Vintage chair with mossy and dramatic bridal bouquet by Gorgeous and Green

A Mossy Crimson Wedding by Gorgeous and Green

Gorgeous and Green had a wedding this summer that featured bright mossy greens and dark reds, burgundy and crimson.  The brightness of that lichen green against the crimson and burgundy was so wonderful.  The bride requested a mossy feel for the boutonnieres, and so I used some sustainably grown mossy green dianthus. Photos by Nima Salimi

The Mossy and crimson Bridal Bouquet by Gorgeous and Green

bridal bouquet for a mossy crimson wedding by Gorgeous and Green

The bridal bouquet

bridesmaids and their bouquets for a wedding in Calistoga by Gorgeous and Green

The bridesmaids and their bouquets

mossy boutonnieres by Gorgeous and Green for a Calistoga Wedding

and the mossy boutonnieres

The Bride and her bridesmaids, wedding flowers by Gorgeous and Green

Very fun. In sustainable beauty, G&G
small bridal bouquet with grevillia by Gorgeous and Green

A unique Coral and Peach bouquet by Gorgeous and Green

This summer I provided some floral pieces for a local wedding using local and organically grown flowers and blooms. Here is a picture of the beautiful bridal bouquet featuring local/organic grevillia from Oakland, local dahlias and local garden roses in peaches, coral, gold and brown tones. Romantic, interesting textures and beautiful!

grevillia bouquet by Gorgeous and Green

G&G

local grown in Boise and foraged arrangement for a memorial by Gorgeous and Green

Flowers I collected in Boise

A few months ago I ventured to Boise, Idaho for a memorial service for a special member of my husband's family.  I offered to help provide floral decor for the service and reception.  Since my husband, my mother in law and myself are  local and organic enthusiasts....  and in keeping with my business ethic from Gorgeous and Green, I collected flowers from a few local friends' gardens in Boise.

Me, Pilar Zuniga foraging for blooms and foliage in a friend's garden in Boise

My mother in law has a friend who has a beautiful garden in her back yard featuring low-water plants and edibles.  

Boise garden where Gorgeous and Green foraged for arrangements

Boise Garden with amazing local grown blooms and foliage for cutting by Gorgeous and Green

She also has a giant dog, who is also fond of the beautiful garden.

Giant dog and gardener is Boise who let me forage for flowers

From her garden I collected onion flowers, grasses, yarrow, beards, chamomile and sweet peas.   We were also allowed to collect and take home tons of fresh raspberries from her vines.  Lovely.

fun garden design in Boise, keeping away the birds

wild raspberry I foraged in Boise for an event

It was super hot there, so the local roses in her neighbor's yard were few, but I managed to sneek a few in along with some day lilies.  Here are the finished arrangements:  (no floral foam in any of these of course)

small arrangement by Gorgeous and Green for a memorial using Boise grown foliage and blooms

arrangement of local grown Boise Idaho flowers and foraged foliage by Gorgeous and Green

Local grown and foraged flowers in Boise for a memorial

Memorial services are bittersweet, and although there is a lot of sadness, it was a beautiful time to get together with family and friends and offer support.

In Green and Local Beauty, G&G

Pilar Zuniga of Gorgeous and Green designing tables at Diablo Ranch for a wedding

Mt Diablo for a Gorgeous and Green Wedding

This summer I provided the floral decor for a wedding at a ranch on Mt Diablo called Diablo Ranch, a rustic and very cow and cowboy location in the East Bay.

Diablo Ranch, wedding and event venue in the East Bay

The bride really was the design force behind the tablescapes and style.  Gorgeous and Green's take on bright, natural, eclectic and exuberant plant and flower life was a great match.  With collected items from both her and my collection of vintage silver pieces and china, all the containers were reused vintage pieces that gave her tables a bohemian and bright version of Miss Havisham.  (something named right away during our conversation about the wedding since I'm a fan of the book: Great Expectations) I used locally grown flowers, a lot of dahlias, celosia, passion flower, scabiosa flowers, lupine, sweet william and other flowers.  The colors were a stunning mix of reds, pinks, oranges and plenty of greens.

Pilar Zuniga, of Gorgeous and Green designing florals for an outdoor wedding at Diablo Ranch

The wedding couple with unique and fabulous taste with florals by Gorgeous and Green

Vintage Urn we used at the ceremony at Diablo Ranch, florals by Gorgeous and Green

a lovely vintage urn of the Bride's collection filled with colorful blooms and branches

Details of the Diablo Ranch wedding outside with florals by Gorgeous and Green

The couple at the Ceremony outside at Diablo Ranch, florals by Gorgeous and Green

Love the colors of this wedding at Diablo Ranch, Pilar Zuniga of Gorgeous and Green

Beautiful and unique bar arrangement for a wedding at Diablo Ranch, florals by Gorgeous and Green

all photos by JRotstenphotographer.com 

In Local Green Love,

G&G

Beautiful ombre cake with a cafe au lait dahlia

Beautiful and Green wedding at Flora Grubb

Here's more lovely pictures from the beautiful and green wedding at Flora Grubb Gardens that Gorgeous and Green participated in late July.  There was a great crew at the event including the wedding planner Vera Devera, the cake baker Alison Okabayashi and the photographer Stephen Hughes. Here are some of pictures by Stephen Hughes Photograhy that show some of the vivid color, life and romance of that day.

Hanging table arrangement for a wedding at Flora Grubb by Gorgeous and Green

Wedding table amongst the beautiful plants at Flora Grubb

Wedding cake with a luscious dahlia from Gorgeous and Green

 

Gorgeous cake by Two for Two Cakes

 

 

The Fun couple who had their wedding at Flora Grubb, florals by Gorgeous and Green

 

The wedding turned out beautifully thanks to some great partners in crime.

Thanks Stephen for the beautiful pics!

In Green, Beauty and Health,

G&G

 

Blog by Pilar Zuniga, owner of Gorgeous and Green,  a sustainable gift and floral boutique in Berkeley.  Pilar specializes in using locally grown and sustainably grown flowers and greens in floral displays for weddings, events, restaurants, offices, gift and home use.  The Gorgeous and Green boutique offers an array of local and sustainable gifts, jewelry, cards and local and sustainable or organic flowers.

 

 

 

GG table for Ceremony Magazine Shoot

Recently I was approached by Ceremony magazine to do a tabletop design for their new Bay Area magazine.  They have a beautiful wedding magazine in southern California, and are launching one up here. Gorgeous and Green finally fit the shoot into our busy schedule and were able to make something happen this week!  Here are some sneak peak shots of the table decor my assistant Ryan and I came up with.

I collect a lot of vintage glass and items, both for the boutique and for my personal use.  I am also a big fan of the show Madmen, so as you can imagine, the two mingled together to form this table design.  Not only was it super cute, but very green.  Local and unsprayed flowers and greens.  Even my vintage purse made it into the picture!

Using vintage luggage in muted jewel and primary colors as well as a lot of vintage glassware, the scheme came out very mad men-esque and playful.

I even included a vintage typewriter and some cigars that I asked Ryan to make especially for the shoot.  They are just for looks of course.

We tried to maintain a style and design that would have fit in with the time period, the early 60's.  We didn't want to get too modern, so the arrangements themselves were fairly simple and monochromatic.  And although they may have a rounded floral foam look, they definitely lack it, since we never use it. I couldn't help but include some more modern flowers like flowering kale and airplants.  The colors were also kept to a muted tone, not overly flashy and more a signature of the glassware that was used during that time, ruby and dark red, butter and egg-yolk yellow, forest and emerald green. Anyway, we had a lot of fun and look forward to the pics in the new magazine. In green and health, G&G

Amethyst, Rasberry and a Green Wedding

Earlier this year Gorgeous and Green helped a bride and her savvy friends decorate a sustainable wedding at the Brazil Room in Tilden Park.  They had a small budget, so many of the sustainable elements were also budget friendly as well. She chose a floral print dress for the bridesmaids that they thought they could wear again.  An important thing to think about when you are choosing dresses.

Photography by Claire Mulkey and Daniela Fedorowicz

The colors were dark jewel tones in the purples, pinks and blues.  I used a lot of local scabiosa and amaranth, as well as local anemones, dahlias and celosia.

She provided a collection of found vases for us to use as her centerpieces, and each arrangement consisted of a trio of vases artistically filled with blooms, ferns and branches.  Most of the vases were salvaged or reused and then reused again when she invited guests to take them home.  The arranged centerpieces were all different, and I loved how they turned out.  I only have a few pics to share, but you get the idea:

A good friend of the bride made some paper flowers to use in the decor and I attached those to a fern garland I lined the aisle with.

Even the boutonnieres were delicate jewels with both local scabiosa flowers and pods.

In Green and Health, G&G

 

An Impromptu Green Wedding

This Spring Gorgeous and Green had the pleasure of working with a bride and groom who walked into my boutique the weekend before their big day. They decided to have an impromptu wedding at a local winery called Testarossa Winery, and I have to admit that their quick decision making and planning was phenomenal. It also turned out to be quite green and sustainable because they were choosing from great local vendors and had sustainability in mind.

Besides myself, another sustainably-minded green vendor that they chose for their wedding was Cara of Cara Mia Photography. Not only is she a lovely person, but her work is beautiful, and I thought I would share some pics from the event as well as some interview questions I asked her.
GG bride's bouquet with local anemones, peonies, pincushion berry
How are you personally invested in sustainability and being green?
For me being green expands beyond my business which is just an extension of how I live life and the choices I make every day that effect the environment. I like to work with companies and vendors who are conscious of their carbon footprint and who offer real sustainable alternatives like recycled paper products, vegan leather and less plastic packaging. My work is all digital so there's less paper and chemical waste and I buy used equipment to try to get the most life possible out of electronics. At home, where my office is, we try to eat mostly locally grown organic food and compost our waste. My biggest passion is focused on raising awareness about plastic pollution in the ocean. I have a blog "A Mermaid's Tear"http://www.amermaidstear.blogspot.com/ where I share information about the devastating affects of single use plastic waste in the environment and ways we can change our habits. As I've learned more about this issue my awareness about both our spiritual and physical interconnection with nature has deepened tremendously and permeates my personal and business life.
GG local ivy garland with hanging amaranth, roses and local anemones
What are some of your favorite green ideas you've seen at weddings?
I always enjoy seeing handmade or eco-friendly favors like homemade jam or candy, plantable seed cards or beeswax candles. Any couple who chooses to work with a green caterer or florist that specialize in locally harvested and organic produce and flowers is my most favorite idea. That's the single most environmentally friendly thing a couple can do.
GG boutonnieres with local and non sprayed callas
Thanks Cara for your beautiful pictures and lovely thoughts.
Succulent orange and mustart bridal bouquet by Gorgeous and Green

A Succulent and Dahlia wedding at Flora Grubb

Here are a few sneak photos from a wedding Gorgeous and Green participated in at Flora Grubb in San Francisco on July 30th.  (A more recent blog post has photographer's photos, these are all old iphone photos)

We created the table centerpieces, bouquets and boutonnieres as well as a large 4 foot wide arrangement that hung above the wedding party table.  Lots of local succulents and dahlias!  It was a grand affair with the planning help of Vera Devera of  Va de Vie Events.  Beautiful.

Bubble cognac vase with gathered local blooms and succulents

Repurposed wood drawer with local dahlias, scabiosa pods and succulents.  No floral foam was used, I have a secret trick that included more reusing....

Planted terrariums (one borrowed from Vera) are so interesting to look at and classy.

A large arrangement of blooms and succulents in a footed glass vase.

And the amazing hanging box...........

Cheers to the newlyweds, G&G

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