers, and place cards that Anne Millett of Mira Aster created for that Spring Invitational table.

Anne is a good friend of mine and works with me on many many projects including that real wedding that we featured yesterday. Many people don't know Anne but pretty soon you will. It's still a secret so I can't spill the beans but let's just say that Anne of Mira Aster is getting a huge "award". I promise I will share the good news with you(so it's hush hush for now!)

Enjoy these fabulous details.

{Real Wedding: Spring Break}

I love my job. I love spring weddings. And I love yellow with green.

Lia, the bride, was heavenly to work with. Though she planned many of the details herself, I am thrilled that I got to interject a few details like the candy bar with the most adorable oval tags made my our very own, Anne Millett! Together, Lu, MOB, and I choose the lovely linens, chairs, and napkins. Lia was very hand off and even let me plan the lighting by Enhanced Lighting. The lovely city wedding took place at the City Club which is a secret "fav" venue of mine.

Lia's bouquet consisted of creamy imported roses, green Cymbidium Orchids, and those adorable Rananculus. For the candy bar, we had some of the couple's favorites including Bit of Honey, M & M's, kisses, and Watermelon slices. The photos were captured by Darcy. Linens were by Classic Party Rentals.

Enjoy!

{Real Weddings: Sneak Peak}

Our March canary yellow and Kelly green wedding images are here. The photos reflect the couple's fun, cheerful, happy yet elegant decor. This is a sneak peak at what's in store. Instead of the typical sign in book, the couple choose to have guests sign...hard hats. Yup, they both work in the construction industry! Danger Ahead!

Enjoy!

Photography by Darcy

{About Nancy: Classic Open House}

Definitely behind on posting photos.

Forgive me.

These images were taken from Augie Chang for the Classic Party Rentals(CPR)' Open House. CPR asked several of the Bay Areas top floral designer to partner with them on a table design. Mine was a mod table. Oval table with lime green contemporary chairs, orange linen, white avant garde dishes. Flowers were in hues of bright oranges with accent of wheat grass and moss balls in contemporary white cubes. Place card, table number were made by Anne Millett of Mira Aster.
Delicious!

{About Nancy: Meet Cambria}

People who need people
Are the luckiest people in the world
-From the Song, "People" by Barbra Streisand.

Isn't it so true?

At Nancy Liu Chin Designs, boy, do we need people or should I say, I need people.

Often many of you don't get to meet or talk to the behind the scenes staff members. Today, I'm delighted to introduce one of my staff members, you might say she is the the "gatekeeper", the " majordomo", the one that keeps me sane, Cambria Pickett, aka Assistant Extraordinaire. Lovely Cambria follows in the footsteps of the ever gorgeous and sweet, newly retired, Karin Woodward, Assistant Fabulous.

Let's meet Cambria who graduated from University of California, Berkeley(CAL) with a degree in Art History. Originally from Santa Barbara, Cambria now makes Bernal Heights her home. Assistant to our chaotic world by day, restaurant server and bakery by night. Cambria found us through the most unusual of circumstances. All I can say was when we needed an extra hand, God sent us Cambria. A shoeaholoic, Cambria boosts over two hundred shoes in her collection. An organic girl, Cambria rides her vintage Japanese "Tiger" bike to work. Her first month here, she had to babysit Chin Chin, my dog, which wasn't in the job description. Don't ask me about the mousetrap incident. We asked Cambria a few fun questions so that all of you can get to know her better.

If you had to drive cross country with 3 people and no radio, who would you pick?
Cambria: "I would pick Marie Antoniette, my brother who is hilarious, and Mark Rothko, the artist. I think it would be hilarious to have a queen, a comic, and an artist all in one car. The trip would go by so fast."

What are you favorite scents?
Cambria: "My mother's perfume, Femme."

First wedding memory.
Cambria: "My dad's ex-girlfriend was a harpist. She brought me to one wedding and I had to pretend to be harp student. "

Out of the three C's which one do you prefer - Candy, Cake or Cookies.
Cambria: "Cookies, for sure! Nothing bets a bite size sugar morsel."

How would your describe a typical work day at NLCD?
Cambria: "It's all about Nancy's schedule. It's ever changing. There's a myraid of details. We are dealing with people's weddings - it's HUGE. Everything has to come together. Other than that....fun. I have a great time. Where as can you work with your shoe's off. "

{Real Weddings: Sage & Blossoms II}

The trio of vases for the centerpieces featured tall pink Blossoms in the center, leaning white tulips, and leaning white Phalaenopsis orchids. Melissa made her own table names. This one was Yerba Buena Gardens.


I love Katrina Rozelle's cake with a green ribbon made from fondant with dainty pink blossoms. More blossoms! The pretty satin linen from Classic Party Rentals made it ever so sweet.

Heron was our officiant and she made the bride laugh during her comical blessings. I'm always amazed when a photography can get this spontaneous moment. Nice work, Ken Buck!

Mood was set with some soft pink uplighting and pin spots. But wait, there was indeed music which was provided by Carl Minding. He helped set the mood!!! Ah - love is in the air.

{Real Weddings: Sage & Blossoms}

Before I went on vacation I had a great time working with Melissa and Greg on their St. Patrick's Day wedding at Bridges Golf Club in San Ramon.

From the very beginning I had a hand in creating this wedding so I feel like a proud mother giving birth. Early on the three of us went through various different ideas on where, what, why and finally we landed on the color(pink with soft green), motif(blossoms), and style(fun, relaxed). Melissa and Greg had a concerns with their budget so I'm proud to say that we were able to pull everything through without going over mainly due to Melissa and her mother doing a few things themselves!


Ken Buck the photography caught this private moment.


Our bride carried a bouquet of sweet peas, roses, rananculus by Nancy Liu Chin Designs.

Lighting by Elle Decor.

{Brown Bag: Poll Results - Sitting on Top}

Our recent poll closed and the winner by a nice margin for your choice for best blog is...

Style Me Pretty

Style Me Pretty is one of my favorites as well for it's clever design, beautiful imagery, and practical content. Abby of Style Me Pretty is very inspirational and though her path to getting to be one of the authorities on wedding style was windy filled with detours and obstacles, she persevered and can know be proud of your achievements.

Few might recall that Abby launched into weddings through her invitation line called Abby Jean Style. She eventually sold the line which is one run by Foutaine Maury.

Abby now devotes her time to" scouring the internet for beautiful things, walking the streets of Boston waiting to be inspired, roaming the aisles of my favorite little bookshop…all day, dreaming about weddings". Like many in this industry including myself, Abby loves magazines and is an Oprah fan. We share one fun thing in common - our loves for baths!!! Good for you Abby....congrats for being a Brown Bag Favorite!!!

{Real Wedding: Advice on Destination Weddings}

Hola! I'm in Mexico this week enjoying the sun and the wonderful sites. As many of you know, I love a great wedding and especially a destination one.

During my research vacation, I have been working on tips for couples who are planning a destination wedding but I never had any idea that I would actually witness a wedding or that I would have the honor to meet Sarah, the gregarious and bubbly bride who got married at the hotel where KC and I were staying.

Sarah who is a lawyer is definitely someone into the details but for her Mexico destination wedding she learned quite a bit about really worked for her and her fiance, Charles. Mixing some of her sage advice, I wanted to share with you some of her wedding tips and images. You will love the simplicity of the wedding that embraces the beauty of the venue and the heart of this couple!

Wedding Tips for Planning a Destination Wedding from Sarah and Charles -

1) Go Native - New Yorkers, Sarah and Charles, are typically foodies who have discerning palettes. Although they could have gone with a traditional 4 course dinner for their wedding reception, they opted for local Mexican cuisine because it was cost effective but more important - festive and entertaining.

It's obvious that when you have a destination wedding part of what makes it so colorful is embracing local cuisine as well as other local traditions. Another example, instead of a 4 string quartet which the hotel thought the couple would prefer, they hired a mariachi band for the cocktail receptions and received great raves from their guests! Once again, when planning a destination wedding - add some of the local flavor into your wedding.

2) Communicate: Put it in Writing - Planning a wedding is hard enough but planning details with someone in a different time zone and with a language barrier can lead to major mishaps but our bride Sarah was very honest when she revealed that she communicated via email and made sure that her requests were understood. Yes, that meant that she had more emails than most brides but it was key to send information and images in writing. She sent numerous photos of what she was looking for which really helped her local contact.

For example, when she wanted orange roses for the centerpieces, she sent images to the Westin PV wedding coordinator so that there were no mistakes. And she also requested that the local coordinator send back what she could do. It made for less stress.

3) Think of your Guests - Because many guests were coming from out of town(or out of the country), Sarah and Charles put their guests' needs as a high priority. Since many of the hotel and lodging options in Puerto Vallarta were all inclusive(which includes all meals as part of the hotel price), they felt a hotel which didn't include all meals was a better option since the couple knew that they would be hosting many of the functions. They also thought about location. They also thought about the style of their guests. Even though they are real hip, they knew with some guests a hip, young hotel might be a turn off. They liked the fact that the Westin was a symbol of quality so that helped with the choice.

In terms of hotel versus private estates, they opted for the hotel option so that the majority of their guests would be in one location and thus they could spend more time with their friends. On top of that, they were able to get room blocks with added amenities because they were getting married in the same hotel(keep in mind that you should make sure when you sign the contract that blocking rooms is not a problem!).

Because of the money they saved, they also made some great welcome guest bags which is a great idea which I strongly recommend. For a guest bag for a beach style wedding, think about sunscreen, flip flops, sun visors, lotion, lip balm as great ideas. No matter what you do, I like that this couple thought about their guests first!

For me, I also like the fact that Sarah had a US contact. If she had a question and her local coordinator could not communicate, it was a good thing that she could call Westin's corporate offices. I think this is a huge plus given that things can always get lost in translation and it is good working with a large corporation like the Starwood hotels so that conflicts when they arise can be dealt with.

Plus, Sarah was really smart to pick a hotel in the Starwood chain so that she could get points! Good thinking, Sarah and Charles.

4) See the big picture, relax on the details - For most brides, it is easy to get caught up in the details. Sarah admits that it is normal to become obsessive and if her wedding was in New York City, she might have been tempted to stress over each and every minor detail however when a wedding is thousands of miles away, she knew that details would have to take a backseat to what was truly important which was entertaining her guests. Trusting the details to a professional was key. Whether you hire a coordinator or work with your local hotel vendor, trust must be established.

Sarah and Charles enjoyed their wedding so much because they partnered with their trusted vendors and worked to resolve things with their hotel advisor. Sarah made very practical decisions and defaulted to the advise of experts in areas in which she really had to rely on a local expert. For example, when she found out that orange mini callas had to be imported, she asked the Westin hotel coordinator what were other options. When imported liquor would hike up the cost of the host bar, she looked to the hotel to provide other affordable options.

Working together was key.

5) Take advantage of Global Crisis - Because of the current global finance shake down, Sarah and Charles had no idea that it would positively effect their wedding. Twice as many guests showed up than they expected because flights were much more affordable after the market crashed last summer. Even room rates fell considerably as the dollar has strengthened.

Even though the guest count doubled, their budget for a destination wedding for 100 guests was still less than what they would have spent if they had a wedding in New York City. Keep this in mind that many costs like food, liquor, photography in other countries might be more competitively priced.

Bottom line, take a look at doing a destination wedding in countries which the dollar is gaining strength.

6) When in doubt, hire a coordinator - The one thing that Sarah did regret is not picking an event designer or wedding planner from where she lived. Having an expert in wedding planning would have helped because she did have to do some of the small details herself a few days prior to the wedding. Many times since she didn't have a planner she didn't know what things she could have asked the venue to assist on. She also didn't know what the other options were other than what the hotel provided. Even though the Westin PV did an amazing job, she does wonder, what else could she have done and thought of and thus a planner would be helpful. I couldn't agree more. I do think having someone else focus on the small details, assist with vendors, would benefit any bride regardless if it were a destination or not.

Thank you Sarah and Charles for your assistance on this article. I hope this was informative and insightful.

Enjoy!

{Brown Bag: April Contest}

For the month of April and May, I want to see some inspiration boards. We do it all the time at the Brown Bag, but I want to see what you can come up with for a great inspiration board. Best one wins a pound of See's Candie which as you know is one of my favorite chocolates. In 100 words of less, tell me your inspiration for how you came up with the board. If we get enough great boards, we might even give someone a wonderful prize...shhhh? It's a secret. Make sure to list where you found the photos and give the magazine or photographer credit.

Top boards will be featured along with a bio of the contestant.

Let the games begin.....

Good luck. For inspiration, I've put a real Parisian Black and Pink wedding to help!

Photography by Kevin Chin
Venue at Four Seasons San Francisco
Lighting by Enhanced Lighting
Wedding Coordination by Jubilee Lau Event
Furniture by Blue Print Studios
Rentals by Classic Party Rentals
Event & Floral Design by Nancy Liu Chin Designs
Candy by Laura Isom for Nancy Liu Chin
Cake by Four Season San Francisco

{Real Weddings: Destination Wedding}

This is a sneak peak of the beachside reception of a wedding I had the pleasure of witnessing while I was in Puerto Vallerta. More to come soon.

{Guest Blogger: GW on Mika78}

Since I've been traveling I asked my good friend, Gloria Wong to be a guest blogger. Many of you might know Gloria Wong as the creator of Sash & Sugar which has been mentioned quite often on the Brown Bag. Recently, Gloria said good bye to Sash & Sugar in order to launch her own company called Gloria Wong Designs! Her new website which launched last week is about the best I've seen in recently years(and this is no exaggeration). Like everything Gloria touches, it's outstanding with luxurious details! All the galleries feature real weddings that have been nurtured by Gloria's strong design sense. It is no wonderful that many of them have been featured in magazines for their purposeful designs, exceptional concepts, and beautiful imagery. Together, we have worked on numerous projects from photo shoots to weddings and most recent, The Wedding University. Without further ado, I present Gloria Wong's Inaugural Post for the Brown Bag.
ENJOY!


Hi Brown Baggers!

I'm so excited to be a guest blogger and share with you a great new talent who has arrived on the invitations design scene. Her name is Mimi Woo, and her company is Mika78. If you're a fan of Style Me Pretty like I am, you may have come across Abby's recent post about Mika78. Trust me, these will be the first of a gazillion blog posts and write-ups about this creative soul. Mimi and I were introduced to each other just a few weeks ago by our web designer, Deb Wagner of dstripe (another amazing talent). Just from the Mika78 logo alone, I could tell that this gal was good. As I looked through the collection on her website, my mouth watered from all the eye candy, and I literally said to myself "This girl is more than good. She is damn good. Nope, I take that back. She's AWESOME." Mimi and I soon became online buds. And I have to tell you that not only is her work deliciously inspirational, but she herself is so sweet! I know she would be an absolute joy to work with.

All of Mimi's ready-made designs in her collection are letter pressed on soft thick paper. Just the way I like my paper! Mmm! They all come with coordinating pieces like envelope liners, escort cards, or ceremony programs if you feel so inclined to have all of your paper collateral match! To me, coordinating paper goods are a must!


Each family of designs are to die for, stunning, "bananas" as Rachel Zoe stylist to the stars would say. But, my absolute favorite family in Mimi's collection has to be "Romance." It's perfection. I've attached some photos for you to drool over.


And if you want a one-of-a-kind creation for your special day, Mimi will custom design an invitation suite based on your style. Check out her entire collection and examples of her bespoke pieces on her gorgeous website, and I guarantee that you will become an instant fan!!!
www.mika78.com

Photography of Gloria Wong in Black & White by Lisa Lefkowitz!

{About Nancy: More about Destination Weddings}

One can never get tired of sun, beach, seabreeze....

I'm loving the view from my balcony this morning....(KC, says I need to focus and write this post so that I can continue my research...outside where it's around the 80's).

Yes, where was I....ahhh? Destination Weddings. I can't wait to share with you more about destination weddings but before I do that I'm thrilled to announce that couples who are planning a destination wedding finally have their own planner and resource guide. Alison Hotchkiss, one of the most talented and resourceful event planners, has written a wedding planner just for couples who are planning a "Destination Wedding". When I think of someone who really knows her stuff about a destination weddings, I instantly think of Alison(in fact, when we bumped into each other over the winter, I asked her about planning events in Mexico and she shared her vast knowledge of me about the complications and challenges.)

Her book, Destination Wedding Planner by Chronicle Books hit bookstores in mid March. If you happen to be planning a destination wedding, this wonderful resource is the perfect planner with resourceful tips and appropriate insights. (I've added a link to Amazon if you are interested in purchasing this book!)

Thank you Alison for sharing this with our readers!

{About Nancy: Destination Finds}

You never know what will inspire you.

When I travel, sometimes, I find inspire in the local art. Other times, I looking at unique color combinations in woven materials. This helps push me to mix florals in a different way. Most of the time, I let my camera see fine details upclose and let that fill me with new ideas like this image below.

BTON(believe it or not), I file all these images and use them as ideas when I think about event design...what could this design be used for? would this pattern work in an invitations, how is this shape unique? would this design element work in small detail for a cake border? I file it away because I never when I might need to look at these images for inspiration.


Often when I travel I'm looking at hotel lobbies, restaurant design, and landscaping. They tend to inspire me the most. But its the local arts that captured my attention on this day.


A couple days ago, these particular art pieces caught my eye. As a floral designer, I wish there were more choices in vases just like these ones for my floral pieces. Their simplicity and intricate carved designs make them worthy of a beautiful and exotic blooms. I saw these rather intricate art pieces in the window during my stroll along the Broadwalk, here in Puerto Vallarta. How intricate and refined they look.

I like them so much for their shape.

{About Nancy: Destination Weddings!}

This week I've been in Mexico enjoying the sun but also doing just a bit of work. I am trying to help a couple who is planning a destination wedding in Mexico. The coordinator is one of my wedding partners so I promised that I would help her with some of the couple's issues and come up with what to do with the flowers and decor. Though I've helped, assisted and worked on various destination projects I have to admit that I'm a rookie when it comes to Mexico specifically Puerto Vallerto. Given that, I think the first thing I want to accomplish while I am here are the logistics - where can I get flowers, supplies, containers, laborers, etc? Are there any local knick knacks that can be incorporated in the decor? What does the church and venue look like? What's the weather like and what might some obstacles be with bringing flowers into this part of Mexico?

For me, destination weddings offer unique challenges beyond the normal challenge that I have when I plan flowers for a local wedding but it's something that I look forward to. This week, I've already scouted the ceremony location, looking for inspiration from the architecture of the beautiful church the couple selected. This will give me better insight on what to design for the pew. Since I was able to see the ornate church, I can tell what flowers are needed and where I need to place them. I've taken lots of photos so that I can share them with the chosen photographer who happens to be a vendor pal. Since I'm here I might as well act as an ambassador for my client's group of chosen vendors(many who are from the Bay Area).



After looking at the venue and church, I headed for the local area to see what supplies are available. I'm very lucky that the local area has many department stores like Wal-mart, Costco, Sam's Club and malls. You never know what you will find in a foreign country and these familiar brands give me comfort knowing that I might be able to find small things like batteries, ribbon, pins, scissors. You never know what you might need. I'm also looking for bulk candles, containers, and other decor items so I go to these places to see what might be here in a few months knowing that there are no guarantees. This is important in my job to see what resources I can find. Browsing around, I saw these really cute souveniers that could be a fun favor for guests.



Between taking pictures of the venue, ceremony, and finding resources, I've also been enjoying the local vibe. Eating out, trying restaurants is not only the fun part of working on this project but possibly the best part because I learn and meet so many local people. I ask restaurant staff people all sort of things that I know will help me with wedding planning. I now have a list of restaurants that I can give my couple for the rehearsel dinner and possibly for post wedding brunches. One of my favorite restaurant has the funniest name, Daiquiri Dick's but it truly is tasty and right on the beach in the Zona Romantica area. The ribs that I ordered was quite tasty!




Of course the biggest challenge are getting flowers here. More and more, it looks like importing flowers into Mexico may not be as smooth sailing as I hoped. Luckily, I've made a connection with a wedding sales manager from a large hotel here. Making connections with people is always key but when doing a destination wedding, I know that getting local assistance will be crucial. It's also key that I abide by certain courtesy. The ways I do business with my vendors at home is not an absolute thus I know that I have to consider how things work in this unique environment. This is a good lesson for couples who are not only planning a destination wedding in the across the country but especially one that is planning a wedding in a foreign country. Being courtesy and respectful of the nuisances is truly helping.

The sun is setting and there is a wedding at the venue on the beach, so I'm going to be a Vince Vaugh and become a wedding crasher. Just kidding. I've seen enough and now, I feel more confident than ever. This trip really was well worth it.

Until another day...

Adios!

{Floral Tips: Lights Lights Lights!}

I believe that Karen Bussen, author of “Simple Stunning Weddings” said it best when she stated, “I consider lighting to be one of the most crucial elements in creating atmosphere.” I could not agree more.

When you work on a wedding for months, when your floral designs need to be stunning, when hours are spent pouring over minute details, the one thing that often disappoints brides and floral designers are images of wedding decor bathed in poor lighting or over saturated flash photography.

Now, before you blame those poor photographers, one must understand that they are hardly to blame. When a large ballroom, grand hall, or intimate restaurant does not have adequate lighting, the photographers have to use their flash to capture the details. Even for digital photographers, with low lighting, these details are very difficult to photograph (just ask your photographer!). And frankly, it is a real shame. When I see my couple spending huge amounts of their overall budget on the details, I ask myself why is lighting treated like an afterthought? Of course if your wedding is outdoors in the daytime, you may not have these concerns. However, most of the clients that I work with do have these concerns so I’ve put together some suggestions.

My advice:

1) Revisit your venue during the time of day when you will hosting your reception.
Many couples see their space during daylight but if the event itself is in the evening then it is best to go during the appropriate time especially if a room has windows. Bright light during the daytime may look beautiful and stunning but for an evening event, the lighting is not bright and sunny.

2) Pay attention to the lighting option
Inquiring about the light levels at your venue is equally important. Does a venue have dimmers? Perhaps a venue has an in house lighting staff that can light architectural elements, tables, bar arrangements and so on and so forth.

3) Candlelight is not the equivalent of focused lighting
My friend, John Woods of Enhanced Lighting reminds me often that “lighting is not a need but when you see it, you want it!” Votives, candle, candelabras though all beautiful and romantic are hardly substitutes for appropriate lighting. They add tiny sparkles. The glow from candles is very pretty. There’s no doubt that it adds a certain warmth but the overall room is forgotten and hardly transformed. These candles cannot illuminate the space above or the space around. Keep this in mind when you think that votives can light a room. They cannot.

4) Visit a lighting designer
Standard lighting in many multi-use halls, ballrooms and venues tend to be have fluorescent lights. This lighting is harsh and frankly, uninspiring. Going to a lighting designer is strongly recommended because these specialists can use lighting to highlight details and displays. Lighting can also serve to draw attention to a certain area and detract from unattractive carpets, walls, interiors. Flowers and decor elements accessorize, lighting enhances and together they can transform. Experienced lighting designers, unlike a rental and prop company, help to design lighting that is most suited for each event.

Here’s a few examples of how lighting can transform. Followed up with a photo of a table without lighting.
Wow - as the bride, Ansley greets her father. You could never tell that the day was overcast. Looks sunny and warm to me! Great photo by Andrew Weeks.


The drama of this lighting by Hartmann Studios was not lost on all the guests. Doesn't it feel as if it really was just the Two of Them dancing on that beautiful patterned dance floor? Sigh! Sherman Chu TRULY captured the moment of these beautiful couple!


The picture is fine. But there's no interesting lighting to highlight the interior walls or background.

This was taken in daytime at around 2pm. The beautiful detail of this table is gorgeous but what will happen when the sun goes down?


We've lite the votives but there's nothing to shine on the table. Can you even see the sparkling overlay? It's lost. Thank God we took this during the daytime before the sun set.