Romantic Elopement at Ecomama Farms

This gorgeous elopement was much different than what the bride and groom had originally anticipated for their big day. Their original wedding day had to be rescheduled due to COVID and her vendors worked together to find a new location and venue for them to host it.

The beautiful Ecomama Farms in Santa Ynez became the new venue, and was the perfect place to pair with the bride’s vision and our blooms.

For the ceremony, we created an asymmetrical arch piece that was then was transformed into the backdrop behind their sweetheart table. Baskets of dried blooms and rose petals were placed at the entrance of the aisleway, adding dimension and texture. We used a mix of both dried and fresh blooms throughout the arrangements, arch pieces, bouquets, and boutonnieres.

For this wedding, we wanted to make sure every detail was thought of in order to make this day extra special for Rachel and Brett, especially after all the changes and challenges that they faced when rescheduling their wedding. Thanks to all their incredible vendors, family and bridal party, their wedding came together magically.

Vendors:

Photography: @katiebranch // Venue: @ecomamafarms // Coordinator: @willowandtala // Florals: @whitefigdesigns // Hair - Color: @shannonra of @shannonhairsalon // Hair Syling by the bride: @bunneyray using @randco // Makeup: @kriskoskella // Shoes: @jimmychoo // Earrings: @a.b.ellie // Headband - @mignonnehandmade // Groom's Tux: @suitsupply // Photobooth Bus: @Portythefotoboothbus // Desserts by Sarah: @Dessertfirst_bakery // Wedding Dress: @Kinsleyjamescouturebridal // Hat: @stedson // Catering by the Bride's Father⁠ // Ribbon: @tonoandco

Flowers and Valentine's Day

Happy Valentine's Month, everyone! Being a floral studio, we obviously love February and all the amazing people we get to work with and create flowers for. For this month's blog, we want to give you a little history on why we send flowers, as well as show you some of our favorite ways to gift your loved ones a unique and memorable floral arrangement. 

history

Originating in third century Rome, legends declare that the history of Valentine’s Day began with a young priest who refused to deny young lovers their right to marriage. During this time, marriage was outlawed for young men as it was decided that they were best suited as soldiers. However, that young priest -- Valentine, was still performing marriages in secret. Upon being discovered for his now illegal act, Valentine was imprisoned and sentenced to death. 

While in jail, Valentine found himself falling in love with his jailor's daughter. Upon facing his death sentence, he sent her one last love letter, and signed it, "From your Valentine." He was executed on February 14, 270AD. Nearly two hundred years later, February 14th was dedicated to "Saint Valentine," and today, we celebrate his noble actions for love every year by sending cards, flowers, sweets and love.  

At White Fig Designs, we are excited to create flowers for you and your loved ones that are not your average grocery-store dozen red roses. We love to piece together various elements and color palettes to create arrangements and bouquets that are interesting, beautiful, and eye-catching.

This Valentine's Day, you can show your loved ones just how much you love them by sending them unique flowers curated to their individual style. We're taking orders for Valentine's week now, so don't hesitate to contact us and place your order! Below are some ideas of arrangements we'd be thrilled to create for you. 

Snuggle up with your loved ones this Valentine's Day! Xoxoxo

A Season of Thanks

Dedicated to bringing original and authentic flowers into our clients' lives, White Fig Designs is a small floral studio run by an enthusiastic tribe. Gratitude is always on my mind, but especially at this time of the year--without my family and my team's support, White Fig could not be what it is today. 

It is with a heartfelt thank you that we acknowledge the gift of being invited into so many families and their most exciting events--from weddings to babies and every party in between, we are so thankful to be able to celebrate life's monumental moments with our clients and bring the element of natural beauty to every celebration. 

Pictured above: A cozy Thanksgiving dinner featuring White Fig's florals, styled and blogged by our dear friend, Eden, of Sugar And Charm. As we are expressing our thankfulness, we can't help but take a moment to say how grateful we are for a creative friend who shares our love for naturally enhancing every setting, staying authentic in our work, and celebrating everything! 

Pictured above: custom wreaths created for our holiday wreath workshop that we host each holiday season with our friends at The Daily Harvest. We are truly so thankful to be a part of the local small business community with people as wonderful as their team! 

**Keep up with our Instagram this weekend to see some Behind-the-Scenes action at this year's wreath making workshop! 

Flower Arranging Tips + Tricks

With the holidays fast approaching, we know that everyone is looking to spruce up their homes and make them just a little cozier, prettier, and more colorful. One of the best ways to do that is with flowers! Here's some tips & tricks for those struggles that arise when you bring home grocery store flowers. 

What you'll need:

• Clippers

• Clear tape (if your vessel has a wide opening)

• Vase (Don't be afraid to get creative with this! Anything can be a vessel, so don't think you have to stick to a traditional vase!)

• Flowers! 

First thing's first: 

• TIP: As soon as you bring your flowers home, be sure to give the stems a nice cut, remove the leaves from the bottom portion of the stem, and let them soak in some water for a bit before arranging. This allows the flowers to be properly hydrated, making your arrangement last longer!
• TRICK: If you are using a vessel with a wide opening, you will want to put tape across the top to create a grid, so that you can have more control over where your flowers fall in your arrangement. This allows you to balance the nature of the way flowers fall with your own creativity and design. 

MAKING YOUR ARRANGEMENT:

• When you get started, the first thing you'll want to do is fill your vessel with greens (as we like to say - "Greening it up!") Greening your arrangement first gives it shape and fills it in, allowing your flowers to be the focal point of the arrangement once it's complete. 
• TIP: Be sure to remove all leaves from the stems when working on your greening. When leaves get in your water, they cause bacteria and shorten the life of your flowers. 
• Once your greening is done, you are ready to add your flowers! Be sure to cut your stems all different lengths, so that your arrangement has some height and dimension to it. Cutting all your stems the same length causes the arrangement to lack shape and fall flat, and what's unique about that? Have fun with it! 
• TRICK: Adding some natural herbs to your arrangement such as rosemary, lavender or chamomile, adds a wonderful fragrance that is the perfect touch for any home. Plus they add amazing texture! 

The most important thing for you to remember as you create your arrangement is that there is no wrong way to do it - everyone does it differently! Let your flowers reflect your personality and add a personal touch to your home. Have FUN! 

As always, don't forget that your friends here at White Fig are just a phone call away if you want us to create something for you! We are now taking orders for the holidays, so don't hesitate to reach out. We are in love with the holiday season and all the festive flowers that come with it! Come get a taste of how we do holidays at this year's Sip-N-Shop, Saturday, November 18th from 3-6pm on Main Street Newhall. We will be open all day with some fun holiday sales and in-store wine tastings!

inspiration vacation

This summer I had the divine privilege of attending a floral workshop in Skagit Valley, Washington at the Floret Flower Farm. This experience was truly a dream, an experience that I cannot adequately put into words, and I'm delighted to bring what I learned home to White Fig. Part of the flower business for me is taking time each year to attend a workshop to better my craft, gain new knowledge, and refresh my love and passion for floral design. This year's experience has accomplished and far exceeded each of those hopes. 

Flower Farmers and Designers came from all over the world--places such as Australia, Canada, Colorado and New York--to attend and to instruct this workshop. The farming portion of the workshop took place on the Floret Flower Farm, run by Erin Benzakein, where we toured the farm property and learned about the ins and outs of flower farming. The design portion of the workshop took place inside of a neighboring Barn, designed and set for us in the most organically beautiful way. Erin's openness and willingness to share her life and knowledge with the twenty-five of us was both informational and inspiring. This was an intensive three-day workshop in which we learned, collaborated, and expanded our knowledge of and creativity with flowers. 

When we first walked into the barn, I was absolutely overwhelmed with emotion. The contrast of the dark barn and the sunlight cascading in through its windows and cracks set the tone for us all to marvel at the beauty of nature in its purest form. The focal point of the barn was, of course, the buckets upon buckets of gorgeous flowers just saturating the room. Roses, peonies, poppies, irises, anemones, delphiniums, and honeysuckle were among the flowers creating this atmosphere of appreciation and wonder.

As shown above, we were all seated in a circle where Erin welcomed us all and taught us a bit about her farm. She then asked each of us to introduce ourselves, and when it came to me, I was immediately overcome with emotion. Embarrassed by my unexpected tears but authentic in my emotion, I began explaining to them how much of a treat this experience had already been for me. I told them that before this workshop, I was talking to my twenty-eight year old daughter who had just returned from a work-sponsored "Inspiration Vacation" in India, and as she told me about her trip, I found myself feeling bitter that she got to do something like that at such a young age. It was the moment I walked into this barn that I realized what this trip was for me--pure inspiration, and a beautiful vacation. It was my dream-come-true, Inspiration Vacation.

For me, White Fig Designs is so much more than a flower shop. It is about relationship, it is about expressiveness, and it is about organic authenticity. That is why taking time each year to get away and learn is a priority, taking workshops from designers like Francoise Weeks and Brooklyn's Little Flower School. White Fig is dedicated to staying educated, creative and current to produce beautiful and elegant arrangements to the best of our ability. 

As Erin told her business story throughout the workshop, I felt a deep connection to her journey. She spoke of her years of searching for her "niche," knowing that she had always had a burning desire to do something "big." As she told us about her days trying to start a candle business and various other creative avenues, I reminisced on my feelings as a mother of two knowing that I had a deep need and desire to birth something new, something big. That is why I opened White Fig. 

From the first night, I knew that I was surrounded by kindred spirits. We hear girls talk about their "tribe," and I knew in this short time that these women truly are just that--my tribe.

We all share the same passion for the same thing.

This process has given me a new found commitment to trying to buy local whenever I can, rather than buying imported flowers, and therefore leaving a smaller footprint on the world that we live in. This workshop taught me to do my best to support local farmers and help enhance their business.

Both indoors and out, this trip was absolutely heavenly. I still feel overwhelmed with emotion as I look back on these three perfect days.

An exciting experience in the workshop came when we were all given a variety of flowers, and the same vessel to create an arrangement in. As exciting as it was, there was also an element of challenge as I knew that there were dozens of talented, successful floral designers there doing the same thing I was. What I quickly learned was that it was not actually challenging at all--because everyone was so incredibly supportive and encouraging with one another. The abundance of flowers that we had to choose from was incredible. Creating various projects together also taught me a lot about building a team that is compatible with one another, everyone bringing traits that complement one another rather than compete. Below are some arrangements we created!

The last night concluded with a beautifully set, professionally cooked meal for all of the attendees. That day was spent creating garden arrangements for the tables and styling this beautiful archway (below) leading to our seats. I cannot say enough how incredible this experience was for me, how refreshing it was for my creativity, or how motivating it was for my business. 

After experiencing this workshop, I truly believe that everyone deserves to have and should go on an Inspiration Vacation to take time to reignite your passions and refuel yourselves to come home and accomplish your dreams. 

All photos by Chris Benzakein. 

A different approach

Hello my lovelies! We are so excited to officially announce a NEW way of ordering flowers for your wedding--The White Fig Designs A La Carte Menu. 

After years of working in floral design in the event industry and watching how styles of weddings have evolved, we have discovered that not every bride needs a full service florist on their wedding day. Realizing that for some couples, the intimacy that accompanies having personal flowers is more than enough, we have curated a menu suitable for any bride on any budget--without compromising the way your florals can showcase your personality. 

Crafting together and implementing this menu with future brides allows us as designers to expand our creativity and give you as a couple exactly what you need on your big day. The A La Carte menu, in comparison to utilizing White Fig as a full service florist, keeps convenience and budget in mind, as we allow you to pick and choose what you need based on sizing & pricing. You can choose your style and color palette, and leave the creativity up to us! Using photos from our past weddings, we have compiled various mood boards on our Pinterest page to help you get a feel for the styles we offer, finding which ones suit you best.

For our traditional brides, we are still joyfully booking full-service weddings for the remainder of 2017 and now 2018! With a full-service package, the White Fig team will hold your hand through the intimate design process, accompanying you on your venue walk-through and working closely with you to tell your story through flowers. With this option, every element is entirely customizable and creativity is abounding.

Below you will find florals from the weddings of the brides who inspired us to create this menu, as well as various examples of the individual items we can create for you.

Our most recent A La Carte style bride was Alexa, who came to us seeking a romantic yet wild style of bouquet & hair piece for when she said "I do" to her fiance, Luke. 

To make the planning & picking process a little easier on our couples, we have separated out for you four styles that you may categorize your wedding into (but of course, there is the option to write in an original description of what you are wanting!). You can also choose to meld two styles together to create a look such as a "boho wild-child," or maybe a "wild woodland wedding!" The options are endless. We value individuality, and our goal is to make this portion of your wedding planning as seamless as possible! As a reminder, the following photos are samples of styles, not direct representations of price values. Here's a look at some styles...

S I M P L Y  R O M A N T I C

B O H E M I A N  B R I D E

W I L D F L O W E R S  F O R  T H E  F R E E  S P I R I T

A  W O O D L A N D  W E D D I N G

With various sizes, styles, vessels and elements, you can craft together the perfect assortment of flowers to fit your desires for your day. We are excited to offer arrangements of varying sizes, to accentuate everywhere from the guest book table to the bar top! Whether it's a boutonniere for your officiant or a crown for your flower girl, we are thrilled to add the White Fig touch to one of life's most exciting events. 

A Bohemian style bridal bouquet for bride Natalie

An exciting option that accompanies the A La Carte menu is the versatility of working within your budget, and allowing others who want to help make your wedding dreams come true actually play a significant part! Many brides have family members who want to help in a special way, but often times they have trouble coming up with a sweet gesture that is more personal than just giving the couple a monetary gift for a certain purchase. This style of menu can be sent out to anyone you want, and they can sign up to buy you just one or two floral pieces for your day. For example, they could choose to pay for your head table arrangement, a floral head piece for you, or perhaps a few feet of garland to accompany your welcome sign. The A La Carte menu is truly an opportunity to involve your loved ones in the planning process and include them in those significant and beautiful touches. 

Photography by: Alexandria Monette, Jenina Simplicio, Josh Elliott, Jenna Bechtholt, Krista Ashley, Lisa Marie, Mariel Hannah, Martin Vielma, Megan Hayes, and Robyn Preston

Rose Story Farm Tour | Carpinteria, CA

Established in 1998, Rose Story Farm is located on the home property of local couple Bill and Dani Hahn, created with the dream and mission to "produce beautiful, fragrant, romantic roses in exquisite shapes and colors." Having both grown up in families of avid gardeners, Bill and Dani, together with their children, are dedicated to maintaining their farm as a place of beauty and passion, carrying on the legacy left by the generations before them. Growing 25,000 rose bushes of over 120 varieties, the Rose Story Farm truly is a story, not just a place. 

This day was a dream come true for this flower lover... 

As we drove down a dirt road into the mountains of Carpinteria, were greeted by wandering roosters, and approached the colonial style home on Rose Story Farm, I felt like I was in the movie A Walk in the Clouds. (Of course, we weren't quite in the mountains of Italy...but that same euphoria fell over me and I might as well have been.) When we got out of the car, the aroma of roses in the morning air was absolutely overwhelming. I wanted to pinch myself. Am I really here right now? The first thing you see upon entering is this rustic arch pictured below (right) leading to where you can purchase rose bushes to plant in your home garden. If you get a chance to visit the Rose Story Farm, you'll be greeted by this flower-filled gift shop (left) carrying everything from stationery to pajamas--all flower themed, of course.

A summer music program was being taught out of several bungalows on the property. As they played, the air was filled with symphony-like music as we toured through the gardens, creating a truly ethereal experience. 

"When a flower does not bloom, you fix the environment in which it grows--not the flower."

When Rose Story Farm first started out, they planted 1,000 rose bushes--but did everything wrong. After recovering from their mistake, they realized that the best way to grow a rose is to do it the old-fashioned way: dig a hole, and set up a drip line watering system. Still today, they fight the ground squirrels and the weeds, but they choose not to use any poisons on their property to deal with these natural issues. This is a purely organic farm.

Some fun facts:

The softer the petals, the more fragrant the flower.

Each rose loses about 30% of its fragrance once the stem is cut from the bush.

In the 1800's, this property was homesteaded by a Sea Captain from Boston!

Carpinteria is the flower capital of California.

I jumped at the chance to bring my friend Lisa (L Marie Photo) on this tour to help me capture and document all the beauty of the day.

Put this on your bucket list to do with your mom or best girlfriend! Dani or Bill will happily lead you through a guided tour of Rose Story Farm. After breathing in the fresh, beachy, floral air and learning about roses all morning, you will "dine al fresco" on the farm! It's the perfect way to spend a mini-getaway out of town and share a memorable experience together.

"Flowers always make people better, happier, and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul."

Of course, to finish off the day, I couldn't help myself so I loaded up the car with six new rose bushes for my home garden!

All photos by Lisa Marie Photo.

To learn more or to book your tour, head over to rosestoryfarm.com.

Lindsey + Eric | Santa Barbara Historical Museum

When I first met Eric and Lindsey, they were living in New York–Lindsey working as a teacher and Eric completing Medical School. Lindsey grew up in Southern California, so it was perfect that they chose the Santa Barbara Historical Museum as their wedding venue.

At White Fig, we love working with out of state couples, helping them bring the beauty of their special day to life. Whether it's quick meetings when they're in town, FaceTime calls, or just sending Pins back and forth--what matters to us is the intimate connection that we make with our couples, and distance does not change the process of creating their magical day. 

The Santa Barbara Historical Museum is the perfect venue to create an intimate and romantic wedding celebration. Eric and Lindsey's vision for their wedding was elegant yet natural, so this venue could not have been a better choice for them. 

Creating Lindsey's vision was achieved by using garden roses, eucalyptus and scabiosa, and then adding astilbe to give the bouquets a more airy feel. We love the concept of making the girl's flowers all different but telling the same story, so that they look organic and natural, giving them a slightly different feel and not making them uniformed.

The ribbon we used for the bouquets is from Silk & Willow, made of all organic material and plant dyed, creating an elegant feel that tied the natural beauty of each bouquet together. 

Little pretty pieces are some of our favorite elements of weddings. We love the idea of Lindsey adding the hair piece for her reception! And of course,

it's always a special touch to cut a flower from the bride's bouquet to create the groom's boutonniere. 

It warms our hearts to see all of the emotion of the day come alive after so many hours spent with Lindsey preparing for it.

This arch was an important piece for Lindsey as it was used in the ceremony space and then repurposed to the king's table.

The most precious moments are captured by the innocent. Special memories are caught of the moments when nobody's looking (except for this wonderful photographer -- Josh Elliot!). 

The little details are always important. They're the perfect touch to soften a hard area such as a bar or water station and make it come alive. Home Grown Event Co. did such a great job of marrying Lindsey's vision with our florals to create an elegant, organic setting. 

CHEERS to this celebration of life and bringing two families together! How lovely it is for Lindsey and Eric to have the support and love of two wonderful families throughout their lifetime.

White Fig considers it an honor to have been invited to share in this special time in their life. 

Cheers to love!

All Photos by Josh Elliott Photography.

What's In style? Tips and tricks

Garden Roses and Peonies... Spring is in the air and I’ve been getting a lot of questions about my favorite flower for spring and what’s trending.

I’d have to say garden roses are my favorite in all seasons, they smell absolutely divine. But if I had to choose for this time of spring, I think I would say Peonies and Lilacs. They are soft and feminine, layered with hundreds of petals and beautiful colors—they just feel like an embodiment of the season.  

This season there are a few things that are really “in,” the first of which being loose garden style arrangements.  To build on that, think about adding unusual elements like fruits and vegetables to an arrangement.  This is a very effective way to achieve the garden look that is so popular right now. In terms of color, the “Pantone” color of the season is green. Finding a way to incorporate a little extra greenery will give any arrangement that added element of chic.

With spring in the air there are a lot of people who are getting ready to start their very first garden or refresh the one they’ve had for 20 years. As your garden starts to bloom, consider creating your own arrangements–it's not only a great way to introduce the new season by bringing life into your space, such as refreshing a kitchen or bathroom, but it can be a super fun DIY project.  

Anyone can create a beautiful spring bouquet at home. Picking colors within the same color palette is always a good place to start.  As you build out the arrangement, creating a grid with clear tape on a large mouth vessel helps to keep the flowers in place and creates a structure for them to be built upon.

It is also worth noting that the vessel is a huge part of an arrangement and any vessel can be a vase—a pitcher or piece of pottery, whatever you find inspiring in the moment. Just go forth and create. With that being said, have some fun this spring, plant a new garden or put together a whimsical bouquet with flowers from your own backyard or anywhere else you find them. But if you just can’t shake that brown thumb we are here at White Fig Designs to help bring your idea to life.  

---

All photos by Zan Passante. 

Where it Began

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Recently I had the opportunity to work with an exciting new magazine, Souvenir. The magazine is a lifestyle publication that features independent artisans, and unique styles. So when they asked if they could do a feature about me I was not only thrilled but honored.

As part of the article the editors asked me a few questions that have got me thinking about my background and why I got started. I realized it is difficult to pinpoint the exact moment when I started as a flower designer—it was a process. Since I was a little girl working in my parent’s garden, I have been surrounded by plants. I remember some of the weeds had the prettiest flowers and sometimes I would get confused and pull up the flowers while leaving the weeds to grow uninhabited.  Reflecting on that moment, I realize how much it influenced the wild garden style I like to create today.  

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Garden Roses 

Growing up there were always flower arrangements in our home and at our table, so as I began to create my own home naturally I did the same. My children will tell you our home has always been abundant with flowers inside and out. Over time, people began to notice the way I styled my garden or entryway and would ask me to give them guidance—I guess that is where it started.

I'm glad I did that feature and it forced me to think about how I got started and where I draw my inspiration.  It has really given my time to reflect and realize how lucky I am that each day I get to wake up and do what I love.

It may sound cheesy, but my inspiration comes from the entire world around me—colors, trees, everything I see.

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Everyday Tools

The location of my studio is a great example. Every day I smile, looking at this scraggly nest hanging out of an old tree in front of the church across the street. I love that nest and the angel in the window of that church. The old power lines and the wildflowers sprouting out of the dirt lot outside my studio gives me inspiration each and every day— to me this place is picturesque.

That little barefoot girl in her parent’s yard, mud squishing between her toes, pulling up flowers instead of weeds tends to peek her head out when I’m working. I am passionate about what I create, and although it sounds corny, 

I draw my inspiration from each unexpected piece of the world around me.   

Harvest BBQ

As summer is coming to an end it's time to savor those final few warm weekends and enjoy BBQ's with friends and family. It’s also the time of year when you can enjoy some to the best produce your local farmer's market has to offer. Harvest time is in full swing.

Our good friends at Pulchella Winery know all about that. Right now they are up in Paso Robles harvesting grapes for their next delicious batch of wine. Before they started all the hard work they had a great party, to celebrate  their cult members and the end of the summer. I was lucky enough to help stage and do flowers for. 

It was a fun rustic backyard event - wine and a pizza oven, what more could you want? Oh yes, good company, and that was abounding.  

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Pulchella Grapes

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Grilled artichokes grilled figs and lemons and of course a glass of Pulchella wine.

Cheers to a Fall Harvest!

Inaugural Post

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Tulips, Ranunculus and Eucalyptus

For years people have been asking me to start my own blog, so finally I broke down this is the first post of the White Fig Designs blog.

I am excited to start on this new endeavor. It is something completely new to me, so I'm sure there will be a few bumps in the road as a start off. White Fig Designs has grown so much since it started, and I am so grateful for the success. This blog just feels like a natural next step. It will be a lifestyle, design, home and garden, and anything else it naturally evolves into blog. It will simply be another creative outlet.  

I'm so excited to get started on this project and can't wait to share it with you! Please enjoy...