Customer Creations

It's been a while since I shared a few pictures of my beautiful clients, so here's a couple pics from the real life brides to be album!

Real Life Bride with Flavor : Meet The Beran- Steach Family

What I love most about my business, is that sometimes I meet brides who can & do think outside of the white dress! lol. Ms. Angela was the type of client I love working with --she basically gave me creative license to create something beautiful for her wedding. She found me on Etsy.com, and orginally wanted the ivory & white bouquet I have listed. But after I saw her custom-made dress by the popular indie wedding dress designer Wai Ching, I knew I had to step up her bouquet a notch. I mean seriously! So we chatted a little, and we came up with the idea of using handpainted calla lilies in her bouquet! I ended up painting each calla lily to match the bottom hem of her dress, so her bouquet & Joes boutineere would have a pop of color. The bridemaids had simple, but elegant callas with two rosebuds. Note the convertible dress that her bridesmaids can wear in multiple ways -for use after the wedding! LOVE IT! All in all, I created the flowers for the bride & groom, the entire wedding party & the parents- it was loads of fun! Here's a few pics from Angela & Joes wedding -hope you enjoy!

Bride & Groom Names:
Joseph Beran & Angela Steach

Location & date of wedding:
Omni Austin Hotel-Downtown
Austin, Texas
Saturday, October 16, 2010

Describe your WedStyle :
Simple, but classy. A blend of vintage and modern vibes.

My favorite moment:
Saying hi and talking with everyone during the cocktail hour and during the reception. But I really liked our first dance, cause it felt like the only private moment with Joe to say silly jokes until that night after all the activities were over.

Wedding advice to Brides 2 Be:
Breathe, breathe, breathe. Try your hardest to get some rest and sleep. If you don't want to see each other before the bride walks down the aisle, plan out pictures accordingly. Something will go wrong and not according to plan. Try your best to roll with the punches and think on your feet.

Best part of being married:
My best friend and I are officially a family! It doesn't feel much different then before, but it does feel special. Be happy!

FREE Wedding Broom Giveaway in honor of Jumping the Broom Movie!

I have been MIA from blogging for a while (life is great, but busy) but I humbly return bearing FREE gifts! Lol.

In celebration of the Jumping the Broom movie release tomorrow - I am offering a FREE customized wedding broom to a lucky couple! No catches, here folks! Get your broom designed by me, in your wedding colors and choice of design accents, such as feathers, cowrie shells, flowers etc.

Details below:

HOW TO ENTER in TWO STEPS:

1) Visit our website, take a look around and join our mailing list AND 2) Facebook about the giveaway - be sure to use @ChocolateBroomsandBouquets - so that we know!

3 - For an additional entry, BLOG about the giveaway - be sure to include a direct link to THIS post! Please only entry per person. Winner will be announced a week from today- Good luck !!!

A Seattle/Texas bride with Vision...

You know I love Etsy.com , because I get to meet some very creative brides with vision who are so trusting to have a complete stranger to create something for their wedding day! Etsy.com has been a God-send for a lot of artisans all over the globe- so thanks to them as well :-)

To close off my wedding season for 2010, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to create the flowers for a lovely bride named Angela. I can honestly say I so anxious to see her wedding pics. She is going to have a FABULOUSLY creative wedding - from her unique Wai-Ching wedding dress, to the handpainted bridal bouquet I created for her. In all, I created 11 bouquets, 5 corsages and 14 bouts for the men.

Here are some pics I sent her of her products before they were shipped to the Lone Star State. I really enjoyed making these for her, and I hope to do more bouquets similiar to these in the near future.

Something Borrowed, Something Blue ...

Various shades of blue- A broom and an bouquet designed for Mrs. Terri & Mrs. Katrina! Congratulations to you both!

Client Pics**

The summer has certainly been a busy one for me, and Im sure all of you as well. I've been well though - celebrated my 3rd year of marriage, went to Jamaica and turned a year older, @ 31! All in all, I'm thankful for growth in every area in my life and thankful I had the opportunity to work with some great brides this summer!
Here's a few pics of my clients & work- take a look, and tell me what you think !

Americana Wedding Style...

Happy July 4th Everybody! Since the holiday is on Sunday, it got me to thinking how convienent this three day weekend could be for a creative fun, holiday wedding! And no I'm not talking the cheesy over the top American flag wedding dress type of event either. LOL. I envision an outdoor wedding, white tent, streamers, confetti, the wonderful smell from a bbq grill and my favorite- FIREWORKS!! LOL

You get the picture right? This weekend marks the celebration of America's independence, but it also represents a time when family and friends gather to celebrate each other- so what better way to start you lives together than to have a Americana theme wedding?

I created two mood boards featuring the good old stars and stripes inspired dresses and paired them with some of my floral bouquets, just for fun. I hope you like them!

Have a great weekend & be sure to eat lots of BBQ for me! - Mrs B.




Dress Designer Credits:

Star Spangled Dress by Tracy Reese
2008


Red & White Stripe Dress from dressingvintage.com
Jacques Heim
1950's Dress

Exceptional red and ivory silk cocktail party dress. Jeunes Filles designed by Jacques Heim. Sold at Bonwit Teller in the 1950's. There are a couple of very tiny, only noticeable upon very close inspection, faint micro dots. They wouldn't even show up in photographs, near the hemline, but I like to mention everything. Otherwise, this dress is in excellent condition and is ready to wear! Fully lined with linen and tulle with back metal zipper. Would even make an amazing out of the box wedding gown!

Apple Red, Lavender and Happy all over !

When my latest bride initially told me lavender & red were her colors, I'll admit I felt a tinge of "how in the world was I going to pull these two colors off" ?! But now, I'm thinking, YES this works! What do you think?

Mays Brides- Mrs. Marsha & Mrs. Meegan!

I promised to show you some pictures from my latest clients wedding, so here there are! I refer to both Marsha & Meegan as my "dream" clients because they both really allowed me to be as creative as possible with her wedding items! I can certainly appreciate this because often times brides aren't receptive to new ideas when it comes to designing their wedding, they've been dreaming about for years! But Mrs. Marsha & Mrs Meegan were both flexible and a pleasure to work with - and I 'm very happy with the end results!

Tell me what you think: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Chocolate-Brooms-and-Bouquets/113884361823

Be careful what you pray for because you just might get it!...

I was reminded of my grandmother advice when I sat down last night after working feverishly to complete all of my 2010 prom orders- and I went to bed with a huge smile. As tired as I still am - I am thankful business is picking up and I really enjoy what I'm doing :-) My talent is a blessing that I don't take for granted and I am thankful to have the opportunity to share it with my clients. Thank you to every student & bride that has supported me by sharing your beautiful vision - YOU ARE my inspiration to keep pressing on. God is good yall!

Anyhoo, I've been busy, and this weekend I have 3 weddings and a prom...I will take pictures of everything and post them soon :-) Toodles

Work.Work.Work.Work.Work!

So May has had me absolutely busy- Can you say 3 weddings this month and a prom! Here is a sneek peak of what I've been working on. Corsages for both weddings and prom, Centerpeices- I promise to post more as May winds down :-)

A Love Story, A Bridal Photoshoot!

This past weekend, a few creative geniuses (lol) came together to create something beautiful...a love story!

Many kudos to Tony Smith @ Lovelace Studios, fashion models- Kim Matthews and Max, Couture bridal gown by Kim Coy, Hair by Amber Hart and Makeup by Jill Alise. Oh and me of course, Chocolate B & B!

Check out my facebook profile to see more pictures from the shoot!

Last weekends Bridal Show was great!

I had a ball at the Apostolic wedding fair last weekend- I meet a lot of good people, brides & vendors alike. Here I am at the expo doing what I do best. :-) Pic courtesy of Donald Barge Photography.

Artsy Love & Bridal Show Info

Hey everyone- Sorry, I've been MIA for a little while getting ready for a bridal show on the 27th & completing my first full wedding design ( the entire event is pratically designed by me) YAY!! But I had to take a moment, and show some kitschy accessories that I LOVEEEE - I think they are PERFECT for the artsy bride. Tell me what you think.

Oh before I forget, I hope to see you at the WEDDING FAIR on Saturday, March 27th @ the Apostolic Church of God - 6320 Dorchester Ave.- Chicago, Illinois 60637 from 10-2PM!





Vendor: Pearl Accented Updo, Wedding Veil by Toni Federici, Vivienne Westwood/Melissa Shoes, Lace Manicured Nails/McQueen handbag

Pics from the LAUNCH event!

Hey everyone- I just wanted to share some of the pics from the LAUNCH event for my galpal & lingerie designer Kira Lee's fashion show. It was a HUGE success, so thanks to everyone who supports Chicago's own artistic talent! For more info & pics join Black Kai Lee Couture fanpage on facebook!

P.S. Did you check the bouquets the models were carrying? Yes that would be my work, Chocolate B&B !