Do you ever think about what you'd be doing... if you weren't on the career path that you were currently following? Or maybe, if you (magically) had all the money you needed and got to choose one thing to do that made you happy, what would it be? I'd probably explore the art of learning to create with flowers (in addition to all of the other things I do because I could never really quit;). Probably not for weddings, I don't have the patience for doing that amount nor the ability to work that close to a deadline. Because you know, flowers die, they aren't something you can start early. Maybe a little flower stand... that served champagne... and had an ocean view. That could work.

In the meantime, I'll stick to documenting experimentations with random flowers I do at home.

The last time I was in Sunset Beach, I stopped by Devynn's Garden. This is my favorite place to browse around and choose my own bouquets. We have nothing close to this near my house, so I could spend hours when we go, choosing the perfect stems (just ask my husband). They always have a large variety and interesting stuff that you can't find unless you make the trek to the market in LA, not my thing. I grabbed a handful of tropical blooms and asked Sunny to document the process to help show you guys how it was built.

I started with the larger palm branch and used that to stabilize all of the other flowers as I put them in. My best tips for any arrangement:

• start with a larger, heavy branch or stem that you can use as your base. it's easier to keep the others in place when you have this to work on top of
• next add your pièce de résistance, they one you want everyone to ooh and ah over. you can then focus all of the other pieces around this
• remove any leaves that will be below the water line to prevent bacteria and mold from growing
• snip your stems at an angle (see below) for maximum water absorption 
• set the tone with your vase. i love how changing from glass to gold to even a black on like i used can change the entire look. this one is from target
• make sure you have plenty of filler (more neutral, fluffier blooms) to fill in the gaps, this is the last step you'll want to do to make sure you are filling all the space in.

So I'll be sticking to hand lettering wedding invites and styling for a while. But, I'm coming for you flowers, one day;)

All images by Sunny Kim Photography