Lori Boe {Wedding Floral Design}

Lori Boe is an amazing young florist located in Arroyo Grande. She has been doing flowers since she was a bright eyed school girl. I have very much enjoyed working with her on the occasional wedding over the past few years since she launched her floral business. Her approach to arranging flowers is personal, artistic, with respect to the unique beauty and power that each different flower can bring to a bride on her wedding day.

We met up with Lori at her design headquarters to ask her a few questions about her world of flowers. Ben Potter from Cana Video Productions made this awesome video so that you can not only read some of her interview, but also experience why Lori is so sweet in person! Ben filmed Lori creating a bouquet for a wedding that she had the very next day. It was fun to have a behind the scenes peek into how it all comes together. Enjoy!


Music by Adam Pasion.

Lori at work.

This is the same bouquet that Lori created before our eyes at Adam and Brittany’s wedding the next day. Adam actually provided the soundtrack for the interview. Thanks to my good friend Joshua Caine for the images.


When you were a little girl what did you want to be?
Probably an artist or a fashion designer. Growing up I colored, sketched and painted all of the time. Most of the paintings in my parents house are mine. In high school I got a couple of jobs painting murals, but I realized I liked it better as a hobby.

Would you say your ability to arrange flowers is a learned skill or God given gift?
That’s tough. I think it’s probably a good mixture of both because there has always been some amount of talent. It wasn’t hard for me. I never actually went to school for it. A lot of florists do go to school and learn techniques. I’ve always gone off of what my eye thinks looks good.



What is your most favorite flower in the universe?
Renunculas. Some people think they look rose like. They have lots of petals and are small. They are a springtime flower; that’s why Andy and I had to get married in May.

What are the purpose of flowers at weddings?
For looks! They add color and texture. Weddings can often have a sterile look until you add flowers. There is always lots of white and black, then POP you have color!

What was your favorite wedding this year?
Mike and Jen’s wedding; just because of the bouquets. I was so excited to get her flowers in because they were almost out of season. They were these amazing hot pink peonies that I never thought I could get my hands on. {Check them out below}



Contact:
loriboefloraldesign.com
Lori Boe
805.709.2634
lorikay13@hotmail.com

Holland Ranch {San Luis Obispo Wedding Venue}

Holland Ranch is a brand spakin’ new venue nestled in the San Luis Obispo heartland. I’ve driven past this beautiful location millions of times on the back roads from SLO to Arroyo Grande and haven’t thought much of it until I shot my first wedding there this summer. The reason why I’ve never noticed the quaint country barn just off the main road is because of the gorgeous mountain backdrop that has always snatched my attention. It is this magnificent mountain and the neighboring pond that offers the tranquility of nature that makes this ranch so attractive for a wedding and/or reception. This is a venue that is about to become a central coast wedding favorite! I recently have photographed two weddings on the ranch and have been completely impressed with the positive calming attitude and hospitality provided by property manager, Jaimie Strand. Here is what she says about the Ranch’s history and it’s newly found business of hosting gorgeous weddings.

Who’s Holland?
Holland is my family and my maiden name. My parents Ron and Bonnie Holland own the ranch but it is really used by all my family. The ranch holds lots of family memories from weddings to holidays to just family days hanging out at the ranch. We are a big close family and the ranch is a big beautiful place for us to play.

How did this ranch turn into a wedding venue?
My cousin and my brother got engaged within a couple months of each other so my dad and uncle decided to put money for their weddings into the ranch and set it up for both their weddings. I don’t think any of us expected it to get this much use. Within 2 ½ years we had 5 family weddings along with a few close friends. We had lots of interest from other people to use the ranch so we set up and started making it available to others at the beginning of 2007.

How many guests can you accommodate?
We have had weddings for close to 400. We could push up to 500 depending on the event and set up needed.


What amenities come with the venue?
We have a full kitchen and big built-in BBQ pit, a large bridal studio for the bride and her maids, tables and chairs for approx. 100 people, 5 banquet tables and people on hand throughout the whole event to direct in parking and help with any questions on the ranch.

Do you have a suite for the bride and her girls to get ready in?
We have a big studio apartment above the barn for the ladies. It has a full bathroom and kitchen and plenty of room for the girls to spread out and get ready. They can also see everyone arrive from their location which is always fun.

Can people stay overnight?
No, unless you want to sleep with the horses.

How do you rent out the ranch?
For weddings your fee includes use the day before the wedding for set-up and rehearsal, day of the wedding & day after till noon for clean-up.

Can people have their rehearsal dinner at the ranch?
We have definitely made arrangements for that before. It isn’t included in our basic price but we can accommodate it if there is the interest.


What are the features/advantages to having the barn on site?
Well whenever you have your ceremony and reception site in the same place you keep the flow of your party going!

Do couples have to have a country/cowboy theme to their wedding to get married at the ranch?
Absolutely not. Though it is a favorite among that crowd we have had a variety in styles of weddings including a huge Indian wedding. That is part of the beauty of the ranch, there is flexibility.



What do you do as far as coordination the day of?
Coordination isn’t a part of our basic price but is needed. We are simply there to direct in parking and be on hand in case of any questions in regards to our property. We are requiring that people pay our coordination fee and I will do all the coordination the day of or they can bring someone else. We have no preference just want to make sure someone is running the show. It doesn’t have to be someone you pay to do it just as long as someone is in the know of how to keep things running.

How does setup and teardown go down?
We have the property clean and ready to go and require it to be restored to the way it was with the exception of cleaning the floors.
Clean up can go down the next day, we just ask all food gets put away the night of the event.

What time does the party have to end?
We are yet to find someone who can party longer than we will allow. Any challengers? ;) We just require music shut down by midnight. Other than that we like to have a good time and want anyone who is using our ranch to do the same.

These images are from Mike + Jen’s wedding.

Contact:
Jamie Strand
805.459.9222
prpljaime@hotmail.com
2275 Carpenter Canyon Rd. San Luis Obispo, CA. 93401

Sunnie Brook Jones of Reveal Salon {Wedding Hair + Beauty}

Sunnie Brook is the proud half-owner of revealsalon.com. She also happens to be my assistant Simon’s wife. I’ve known Brook for almost 10 years and can remember getting my hair cut by her when she was just in beauty school. It has been amazing to watch her grow not only as a professional stylist, but a Salon owner and a Paul Mitchell educator. She has made a variety of awesome accomplishments in the world of hair and is creating such a wonderful community with Reveal Salon, located in the heart of Downtown San Luis Obispo.

Sunnie Brook and her crew recently styled for Jordan + Courtneys wedding at the beautiful Villa Toscana.


When did you decide to get into hair?
Ever since I was little, Ive been obsessed with hair. It was one of my favorite things to play with. When I made it a career choice I was 17. My dad would ask me what I wanted to do with my life. All I could ever answer was that I wanted to help people. My mother cut all of me and my 4 siblings hair. She suggested that I go to beauty school. So I decided to do that to put me through college to be a counselor. When I started beauty school I thought, Wow! I get to start helping people and I happen to be good at it. I get to be creative and also get paid to do what I loved. So, Ive been doing hair for 10 years.

Do you see your job as more than cutting and styling hair; as counseling people?
Initially, when I first started my career I would counsel people a lot. Just about life, love, dating, marriages. But as Ive grown, Ive realized that when people are in my chair they want to escape. That it becomes a place of safety and nothing else in their lives matters. So Ive taken that desire to help people and applied that more into creating an experience in my salon as well as educating my stylists and other people in my industry.

What kind of experience are you creating at Reveal Salon?
A positive environment where people have smiles on their faces. Where the customers every need is taken care of, they have the drinks and the magazines that they need; that they have their expectations exceeded.

What made you decide to buy a salon and start Reveal?
I had been doing hair for 4 years with my dear friend Harmony. We had been doing hair for so long that we felt like there was no further opportunity for us. My heart had been growing to give beauty schools students opportunity they never had. So we dreamed about owning a salon where we could help people wanting to start their careers. We decided if we were to ever have a salon that we would want to take over Jump on Garden Street. One day Harmony ran into the owner of Jump while shopping and he told her that he was selling his salon. Harmony replied that she wanted it! We sat down to talk it over with him and within 3 weeks we bought it.

What is Reveal?
One of the most significant experiences that hair dressers talk about is that moment when the person in your chair looks into the mirror and is able to see beauty. Reveal means to help someone see their beauty in a supernatural way which they couldn’t have seen or experienced on their own. That experience is what makes hair dressers want to keep doing what we do all the time.

What is the consultation process like for a bride who want to hire you?
Its really important for a bride to feel completely safe and confident in her stylists abilities. There should be no question in her mind on her wedding day if she is going to be beautiful, therefore the consultation process is extremely important. When a bride comes in she sits down with a stylist and look through books to get an idea of what they are comfortable with. That stylist will explore those different looks and give her advice about what would look best for her face shape. A good stylist will be able to tell her what will look good in photographs. Because that is ultimately what a bride will see in the end. When I do a bride I tend to start simple and then get more extravagant depending on her needs. I start with a simple look, usually down, and transition into something more. It gives a bride the versatility to see everything down around her face, then half up, then all the way off her face.

What do you recommend a bride do to prepare for her consultation?
I recommend that a bride bring pictures of her hair that she likes, whether its from prom or some formal dinner. Also to bring pictures of hair that she loves and hair that she hates. She needs to bring her veil and hair pieces. Finally, a bride needs to bring a camera. That way we can photograph the different styles and she can refer to the pictures afterwards.

How often do you change your hair style?
When I first started my career it was every week. But now since ive become educated and I understand that the number one priority is to have healthy hair. I do minor alterations

How far in advance do you book up?
I recommend that a bride book up 3 months ahead. If she has a summer date to book as soon as possible.

Why do you love hair?
Im fascinated with hair because you can do so much with it. You can change someones face, the whole feel of their outfit; you can change their personality. Its like when a woman puts on a glamorous gown she carries herself differently then a woman in sweats. I think hair does the same, it just transforms you.

What’s your ideal client?
Someone who values my professional opinion. I do my best work on people that ask me what would work for them. I love it when people come to the table with things that they like or don’t like. But I also like people who ask what hair cut will work with my face shape? What color will work? Because I can really give them a professional opinion and help them achieve results that they may never have had before.

What is popular right now for brides?
We are seeing a modern vintage look. A lot of finger waves. Not super polished and clean looking. Definitely more texture in the hair with softer looks. Brides are going more relaxed as well; they are not pulling everything off of their face. Styles are closer to what they wear everyday but more glamorous.

Do you do makeup as well?
When I was going through beauty school I worked with Lancôme. After I started working in a salon, I gave it up because they didn’t have a makeup line. Since recently organizing photo shoots for the hair industry, it has renewed my passion for makeup. Doing more weddings have caused me to want to do the makeup to go with the hair. I use almost all Mac because it works best for photos.

Where are you going with your career?
My team at my salon is really important to me. I am committed to them first; to see them successful. A career is one thing but it is far more enjoyable if there are people who are there to celebrate with me. All the things I do in my career are for the benefit of my salon; to help Reveal gain exposure and opportunities.

Sunnie Brook recently won an international Paul Mitchell competition. For the prize she won a photo shoot with a models, makeup artists, and a fashion photographer. The photos will appear in different international magazines. She also has been asked by Paul Mitchell to be a spokesperson for a campaign called Head For Change which features athletes and hairstylists that are making a difference in their communities.

Contact Reveal:
revealsalon.com
1130 Garden St. San Luis Obispo, CA.
805.543.5869

Malik Miko Thorne {Wedding DJ}

I’m excited to share about the pure and undefiled awesomeness of Malik Miko Thorne. I feel like he is one of San Luis Obispos best kept secret. He is a tall skinny curly-haired character who is often seen riding his bicycle downtown or selling music at Boo Boo Records. Most everyone who has lived in San Luis knows or has seen Malik. He is kind, unassuming and soft spoken. He is also an amazing wedding DJ. I have worked quite a few weddings with him and have been impressed with his organized and calm demeanor and more importantly his wealth of musical knowledge. If you looking for a DJ who flies under the radar to deliver a soundtrack that will set the perfect tone for your wedding, than you have to have Malik!


How did you get started spinning tunes?
If you are a fan of music you just inevitably fall into it I think. I was the one at college parties who would bring all of my own CDs and I would change the CD player every 2-3 songs. As a kid I would make my own mixed tapes. -Like holding up a portable tape recorder to the television. I would make mixed tapes from solid Gold, American Band, Soul Train. I’ve been musical since like 2nd or 3rd grade. It wasn’t that big of a leap. In retrospect it was a natural progression.

How did you get to where you are now; DJing weddings and working at Boo Boo Records?
While I went to school at Poly I fell into working at their radio station, KCPR, met all of these great people, and was able to dive bomb into music of all sorts. From Indie Rock to Reggae to Metal. They have such eclectic taste there and you meet these people that you normally wouldn’t associate with. I fell into that and got my start in radio and then eventually got a job at Boo Boos. Its weird because I could do something else that’s more career minded. I’ve got friends with kids and mortgages who are working jobs that they don’t love. I feel fortunate that I get to just do what I really love.

When did you first DJ a wedding?
A friend asked me to DJ his wedding. At the time I had turntables; I was doing little house parties and Public Radio. So, I did the wedding for free and was able to get my feet wet. I started seeing things that worked out and things that didn’t. I knew every bodies taste ahead of time and It was a blast! Once I did one or two; guests started approaching me and asking me to do their weddings.

How long have you been doing weddings?
I would say 7 years off and on. When I first started I wasn’t doing that many. It began to snowball and now I do about a dozen a year. Its nice because I get to meet a lot of great people.

Do you advertise at all?
Im horrible at the marketing aspect. I love music. Put me behind a DJ set and let me do my thing. The business side is the part I am still learning. I recently purchased some new software and a laptop which helps out having more music on the day of. If someone walks up and wants the Beach Boys I have it, where as before if I didn’t have it in the crates of records I brought I would have to simply apologize. But now I have a surplus of music. That’s why I ask lots of questions before I do a gig so I know what to bring.

How has working at Boo Boos helped as a resource to being a wedding DJ?
I talk music. I can understand music. I hear more things. I interact with customers. I see what people are listening to. All those small threads weave together at a wedding helping me to be able to pull something out of nowhere because I realize that it will work perfectly. Its just about being around what I love.

How do you get your business then?
Mostly word of mouth. If I do a DJ gig those who like what they hear find out about me.

So how does your interview process work with your clients? How do you figure out what their style is?
I just ask as many questions as I can. Not everyone knows what they want. Some couples have outlines for the whole day, others do not. So I bring up everything, do they want a money dance? Really, I talk about the day -the amount of time, do they want the ceremony miked, what type of music do they want for dinner? I come with experience. I know what I like to hear so I can suggest music. But I want to see what my clients have to offer. Some people are sharp on their music while other people know what they like to hear, but have trouble putting it into words.

So you help them figure out how to make the soundtrack to their wedding basically?
I would like to thing so! I make people tell me exactly what they want to hear. I stay away from genres. Popular doesn’t work. Old school doesn’t work. I want them to say, I want Frank Sinatra, this song. I want Michael Jackson, this song. Because once they say that, I can immediately start thinking of 3 or 4 songs that go around that song. Once I do that I have a little set of music that can be a good 30 minute set; which is a good amount of time. So If the couple gives me a few more songs, I can start building little cones, I start seeing patterns. I can build a whole set.
Like math almost?
It kinda is like math. I was really good at math at one time.

Do you do any mixing or scratching during a reception?
For weddings I think that scratching takes away from the dance floor. It’s a percussive noise. Most people just want to hear the song. I can mix in and out of songs. If Im doing a house party or a DJ set downtown where its what I want to play the mixing is a little different. I can do sets ahead of time, its more dance music, I play a steady beats per minute that’s pretty high. Weddings you shift so wildly between playing Popular music to Motown and jumping fast into 80s music, that I just put everything together as appropriately as I can. I do arcs and curves. I go from a slow song to a little bit faster song. I build more on musical tempos so that it all fits together really nicely.

What would you say your style is?
I try to stay away from songs that are really popular. There is so much music out there that I try to think outside of the box. For dinner music I try to play Brazilian music or Afro music or Jazz; something that’s upbeat. People always think mellow is good for dinner music. But when people are sitting down for dinner talking they are not really focused on the music so all they can really feel is the vibe or tempo. If I keep the vibe bubbly and upbeat they feel bubbly and cheerful. Dance music is the hardest thing. I have to ask as many questions as possible. I love Old Soul, Funk, Motown, and 80s music. I bring an arsenal out of songs that I think always work. Rarely have certain songs ever failed me. But I want to know what they want to hear.

Once I booked a wedding where early on I didn’t meet with the bride. The groom knew me and said, I love you –do your thing! Day of the wedding comes, the bride is Persian. Her family wanted Persian music. I never talked to the bride, so I didn’t know. They luckily brought Persian music so I put it on for them. Instantaneously they got up, they danced around and brought everybody into the mix. Lesson learned. I have to find out more about the people who are coming, more about the family members.

I had another wedding where the couple told me they had an aunt who was really picky and bossy. Day of the wedding I’m playing Frank Sinatra and this woman comes up and says I hate this song, what are you playing, can you change it? I was like, It’s Frank Sinatra. I never thought anyone wouldn’t like Sinatra! So I figured this was the aunt. She asked what else I was going to play that night. I told her slyly, I don’t know, maybe some Rolling Stones? She was like, Really?! Rolling Stones? I love the Rolling Stones! A few songs later I played and she got up to the dance floor. She was happy! Its those small tid-bits of information that I try to pull from people.

What kind of Personality do you bring to the wedding day?
I’m not Mr. Entertainment. I never try to be. I always hear about people complaining about wedding DJs that talk the whole time. I’m there to do the music. I’m not there to talk to the audience. The music is there to entertain. That’s what I know the best. I’m pretty reserved in that aspect. I just try to stay calm through the day and take my time so that people feel that the music was flawless.

Contact Info:
Phone: 805.783.1722
Email: malik(at)booboorecords.com

Paper Sky {Wedding Invitations}

Paper Sky is the creative love child of Jessica and Tim (but mostly Jessica). Years ago when I was just a fledgling photographer I shot a wedding in which Jessica was the Matron of honor. Since then we have bumped into each other from Uptown to downtown where her beautiful storefront is now located. I have been thrilled to watch her business grow and flourish in such a short time. She is making a big difference in the wedding industry here in San Luis Obispo and is making the town a more colorful place to live and even shop. Anna and I really enjoyed our time hearing all of the details that make Paper Sky such a beautiful reality. Enjoy the interview!

How did you get into this? How did you start making invitations?
It has really been this huge evolving thing. Ive always loved paper because its inexpensive and you can do so much with it. Basically, Tim and I got engaged and I wanted to make our own invitations. I worked at Hands Gallery {located across the street} all through college. I was an anatomy physiology major at Poly, but I had an alter ego creative side and they really let me explore that there. I was allowed to do displays in the windows and I began to buy for them at shows in San Francisco. It just opened up my world to really artistic stuff and people. This {location} came up for sale and my old boss at Hands told us we needed to jump on it. It quickly fell into our laps and everything clicked that I really loved paper and color and it was completely meant to be. It was awesome; it still is awesome! {laughs}



Has this been an outlet for your creativity?
Absolutely; huge amazing creative outlet for me! I’m always learning and I’m always evolving. Especially on the wedding invitation side. I get really excited to sit down with a new bride and we ask, ‘What are we going to come up with?’ I love that initial blank screen design process. I don’t think that it will ever get old to me because it’s new every time. Even just doing the window display. You can pretty much make anything with paper. Its fun to come up with new themes and new ways to dress that window and we always get really great feedback from the community about it and it puts a big smile on my face. Anna: Ive never seen anybody do with paper what you do!

What is the wedding invitation design process like?
I meet a couple by appointment. I tell them to bring in as much inspiring stuff as they can, whether it be color swatches, magazine clippings, how they got engaged, where they are getting married, how they met. Kinda like the tattoo Save the dates I made. The groom proposed to his bride with ‘Forever?’ and ‘Yes or No’ boxes tattooed to his leg. Every invitation becomes a story about them and its really neat to make it unique to that couple. I think that’s the service that everybody’s looking for; something that’s custom to them. We will typically meet and start talking, drawing and getting conceptual shapes down on paper. Couples can be overwhelmed with a blank slate, so to not freak them out we start with shape. Do you like a circle or square? And we slowly build from there.

{design center}

Do you give comps so that couples can pick what they like once you have begun on a design?
If its an in-house process we will do PDF comps to get the layout and design right. Then we will do a hard copy proof where everything is assembled together. Once the couples give the final OK then they sign off on it and we go to print.

How much time do you need to design a custom invitation?
Ideally, we need about a month because the design process is pretty involved. To get what is in their minds eye into my computer is kinda tricky. Its totally a symbiotic thing. The more we can communicate and make changes that faster we can get what a couple wants. We have a lot of couples that are actually out of state, which requires more emailing back and forth.


What were you like as a child creatively?
I was that quiet introverted child that sat there playing with crayons, markers and paper; always drawing. All my first presents were paint sets. Every Christmas I would get a new art medium. I got my first acrylic set when I was probably like 6. My parents were always really supportive of that but when it came to going to school and deciding what I wanted to be when I grew up artist wasn’t really allowed I guess. I was also really good at science so I became a bio major. When I was younger I always said I was going to be a pediatrician that drew cartoons for my patients. That was always my ideal job.

Are you able to work with any budget?
Yeah, definitely. We can do as much or as little as the couple wants or can afford. If a bride wants to do part of the assembly we can cut costs. That’s how all of this really started. Tim and I wanted to have really cool wedding invitations but we didn’t want to spend a fortune and I knew that I could create and assemble it on my own.

If Paper Sky were an animal what kind of an animal would it be?
It would be a peacock because I am so inspired and turned on by color and love putting different colors together. My favorite thing about this entire store is that wall of paper. I could stare at it all day long just like I could stare at a peacock all day long with its plums and iridescent colors.


What are your plans as far as growth and expansion?
That’s the funny thing! This is the question that Tim and I have to revisit all the time. People come into the store and say we should open a store in such-and-such, but that’s not my heart. I think the pace we are going at now is great, but if it gets any bigger, we need to rethink some stuff. I don’t want to sell stuff online because I want people to come into the store and have an experience. The wedding invite thing is shockingly taking off and we didn’t anticipate it being that successful. Our location is awesome being downtown and I love it being small and personal.

What sets you apart from other invitation companies in the wedding industry?
Because we can meet face to face with a bride and groom and get to know them and create something totally unique for them. Where as other companies you just flip through a book and point out what you want. I worked for a time with a coordinator where I went through him as a middle man and it just didn’t work, because I never met the actual couple. Its just such a different thing when you meet people and see how their eyes light up because of a certain color or idea. I helps me get a good sense of their style.

What is an ideal wedding client for you?
Ideal is like Lindsey Kennedy. She was so easy to work with and so inspiring because she had really great ideas. She actually participated in a lot of the assembly of her invitations because she wanted to cut costs. Basically my ideal clients are people who get really excited about paper and the design process in general and believe that the possibilities are endless. People who are open to stepping outside of that structured wedding invitation box and really into being different and getting creative.

So I decided it would be awesome to get feedback from Lindsey on her experience working with Jessica to obtain her wedding invitation dream. This is what she shared with me.

“Working with Jess at Paper Sky for our wedding invites was not only memorable, but enjoyable. Jessica listened to what artistic elements we wanted involved, conceptualized them into a neat little format that I could visualize and respond to, and she made me feel at ease and totally involved in the whole process. I was inspired by my visit to her store and actually based the artwork on the front of our invitation off a handmade journal I purchased there. Our invitations were a little bit of everything (organza ribbon, sewing, silk twine, textured fiber paper from Nepal, photography, vintage-inspired shape and feel, and poetic nuances of text) and Jessica helped us create art, not just a wedding-day memento, out of discrete elements. Jessica, you are truly a gem. Thank you for making this process truly awesome.”

{This was Lindseys wedding invitation}

Paper Sky Contact Information:
papersky(at)sbcglobal.net / 805.545.9940 / 778 Higuera St. San Luis Obispo, CA. 93405
Website: Paper Sky

Coming soon...

For Brides.