Category Archives: events
Although you may have seen this rehearsal dinner featured on the Grey Likes Weddings blog, I had to share some of my own favorite images from this incredibly beautiful event. When Jana and Michael hired me to design the florals and decor for their wedding weekend, I was ecstatic. It’s not every day that I get to design a rehearsal dinner, wedding and sunday brunch, for the same couple and with the same aesthetic, but each with completely different themes. Pulling off three different events in three days was a lot of hard work, but it was a glorious and extremely rewarding challenge. Of course, working with Gianna of Chic Celebrations made it all the more enjoyable. When I collaborate with Gianna, beauty is inevitable.
This was my first time, however, to work with Brittany Rene, and I am absolutely in love with her stunning images. She did a magnificent job capturing the tablescapes, but I also love how she shows the transition of light from the set-up when the sun was still high, through “magic hour” as the sun set and then the darker shots during the party. Thank you, Britt!
The theme was an “upscale fiesta,” and in keeping with that theme, I used brightly colored florals in reds, yellows, oranges and pinks, with lots of saturated greens. Floral varieties included dahlias, anemones, zinnias, kangaroo paw, solidago, celosia, decorative chili peppers, geranium leaves and smilax.
The rehearsal dinner took place in the motor-court of Sitting Bull, the original lodge on the Hummingbird Nest Ranch property. The old brick building with it’s tiled roofs surrounded the cobbled-drive of the motor-court, and three long tables were set up in a “u” shape to facilitate a family-style feel to the plated meal.
A guitarist provided background music to set the tone for the evening. Live music elevates every party!
Each table featured a variety of floral arrangements at different heights, as well as pillar candles and a runner of fresh greens and florals.
As the sun began to set, the candles and strung lights glowed, creating a soft and inviting ambiance.
The party went on late into the night, and as I worked about a half mile up the road, designing the pieces for the next day’s wedding reception, I could hear the happy voices and much laughter. It seemed like an absolutely idyllic evening. If only all wedding rehearsal dinners could be such fun!
Whew! Has it really been a week since Thanksgiving? I had three visiting family members staying with me for nearly a week, so I’m still trying to get caught up on all the cleaning/laundry that ensues with houseguests. It was really wonderful though, to spend time with my mother and grandparents, and we had such a wonderful, relaxing time together.
We were joined by additional family members, for a total of eleven people around our Thanksgiving Dinner table. They came from Cleveland, Ohio; Tulsa, Oklahoma; Grand Junction and Colorado Springs, Colorado, and we were truly blessed that our family traveled from near and far to be with us on our first holiday in our new home city!
Although we are currently renting a small house, we didn’t really have the space for eleven people. So we decided to get creative, and we actually served Thanksgiving dinner in our basement. The biggest room in our basement is long and narrow, and we have it divided into a den on one side and my office on the other, with a wall of curtains separating the spaces. So for Thanksgiving dinner, we moved the furniture to the edges of the room, pulled back the curtain, patched two tables together and covered them with a big tablecloth. We nabbed chairs from all over the house, not to mention the patio, so that we could provide a seat for every bottom. I was a little concerned that it would be too cold in the basement, or too unconventional, but nobody seemed to mind.
When you set a pretty table and ply people with good food and good booze… people tend to be very, very happy. 
There wasn’t much space on the table for decor, so I kept things simple with gold glittered trees, arrangements of holiday greens and gold roses, gold pinecone candlestick holders, and some assorted mini pumpkins.
My mother penned some placecards in her gorgeous handwriting, and provided her beautiful pressed-cookies as favors for each of our guests.
It was a lovely holiday. I hope your Thanksgiving was lovely, too. I think I should go eat some leftover pumpkin pie, now.
Images | Floral Design | Styling by Lauryl Lane.
In July, I designed the florals for a baby shower at Il Fornaio in Santa Monica. The event was hosted by a celebrity actor/director in honor of her assistant, who was expecting her first child. The mother-to-be is originally from Sweden, so we kept the palette crisp and somewhat modern with white ceramic containers and a textural mixture of green & white flowers.
Favors for the attendees were miniature arrangements that sat at the top of each place setting. Wouldn’t you love to go to a shower and head home with fresh flowers??? This treatment also creates a lovely runner of flowers to decorate long banquet-style tables.
Approximately 40 guests sat at a long table in Il Fornaio’s sunroom overlooking the ocean. Such a serene location, and a perfect intimate setting for this group.
Other arrangements sat atop guest tables and were given as prizes to the lucky guests who won the baby-games!
Flowers included green roses, white lisianthus, green spider mums and kermit mums, queen anne’s lace, white statice, ferns, bupleurum and other seasonal blooms & greenery.
Tourists walking down Ocean Boulevard in Santa Monica could peek in the window and see this loveliness! I imagine they all wished they were inside….
Welcome to the world, little baby!
CREDITS | Floral Design & Images: Lauryl Lane | Planning: Loren Elkins
As I mentioned last month, my {lovah} recently turned 30! We are HUGE fans of the show, Mad Men, and {lovah} decided that he wanted to celebrate his birthday Mad Men – style. He designed his funny invitation…
… and my friend John helped me to design the decor and prepare all the great 1960′s- reminiscent foodstuffs!
Our home has a very retro/eclectic feel, and we’ve decorated in colors that are perfect for the Mad Men era, so we didn’t do a complete overhaul- we just “enhanced.”
My mum had sent the “S” artwork (hers, of course) for {lovah}’s birthday, and since it worked perfectly with our color scheme and decor, I hung it up over the buffet table!
The oversized martini glass made for a perfect centerpiece, complete with an “olive” constructed of kermit mums and red mini carnations.
We served stuffed celery, deviled eggs, ritz crackers with pub cheese, chip n dip (classic reference from Mad Men!), and make-your-own ham sandwiches!
The florals were all-green, heavy on the foliage.
Along with classic early 60′s-era cocktails, we served a delicious brandy punch, garnished with orange slices and maraschino cherries.
We went heavy on the candle light, and our backyard area was just magical!
We bought some Lucky Strike cigarettes to have as “props,” but also provided herbal cigarettes (the same kind that the Mad Men actors smoke on set), so our guests could “smoke” without any of the negative repercussions.
Here we are, all dressed up! Our guests were encouraged to come in costume, and we were uber-impressed with how detailed they were. Even friends who had never seen a single episode of Mad Men went all out- did their research, and arrived in style!
Happy thirtieth, {lovah}! You deserve the best!
CREDITS | Concept & Decor Design: Lauryl Lane & John Michel | Calla Lily Arrangements: John Michel | Floral Design: Lauryl Lane | “S” Original Artwork: Victoria Hoke Lane | Food: Lauryl Lane & John Michel
Along with the tablescapes I designed for a bridal event recently (see more here and here, I also made a simple arrangement for the counter in the makeup room.
The makeup artist was Theresa Huang, and she was an absolute pleasure to work with. Her energy and excitement were contagious, and I had such fun helping her to style her little work space.
She even applied fake eyelashes for me, so I’d look glamourous when I spoke on a panel about wedding floral design. Fake lashes do incredible things to my self-esteem. I can’t figure out for the life of me how to apply them myself… which might be a good thing. I’d probably wear them every day.
Images by Desi Baytan Photography.
I’m really not a huge fan of the color pink. I blame this on my mother, who adores pink. She adores it so much that I slept in pink bedrooms until I was thirteen years old. At thirteen, I managed to lay claim to a closet-sized bedroom on the third floor of the parental home: and for some reason, my mother actually permitted me to paint the room. I painted it periwinkle blue, and stamped gold stars onto the white ceiling. Such a rebel!
Ah, but pink! Like I said, I’m not a huge fan. Every once in a while though, I find myself liking it. Really liking it. This is one of those rare cases. Don’t tell.
The shades of burgundy and wine help… a lot.
And grey succulents. Well, succulents make everything better, don’t they?
Texture helps, too.
But this pink, it’s okay with me.
In fact, I’m down with pink. At least for today.
Images above by Richelle Dante.
Image by Desi Baytan.
Florals | Styling by Lauryl Lane.
I know I shared photos of this tablescape + bouquet yesterday, but today I received fresh images from Richelle Dante. I absolutely love Richelle’s work and I was just thrilled when she agreed to come shoot for me. Feast your eyes on this pretty overload… every artistic creation looks better through the lens of a talented photographer!
Isn’t this bouquet scrumptious? The blackberries kill me! And the romantic velvet ribbon wrap- swoon.
Images by Richelle Dante.
Florals| Styling by Lauryl Lane.
This tablescape didn’t turn out exactly the way I’d envisioned it, but sometimes “set-backs” make for an even better finished project. All that moss and those spring garden flowers… it’s so unexpected and wonderful in the middle of a table. Like a secret garden is unexpected and wonderful. I want a secret garden someday. In a major way.
A wooden box and three glass vases, completely covered in sheets of moss. Love.
Sweet pea, freesia, delphinium, stock, astilbe, scented geranium… and those gorgeous blackberries. Yum.
Here’s the accompanying bouquet. So romantic!
Images | Florals | Styling by Lauryl Lane.
… Who said it might be keen
to build a town of green,
and a wonderful road of yellow brick…
Wonderful, wonderful…
As I was flipping though these pictures, I just couldn’t get the song “Wonderful” from the musical Wicked out of my head. It is, admittedly, an incredibly narcissistic song, but I do love hearing “wonderful, wonderful” over and over again.
Last weekend I created some floral pieces for a bridal event, and today I received photos of my work from Desi Baytan Photography, the official photographer from the event.
Working from an inspiration board titled “Literary Bohemian,” in rich tones of pinks, purples, and greens, I created two full tablescapes, with bouquets to compliment them. The lovely models in these photos are wearing gowns designed by Deborah Lindquist. I DIE over the details on these gowns- the couldn’t have coordinated any more beautifully with the tone and textures of my bouquets!
Tablescape number one…
With an accompanying bouquet in hues of pinks and wines for the true romantic!
Wrapped in velvet ribbon and accented with lace,
this bouquet is simultaneously whimsical & luxurious.
And tablescape number two…
Uber-fragrant sweet peas and freesia, combined with blackberries. Delicious.
And just for fun, a few shots of my “table” at the event, and me on stage as a panelist for the session on wedding floral design!
Images by Desi Baytan Photography. Florals | Styling by Lauryl Lane.
