January housekeeping... AKA no, I have not fallen off the face of the earth.

I know I've been absent for a while, but I'm cooking up some posts on planning & budget that I hope will be really helpful for you guys.  I've got 2047 irons in the fire these days - classes, planning for this summer's weddings, and helping the boy build his new house! Be patient just a bit longer, or email me if you want to see my work-in-progress :)

Most of my work in the last couple months has been sympathy arrangements, so no pictures... I know, I'll have to get over this at some point, but for now blogging about these personal tributes is just too weird. Strangely enough I really do like sympathy work, especially when I'm given special requests. I love the challenge of representing a person or a relationship using nothing but flowers, color, shape, and the occasional ribbon. Being a florist is a unique occupation in that we see the heights of human emotion (joy on a wedding day, tears at the loss of a loved one, excitement of a new dad) more often than most, and it never ceases to make me feel thankful to be alive.

Last but not least, a plug for a venue -

FINALLY, an event space in Rochester with some character. Brides, if your guest list totals less than 100, check out Studio 324. I can't wait to decorate this space! Wood floors, brick walls, high ceilings... I'm in love.

Luke & Macai - August 2010

I was so blessed to be able to go visit my Michigan "family" this past week - as the saying goes, friends are the family you get to choose :) and the time I spent with my dear chosen family was priceless.
I realized today that I forgot to show off last summer's big wedding - both to them, and you!

On August 14, my home church came together to celebrate the marriage of our pastors' children... that's right, plural! Macai (daughter of our outreach pastor) and Luke (son of our former senior pastor) invited the entire church to witness their vows and dance the night away. It was an incredibly touching ceremony with both pastor dads officiating, and behind the scenes it was amazing to see the way people came out of the woodwork to help make Luke & Macai's day a fairytale. As you can imagine, a wedding with an open guest list presents some unique challenges (floral centerpieces on a budget for 700 people, anyone?) but the entire church came together to execute it beautifully.

My childhood friend Colin Cabalka happens to be one of the most talented wedding videographers I'll ever have the opportunity to work with. (We've come a long way from the snowboarding hooligans that terrorized the local slopes on weekends!) He captured Luke & Macai's day from beginning to end, and put together the most incredible video that wraps it all up in just a few minutes and ties it together with a sweet bow. Check it out!

Luke and Macai | Letters of Love from Colin Cabalka on Vimeo.