Blossoming Beauty

Roses, roses how I adore thee, let me count the ways! But more than the roses, I adore my cousin Nikki founder, owner, designer, and artist of FluidBloom Designs. 

Nik-nik...tender, gracious, soulful, playful, teachable, always blossoming Nikki.

I've known her my whole life. She's seen me through the awkward adolescence, the tender twenties, the coming into my own thirties. But especially since I moved back to The Central Coast, we have formed a special bond. We speak each others soul language.

Now it's one thing to hire a florist for your special event, it's another thing to hire an artist and individual who puts their whole self into their work, that's Nikki!

I think all her creations tell a story both of the creator and the recipient. Just click on her website under weddings to get a small window into what I'm talking about. And even though I was her cousin and knew she'd do an incredible job she wrote out a whole vision plan and contract.

In her words:
The Vibe: Elegant, classic, with a bit of whimsy, dark and light, blush, gold, black and white, birdcage vignette maybe daffodils, roses everywhere, garden roses, flowers with layers, peonies, ranunculus, anemones, layers, textural, mercury glass vessels, spray painted baby’s breath gold...

Two pages of lovely ideas and vision planning. 

But those written descriptors don't do justice to the reality and this gloriousness!!!

Gack! I. Die.

When I arrived at my Aunt Diane's to get ready (with my bombshell make-up done by Sephora....Lord bless those fake lashes!), be-still-my-heart my bouquet had arrived!

Oh that cross! Those delightful little center pieces...And card holder bird cage...

And see that precious gold sprayed babies breath in those kiddos' hair....Yes, they are praying. I. Die. Yet. Again.

 And those handsome devils with just the right touch of floral and gold!

 Now, wait for it...wait for it....

The Money Shot! Yup, we are looking gooood but check out that bouquet! It won the spotlight. And I love my Grandma Shaw's vintage gold and pearl cuff wrapped around it. Priceless!

And look at these lovelies with their dainty little bouquets. Adorable! And how much do I love how the various gold, muti-textured dresses turned out?

And here's the thing about all of this, the art of the flowers speaks to the one who made them. Nikki puts her heart into her creations, she's so good at it not just because of her years of experience and training but because she believes b e a u t y matters. She lives with courageous vulnerability, putting her heart out there in her work, relationships, and creative endeavors. She doesn't believe a safe life is necessarily a good life, rather that beauty comes, beauty blossoms, beauty unfolds when we step out and risk something.

And. It's. Stunning.

The flowers are pretty but the Florist is breathtaking. Thank you Nik-Nik for teaching me about what it means to be a life long learner, creative risk taker, and to ever behold and look for the beauty in others. We love you!