Laurel White of Adornments {Wedding Floral Designer}

Adornments has made such an impression on the wedding industry in San Luis Obispo that it was just an honor to interview Laurel! We have done so many weddings together and I am consistently amazed at the elegance, artistry and sheer genius that is evident in every arrangement and bouquet.

What’s the history behind this 36 year old business? My mother Eileen Hobbs was the first "home florist" in 1973. At that time wedding flowers were done by the flower shops in San Luis Obispo. Her approach to weddings was instinctual. If something needed to be done she made it happen. Whether it was silver service for the caterer or helping the family and the couple plan the wedding she had the answers. It came from the heart. Now they call it coordinating but at the time there was no such thing as a wedding coordinator. I was only one year old when this all began. It was very inspiring growing up in the business. She has always had a visual knack for making things pretty, fairy tale, queenly, storybook. I went to Cal Poly as an English major and was working with her throughout college. When I graduated I found that I was more interested in the weddings and flowers. I knew that I couldn’t do what she did, her being the visionary, but I knew I could really help her run the business. Weddings changed enormously over the years. What used to be simple became complex. I relished in the challenge of bringing in the new to accent the old. We decided I was going to take over the business and change the name, take it in a new direction. In 1998 it became Adornments.

How has it been to work with your mother over the years? We are a terrific team. Here’s an example; If we are at a site I’ll be showing her where the ceremony is going to be and she’ll say something like, “What about having the ceremony over there and reception over here? And all we need to do is move that tree.” And I will have to figure out a way to move the tree (kidding!). She’ll place stuff somewhere that no one has ever thought of and it’s perfect and creative. Then over the years I have found myself with the knowledge to create things “outside of the box”. That comes with the 30 plus years of priceless experience. I have the best teacher. Being surrounded by parties, flowers and colors all my life has made it easier for me to grow creatively. I developed my sense of design by seeing things through my mother’s eyes. It’s hard to explain. I’ve had to take some crazy creative fairy tale ideas and put them into a business so that they can function with amazing results. My mother and I share the same desire and vision...to create the most lovely, personal, breathtaking, awe-inspiring day for a couple and their families.

How do you bring a brides vision or theme into a floral arrangement? Our desire is to share our talent with trusting, hopeful, Brides. They become our friends along the way. I am here to listen, interpret and provide the most divine decor beyond their wishes and dreams. We know the right questions to ask brides to create a look. We find key words to help us create a bride’s vision. We do a LOT of correspondence through email. Most of the brides that come here are destination brides. I ask them to send me pictures of rooms, clothes you like; anything that you want this wedding to feel like. Then I get a sense of what they find beautiful and I can create something from that. It depends on the look. We want to know what they enjoy being surrounded by - what complements them. We are creating something that is unique to each couple and their story. What sets each wedding apart is how we incorporate their style with flowers.

You brought these 10 page floral design wedding proposals, would you mind describing these? After we develop a sense of who the couple is and the style we are going for we create a storyboard in words. Even though a wedding is visual you can’t show someone what their wedding day is going to look like without word descriptions. That’s the benefit of being an English major –I write up these delightful stories about visuals that I can’t otherwise show pictures of. We put our collective imaginations on paper and look forward to creating it.

What makes Adornments unique to the floral industry on the Central Coast? Two minds that think alike. We emphasize not only the flowers but the design, the fabrics and everything else. My mother and I each focus on something unique. I will create a presentation with all the elements as well as the business and administration side of it. And then I have this other person saying (my mom) “Did you think of this?” and “What about that?”. It's great to have that second person helping me. She creates every bride and bridesmaids’ bouquet going with her design sense. It always turns our to be just what we had hoped for. On the day of the wedding I will be at the event dealing with everything while I have people at the shop getting the flowers out at the last possible moment so everything stays fresh. That way I am taking the time I need to concentrate on the production of the wedding ceremony and the reception. I have an extraordinary, talented staff that has been with us a long time. We trust them with our standards of impeccable service. We have one person who is responsible to present every bouquet and pin on every boutonniere before the ceremony, assuring perfection with the flowers. We stay until the Bride walks down the aisle and until the first person arrives at the reception. We return at the end of the reception to collect all of our items.

Where do you get your inspiration? Noticing the beauty surrounding us in the simplest things - a dew drop on a succulent, for example. A lot of fashion magazines. What we’re doing is putting on a large fashion show. We are taking someone’s style and creating a whole day around it. Every single person is inspiring. Every bride is different. They fuel my imagination. It is very exciting to always be looking forward; that there is always something new to discover. There is always room for both current fashion and tradition in design. I really like Domino Magazine, great stuff in there. Vogue, Vanity Fair; we get all of them. We live in a small town so I can’t walk outside and see it on the streets like you do in Paris or New York. I have to get it from magazines. San Luis is a bubble.



What are some other objects you mix in with your floral arrangements? In personal flowers I try to stay away from objects. In a barn wedding for example we can add feathers and oak leaves – to enhance the rustic and whimsical. But one detail that sets us apart is our foliage – we use many different types of distinctive foliage that we search for and include. Natural organic elements. Something other than flowers. Anything that adds texture or makes it unique. We tailor it to the individual and the theme of their wedding. I wouldn’t say that we add objects but that we add embellishments. Flowers, fabrics, and embellishing touches.

Who is your ideal wedding client? Someone who’s fun, open minded; who is thrilled with beauty. Basically someone who says, “You do it.” I want to be trusted. This is what I do. I am immersed in the world of design. Someone who can trust me to take their look or the things that they find beautiful and tailor it to something that can work on a large scale.

Laurel’s work for Ali + Matt’s wedding is currently featured in the celebrity section of In Style Weddings .


Laurel made this chuppa from driftwood that she collected and returned to the beach after the wedding.

Contact Adornments:
Laurel White
805.543.3948
adornments@charter.net
www.adornmentsflowers.com

View more details from the events Laurel and I have done together on my photography blog.