Studio Choo | Florist | Wedding Vendor Spotlight

| |

Periodically, I introduce one of my favorite vendors in the industry– completely unpaid, just out of sheer love of working with them.

This month, I am excited to feature Jill Rizzo and Alethea Harampolis of the wonderful floral team, Studio Choo. I first fell in love with their work before even knowing it was theirs, as I often see the flowers on a wedding day without ever knowing the people who put them together. I worked on three weddings with their flowers before I put a name to the flowers and knew I had found a keeper. The number one thing I love about Studio Choo is the organic flow of their arrangements. Their flowers are always beautiful, elegant, and balanced, but they have a wild, organic shape and feeling that I just absolutely adore.

Studio Choo

http://studiochoo.com/

Floral Design
San Francisco, California

These two are so busy these days, running around on book tour and working in the midst of wedding season, we were lucky to have our schedules align for a brief moment to snap these images and put together this interview. Enjoy!

 

How did Studio Choo get started?

Alethea and I met at a flower shop in San Francisco where we worked together for a few years and became fast friends. Alethea moved away and became an estate gardener and worked in a few other flower shops but we always stayed in touch and dreamed of one day owning our own business together. In 2009 we took the plunge and started Studio Choo!

How would you describe your style?

We try and make our arrangements look like a wild patch of garden in a vase. We love unusual color combinations and get inspired from the natural and weedy landscapes we see here in Northern California.

Do you have a secret sauce or special touch that sets Studio Choo apart from the rest of the industry?

We love helping brides transform their pinterest boards and inspiration images into a real event that is totally unique to them. Every arrangement is special. We put a lot of effort into choosing fresh and local ingredients and giving each ingredient room to shine. We don’t make cookie cutter arrangements with a bunch of flowers crammed tightly together with no room to breathe!

Do you have any insider tips for brides on their wedding day?

The day will go by so fast so have fun and let the hard work and planning you’ve done along the way pay off! A day-of planner or contact person is a great idea to deal with any little snags along the way, but now is the time to let all your vendors do what they do best.

You have so many projects going on these days! Tell us more about what you’ve been up to. And what’s next for Studio Choo?
We just got back from being on tour for our new book The Flower Recipe Book! It was a whirlwind and amazing, but we are really excited to get back and complete renovations on our new South San Francisco studio. We have a ton more room than we had at our previous San Francisco storefront so we will have a small retail section, lots more classes and events, and an apothecary counter for our new perfume line launching later this year!

Enjoy more photos of Jill and Alethea at work and some of their beautiful creations below!

Thanks Jill & Alethea for taking the time to chat with me!

Visit Studio Choo’s website to book them for your wedding or business and purchase your own copy of their Flower Recipe Book. Tell them I sent you!

Anna Wu is a wedding a portrait photographer based in the San Francisco Bay Area but available to travel worldwide. Follow her adventures on facebook or her website. View the rest of her preferred vendor spotlights here.