{image by volatile photography :: planning, styling + floral design by lovely little details}

Yesterday I was so excited to let you know that Cary+ Chris’ wedding was featured on Style Me Pretty, and today I wanted to follow up with a photo-heavy post of all the details we put in to their big day. This wedding was totally up my alley and my beach-loving heart was loving every bit. Not to mention the couple is sweet as can be, and I remain friends with the bride to this day. I love when my clients turn in to friends, it’s pretty awesome.

When Cary and I first met for our initial consultation, she showed me a simple picture of a driftwood garland she spotted during travels to Thailand with Chris. She wanted something simple, laid back, and reflective of the inspiration she drew from that image. We tried to infuse that beachy feel in to all the elements of their big day, from the decor, to the florals, to the food. Even though we were smack dab in the middle of a city, you would have never known it! Here are some of my fave details from their big day.

Cary has an amazing artistic sense and made all of the wooden signs for the big day. Here’s a DIY tutorial from her blog, didn’t they come out awesome?

Cary also illustrated the design for her kraft paper notebooks and made each and every one. Here’s another DIY she put together on her blog {I never realized just how much work went in to them until I saw her blog post!}

For the paper goods, Cary and I worked together. I designed the actual layout but Cary added the embellishments like the stamped “C’s” on the front of her programs. It was really fun having someone just as excited about fonts as I am :)

The menus were signature LLD style, with the custom embossed silverware at the top of each one that I labored over one night. I love the added detail that embossing brings, even in such a laid back affair such as Cary + Chris’ wedding. Here’s my video DIY on embossing if you’re looking to do something similar!

And the arch. The driftwood arch. When a client asks me for something, I always say yes. There is some way we can make everything happen, though I’m not gonna lie, this arch gave me a bit of anxiety as we drew closer to the big day. I enlisted the help of my trainer for the heavy lifting and we spent two days building it. The end result was exactly what I was hoping for, but more importantly, exactly what Cary had envisioned. I was so happy that she was happy! Here’s the DIY I posted a few weeks back, if you want to try your hand at arch building :). Once the arch was set up on her wedding day, I still had to add all of the floral accents - it was so windy and I was praying to anyone who would listen that the arch didn’t blow over, or the flowers didn’t fall off during the ceremony!! Thank goodness the arch survived without any casualties :)

I was more than obsessed with the wooden aisle we rented from Classic. It was the perfect addition to the ceremony to really tie our beach feel together right to the ground. It reminded me of the wooden walkways that lead to the beach in New England and seemed so fitting for Cary + Chris as Chris grew up spending his summers at his family’s beach house in Nantucket, and Cary shared that love for the shore.

A while back I deemed this summer the summer of the coral charm peonies. I swear, every single client I worked with for a 2-month stint requested these beauts - and why wouldn’t you? They’re insanely gorgeous, in such a simple way. One single bloom makes such a statement and I really loved that it added just the right amount of color without being too overbearing. At one point, I had almost 150 coral charm peonies prepping in my apartment {reason 1,245,023 why I can’t wait to move to our new place, with an area designated just for my floral design and craft projects!!}, but I wasn’t complaining - they were gorgeous!! Side note - coral charms are only pink for the first few days. Once they open, they start losing their color after the first day, and after 2-3 days, they turn completely white! Translation - you have to be really careful with your timing of when you put those babies in water before the wedding, because you might have a surprise with white peonies on the day-of if they bloom too soon!

I accented the aisle arrangements with soft + breezy astilbe and peachy/pink ranunculus. The blue masons worked perfectly to add that touch of seaglass color that we trying to infuse throughout. My amazing day-of assistant, Jessica, totally rocked it that day and helped with all of the styling and coordination and there’s no way I could have done it without her!

I designed Cary’s bouquet with astilbe, peonies, white scabiosa, hydrangea and a few white ranunculus. I brought the astilbe through in to other aspects of floral design as well, such as the wristlets for the ladies, and boutonnieres for the guys.

The tablescapes had a natural feel to them, with natural linen (not burlap) runners lined with pieces of driftwood and accented with antique bottles filled with single blooms and beach grass, sea urchin shells, capiz shells, and sea glass that Cary and I collected piece by piece during a day trip up north prior to the wedding. We accented the muted color scheme with pops of coral and had turquoise napkins folded over each place setting to add some dimension to the natural runners on the wooden tables. The table numbers were double sided pieces of heavy kraft paper with the name of a favorite beach one side, and a picture from their travels on the other.

I absolutely love the teeny tiny detail that the firecracker grass adds, don’t you?

Foodies were in heaven at Cary + Chris’ wedding - this was no banquet hall affair! Culinary Eye created a feast specialized to the couple’s favorite foods, but also their personality - and their display completely matched the overall aesthetic. I wasn’t complaining about a few sneak snacks in the kitchen :)

The place cards were made of different shades of blue and seafoam green paint chips, which Cary’s aunt hand wrote each name on and we placed in a weathered white tray lined with sand. Jessica totally gets credit for this one, because she patiently placed each one in line to make it look so nice!

Cary bought the perfectly hued letter “B” (for their last name) to act as their guest book. I added small weathered flower boxes to the bar/cocktail tables/sign in table with mini arrangements to carry the pretty texture/color contrast throughout.

And one of my favorite details from the day? The faux capiz shell chandelier that I made. I promise I will share the DIY soon. It took forever, not gonna lie :) And yes, the strands are hung from an old canning jar rack.

All in all, we didn’t want anything to look too cliche “beachy”, know what I mean? We wanted to create an effortless (but with tons of effort on the back end haha!) look to carry through the whole laid back feel to match the couple’s favorite places, and their personalities. I wanted guests to feel like they were transported to one of these magical places, with a drink in hand and yummy food in their belly. With small hints of shells/seaglass/florals, I think we were able to do that! But most importantly, we were able to evoke that feeling of delight from the bride and groom, and their families, when they saw it all come together…

…and to me, that’s the best part :)

Wedding Planning, Styling + Floral Design: lovely little details / Wedding Venue: The General’s Residence at Fort Mason Center in San Francisco, California / Wedding Photography: Volatile Photography / Catering: Culinary Eye / Ceremony Guitar: Friends of the Bride & Groom / Ceremony + Cocktail Hour Ukulele: The Paper Dolls / Reception Music: DJ Vadim of Perfect Party Plans San Francisco / Linens: La Tavola / Farm Table + Wooden Aisle Rentals: Classic Party Rentals / Lighting + Projection: Just De’Lights / Wedding Dress: Rosalie / Hair + Makeup:The Glamourist / Antique Bottle Rentals: One True Love Vintage Rentals

{image by volatile photography, planning, styling + floral design by LLD}

Remember that driftwood arch we built? Well, the whole wedding is up on Style Me Pretty this morning! Go take a look and leave the happy couple some love! I’ll be back here tomorrow with all the details :)

Happy Tuesday!

Whew!! This weekend was insane. And I mean insane in every essence of the word, but in the best possible way. Taylor + Joey’s wedding was on Saturday and the LLD team was in full force. My husband was even there to help with the moving of tables and chairs to get things exactly as I had drawn up in floor plans and discussed with the bride and her amazingly sweet mother. I always have big time butterflies before and during each wedding, but especially right before the bride + groom see the venue all set up, and I hand off the florals that I’ve designed, waiting for a reaction. But when I gave T her bouquet and she and her mother started to cry tears of happy joy, I knew it was a good thing and I could breathe knowing that they were happy with the end result! For this past weekend’s wedding, I did all of the above - planning, styling, and floral design - so it was a triple whammy and I could not have done it without my amazing team who rocked it.

Really, that was it for the weekend - wedding prep, floral arrangements, detail-finishing, and wedding day. Oh, we did sneak in a little mini date night last night, with dinner at one of our favorite neighborhood restaurants followed by movie night - Batman! LOVED it, BTW. But now, we’re on to the next chapter, and our apartment is filled with moving boxes because we are moving to the east bay this Friday! I can’t wait to get in to our new place, with a space designated just for LLD, and another space designated for LLD florals, oh, and storage galore! We’ve been living in the city (though living in the marina it hardly feels like a city) for just about 4 years, and the time has come to move to the sunshine. Our new place will have me positioned closer to wine country, which is where 95% of my weddings take place, and will have a yard for Rhody to run around in when I’m working from home and he’s sitting there staring at me like “why can’t we go to the park?” Long story short? We can’t wait. The packing, though? Not a fan :) Oh well, one thing at a time, right?

Hope you all had a great weekend! See you back here tomorrow!

{before shot of the ceremony/reception site}

{pat laughed hysterically when I walked out of the room with my new shoes but I still think they’re pretty awesome}

Growing up with the name Jacin {jay-sin} has given me a bit of a complex when it comes to names and being slightly sensitive about people’s initial perceptions. Don’t get me wrong, I absolutely love my name and couldn’t imagine being anything else, but I’m pretty sure I’ve said the following statement more than anything else in my life “yeah, it’s J-A-C-I-N, not Jason”. As if that makes a difference, right? But I do get the look from most people when I introduce myself, as if to say “did I hear her right?” And to me, the spelling does make a difference, to understand that it’s the female version of the name. My name came from the San Jacinto valley in California, an area dear to my mother who was born and raised for the most part in California. Jacinto also means “hyacinth” in spanish, which is particularly fitting for me and my love of flowers, especially the sweet scent of hyacinths.

With this being said, when it came time to name my business in December 2010, I was struggling with the right fit. Should I use my name? What would be memorable? What would totally encompass what I wanted to do, as the biz evolved in to what I was working so hard to become? When talking to my first set of designers, I listed the potential names, one being lovely little details. I knew I was all about the details, and those little tiny details were what really got me excited. Even the details that only 50% of people would notice, but when they noticed, they felt a sense of delight. I wanted all of my clients to experience that feeling of delight when they walked out to their vineyard reception area, all set up as we had planned, but with those lovely little details that brought their vision to life. No matter which direction I wanted to go, I always came back to those little details. And that was that - my biz had a name, and I ran with it.

I registered my LLC, trademarked my name, and got going with business licensing, tax permits, insurance, and all the fun “stuff” that goes on behind the scenes of being a business owner. But every once in a while, I would see the cool girls in the industry with their hip company names and badass “rad” decor and start re-thinking my company name. In California, there are lots of camps of designers - rustic, hipster, modern, elegant, traditional, natural/organic. In defining my niche, I realized I needed to let go of whether my company name was “cool”, and own it. I am about the details. Those lovely, little details that bring life to each and every event that I pull together, through decor but just as important, the logistics. The golden ribbon tied around every spoon, the timeline in place to make sure the shuttle arrived as planned, the meticulously crafted seating charts, the I-can’t-believe-you-were-able-to-find-that details that bring delight to each and every client I work with. The natural place settings that scream California but still have that essence of New England charm. Using the natural, organic beauty to set the scene, accented with just the right details to tell the story.

It’s really hard in this industry to stick to your gut and keep going, especially with everything fluttering around you making you question every move you make. The same can be said for wedding planning, amidst the inspiration overload surrounding you via pinterest and wedding blogs. But for those in the industry, if you stick to what you do best, your name will become second nature. My company name might not be the coolest or hippest on the block, but it defines exactly what I do, and who I am, as I continually strive to improve both. And that is what gives me comfort on those days of questioning. So if you’re in the same boat, just keep moving and I promise you, you’ll end up exactly where you’re meant to be. And your name will just be right there with you, tagging along for the ride.

Hi everyone! How was your weekend? We had a great little getaway to a friend’s lake house down in Paso Robles where we spent Saturday on the water and Sunday wine tasting. This was my last weekend off before the wedding madness kicks in again so I took advantage of my time offline! Today I was up bright and early in the backyard spray painting like a madwoman {our neighbors must seriously think I’m nuts} in preparation for a very glittery wedding coming up this weekend. The rest of the week is going to be packed, so I’m trying my best to maximize my office hours and check off that to-do list!

Oh and a quick side note - this song is my JAM right now. Yeah I just said that. I feel like the lyrics totally speak to me and I have had it on constant, full blast, windows-down-even-though-its-freaking-freezing-in-san-francisco, cannot-get-enough repeat. It’s like lion king meets queen meets adam levine haha.. but I. Am. Obsessed. And it makes me happy, so… maybe it’ll fire you up today too :)

Here’s a few shots with my actual camera from this weekend:

Have a great week everyone!

{image (c) the wheatfield}

No matter what you think about pinterest, you have to admit, it does introduce us to so many inspiring things! I came across Katie Daisy‘s work a few weeks ago and wanted to share it with you today as a nice weekend kickoff. Is this not amazing? I’m pretty much obsessed. Here are some of my faves:

 

I feel kind of like she reached in to my head, found all of my favorite things, and painted them exactly as they are supposed to be. And that makes me happy, so I’m sharing with you! Go take a look at her etsy page, The Wheatfield, and see for yourself why she is one of my faves right now.

Happy Friday!

 

{recent arrangement I put together using leftover blooms from a client mockup. no floral foam for this girl, just patience, practice + balance}

With wedding season gearing up in full swing, I am 110% “on” these days. My office hours are filled with emails, timelines, layout plans, proposals, floral mockups, crafting, client calls, vendor prep meetings and more emails, and I really have zero time for distraction to get me off the path. iCal has become my best friend to help me stay on task, and I try to estimate how much time each task is going to take, and put it in my calendar so I’m not drifting off in to the social media time trap triangle - you know, facebook, twitter and pinterest. While I love all 3 social media outlets (and thanks to Sage Wedding Pros for featuring me last week on how I use each one), I also have to think about the tasks at hand, and whether these tools are going to help me or get me off track. 99% of the time, the answer is the latter, so I’ve been trying with all my might to eliminate all sources of distraction.

My first move was one that many friends questioned but was something that had to be done. Yep - I deleted the Facebook and Twitter apps from my iPhone. Gasp! What?! Why?? Well, why do I need them? To sit at a stoplight (oh come on you know you’ve all done it) and see if you have any new red notifications in the top left corner of Facebook, or refresh twitter to see what’s going on or who’s talking to you. In my mind, I can check in to those things when I get back to the computer, but it’s not something business or client-related which is going to help or hinder my work. Twitter and Facebook are really social, in my mind, and really don’t do anything for me except get me off track when I’m on a roll with my to-do list. By deleting the apps from my phone, not only was I getting my mental time back (a drive is just a drive now, vs. a trip from point A to point B with check-ins to see what’s going on online throughout), but I was also preventing the crooked neck syndrome. You know, you’re out to dinner and you look around you and 75% of people aren’t even talking to the person across from them, they’re buried in their phones. Or walking down the street with crooked necks, or turning on the phone the second the plane lands to see what they missed. I was that person at one point, and by deleting the two major sources of distraction, my neck is straighter than ever, and my to-do list is getting check marked like crazy. It feels really good to unplug, but by literally deleting access, I have no choice but to immerse myself back in to the real world. And I love it.

My second move was to limit my online time during the day. Considering my laptop and I are connected at the hip for 65% of the day (more or less, depending on the number of meetings or site visits I have that day), I have to be really stringent on my time spent on social media vs. time answering emails, drawing up renderings, or writing out timelines. My daily routine has now become: morning check-in of the online world over my cup of coffee (who am I kidding, I don’t even drink coffee but it sounds so much cooler than berry seltzer water haha) where I can see what’s new, what happened over the past 24 hours, and get it out of my system. Once I do a quick check-in, make some updates to my LLD facebook page or twitter, then that’s it. I’m off. And I won’t be back on until the end of the day. I kind of relate the whole social media thing to checking the mail when I was a kid. I always wanted to check the mail with the slight glimmer of hope that someone might have sent me a letter! Wasn’t that the most exciting thing when you were little? Well not the most exciting thing but you know what I mean. Now we can “check the mail” 7 million times a day and have the chance that you got “mail” via notification or mention. It’s crazy, but true. By limiting my online time I can get so much more done, and save the “checking the mail” for the end of the day, just like back in the day when the mailman would come.

All in all it’s all about balance - work life, personal life, social media - and whether we like it or not, social media is a piece of the puzzle. But it doesn’t have to take you off track from your ultimate plan. At least that’s my goal, anyways!

Happy Wednesday, everyone! Have you deleted these apps too? Join the straight-neck movement and do it! :)

Last night I was able to go through and update all my portfolio and recent features pages on the site (finally checking that off my list!) and I realized I never showed you this project I was so excited to pull together this past April for Glitter Guide.

Taylor reached out to me to ask for some help in the coordination and styling of an Estee Lauder video promo she was working on, and I was happy to be involved and work with some fun vendors! We shot the getting ready scenes at my apartment in San Francisco and then I reached out to local shops to get their approval to pop by and include in the final piece. Here’s what we came up with, with a little cameo no one expected of Rhody! :)

Film: Andrew Hsu
Production Assistant: Ashley Batz 
Styling, Coordination + Creative Direction: Jacin Fitzgerald, lovely little details
Makeup: Priscilla Sanchez 
Hair: Drybar San Francisco 

Fun, right!

Whoa! Today marks 1-year of doing these weekly updates, I can hardly believe it. How was your weekend? I hope you all found time to relax and enjoy!

Our weekend was a little bit hectic - we are currently in the process of a move {somewhere in the bay area, still deciding on where to go}, and with the planning and prep of a fall filled with weddings + events, we were kind of all over the place. BUT, it was our first weekend back after being back east for a few weeks, so we definitely enjoyed as much as we could amidst the madness. Here’s what we were up to:

• Scored GREEN and PURPLE mason jars, one found in NJ and the other (purple) sent to me in a care package by my cousin. I really need to get better at this whole care package sending thing. That’s on my list for this week.
• Brought Rhody back to his beach here in SF, he was so happy to be back and rolled in sand and dirt and mud to show his appreciation
• Worked on several flower mockups for a glittery wedding coming up in under 2 weeks. Covered myself in gold spray paint. This will be a recurring theme for the next 12 days and I’m totally cool with that.
• Received the most amazing cake pops in the mail from a friend as a thank you for me helping her with her blog design. I could not believe the detail on these little beauties - they were exact replicas of my logo!!!
• Got my crazy little flats that I had ordered a few weeks back. Pat was laughing hysterically when I walked out of the room with them on, but I think they’re amazing, thank you very much.
• Spent a Saturday morning working out with a friend then taking her to the ferry building farmers market for her first time. Made friends with the ACME bread man.
• Had a fun Saturday night celebrating a friend’s belated birthday with dinner followed by a dueling piano bar. It was SO fun. I forgot what going out on a Saturday night felt like!
• Spent Sunday doing site visits and apartment hunting. I’m so excited for a fall season of wine country weddings… let’s do this!

Hope you guys all enjoyed, wherever you are. See ya back here later this week; I’m headed to a site visit for this gal’s wedding as I press “publish” on this post!