Photography: Kaylee Chelsea Photography ❖ Venue: Desert Botanical Garden
Planner: BTS Event Management ❖ Florals: 1209 Creative ❖ Catering: Atlasta Catering
Makeup: Kendra Steele Beauty ❖ Dress: Monique Lhuillier ❖ Suit: Carter’s Mens Clothing
Bridesmaid Dresses: Jenny Yoo ❖ Rings: Robert C. Wesley Jewelers ❖ Stationery: Minted
“ “Summer, after all, is a time when wonderful things can happen to quiet people. For those few months, you’re not required to be who everyone thinks you are, that cut-grass smell in the air and the chance to dive into the deep end of a pool give you a courage you don’t have the rest of the year. You can be grateful and easy, with no eyes on you, and no past. Summer just opens the door and lets you out.”
―Deb Caletti, Honey, Baby, Sweetheart”
Photography: Sandy Goldstein ❖ Flowers: 1209 Creative ❖ Location: Tremaine Ranch
Makeup: Lillian Fogel ❖ Hair Styling: Zach Glielmi ❖ Styling: Caroline Jackson + How Sweet It Was Vintage Models: Bryce Gressley, Gwen Lindvig + Maddy Welch from The Agency Arizona
We were asked to fly out to San Francisco this past March for the awaited wedding of Lisa and Jess. These two women are insanely remarkable. They dedicate their lives to the medical field, to their loving families and friends, and of course, to one another. We stayed with them for four days, and in that short amount of time, we were quickly welcomed in as part of the family (sort of). I mean, how often do the florists bunk up next to the sweet grandmother, or get to after-party with the bridal party? Almost never. So we were living it up.
We stayed in the coolest 4-storey, purple and pink house (like what one would imagine a gypsy princess to live in with her pet unicorn). It was seriously the best. Everyone was so excited, alive, giggly and genuinely enjoying each and every moment. San Franciso does that to people. There's just something in air (besides the smell of weed) that makes people happy to be there. It's S-A-N F-R-A-N-C-I-S-C-O... no one ever complains about the city. And if they do, they are probably no fun. Congratulations, Lisa and Jess, on officially becoming Winton-Li. Yay!
“When I saw you I fell in love,
and you smiled because you knew. ”
Photography: Cellar Door Photography ❖ Flowers: 1209 Creative ❖ Venue: Tank 18
Makeup: Artistry by Azure ❖ Hair Styling: Jaime Voelz
You tend to often hear about how owning your own business can be "awesome," "amazing," "the best thing ever" ...but business owners tend to not share what it can really be like. It's an extreme challenge, even when you are doing something you truly love.
Creating flower arrangements and working on events and weddings are not our only responsibilities behind 1209. We have part-time jobs (plural... jobs), on top of motherhood, personal obligations, random life events that come out of nowhere... all while juggling a very real and very important career path in this industry. I literally LOL if the term "work-life balance" is tossed our way. Work-life balance? Ha! Don't make us laugh. Learning to master that would just be another thing "to-do" on the already never-ending "to-do" list.
Never-the-less, when you're a small business owner, you just gotta keep it together. Don't let the people see you sweat because no matter what, you got this. It's what you signed up for; it's what WE signed up for. No one told us it was going to be a cakewalk. And in all honesty, I don't think I fully thought it was going to be as difficult as it has been. I've learned that when you start something of your own, you don't get to pay yourself right away, and you work harder than you have ever worked, AND you most certainly do not have an abundance of free time for yourself. Did someone say vacation? Nope. I think they actually said overtime... all the time.
Time is of the essence, and time is probably one of our most valued possessions. We do what we can in our time because after all, it's OUR time. It belongs to everyone, yet each individual has the choice to use it how he or she chooses. So here are 7 ways to use your time while running a business so that you can stay mostly sane and (almost) never lose your cool.
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About the photos above: We did a styled photo shoot with BTS Event Management this past April (photos soon to come), but had a ton of leftover flowers from it. We hate to see flowers tossed away when they are still so beautiful, so we decided to do something with these super cool carnations. We will be the first to say that carnations definitely get a bad rap (seen as the sad grocery store flowers) BUT carnations are making a comeback. We've been seeing a variety of them coming in from our wholesalers in these amazing colors... plus, they last forever and are easy to work with. As florists, we're into all of that. So for fun (and #1 on our list above) we chose to partake in a creative outlet and create a Southwest-inspired tablescape with these carnations, a vintage China and crystal set, Crate & Barrel napkins and silverware, copper mugs, and a few decorative pieces from our 1209 decor collection. Ta-da!
photos by Nicolas Alexander
This was a very special 2016 wedding for us. It signified the start of our very first spring-season. As time continues to pass by, and as we continue to learn and grow, we want to sincerely thank each and every bride and groom we have been able to work with, along with all of the amazing vendors. It's been way cool spreading our floral and design love all over these events and weddings! It's what we obsess over everyday, and it's what we are good at. We will continuing serving our 2017 bookings with so much heart, while staying true to the 1209 quality and style.
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Photography: Kym Ventola Photography ❖ Venue + Rentals: El Chorro ❖ Florals: 1209 Creative