Marina Morrison Bridal Salon

This past Friday I headed up to Marina Morrison in San Francisco to try on dresses.  The salon is located on the 4th floor of the Gumps building.  The salon is light and welcoming and the staff is extremely friendly and knowledgable.  They make you feel very comfortable and even though I am cutting it close with ordering the dress, I didn't feel pressured at all to make the purchase.

Marina Morisson is the only salon in Northern California that carries Claire Pettibone's line.  If you aren't familiar with her dresses, she uses a lot of lace and her gowns are whimsical and romantic.  Very different from any other dresses I've seen.  Katie, the consultant who helped me, said that if you are a Claire bride, nothing else compares.  Its so true.  I found my dress, but this post isn't about that.  If you want to read more, you can visit my wedding blog here.

My experience was amazing, just what I always thought it should be while shopping for the dress.  I highly recommend it to brides out there.  A few things to think about though, all the dresses start at around $3,000.  In house alterations are $450-$650, but don't they won't go over the $650 mark.  The salon is appointment only and they are open Tuesday through Saturday.  

Happy shopping!

San Mateo County Hidden Gem

The Pulgas Water Temple in San Mateo County, is a small, unique, gorgeous wedding venue that I came across a few months ago located at 80 Canada Road in Woodside, California.

  It was built in the 1930s by architect William G. Merchant to commemorate the 1934 completion of the Hetch Hetchy Aqueduct.  Here are some specifics on having your wedding ceremony at this location:

Guest Count:  100 guests max, with limited parking

Available times:  April to October 9:30-11:30 or 1:30-3:30.  2 hours maximum which includes set up and tear down.

Price:  $150 non-refundable

Limitations:  The site does not allow rehearsals on the property.  The site is closed on Sundays.  To have amplification or any other electric needs, you must bring a 150 foot extension cord.  They do not have their own chairs so you must rent them.

All in all, its a gorgeous venue for a low budget, quick wedding ceremony and definitely something to look into.  For more information, you can call them at 650-872-5900 or visit the site here.  Here are a few pictures:

Creations

Hello readers, sorry for the lack of new posts.  I've been in rehearsals for the play Harvey and it has kept me pretty busy.  Here are a few things I've been working on lately:

The first two pictures are a garden vegetative design.  The purpose of this design is to look as natural as possible.  I created the design to be seen from every direction.  Using dried lavender, heather, decorative cabbage as well as potted stock and a succulent, I created a rock garden scene.  Once I'm ready to take it apart, I will plant the succulent and the stock in my garden.  This design would be a great gift for a friend or family member who likes to garden.

Its a bit late, but this is the Halloween design I created.  I call it "The Spooky Pumpkin Patch"  I used a light up branch that I purchased at the SF Flower Mart, attached some spiders I use for my Halloween decorations (its hard to see them, but they are there.  The orange carnation represent the "pumpkins" and I added some raffia and a skull candle for a little bit more "spooky" fun.  The container is a rectangular, plastic tray that I bought at Michaels.

Next week, I will post the before and after picture of this guy:

Using chicken wire, I created a rabbit.  I will be putting carnations, spray roses and hydrangea in water tubes and decorating the structure for the opening night gala of Crystal Springs Players Harvey.  Keep coming back to see the finished product as well as a few of the other arrangements I have donated to the production!

Cathedral of Flowers

The Cathedral of Flowers event in San Francisco was interesting.  I went on the Sunday  which was the last day of the event, and I wasn’t as impressed with it as I thought I would be.  There were very few designs that really caught my attention.  Here are the ones I did like:

This design was supposed to represent the ‘living waters of baptism’.  The use of monochromatic color really worked nicely and I loved the way the center looked like a fountain.

This design by Deacon Kyrill was for Our Lady of Fatima Russian Greek Catholic church.  I love the use of line with the orchids and the painted curly willow.

I have no idea how this design by Jose Tiburcio is supposed to represent St. Philip the Apostle, but I love the color play and the pave technique.

This design was fun as well.  It was to represent St. Mary Star of the Sea in Sausalito and was designed by MaryLee Bickford.  Below is a  close up of the detail work with the skeleton leaves and seashells as well as the full effect of the design.

This design was on the podium and it had a matching partner on the other side.  I was intrigued by it so I took a closer look.  The base is basically a pole that has painted twigs bound to it, then there are yellow vanda orchids spraying out with crystal garland and sunflowers at the base.  It was very stunning.

These last few pictures, I didn't record the name, but I thought they were interesting compared to the work of art they represented:

Since this was my first time attending this event, I wonder how this years festival compares to past years.  If anyone has attended, please comment and let us know!