couture on the coast

Written By Tori Berry

Is it even possible to describe one event as timeless and modern?

Gretchen and Mattias’ wedding had what some might call “the it factor,” which (to me at least) makes perfect sense once I tell you Gretchen works in fashion and Mattias is a tattoo artist. Then you add on the detail that they’re from New York and it’s no wonder these two ooze cool.

When they hired me, Gretchen and I took our time settling on a white and green color palette. When an artist has a vision (whether that’s myself or the client), it can be hard to find the words to describe what you’re wanting. After Gretchen told me what the wedding party was wearing, it clicked!

The vision was classic with modern details: the wedding party would be in all black, Gretchen’s dress would have these magnificent pearl details, and they would match Mattias’ tie and cuff links. We chose to pair the soft green of pistache anthuriums with the sleek look of white calla lilies.

My personal favorite detail is the single-stem bridesmaid bouquets. Gretchen, like many 2024 brides, was really inspired by the single stem calla lily look in many spring publications. The thing is calla lilies aren’t in season in September! In case we were not able to get the callas, we decided to be different and do the anthuriums. I’m so glad we did because I just love how their long delicate stems mirror the length of the hanging amaranth in the bridal bouquet!

NorCal Feel — The Martin Johnson House

You might be asking, “Why would a couple who live and work in NYC have a San Diego wedding?” They were inspired by a more intimate event feel and opted for micro-wedding of family and close friends. Since neither of their families are from New York so it made way more sense to have only one side of the family travel.

What I think is even more important to note, Gretchen and Mattias picked a venue that fit the vibes they were going for but also could shine all on it’s own! The Martin Johnson House is an especially unique venue in San Diego because it is owned by UCSD. It’s much more of a blank slate than some venues, but the trees and the view cannot be beat!

The old trees right on the coast line are so unique to UCSD. The way the trees blend with the wooded science buildings, the whole scene reminds me of San Francisco.

To not detract from the beautiful coastline behind them, Gretchen and Mattias opted for ground floral arrangements. These are definitely popular right now because they can blend so well with the space. In addition to the stunning calla lilies and amaranth, I selected ming fern and pepper tree branches for the foliage! I love how the textures of these two green blend and highlight the environment around them making it so when you zoom out to the larger ceremony scene, and the flowers just look like they belong.

Intimate Dinner Party: Lets Talk Candles & Bud Vases

There is no denying that the tapper candle with bud vase look has a chokehold on weddings these days. There is something magical about the way the sun makes shadows through the glass followed by the glow of candlelight.

However, this look is not as easy to obtain as one might think! There is a fine balance between an abundant tablescape and guests still having space to breathe and both those are dependent on table size. When they told me the tables were slightly larger than standard, I got really nervous. I knew Gretchen had been admiring more full tables but we were tight on extra budget. We ended up adding extra budvases and candles to the order, only a two more per table if I remember correctly. This gave me room to play with the fullness of the table and we spread the extra to the welcome table in the end.

So what’s my advice for successfully executing this look? Know how much you are willing to prioritize your vision over your budget (or vise versa!) and trust your florist! Ultimately, we got your back and just want to make your day magical—aka if you ask me what I think, I’m going to be honest with you. If you tell me that budget is tight, I’m not going to push you to add more florals you might not need!

A Moment for the Cake Please

I have to talk about this cake, because just wow!

Cake flowers are one of the most difficult parts of wedding florals because there is often no room for error. I probably asked Gretchen a million questions about the cake and what she might want the florals to look like. This was going to be the spot for the calla lilies to shine, other than that she had said, “I trust you.”

One thing I have failed to mention in this blog so far, is this wedding took place on probably the hottest weekend of the year. It was in the 90s on the coast. I bring this up now because, we were worried about the cake melting! Rather than trusting the frosting to hold the flowers like I sometimes do, I opted to secure them with wire to the sides of the cake. This is when I decided to add the ribbon! I had a feeling some thin satin ribbon might come in handy and I’m so happy I brought it along this day. The bows tied back to the bridesmaid bouquets and the overall aesthetic of the event that was just amazing. This is definitely my favorite cake floral I’ve designed to date.

kind words

“I think out of all the vendors we worked with Tori was at the top because not only were the flowers insanely beautiful but the communication with myself and my mom was flawless....I also really appreciated how Tori designed the cake flowers, that was super unique and beautiful.
Everything was exactly what we had talked about and even better than I imagined. ”
— Gretchen S.
Tori Berry
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dance the night away