Gingerleaf Floral - Modern Floral Design serving Oakland, San Francisco and the Bay Area

What my Sister Says…

Ellen — Tue, 21 Feb 2012 18:52:12 +0000

…is that I haven’t been posting enough pictures of recent floral work…apparently in my last couple blog posts I’ve been a bit chatty, and haven’t provided enough visuals. So in no particular order, and with no particular theme, are some of the floral “things” I’ve been up to lately .

Bouquets to Art and Tulip Extravaganza

Ellen — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:51:54 +0000

The 28th annual Bouquets to Art is being held at the de Young Museum in San Francisco March 13-17 ~ this one-of-a-kind event brings together over 150 floral designers and garden clubs to interpret works of art through the medium of flowers and botanicals. This will be the first year I’ll be participating in the event, and I couldn’t be more honored. Designers are chosen based on their body of work and references by current exhibitors, and proceeds from the event support education and special exhibition programming at the Museum. All the exhibitors visited the Museum a few weeks ago to choose the top 5 pieces we each wanted to interpret. Frankly, the process was agonizing ~ I kind of wish I were just assigned a piece at random. We don’t know which of our top 5 choices we’ll be interpreting until a few weeks before the event, so I definitely have not lost sleep fretting over the design. But I’m on a springboard ready to go :-O. My blog post on last year’s Bouquets to Art hopefully gives some insight into this amazing exhibition!

Spring also marks the 7th annual Tulip Extravaganza at Mountain View Cemetery in Oakland from March 23-25. Each year thousands of Dutch tulips bloom on the Cemetery grounds, and to celebrate the new season, dozens of local floral designers, garden clubs and floristry schools showcase their designs featuring the beloved spring flower. This will be my 5th year participating in the event, and I love the community connection ~ the Cemetery is literally 5 minutes away from my studio. The event is free and open to the public, and there will be live demonstrations by local floral designers. The Cemetery is a fantastic place to run, walk your dogs, or just stroll through to enjoy the thousands of blooming tulips. I once got separated from my group on a historical tour of the grounds, and it was one of the most pleasant experiences I’ve ever had while being lost .

Rated The Knot “Best of Weddings 2012 Pick” and WeddingWire “Bride’s Choice Winner 2012″

Ellen — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 20:07:23 +0000

We’re thrilled to announce that Gingerleaf Floral has been rated by local brides and voted The Knot Best Of Weddings 2012 Pick! So how were winners determined? The Knot Wedding Network captured detailed feedback from more than 1.8 million brides (and maybe some grooms!) through WeddingChannel.com. The reviews came from 29 different categories of wedding businesses, including floral design. Approximately 6,800 local vendors received this prestigious award, representing the top 4 percent of local vendors on The Knot Wedding Network.

We also captured the WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Winner 2012! The WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards ™ recognizes the top local wedding professionals from the WeddingWire Network ~ we were rated on quality, service, responsiveness and professionalism. Unlike other awards in which winners are selected by the organization, the WeddingWire Bride’s Choice Awards™ are awarded solely based on the reviews from over 1.2 million newlyweds. We’re included in the top 5% of WeddingWire’s vendor community, across all service categories and all regions throughout the US and Canada.

A big THANK YOU to all our brides for taking the time to review our services and voting us among the best ~ woohoo!

Happy Holidays!

Ellen — Wed, 21 Dec 2011 20:00:17 +0000

There are some people who absolutely LOVE the winter holidays and can’t get enough of all that they entail. I guess I’m not one of them. Maybe it started the Christmas I was 10 and my mom cut out a picture of the winter coat she was going to get me and taped it inside the gift box. She was waiting for the coat to go on sale, but wanted to give me a preview. That was a disappointing Christmas. We lived in Chicago back then and I sure could have used that coat on December 26.

Maybe not having kids makes a difference. Watching kids open gifts is a pretty spectacular event ~ it’s pure unadulterated excitement and joy. That’s pretty cool. But I have three dogs, and they don’t know how to open gifts. They also don’t know how to steer clear of Christmas trees. Our 150-lb Newfoundland knocks things over, and our 7-lb Russian Toy Terrier likes to chew branches and small ornament-like objects. So we never put up a Christmas tree.

What I do like about the holidays is the opportunity to regroup. Despite the sometimes crazy and chaotic holiday season, this is when I have the time to assess the previous year ~ to reflect on what I could have done differently, to be proud of what I’ve accomplished, to be grateful for the relationships that have enriched my life, and for the experiences that have shaped me. For me, it’s a great way to put the new year into perspective. Whatever the holidays mean for you, I hope they have meaning. Even if it’s just knowing that when the 100th person wishes you “Happy Holidays!”, they really are wishing you well.

Happy Holidays ~
Ellen

Carnations, Baby’s Breath and Antlers

Ellen — Tue, 13 Dec 2011 18:17:13 +0000

Carnations and baby’s breath often get a bad rap. I typically ask my wedding clients what flowers they would rather not see in their wedding, and these two often make the list. Yes, carnations were often used in funeral and old-school FTD floral arrangements, and baby’s breath (or gypsophila) is an inexpensive filler ~ I guess not the most positive associations to some folks.

But these guys have made a comeback in recent years, and for good reason. Carnations have an amazing spectrum of colors and will last over a week depending on how you arrange them. They’ve become more expensive in recent years because of their increasing popularity, but they’re still less expensive relative to other blooms. Baby’s breath has a sweet, delicate quality that makes it a great filler flower, but when featured in an arrangement, it can take on a totally different quality. This week I decided to use both carnations and baby’s breath for one of my clients, and added in some “antlers” (aka bleached Mitsumata branches) just for the holiday heck of it. Ho ho ho! And check out some of the amazing carnation varieties below (there are hundreds) ~ I especially love the bi-color (or variegated) ones.

Branching out for the Holidays

Ellen — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 20:02:46 +0000

I had an opportunity to do a fun holiday installation this week at Rock Wall Wines in Alameda. It was a site-specific installation along the bar in their tasting room using oak lichen branches. The lichen provides a beautiful texture and color ~ one of reasons you see it used during the holidays for everything from wreaths to wintry tableaus to, well, holiday installations. The ornaments are just plain festive, but the glass orbs were filled with faux poinsettias, LED lights for some overhead twinkle, and Hershey’s holiday kisses. I’m not even a huge chocolate lover, but there’s something magical about a Hershey’s kiss wrapped in holiday foil!

Cindy and Perry

Ellen — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 17:34:53 +0000

Cindy first contacted me about her wedding in May 2010. After our initial consult, she and her fiance, Perry, ended up having to postpone the wedding. She said they would be in touch again once a new date had been decided, so I wished them well and put their file away.

A year later, almost to the day, Cindy contacted me again. Wow. I guess it was just meant to be.

Cindy was a sweetheart to work with, and a romantic at heart, but wasn’t sure if “romantic” was the defining look she wanted for her wedding. We talked about all kinds of color and design options, but couldn’t settle on a look. For many brides, the choices and decisions can seem endless ~ with the overall affect being overwhelming. Being a Libra, I know making decisions can be excruciating. And when you’re a perfectionist like me, the fear of making the wrong decision can be paralyzing. But, hey, we’re talking about a wedding. There are no wrong decisions (none life-threatening, anyway). A wedding is just one expression of the two people getting married ~ it doesn’t define them for life. Whatever puts a smile on your face is pretty much the right way to go. In the end, we opted for a look that was not only romantic, but that echoed the romance of the setting.

The wedding took place at the Cliff House in San Francisco ~ a fantastic venue overlooking the Pacific Ocean. It’s an incredibly romantic space, with the only drawback being the fog and cold if you’re planning on having an outdoor ceremony. Which they were. But again, I guess it was just meant to be. The weather couldn’t have been more perfect ~ sunny and warm. And the wedding ~ sweet and romantic.

Thanks to Genevieve Shiffrar for her lovely photos and to Chandara Phanachone for being the easy-going planner that any floral designer would be happy to work with!

Lauren and Chris

Ellen — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 18:59:30 +0000

Each wedding is unique. The rituals and props may be familiar, but the two individuals who decide to make this very public commitment to each other make the story their own. Their own unique plot. With its own cast of characters, subplots, beginning and end. It’s like knowing the gist of a play ~ but getting to savor the experience of seeing it unfold.

Honestly, sometimes I wish I were a wedding photographer, so I could be there when the story unfolds in real time the day of the wedding. My favorite part about being a floral designer is meeting with couples for the first time and hearing their story. Afterwards, we’ll talk, email and share pictures. But I miss the part where I get to see the much-awaited “performance”.

Thanks to Emily Takes Photos for bringing to life Lauren and Chris’ wedding! The ceremony took place at Mills College Chapel ~ a wonderfully intimate space that’s worth checking out, even if you’re not getting married. It’s a chapel-in-the-round, with a beautifully designed skylight that makes you yearn for skylights even when you’re outdoors. Thanks also to Va de Vie Events for coordinating all us vendor folks. And thanks to Lauren and Chris for allowing us all to be a part of your celebration.

My Wedding Day

Ellen — Wed, 02 Nov 2011 21:40:58 +0000

My wedding day was the happiest day of my life. I never fantasized about my wedding when I was a little girl, dreamed about my wedding dress, or even wondered who I would marry. But the day I got married was the wish come true that I never knew I longed for. My husband, Tim, and I shared our love and commitment to each other in front of our closest friends and family. And it was wonderful.

I haven’t blogged in a while (yup, been busy with weddings), so I thought my first blog-in-a-while should be about a recent wedding. But I recently came across this blog post by Jonas Peterson and wanted to share. It was a reminder to me of what makes a wedding such a beautiful thing ~ the two people who give us a reason to be together.

Carrie and Eric

Ellen — Tue, 30 Aug 2011 18:36:21 +0000

Carrie and Eric had a classic San Francisco wedding ~ complete with a cable car as their cake topper! The ceremony and reception took place at Stanford Court in Nob Hill ~ an elegant and timeless hotel that I had never had the pleasure of visiting until their wedding. When Carrie and I met for our consult, she described what she was envisioning as “traditional, elegant, classic and tasteful”. What really made me smile were the descriptions of herself ~ “in-the-box” and “very Chardonnay” .

When I arrived on site for the wedding, my assistant and I delivered the boutonnieres to the hotel room where Eric was patiently waiting, along with the other groomsmen and male relatives. I had never met Eric before, and his subdued excitement was palpable. I love being a fly on the wall (so to speak) minutes before a wedding ~ you get caught up in the quiet joy and anticipation.

As we were departing after the ceremony, I spotted Carrie and Eric crossing the street in front of the hotel ~ hand in hand and smiles a mile wide.