career day / a floral designer...

I first met Kelly Cuadra of Viva Voce over 5 years ago when she was the assistant for a local event planner. Little did I know that years later, she would be running her own floral design business and making some of the most beautiful creations I have ever seen. For our newest Career Day, I took Ruby to visit Kelly and learn about her process and how these beautiful arrangements come together. We first went on a trip to the Los Angeles Flower Mart where Ruby picked blooms in her favorite colors, pink and yellow. Then, we went back to Kelly's home studio to turn them into a whimsical arrangement and learn more about her process...

oh joy weddings / fringe backdrop...

For those of you who are getting married in the near future (or who just want ideas for any kind of special event), here's the next DIY in our mini series called Oh Joy Weddings on Kin Community. It's super fun, colorful and offers wedding ideas in true Oh Joy style. Today, we're showing you how to make a festive and fun fringe backdrop for taking fun photos of all your party guests!

You can find the step-by-step instructions at the bottom of the video post!

// CREDITS //
Brought to you by Oh Joy for Kin Community
Creative Direction: Joy Cho
Video: Jenner Brown 
Sound: Dave Wester 
Production and Styling: Julia Wester
Production Assistant: Casey Brodley 
Graphics: Angie Stalker
Hair and Makeup: Danielle Walch
Location: Elysian LA
Special thanks: John, Tish, Alysha, Tessa, and Tuna the Frenchie for being my special guests!

oh joy weddings / magnetic place card holders...

Here's our newest wedding DIY video showing a simple and colorful way to make place card holders for a wedding or any sit-down event. You can see the 2nd video in Oh Joy Weddings series on Kin Community below!

See a transcript of the steps below!

oh joy weddings / painted plexi table numbers...

When I got married back in 2006, there weren't many wedding blogs or YouTube channels chockfull of beautiful ideas and inspiration the way there are now. I always joke that I want a wedding redo when we celebrate our 10th anniversary ;P

But, for those of you who are getting married in the near future (or who just want ideas for any kind of special event), we started a mini series of wedding DIY videos called Oh Joy Weddings on Kin Community. It's super fun, colorful and offers wedding ideas in true Oh Joy style. You can see the first in the new wedding series below!

// CREDITS //
Brought to you by Oh Joy for Kin Community
Creative Direction: Joy Cho
Video: Jenner Brown 
Sound: Dave Wester 
Production and Styling: Julia Wester
Production Assistant: Casey Brodley 
Graphics: Angie Stalker
Hair and Makeup: Danielle Walch
Location: Elysian LA

P.S. The plexi is from here...

a floral stunner...

I rarely post about weddings, but this one is a serious stunner. Brittany Jepsen's sister, Caitlin, recently got married and the color, the flowers, the dress is just insanely beautiful.

You can see more at The House that Lars Built and Martha Stewart.

{Photos by Jessica Peterson}

giant balloon lollies...

You may have seen Geronimo's amazing giant balloons here in the past, and I'm thrilled to share Jihan's newest creation—balloon lollies! Since launching her company last year, Jihan's balloons have brought floating cheer to weddings, birthdays, and so many amazing events. The newest collection includes these helium-free balloons which are intended to be a more environmentally conscious option and help offset our shrinking helium supply. These new helium-free balloons would be so fun for walking down the aisle or standing ground at an entrance way to welcome guests. 

How crazy cute are Jihan and her real life Balloon Trooper assistants, Dru and Kate?!? You can contact Jihan directly for more info. on these custom creations. Also, since Jihan is committed to all things gold and shiny {that's my kinda girl!}, she's even hosting a gold-themed workshop called Golden Hour in LA in honor of the precious metal that looks beyond fun. — Joy

{photos by Miha Matei}

a little bit of flora...

I just about died when I came across these images by photographer Chaunté Vaughn. The series of test images that Chaunté shot for her portfolio features beautiful little Kayla rocking some amazing floral headpieces. The entire thing is just stunning and looks like it could be pulled right from the pages of a magazine...  — Joy

ps. This is a great example of something I always encourage creatives to do—make self-initiated work that you feel passionate about as it's the best way to grow your portfolio and show clients what you can do {if you're not already doing it!}.

{Kayla photographed by Chaunté Vaughn, florals, hair, and makeup by Jessi Butterfield.}

{everyday party} sweet sips for mom...

With Mother's Day this weekend, we thought it would be fun to share a little something you can make for mom to accent the brunch, lunch, or dinner you might be whipping up in her honor. We asked Courtney from Merriment Events put together this little how to for some sweet floral straws for mom...

bite-sized fun...

The other day, a few of my friends asked me what I was doing for Ruby's 1st Birthday Party. "First birthday?" I said. "She just turned six months, I can barely wrap my head around next month let alone six months from now." While I still have no idea what her party will entail, I can tell you that these utensils by Sucre would seem pretty perfect for it. Heck, I kind of want to eat with these utensils tonight for dinner! — Joy

{sneak peek} amy atlas' new book...

Party planner and dessert table master Amy Atlas will be launching her new book Sweet Designs later this month. Full of recipes, craft project, and styling tips, I'm excited to share a fun image from her Pastel Pretty chapter of her pink and white milkshake made of strawberry and vanilla and dotted with cotton candy dollop and confetti dots! It's seriously making me want one right now! Photographed by Johnny Miller, you can pre-order Amy's beautiful book right here.
— Joy

Ps. For those of you following Amy's Scavenger hunt on Amy's blog, the code words are "Perfect for Easter". And then visit Amy's blog at 12pm EST for the next clue!