Romantic Berkeley Hills Backyard Wedding
A foggy fall day in October served as the perfect setting for this backyard wedding in the Berkeley Hills. Read on for how the bride’s grandmother’s gardens inspired a ground-up floral installation.
Look no further than the bride’s grandmother’s Berkeley Hills backyard for an intimate wedding! Celeste and Mark exchanged their wedding vows on a foggy fall day in October, with their closest friends and family gathered by their sides.
For their floral design, I drew inspiration from the beautiful on-site gardens meticulously looked after by the bride’s grandmother. Their garden-side ceremony centered around a focal ground-up installation of antique hydrangea, roses, and autumnal foliage. Dainty centerpieces, bud vases, potted herbs, and plentiful candlelight lined one long family-style dinner that sat beneath market lights. I still can’t get over that powder blue linen table runner from La Tavola.
Apollo Fotografie captured their day so well. Here are some of my favorites.
VENDORS
Photography: Apollo Fotografie
Planner: KLDC Events
Floral Design: Anastasia Andenmatten
Rentals: La Tavola Linen
HMU: Marisa Perel
Catering: Anaviv Catering
Anastasia Andenmatten is a floral design studio based in the San Francisco Bay Area with a modern approach to customizing florals for weddings, businesses, and events.
A Parisian-Inspired Autumn Wedding at Filoli Gardens
Paris meets California for this autumn wedding at the iconic Filoli Gardens.
Filoli Gardens in Woodside, California is hands down one of the most magical and iconic wedding venues in the San Francisco Bay Area and beyond. With perfectly manicured grounds, vivid gardens, old world architecture, and winding brick pathways, a wedding day here has guests traveling gracefully from ceremony, to cocktail hour, to dinner and dancing.
When I was tapped by luxury wedding planner Erica Estrada Design to create florals for an intimate autumn wedding there, I couldn’t wait to get started. For the day’s design we aimed to bring Parisian influence to the California garden setting. The bride’s custom Vera Wang gown very much added to that inspiration, and Erica curated a stellar team of luxury wedding vendors to bring the rest of the vision to life.
For the bride’s bouquet, I chose a monochromatic palette of creamy white blooms to complement the bride’s luxe gown and limited the number of ingredients to add a contemporary twist. The bride and groom chose to celebrate with their guests over an intimate meal in the lush ‘Yew Alley’, which is beautifully lined with Irish Yews, apple and peach trees. So for the tablescape, I incorporated rich copper tones as a nod to California’s autumn season and to bring warmth to the vivid greenery of the grounds. The old world-inspired stationary suite by Casa de Perrin juxtaposed with new world tabletop items brought an unexpected element to the design. Parisian-inspired furniture from The Copper Rose was the prettiest final touch to bring everything together.
Fine art film photographer Sean Thomas Photography perfectly captured the day. Below I’m sharing some of my favorite moments. See the full feature on Style Me Pretty here.
VENDORS
Wedding Venue: Filoli Gardens
Photography: Sean Thomas Weddings
Cinematography: Hugo Film Co
Event Design: Erica Estrada Design
Floral Design: Anastasia Andenmatten
Wedding Dress: Vera Wang
Cake: What's More Cake
Invitations: Epoch Designs
Wedding Bands: Cartier
Hair: Bridal Buns
Groom's Attire: Suit Supply
Rentals: The Copper Rose
Toast to Fall: A Modern + Minimalistic Seasonal Gathering, featured on Green Wedding Shoes
I recently had the privilege of collaborating with a talented group of vendors on a fall-inspired shoot. And I’m REALLY excited to share that it’s been featured on Green Wedding Shoes! In addition to the photos so beautifully captured by Sarah Eichstedt, I figured I’d share a bit below about what went into the floral design for this shoot.
I recently had the privilege of collaborating with a talented group of vendors on a fall-inspired shoot. And I’m REALLY excited to share that it’s been featured on Green Wedding Shoes! In addition to the photos so beautifully captured by Sarah Eichstedt, I figured I’d share a bit below about what went into the floral design for this shoot. You can see the full feature on Green Wedding Shoes here.
INSPIRED BY
Our goal of this shoot was to give minimalistic style-minded readers inspiration for their next fall gathering, whether that be a wedding, special event, Friendsgiving 2K19, you name it. The clean white studio space gave us a blank slate to build from, where Studio DBI worked her magic to create a warm, intimate, and modern tablescape with a muted autumnal palette in mind. For my part, I aimed to demonstrate that floral installations don’t need to be over-the-top or break-the-bank. With a thoughtful approach to design, you can completely and uniquely transform any space for your next gathering.
THE FLOWERS
When conceptualizing the floral design, I took a ‘less is more’ approach with the goal of creating big impact with minimal materials. Suspended mid-air above the tablescape is a non-floral installation; it departs from the flower-heavy look but is still full of texture. I selected seasonal plum foliage and opted to hang it at an asymmetrical angle with negative space carved out to create movement. The effect is striking, yet effortless. What’s more fall than a bunch of foliage hanging from the ceiling?
To balance the installation, floral arrangements designed in the Moribana technique of Ikebana decorate the tabletop. Moribana showcases clusters of flowers and leaves arranged in shallow vessels with kenzan pins. This style of arranging places emphasis on the shape, line, and form of stems and leaves to achieve, you guessed it: minimalism. Dried queen anne’s lace and heuchera leaves bring fall to mind, while garden roses and fluffy lisianthus add romance and softness.
GRATITUDE
I loved having this opportunity to team up with other creatives to just…create. And share my ideas with you! These days, nothing is off-limits especially when it comes to floral installations at any type of event. It’s my hope that somewhere around here you find inspiration and encouragement to incorporate something a little different into your own event!
Floral Design: Anastasia Andenmatten | Photography: Sarah Eichstedt Photography | Planning: Studio DBI | Ceramics: Sarah Kersten, Earthen Shop | Paper: Bourne Paper Co. | Tabletop: Chairs and Cups | Linens: Napa Valley Linens | Furniture: CB2 | Gifting: Bestowe Gifting | Catering: Charming Fig Catering | Desserts: The Right Bite KG | Venue: Creative Space Studios
A Romantic Wedding at San Francisco's Conservatory of Flowers
Steph wanted to incorporate modern minimalism into the flowery elements found throughout the Conservatory of Flowers to create a sophisticated dinner party setting for her guests.
THE COUPLE
Steph met Danny here in San Francisco through a mutual friend. Danny proposed at Barcelona’s Park Güell with friends by their side. I was fortunate to meet Steph years ago when working in tech. If you know Steph, you know she always has a smile on her face, is constantly laughing, and loves the Warriors.
The sweet couple that they are, Steph and Danny focused on their family and friends when planning their wedding day (really, an entire day, thanks to Chinese wedding traditions). While it was a celebration of their love, it was also a celebration of all the people that made them the couple they are. They really just wanted everyone to have fun. Enter the Loving Cup froyo truck …
THE VENUE
The Conservatory of Flowers in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park is a getaway from the hustle and bustle of the city, and a real treat. Especially for a flower lady like myself. It’s also the perfect spot for a wedding celebration. The beautiful bright white architecture served as a masterpiece of a backdrop for Steph & Danny’s outdoor ceremony. Guests wandered through the greenhouse rooms during cocktail hour before heading to a family-style dinner.
(By the way, the Conservatory of Flowers is free to the public on the first Tuesday of every month. Highly recommend!)
THE FLOWERS
Steph wanted to incorporate modern minimalism into the flowery elements found throughout the Conservatory of Flowers to create a sophisticated dinner party setting for her guests.
For her bouquet, I went asymmetrical in design but lush and full of texture. Honeysuckle vine added a sweet fragrance, and pomegranates brought good luck. Centerpieces were dancy and airy with pops of peach and blush. To mix it up, every other table had a series of simple bud vases that highlighted the real show-offs -- garden roses from Rose Story Farm.
Some of my favorite ingredients were locally-sourced from Bluma Farm’s rooftop in Berkeley -- salmon and zinnderella peach zinnias, chocolate cosmos, choco lace, and lisianthus. Not to be missed were the cafe au lait dahlias, butterfly ranunculus, helleborus, and mauve-brown tulips. Rice flower, scabiosa pods, millet, bunnytail, blue viburnum, heuchera leaves, and snowberries added soft texture to arrangements.
GRATITUDE
Thank you sweet Steph and Danny for trusting me with your designs. Between you two, your family and friends, a stellar vendor team, and epic location -- your wedding celebration was one for the books.
Floral Design: Anastasia Andenmatten | Venue: Conservatory of Flowers | Catering: Fogcutter SF | Photography: Nathalie Cheng Photography | Planning: Blushing Joy Events | Wedding Dress: BHLDN | Hair/Makeup: Vinnia Tjhin | Invitations: Minted | Dessert: Loving Cup San Francisco | Signage: Ready Set Coordinate | Ring Box: The Mrs. Box | Ribbon: Froufrou Chic
